Courtney Lawes appeared on the For Love of Rugby podcast with his former England teammates Dan Cole and Ben Youngs.
On the podcast, the trio reflected on their times playing together for England and also the recent news of his move
When Youngs asked if he had a message for Saints fans, he said, “It’s not that I didn’t want to go back to Saints.”
He later went on to say, “Northampton Saints will always be my hometown club, and I will always support them, even if I am playing against them.”
Lawes stated that his first choice was to return to Northampton Saints, but there was no offer available when the conversation started.
The second row/back row player had been waiting longer into the window for a Brive offer before he decided to go back to England.
Courtney Lawes as a player
Courtney Lawes is an England and British and Irish Lions great, playing in four World Cups between 2011 and 2023. He was a two-time Lion in 2017 and 2021, starting all three tests in South Africa and coming off the bench twice in New Zealand.
Lawes is the seventh most capped player in England’s history with 107 caps. He is one of only nine who has ever reached 100.
He played 17 seasons at the Saints, winning the Prem twice and the Challenge Cup twice.
His decision to go to France
Lawes went to France at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, signing for Brive. Lawes said before he left with Coles and Young that he wanted to go and challenge himself, and reflected on the positive impact it had on his family, who are now bilingual. He described his language skills as being able to understand and respond simply.
Lawes found the standard and support in the Pro D2 as he felt there were 10-15,000 fans coming to games in a town with a population of 45-50,000.
Lawes says, with the rules around French players in the squad that he has never been required to play more than three weeks in a row.
