Record-equalling England giant Courtney Lawes could enjoy another “four of five years at the top” according to his former Northampton second row teammate, Christian Day.
Against Ireland a fortnight ago, the indefatigable Lawes made his 84th Red Rose appearance, matching the high-water mark for an England lock set by Martin Johnson in 2003 and joining the World Cup-winning skipper and No.9 Danny Care in the list of his nation’s top ten most-capped players.
As a lock-cum-back row hybrid, should Lawes feature against Wales this Saturday, as seems likely, the Saintsman will equal Lawrence Dallagio’s 85 caps and move to within one appearance of becoming the most-capped back five forward in English rugby’s 149-year Test history.
Capped first against Australia in 2009 – ironically by Johnson – Lawes, 31, has been an integral part of the England set-up for over a decade and, having already featured in three World Cups and a British & Irish Lions tour, Day believes his old colleague has plenty left in the tank.
Day, now the RPA’s player liaison officer, told The Rugby Paper: “Courtney could easily have another four or five years in him and it’s not like he’s slowing down in his old age.
“Whether he actually wants to is another question because he’s got a wife and young family now which he has to put some focus on, but Courtney will play as long as he wants to and against Ireland last week, I thought him, Maro Itoje and George Kruis were absolutely superb.
“He’s not being shown up by any of the younger guys and I certainly see the next Lions tour as being on his radar. He probably didn’t play as much as he wanted in New Zealand in 2017 so there’s no reason why he can’t be one of the starting second rows in South Africa.”
Having joined Northampton in 2008 when Lawes was just emerging from the Saints academy, Day quickly gained an appreciation of the man who was to become a regular second row partner for ten years before he was forced to call time on his own career two years ago.
Day, 36, explained: “His breakthrough year was in the Championship the year before when I’d been playing in France, so I really knew little about him until we played Montpellier away in the European Challenge Cup and he annihilated their No.9, announcing his arrival.
“From that moment on he was a fixture in the Saints team and it’s incredible to think he’s now equalled Martin Johnson’s number of caps. He certainly wasn’t earmarked to be the star he’s become but to be tenth in the all-time England cap list is testament to him.”
Phil Dowson, another former teammate now coaching at Northampton, believes Lawes now stands comparison with the world’s finest. He told TRP: “You look at a guy like South Africa’s RG Snyman in terms of what he does in the loose and attack and I’d say Courtney is right up there – and he’s probably a better defender than him in terms of the collisions he has.
“Then you look at Eben Etzebeth and his power game, but is he as good as Courtney in attack? Courtney’s among the best in the world because he can offload, defend, go to the line, run with the ball and he really understands the game. With his work-rate and constant desire to improve, you’d have him in any international team in the world more often than not.”
Day added: “Courtney’s got an incredible frame and wingspan which he puts to ridiculously good use; he’s physically blessed and not many people who are 6ft 8ins can move the way he can.
“He was always defensively aggressive, which is what has been his trademark, and he’s got that ability to tackle horizontally which not many people can do, but what he’s really added over the last four or five years is that ball-carrying ability he didn’t really have before.
“Now, he’s one of England’s most important ball-carriers and has become a top-notch performer. He’s clearly respected by Eddie Jones and nearly always plays when fit.”
NEALE HARVEY
England Men’s most-capped players
Jason Leonard (Harlequins) – 114 caps
Ben Youngs (Leicester) – 98 caps
Dylan Hartley (Northampton) – 97 caps
Dan Cole (Leicester) – 95 caps
Jonny Wilkinson (Newcastle) – 91 caps
Lawrence Dallaglio (Wasps) – 85 caps
Rory Underwood (Leicester) – 85 caps
Danny Care (Harlequins) – 84 caps
Martin Johnson (Leicester) – 84 caps
Courtney Lawes (Northampton) – 84 caps
