Having had some time to take in the prestigious call to arms from the Lions selectors on Wednesday, Courtney Lawes said that he’s extremely excited to get on that plane to New Zealand.
“There’s excitement obviously,” Lawes told SaintsTV earlier today.
“There must have been some pretty close calls in there, especially in the second row, so I’m delighted to be a part of it.”
Talking about how he found out he had been selected, Lawes said that other members of the Saints were congratulating him before he had even checked himself.
“We’d just had a team meeting and we were coming back from that.
“Some of the boys had already found out before me so they were congratulating me but I didn’t know whether they were taking the mick and trying to do one on me.
“But it obviously turned out that I was in so it was good to share that with the boys.”
Lawes’ season has been a phenomenal one in term of both international and club rugby and one which earned him the recognition of a nomination for England Player of the Year after the Six Nations, an accolade voted for by his England teammates.
The Saints second row said that the honour of a Lions call up has made all the hard work worthwhile and that he’s relishing the chance to get started with the squad.
“It’s probably been the first season in a long time that I’ve managed to stay fit. And touch wood that continues, it’s not over yet. But it’s been a really good one. I’ve worked hard and thankfully that seems to be paying dividends.
“I’ve honestly got no idea what to expect from the Lions. I’m just going to go into it with an open mind, ready to work hard and get to it.
“It’s going to be a really tough campaign but we’ve certainly got the quality in the squad to go there and cause some upset. So I think it will be a great tour and I can’t wait for it.”
