Courtney Lawes
Lawes representing Northampton Saints during the Aviva Premiership
Full nameCourtney Linford Lawes
Date of birth (1989-02-23) 23 February 1989
Place of birthHackney, England
Height2.00 m (6 ft 7 in)[1]
Weight119 kg (262 lb; 18 st 10 lb)[1]
SchoolKingsthorpe College
Northampton School for Boys
Moulton College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, Flanker
Current team Northampton Saints
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2007– Northampton Saints 261 (35)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2009 England U20 7 (5)
2009–2023 England 105 (10)
2017–2021 British & Irish Lions 5 (0)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

Courtney Linford Lawes (born 23 February 1989) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Premiership Rugby club Northampton Saints and the England national team.[2][3]

Early life

Lawes was born 23 February 1989 in Hackney to a Jamaican father and English mother and moved at the age of four to the town of Northampton where his mother was from.[4][5]

Lawes attended Northampton School for Boys and is a product of Northampton Old Scouts, the same club that produced his former teammate Rob Milligan as well as Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson, amongst others.[4]

Club career

In October 2007 Lawes made his Saints first team debut against Esher in National One in the 2007–08 season which ended in promotion.[6][7] The following season he began to establish a reputation as a tackler, notably in the final of the 2009 European Challenge Cup against Bourgoin where he dislocated the shoulder of Morgan Parra[4][8] and in the 2015 Six Nations Championship match against France with a tackle on Jules Plisson.[9] In March 2010 Lawes was part of the side that beat Gloucester to win the Anglo-Welsh Cup[10] and the following season saw him start in the 2011 Heineken Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium as Northampton finished runners up to Leinster.[11]

In May 2013 Northampton were beaten by Leicester Tigers in the Premiership final[12] however the following season saw Lawes play an integral part in Saints securing both the Premiership and European Rugby Challenge Cup titles in 2014. They beat Bath at Cardiff Arms Park to win the Challenge Cup[13] and the following weekend defeated Saracens to win their first ever Premiership title.[14]

Lawes was shortlisted for the Saints Supporters' Player of the Season in 2016/17 but lost out to teammate, Louis Picamoles.[15]

International career

England

Lawes won England representative honours for the U18 side and toured Australia with England Under 18s in 2007.[16] He missed out on the 2008 U20s Six Nations through injury but featured in the IRB Junior World Championship that year.[17] In the summer of 2009 Lawes started for the England Under 20 team that finished runners up to New Zealand in the final of the 2009 IRB Junior World Championship in Tokyo.[18][19]

In July 2009, Lawes was selected for the England Saxons squad[20] and on 26 October 2009 he received his first call-up by coach Martin Johnson to the senior England squad.[21] He made his England debut on 7 November 2009 in the 18–9 defeat against Australia at Twickenham, replacing Louis Deacon for the last twelve minutes of the match.[22][23] He was included in the squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup[24] and started in their quarter-final elimination against France.[25]

After the World Cup new coach Stuart Lancaster continued to select Lawes and in December 2012 he featured in a win over New Zealand.[26] He was selected for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and featured in two pool games against Fiji and Wales as the hosts failed to make the knockout phase.[27]

Lawes participated in the 2016 Six Nations Championship as England achieved their first Grand Slam in over a decade.[28][29] He came off the bench in all three tests as England completed a series whitewash on their 2016 tour of Australia[30] and later that year scored his first international try on his fiftieth cap against South Africa.[31][32] The following year saw Lawes start in the last match of the 2017 Six Nations Championship which England lost away to Ireland ensuring they failed to complete consecutive grand slams and also brought an end to a record equalling eighteen successive Test victories.[33]

Lawes was included in the squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.[34] He started all three knockout games against Australia in the quarter-final,[35] victory over New Zealand in the semi-final[36] and defeat to South Africa in the final as England finished runners up.[37] Lawes was a member of the side that won the 2020 Six Nations Championship.[38][39] On 6 November 2021, Lawes captained England for the first time, in a game against Tonga.[5]

British and Irish Lions

On 19 April 2017, it was announced that Lawes would be heading to New Zealand with the British & Irish Lions for their summer tour, with his Saints teammate George North.[40][41] Lawes was handed his first Lions starting place for the Lions' second game of the tour, against the Blues.[42][43] He did not feature in the first test but did come off the bench in the second and third tests as the series finished level.[27][44]

Lawes was also selected by coach Warren Gatland for the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa.[45] He started all three tests at flanker as the Lions lost the series 2–1.[46][47]

Personal life

As of 2017, Lawes and his wife Jessica have four children.[48]

Career statistics

List of international tries

As of 18 September 2023[2]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1 South AfricaLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2016 Autumn Internationals12 November 2016Win37 – 21[31]
2  Japan Nice, France Stade de Nice 2023 Rugby World Cup 17 September 2023 Win 34 – 12

Honours

England
Northampton Saints

References

  1. 1 2 "Courtney Lawes player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 "ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
  3. ↑ "RFU-England:Courtney Lawes". RFU website. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Godwin, Hugh (17 January 2010). "Courtney Lawes: England's hopes are looking up". The Independent. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  5. 1 2 Kitson, Robert (12 November 2021). "Courtney Lawes: 'It was difficult to get into rugby if you didn't go to a nicer school'". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Northampton Saints 74–10 Esher". Official Northampton Saints Website. 20 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Northampton return to top flight". BBC Sport. 22 March 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  8. 1 2 "Northampton 15-3 Bourgoin". BBC Sport. 22 May 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  9. ↑ "Courtney Lawes' massive hit on Jules Plisson, England v France, 21st March 2015". RBS 6 Nations Youtube Channel. 21 March 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Northampton 30-24 Gloucester". BBC Sport. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  11. 1 2 Palmer, Bryn (21 May 2011). "Leinster 33-22 Northampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  12. 1 2 Osborne, Chris (25 May 2013). "Aviva Premiership final: Leicester 37-17 Northampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  13. 1 2 Osborne, Chris (22 May 2014). "Amlin Challenge Cup final: Bath 16-30 Northampton". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  14. 1 2 Hassan, Nabil (31 May 2014). "Premiership final: Saracens 20-24 Northampton Saints". BBC Sport. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Picamoles the toast of the town at Saints awards". Northampton Saints. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  16. ↑ "England have to settle for second best". Sutton & Croydon Guardian. 20 August 2007. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Graduate". ESPN Scrum. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "England lose out to New Zealand in Junior final". RFU. 21 June 2009. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  19. ↑ "New Zealand retain title in running display". ESPN. 21 June 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Wilkinson returns to England fold". BBC Sport. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  21. ↑ "Injury-hit England make changes". BBC Sport. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  22. ↑ Standley, James (7 November 2009). "England 9-18 Australia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  23. ↑ "Dallaglio wants new-look England". BBC Sport. 8 November 2009. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  24. ↑ Palmer, Bryn (22 August 2011). "Rugby World Cup 2011: Johnson omits Flutey from England squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  25. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (8 October 2011). "Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (1 December 2012). "England 38-21 New Zealand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  27. 1 2 Cantillon, Michael (30 October 2019). "Courtney Lawes: The man who never gave up now vital for England". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  28. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (6 February 2016). "Six Nations 2016: Scotland lose 15-9 to Jones' England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  29. 1 2 Fordyce, Tom (19 March 2016). "Six Nations 2016: England win Grand Slam with France victory". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  30. ↑ Standley, James (25 June 2016). "England beat Australia 44-40 in final Test to complete series whitewash". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  31. 1 2 Fordyce, Tom (12 November 2016). "Autumn international: England 37-21 South Africa". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  32. ↑ Aylwin, Michael (12 November 2016). "England 37-21 South Africa: player ratings from Twickenham". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  33. 1 2 Fordyce, Tom (18 March 2017). "Six Nations 2017: Ireland 13-9 England". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  34. ↑ Jones, Chris (12 August 2019). "Rugby World Cup: England leave out Te'o, name Ludlam & McConnochie in squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  35. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (19 October 2019). "England beat Australia 40-16 to make Rugby World Cup semi-finals". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  36. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (26 October 2019). "England 19-7 New Zealand: Eddie Jones' side beat All Blacks to reach World Cup final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  37. 1 2 Fordyce, Tom (2 November 2019). "England 12-32 South Africa: Springboks win World Cup for record-equalling third time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  38. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (7 March 2020). "Six Nations: England beat Wales 33-30 despite Manu Tuilagi red card". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  39. 1 2 Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  40. ↑ "Saints pair off to New Zealand with the Lions". Northampton Saints. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  41. ↑ "British and Irish Lions 2017: Sam Warburton captain, Dylan Hartley out". BBC Sport. 19 April 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  42. ↑ "Lions unleash Lawes on the Blues". Northampton Saints. 5 June 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  43. ↑ "British and Irish Lions beaten 22-16 by Blues in Auckland". BBC Sport. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  44. ↑ Fordyce, Tom (8 July 2017). "British and Irish Lions draw 15-15 with New Zealand as series ends level at 1-1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  45. ↑ "British and Irish Lions 2021: Sam Simmonds in 37-man squad but Billy Vunipola misses out". BBC Sport. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  46. ↑ "British and Irish Lions 2021: Courtney Lawes says tourists cannot 'scrap' against South Africa". BBC Sport. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  47. ↑ Grey, Becky (7 August 2021). "South Africa 19-16 British and Irish Lions: Morne Steyn's late penalty wins series". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  48. ↑ Williams, Hattie (21 August 2020). "England forward Courtney Lawes backs pro-marriage campaign". Church Times. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
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