Lawes: Write off Saints at your peril, we believe we can go all the way

We sat down with Courtney Lawes after the Club legend signed a new contract last weekend to remain at Northampton Saints. The versatile 34-year-old reflects on why he wanted to stay in Black, Green and Gold and looks ahead to a mouth-watering Gallagher Premiership semi-final showdown against Saracens…

Q: When did you decide you were going to sign a new contract with Northampton Saints?
CL: This Saturday just gone was when I actually signed. It’s been going on for a while previously. It’s been a bit of a weird season for me, but it’s great to finally sign up and hopefully I’ll get to play a lot more rugby for Saints next season.

Q: Was this season being interrupted so much by injuries a factor in you staying?
CL: Yeah, pretty much. I was keen to stay to be honest because I didn’t want to end on a season like I’ve just had. If I’d played all season, then maybe it would have been a different story, but I was keen to stay and actually deliver for a period of time. Hopefully I’ll get the chance. The main reason I stayed is that the Club means a lot to me, I think they’re going to need me next season, and my legacy here is important to me. I didn’t want to leave on a season where I didn’t contribute as well as would’ve liked.

Q: What does the Club mean to you? Is this the Club where you feel you will end your career?
CL: I honestly don’t know. I want to go to the World Cup and perform well there, and then I think I’m going to take each season as it comes. I suppose as long as I’m continuing to stay as consistent as I have been then we’ll see what happens. I’m not going to make any decisions right now. I just want to get to another World Cup and then make an impact for Saints next season.

Q: How enjoyable has it been to be back playing in recent weeks after the season you’ve had?
CL: It’s been really good. I’ve had a bad run of luck this season. It’s been great to get back and retain my form and show anybody who was doubting whether I can still do what I can do, that I’m still well in the mix.

Q: Take us through the injuries you’ve sustained this season…
CL: It started with a head knock [against Leicester Tigers in September] but I damaged a nerve in the back of my neck that took forever to get better. I pulled my glute and then tore my calf just before the Six Nations, and then I tore my lat in the middle of the Six Nations. I did it in training, but I didn't think too much of it and then I made it worse in the gym.

Q: How tough was it to take to have a succession of blows like that?
CL: It is tough, it is testing, I can’t lie – but it is not like it is the first time I have been through it. The season before the Lions, 2020/21, I did my ankle and I was out for two months with that, came back played three games and tore my pec and was out for three months. That was right before the Lions tour. I understand it is just one of those things for me. I give up being robust or durable for the ability I have got, it is just one of the ways you have got to think about it. Maybe if I was a diesel engine, I would be able to play more but I wouldn’t be as exciting.

Q: Did you ever have any thoughts about calling it a day this summer?
CL: I honestly didn’t. If I play next season and it is the same case, then your body has given up on you and you understand. I have at least given myself a chance because I feel if I can get a jump on it, and I can have a good preseason, which I am sure I will with the World Cup, then I will go there and hopefully be able to continue from that and try and develop my game so I am not as prone to injury. Most of them have been in training but I just need a good bit of luck and I’m sure I have got rid of that this year.

Q: How have you found the transition to playing in the back row in recent years? Phil Dowson has said you’ve done it in reverse to players when they get older…
CL: It is funny. I have taken my gym work more seriously in my later career, from 26 onwards, and that seems to have prolonged my athleticism. I am now running PBs – I ran a PB speed this year, and I suppose that takes its toll on your body. I ran a PB and I am getting older, I am getting faster and I suppose that takes its toll on your body. It is good to be able to stay with it athletically and have all the experience you have to back you up.

Q: Are you used to being one of the old boys in Saints’ squad now?
CL: It has been getting on that way for a while now. In terms of experience, I have been one of the most experienced for a good period of time, but I still feel mentally young. My body is starting to feel it a bit, but I am still enjoying the company of the lads and getting stuck in. I am willing to do it for at least a little bit longer.

Q: Saints have qualified for the Gallagher Premiership semi-finals for the second year running, have you found some consistency in your game now?
CL: I suppose our form comes and goes like the weather, so that is something we need to address, but we are getting into warmer climate now and that suits us.

Q: How strange a situation is it to have a three-week wait between the win at Newcastle Falcons and the semi-final at Saracens?
CL: It is quite fortunate we know we are top four. It could have been that we still didn’t know, so we get to get our minds on the job in hand and we get a bit longer to prepare for it. I think it will suit us better.

Q: How much of a chance do Saints have of going all the way this year?
CL: I think we’ve got a really good chance, probably more of a chance than people are giving us credit for. In terms of potential within the team, it’s huge, and for us now it’s about consistency and about confidence and believing we can go to Sarries and beat them. If we do believe that, truly believe that, then we’ve got a better chance than any of going there and doing it.