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Courtney Lawes to stay in England despite overseas offers
Despite rumours surrounding his future, Courtney Lawes has signed a new deal with Northampton Saints that will see him stay at Franklin’s Gardens.
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The 34-year-old forward has played 263 games for the Saints since making his debut in 2007, winning a series of trophies and establishing himself as one of the club’s greatest players of all time.
Lawes’ commitment to the Saints is significant, especially as there was speculation that the war chest of director of rugby Phil Dowson might not be able to compete with offers from France and Japan for the totemic forward.
Lawes’ commitment to the Saints is not only good news for the club, but also for Steve Borthwick’s England, who are likely to see Lawes as an intrinsic part of their Rugby World Cup plans later this year.
Lawes has been regular for England since his international debut against Australia in 2009, representing his country at three World Cups, winning three Six Nations titles and a first Grand Slam for 13 years in 2016.
“The club means a lot to me personally, and I wanted to stay here – I especially didn’t want to leave at the end of a season where I’ve not played much, and I’ve not made as big a contribution as I would have wanted,” said Lawes.
“It wouldn’t have felt right to me to leave now, so I was really keen to continue at Saints for that reason, but also because it’s so important for us as a squad to continue to build on what we’ve done over the last few seasons.
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“I feel like I can be a big help on that front, bringing plenty of experience and leadership to the group, and I believe that we have everything in place at Saints to win silverware in the near future.
“The Club’s supporters are very important to me as well. The team’s ability and potential on the field speaks for itself, but the fans are also special, and I want to keep on delivering what I can for them in a Saints shirt.”
Lawes has been a standout performer for the Saints, as well as for England and the British & Irish Lions. He has won numerous individual awards and helped lead the Saints to some of their most memorable victories.
Raised close to the Saints’ home ground at Franklin’s Gardens, Lawes came through the club’s academy and played a key role in their promotion back to the Premiership in 2007. He has since gone on to lift the European Challenge Cup, the Anglo-Welsh Cup, and the Heineken Champions Cup with the Saints.
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Arguably Lawes’ greatest moment with the Saints came in 2014, when he was instrumental in their first-ever Premiership title and their second Challenge Cup trophy. His contributions to the team have been recognized by the club’s supporters, who voted him their Player of the Season in 2019/20.
“We’re delighted Courtney has signed a new contract to stay at the Club. He’s an incredible player – one of the very best in the world whether he’s playing in the second row or flanker.
“His international experience with England and the Lions is almost unparalleled, but off the field he gives our group so much in terms of confidence and leadership.
“As he’s got older, he’s really grown into that leadership role and has become a bit of a mentor for a lot of players within our squad, so he’s a class act and a good man.
“I’m sure a lot of clubs over in France and Japan would have been keen to see Courtney turn out for them over the next few years. I know our supporters will be thrilled that he has decided to stay in Northampton and remain a one-club man, as he’s one of the best to have ever worn Black, Green and Gold.
“I’m pleased Courtney sees the ambition within this group, and that he shares our belief that we have the quality and drive to challenge consistently for silverware over the coming years.
“On a personal level, he’s disappointed that this season due to injuries he’s not been able to contribute as much as he’d like. So, now he wants to show what he’s capable of week in, week out – which sits along our ambition as a squad to do the same.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Naaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
142 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
142 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
142 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
142 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
142 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
142 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
142 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
142 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
142 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
142 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
142 Go to commentsHo hum.
142 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
142 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
142 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
142 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
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