Saracens fly-half Owen Farrell's British And Irish Lions experience could be invaluable come the summer according to Ben Youngs, but the Leicester Tigers scrum-half insists his England team-mate must not put his focus too far ahead.

Farrell was part of the Lions touring squad four years ago in Australia – despite being just 21 years old – and came on as a replacement in the third and deciding Test.

It’s a moment from which Farrell has gone from strength-to-strength, with many tipping him to be Warren Gatland’s first choice in New Zealand come June.

But with a Grand Slam title to defend with England in the upcoming RBS 6 Nations, Youngs insists Farrell’s focus needs to be on the here and now.

“Owen is showing a lot of strings to his bow with Saracens – he’s proven himself to be a great goal-kicker and he’s a real creative threat going forward and gets himself some tries along the way,” said Youngs, speaking on behalf of Land Rover, supporting rugby at all levels, from grassroots to the elite.

“He had a great autumn, has been quite important in the things that England did last year and I’m sure he will be again in the Six Nations.

“He’ll be someone who has to think about playing well for his country first and then seeing what comes from the back of it.

“He’s got that Lions experience too, he knows the ins and outs of how a tour works, but more important than that will be the form heading into it so that bit has to be done well.”

Despite their Lions pedigree, Youngs knows both he and Farrell face stiff competition even in their own national ranks, as part of a 34-man squad named by Eddie Jones for the 2017 Six Nations.

And with a 14-match winning run to defend, it’s little wonder the England head coach has strength in depth, with George Ford and Danny Care among those looking to seize their own opportunities in the starting XV.

But rather than be perturbed by the contest for his number nine jersey, the Grand Slam winner admits it is a welcome asset for England’s unbeaten head coach Jones to possess.

“There’s a lot of strength running deep across a number of positions and our team, and that’s something that’s so important,” he added.

“That’s something England are really trying to do. You look at the second and back rows and that’s there a lot, so for me to keep my place it’s about performing as well as I can and trying to do my best to benefit the team.

“It’s exciting for us all to be a part of that. With the squad announcement, it’s always nice to see your name there and it makes you realise how close these big tournaments are.

“We’ve got this unbeaten run, but we want to make sure we’re attacking that and not defending it, and that’s something Eddie has been really big on.

“We need to make sure we go after it, going out to win in instead of holding on to it, but that’s going to be tough.”

Ben Youngs is a Land Rover ambassador. Land Rover continues to champion grassroots rugby through its We Deal In Real campaign. @LandRoverRugby #WeDealInReal