Headless chicken days over – Courtney Lawes

Courtney Lawes knows he is in the form of his life as he looks forward to playing in his first Autumn International series for three years.
The inconsistent form that came with a luckless run with injuries means Lawes has felt more than his fair share of November pain since he won the first of his 22 caps in 2009.
His recent outstanding performances for Northampton mean Stuart Lancaster will find it hard to exclude the lock from his starting line-up, something he has done in all but one of his 22 matches in charge.
Content to let wife Jessica do the Lions‘ share of domestic duties, new father Lawes has instead been busy putting opponents to bed.
A man-of-the-match performance against Leicester coincided with the birth of his daughter, Nell, followed by another superb display against Ospreys in the Heineken Cup, which left the normally reticent Jim Mallinder purring.
Lawes made 20 tackles as Saints revived their European hopes with a 27-16 win, but the 24-year-old says a new-found approach has helped him strike a better balance between attack and defence.
“Defensively, in terms of reading the game, I am doing much better.
“I’m not running around like a headless chicken. As a result I’m not getting as tired and I’m a lot fitter, too, which is perfect because it allows me to make more tackles.
“I’m also working on my (tackling) technique a lot more than I used to, which means when the big players run into you, you can knock them back instead of having to soak up the tackle or go for the real big hit and hurt yourself.
“I’ve always liked tackling and making plenty of them but the fact that I wasn’t
carrying as well meant if we were having a good attacking game I would not really get noticed as much because I wouldn’t be getting round the corner and on the ball.
“Whereas now, when we played against Leicester, I carried and got over the gain line. I’m thinking more about where I need to be to get my hands on the ball.
“I’ve settled into my role at Saints and I’m playing better – and more consistently – than I have in a long time, but I still think I can play a lot better, which is encouraging.”
Not since his assist for the Chris Ashton ‘wonder try’ at Twickenham three years ago has Lawes faced Australia.
But that looks certain to change on Tuesday when Lancaster names his team. For Lawes, it will mean putting years of injury heartache behind him.
In 2012 alone, he suffered ligament damage to both knees, a shoulder injury, a cracked shin and dislocated elbow.
“I’ve missed four Six Nations campaigns through injury (apart from limited sub appearances in 2010 and 2013) and a couple of Autumn International series as well.
“I had one year where I only played nine games and my confidence in terms of carrying was quite low.
“I’ve been unlucky and my form has wavered at times because I’ve not played as much as I would have liked.
“I’m the kind of player who needs game time to improve and get my form back, so the last couple of years have been really frustrating for me. They have been hard and trying times.
“But I feel like I’ve gained experience from it and I’m definitely maturing and growing as a player and hopefully I can stay fit this season and carry on.
Those moments of self-doubt are long gone, banished by his storming start to the season.
And a place in the England second row alongside either Joe Launchbury or Geoff Parling now beckons.
He said: “I’m just excited at the minute. I have never been in such good form.
“I just need to carry on enjoying my rugby, not take it too seriously in the sense of letting it become the be all and end all, and just go out and do what I have been doing week in week out.
“If I get the nod to start, or even if I’m on the bench, I am going to do my best.”
JON NEWCOMBE