England's most-capped rugby player Ben Youngs in emotional tribute to brother Tom

Tom Youngs, the Tiger who became a Lion, has retired from rugby with immediate effect.

The older brother of Ben, England’s most-capped player, he captained Leicester, won 28 caps and hooked the 2013 Lions to series glory in Australia.

Tom took indefinite leave from Tigers in October to care for his wife Tiff, who is battling illness and yesterday announced he was hanging up his boots.

Insisting he had taken the decision with “no regrets”, Youngs, 35, paid tribute to the support of his family.

"To my wife Tiff and daughter Maisie, I am lucky to have you alongside me and would not be where I am without you," said one of the sport’s most popular figures. "Thank you both.

“Looking back, I am proud of what I have achieved at the only club I ever wanted to play for.

Tom: "To be able to do what I have done, alongside my brother and after my dad, is just magical. I couldn’t have written it any better" (Rex)

"It was never easy, but I loved that. I think it suited me, I think the person I am and wanted to be was helped by doing it my way."

Youngs captained Leicester 98 times, putting him second only to Martin Johnson on the club's all-time list.

In Tigers' last Premiership-winning season of 2013, the Norfolk farmer was named the league’s player of the year.

Tom celebrates selection alongside Ben for England's 2015 World Cup squad (above) and (below) with wife Tiff and daughter Maisie (Getty Images Europe)

(Getty Images)

Tiff was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2014 and three years later was told her illness was terminal. In 2018 she went into remission but earlier this season Tom stepped down to care for her.

Youngs said he "always planned around this season being my last" and is "comfortable with the timing of it now".

Youngs is the son of former Leicester scrum-half Nick and spent his career playing alongside Ben, most notably when both started for the Lions against Australia in Melbourne.

In 2013 the pair were picked to represent the British and Irish Lions against Australia (Getty)

“A million feelings. A thousand thoughts. A hundred memories,” Ben wrote on social media. “What a time we have had doing it side by side.”

Together, the father and sons have made more than 630 first-team appearances for Leicester.

“To be able to do what I have done, alongside my brother and after my dad, is just magical,” said Tom. “I couldn’t have written it any better.”

Matt Symons, who played a lead role in Harlequins’ Premiership title win last season, will retire this summer.