Ex-England captain Courtney Lawes ‘enjoying’ rugby without the pressures of the international game

Big Courtney Lawes is in the form of his life, whether it be for his beloved Northampton Saints or in the white of England, a journey he curtailed after the Rugby World Cup when he announced his Test retirement after 110 caps.

Without the distraction of the international scene, Lawes admits he feels very much at ease with his decision and is enjoying life at Saints.

Planet Rugby’s James While caught up with him after Northampton mounted a rearguard action to overcome Toulon at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night.

Europe key target

“The job is not done yet. We’ve got pretty big ambitions this season, but it’s obviously a fantastic start, and we couldn’t have done much better. It’s crucial to go deep in Europe; I think it’s important for the club, both financially and in terms of fan base. And then it’s important for us, as well as a team, that we’ve been in form for a while now without really winning anything significant. So, yeah, I want to put that right,” Lawes confirmed.

“The whole team and especially a lot of the younger boys have matured a great deal over the last season and the start of this season. You know we’ve got a lot of those young boys in the pack. Curtis Langdon is doing great, and then we’ve got Alex Moon and Alex Coles, who are performing really consistently. Then you have the likes of Sam Graham, Tom Pearson, and Juarno Augustus, who is back.

“So we really have managed to win that race for depth. With the likes of Tommy Freeman and Alex Mitchell around, who’s been great since returning from the Rugby World Cup, it’s just great seeing these kinds of good English players playing consistent rugby well, and hopefully, they get a shot to do other on the big stage.”

22-year-old Freeman has been in stellar form for Saints this season and is thriving in his new role in the number 13 jumper.

Freeman made his Test debut for England during the 2022 tour to Australia, where Lawes captained the side to a 2-1 series victory, and the Saints veteran believes that the move to the centres will aid the youngster’s development.

“It’s only going to help him. He’s a big guy, man. He’s 6ft 4in, more than 100kgs. For a back, that’s big, and to have that kind of speed as well, he’s going to be a really dangerous player. To see him really maturing and performing consistently – that’s what’s going to get him back on the international scene. He deserves it,” Lawes admired.

Curtain falls

After 105 appearances for England and two British and Irish Lions tours, Lawes really has closed the curtain on his international career, but given his stellar form and also the England captaincy vacancy available due to Owen Farrell’s sabbatical, has there been a temptation to revisit the decision, or is the Steve Borthwick number on the blocked list on big Courts’ mobile?

“Haha! Look, I’m just trying to do my thing. Being settled back at home makes everything quite a lot easier. I’m just enjoying my rugby, and it is what it is, you know! I’m just trying to play well, play for the boys, and we dug in pretty well for each other. My focus is fully on Saints.” he stressed.

“When I depart or when I retire or whatever, you always want to instil those kinds of memories of success with your domestic team. You want to play on the big stages for the big cup. So yeah, of course, the thing that I aspire to do is win more silverware here and it feels that like we’re on the right track.

“During the first half of the season, we’ve really found what makes us tick, and for us, it’s energy and urgency. Getting back and getting set quickly, getting to the breakdowns faster, so there’s no contact, and we can get the defence set. We’re a team that really thrives off the energy of each other, and getting in position early so we can go and do our work is crucial. As long as we’ve got that, we know we can excel in most areas of the game.”

👏 Courtney Lawes showing that age is just a number. Some effort!pic.twitter.com/CA3mpcrOr3

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) December 17, 2023

Saints kicked off their Champions Cup campaign with back-to-back wins in the opening weekends, defeating Glasgow Warriors 28-19 and edging Toulon 22-19.

Lawes was named man of the match for his display against Toulon, and he believes a tweak in his preparation for the second weekend of European action helped while heaping praise on his team’s attacking prowess as they scored a late try to clinch the win.

“Going into the last five minutes here and coming out the other side was important. I was pretty tired last week. I think I overtrained the week before the game in Glasgow, and I was knackered in that match, but they looked after me this week, so I was pretty sprightly. I think it showed,” he said.

“I was just saying (to the team) that we’ve got we’ve got time – that was the message. All you need is a bit of time, and we showed on many occasions that we can score genuinely from anywhere. We’ve got an unbelievable attack and unbelievable players. I believe we could, and we did, so we kept putting pressure on them. Then they picked up the two yellow cards, which obviously helps, and then we’re able to capitalise on it.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen two yellows given in one phase of play, but they were both clear and obvious, so we’ll take that.”

Options aplenty

With Lawes heading into a contract renegotiation in six months’ time, his stock is at its highest at club level for a long time as the big man looks sharp and for once, injury-free.

“You’re not really meant to talk before Christmas, but I’m pretty happy just getting on with my rugby. When the contracts come in, I’m sure I might have a couple of options.

“I’m hoping to stay, but we’ll see what happens,” he concluded.

Saints round out 2023 with a visit to Kingsholm to tackle Gloucester in the Premiership before facing current league leaders, Sale Sharks, on December 30.

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