Courtney Lawes: ‘I don’t want to go to the World Cup if I’ve got nothing to offer to the team’
Courtney Lawes on a potential England return
“I don’t want to go to the World Cup if I’ve got nothing to offer to the team,” Courtney Lawes told Ben Youngs and Dan Cole on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast this week.
Having recently announced his return to the English PREM with Sale Sharks, the 37-year-old has confirmed his intentions to return to the international fold with England.
The 2027 World Cup is less than 18 months away, and Lawes intends to be on the plane to Australia – but not as a groupie, he wants to be front and centre.
“I’m the kind of leader that leads from the front, and I’m not going there to sit on the bench,” he told his old international teammates.
“I want to offer everything I can to the team if I get the opportunity. I’m a competitor at the end of the day. The idea for me is not to just go back and get on the team because I’m experienced. If I deserve to get back in the team because I can still play at that level, then I’ll take a spot on the team. And if I can’t, then I don’t think I deserve to be there.”
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Sitting on the balcony of his Brive apartment, soaking in the sun alongside his former teammates, Lawes claimed to have what it takes to return to the highest level of competition.
“I suppose it’s just my personality. I want to compete. I’ve always wanted to be the best. I still feel like I can.
“It would be difficult to just go to the World Cup, and even if it were the fifth World Cup, not participate as much as I would like to.
“The past four World Cups, I’ve started the first game of every World Cup. I’ve been in the thick of it, in terms of my contribution to the team; that’s what I want to do. I want to be in the mix. I want to be offering not just my leadership skills, but my ability as well.”
Returning from retirement
Lawes won the last of his international caps in 2023, when England crashed out of the World Cup semi-finals, losing narrowly to eventual tournament winners South Africa.
Speaking about his decision to retire at the time, Lawes said: “There were a few reasons for that. One, the main one being that I’d been away from my family for a long time. Been playing for England for 14 years, I’ve got young kids, and I wanted to spend more time with them.
“But also, I didn’t want just to hold up the shirt for another year or two, or whatever it was going to be, because I didn’t really think I’d make it to another World Cup. Let the young lads have their opportunity, take that shirt and run with it.”
That was then, but despite being a few years older now, he’s feeling “refreshed” and ready to return to international action.
“I still feel like I can play at that level,” explained Lawes. “It remains to be seen, but my ability to move here, how I’m still performing, all the statistics and that kind of stuff within the league, does lead me to believe that I could still probably perform at that kind of level.
“It’s not about how old you are. Who cares about your age? It’s about how you can perform. Who’s going to be best for the team, and so I’ll throw my hat back in the ring, and if I’m not the best, if I’m not the best fit for the team, no problem. No problem whatsoever. I’ll carry on.”
