Courtney Lawes was not expecting to be named in Steve Borthwick’s pre-season England squad over the weekend. While the 37-year-old has made clear that his return to the Prem with Sale Sharks is in no small part down to his ambition to feature in a fifth World Cup next year, much like the national head coach Lawes favours action rather than words. Borthwick has explained to players such as Lawes, his fellow Sale arrival Joe Marchant and Newcastle’s new No 8, Hoskins Sotutu, that in order to achieve England selection, they must prove themselves against the players they are now competing with in the Prem.
As such, Lawes was circumspect when discussing what is privately a fierce determination to add to his 105 caps. What fascinates most, though, is why Lawes is putting himself through it at all. There were times in his final years with Northampton and England that Lawes appeared bound together with gaffer tape.
Peel away at the frayed edges and after years of what he describes as “balls-to-the-wall rugby” you feared he would crumple in a heap of exhausted parts. Nonetheless, the level at which he was performing at the 2023 World Cup and particularly his final, title-winning season with Northampton was little short of stratospheric. After signing off from English rugby, winners’ medal secured, performing his valedictory press conference topless and wearing ski goggles, does his return not risk tarnishing that legacy?
I’d much rather come back and not be able to make it than not know whether you’ve called time a bit early. I’ll give it my best effort and the cards will lie where they lie.” To anyone with a passing interest in Lawes’ career, particularly from the point of his Test resurgence under Eddie Jones, it will come as no surprise that he worries little about legacy. He has four children but there is not the financial imperative either, even if a move to Sale – with whom his wife’s family has close ties – was brought about in part because Northampton could not afford to bring him back.
There is a school of thought that worries Lawes is in for a rude awakening after two years in France’s second tier with Brive but it is clear that he has a steely confidence that he can still perform. What has made Lawes one of the most likable England internationals of recent years is that he backs himself without any accompanying bravado. I wasn’t ready to retire last season.
I was still playing really well and still one of the better players in the league. So I thought I’d go one more time. You’re a long time retired and I can still move really well so, why not when you’ve still got it in your legs.” Those statements will be music to the ears of Alex Sanderson and his fellow coaches at Sale.
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