The many ways Courtney Lawes' 'game has really evolved' in France

Sale Sharks-bound former England captain Courtney Lawes believes his two-season stint in France’s Pro D2 has helped him evolve as a player, which will help him “make an impact” upon his return to the Gallagher PREM next season.

The former England captain, 37, retired from international duty after the 2023 World Cup, and looked to have ended his association with English rugby when he left Northampton Saints in 2024 to join Brive. However, after two years of being battle-hardened in France’s gruelling second tier, the British and Irish Lion is not only set to return to the PREM next season, but has come out of international retirement and outlined his desire to make the 2027 World Cup.

With 105 England caps to his name and one of the greats of the modern era, Lawes will undoubtedly be on Steve Borthwick’s radar, but the veteran believes his game has actually improved over the past two seasons due to the demands of the league he is currently playing in.

Renowned as one of the fiercest tacklers England has produced, Lawes has said he has “got a bit more nuance than that nowadays.”

Joining his former England team-mates Ben Youngs and Dan Cole on the For The Love of Rugby podcast this week, the flanker outlined where he thinks his game has improved.

Fixture

Pro D2

Valence Romans

12:00

23 Apr 26

Brive

All Stats and Data

“I feel like my game has really evolved, even more so since I’ve been here.

“I think throughout my entire career, my game has kind of changed and ebbed and flowed and I’ve worked on different skill sets and things like that. But while I’ve been here, I’ve been able to hone my ground game, my lineout defensive game and my ball-carrying. I’ve been doing a lot more of that side of the game than I was at Saints the previous year. Just because of necessity being here and the situation you’re in.

“My ball handling and offloading ability I’ve really been able to work on out here, which has been fantastic for me. I’m always trying to develop and master different skill sets, and it’s been great to be able to do that. Of course, I’ll always love the physical side of the game but I hope I’ve got a bit more nuance than that nowadays. Regardless of whether I can get a big hit or not, there’s going to be turnovers to be made, or lineouts to be stolen, or potential half gaps to be pounced upon.

“I wasn’t as much of a reactive player as I am now because everything is much more structured in PREM games. The games are so much more open here, there are way more turnovers. It can be really slow for a while, and then all of a sudden there’s a turnover, a break, they’ll kick, it’ll be a bad kick so we get a break, and stuff like that. Being able to react to certain situations like that and flick a switch and go from playing structured rugby to playing unstructured rugby really quickly has been something that I’ll definitely be able to take back to England.

“Just the sheer amount of breakdowns I’ve been able to try and compete at and stuff like that and really try and hone that skill – I hope I can make that work in the PREM and make an impact there.”