‘I’ll never give up the dream’ – Courtney Lawes’ message to British & Irish Lions and Brive at start of biggest week of his season
Courtney Lawes discusses his British & Irish Lions squad hopes.
It takes a lot to unsettle Courtney Lawes and life in France has not managed it yet. “Brive is quiet, really beautiful,” he says. “No traffic, nice restaurants, loads of reasons to go out and eat or have a mooch around.”
It is the start of the biggest week in the former England captain’s rugby season. On Thursday the British and Irish Lions tour party is named, on Friday his team play host to the only side above them in Pro D2, France’s second division.
With two games left of the regular season Grenoble lead by five points but Brive have won six in a row and nine of their last 10. Lawes did not come to France to finish second. His twin aims are clear: promotion and Lions selection.
Out of sight and out of mind is not his bag. Lawes would doubtless love to have been in Dublin helping his beloved Northampton to a win which shocked the world. As Lions auditions go, that takes some beating.
Winner’s mindset
But he has always been comfortable in his own skin, controlling the controllables, sure in himself that will be enough to get him where he needs to be.
“I’m never going to go somewhere and just give up the dream, do you know what I mean,” he tells Planet Rugby. “What drives me is my ambition to continue growing as a player, to always be the best I can be, as a minimum.”
Brive got the message loud and clear the first day they met. Pierre-Henry Broncan, their head of rugby, introduced himself with the warning that if he was looking for a retirement home “then don’t come here”.
Lawes fixed him with a stare and replied: “If I’m going anywhere I’m not going to be sitting on my laurels. If I come to Brive it is to take you back to the Top 14.”
Nine months on Brive are eight points clear of third place, the former champions of Europe set for a home play-off semi-final. Yet Lawes is still pushing.
“I want us to finish top for the first time,” he says. “I’m not sure you win anything for coming first in this league but that’s certainly where I intend to finish.”
It is this drive which for so long made him indispensable to Saints, England and the Lions. And while he is 36 and now retired from England, you’d better believe he thinks he can do a job for Andy Farrell in Australia this summer.
“The Lions is always in the back of your mind,” he says. “I wouldn’t say it’s the main motivator but I still really believe I can contribute to a Lions team and I’d love to get the opportunity.
“I feel really confident I could perform game in, game out. The things I’ve been focusing on this year, along with my leadership experience and defensive ability, would go hand in hand.
“It doesn’t mean I think I’m going to go. I’m just putting my hand up for it. If they want to take me I’ll put it all out there for them. I’m very confident I’d earn my place in the team.”
Lawes has another year on his Brive contract. Will his body stay in one piece long enough for that? His laugh answers the question.
“Look, as you get older it does get harder to get warmed up and that, but I’m still performing really well. I’m still more than capable of doing my part.
“I’m taking it one year at a time, one offer at a time, but, yes, I have thought about rugby beyond my current contract.”
A fortnight ago Chris Foy, the Daily Mail’s respected correspondent, sent a dispatch home from Brive where he had watched Lawes in action against Provence.
“He is fit and firing, he has presence, universal respect, popularity and know-how,” wrote Foy. “He can be an asset again. Andy Farrell should pick him.”
These are the qualities Brive identified when they went after him. They saw a leader who could influence the club in much the way Jonny Wilkinson inspired Toulon during his trophy-laden spell at Mayol.
That there have been no complaints is no surprise. Lawes prides himself on maintaining the level he bowed out on when leading Northampton to Premiership glory last season.
Family move
For him this is a family achievement, not his alone. Asking his wife Jess and their four children to up sticks for the south west of France was a big deal. His twin boys found it hard, as only one child in their class spoke English, Bruce Reihana’s son.
“They found that very scary at first, there were a lot of tears,” Lawes admits. “But we never thought it was a bad decision. We were always of the mindset that as long as we’re in it together we’ll be fine. Everyone’s happy now.
“Generally, everyday life is not much different, everything is just easier. The kids are in school for longer, we drop them in at 8.30am and don’t pick them up until 4.45pm, so if I have a day off I actually get a day of recovery!
“The town has only got like a 55,000 population yet we get 10-15,000 crowds. The supporters have really got behind me and I’m just glad I’m able to give back to the club – do, essentially, what I said I would.”
Time will tell what the future holds, whether it’s a summer in Australia or in the local pool playing with his kids. Either way, Lawes will throw himself in at the deep end. It’s the only way he knows.
