EnglandEngland
Debut 2009
Points
10
Tries
2
England
Courtney Lawes
LockBlindside Flanker
Nationality
England
Senior international
England
Test caps
105+
Current club
Sale Sharks
Competition
Premiership Rugby
Test caps
105+
Age
37
Reported · 2026-11-06
Height
201 cm
Reported · 2026-10-28
Weight
115 kg
Reported · 2026-10-28
Career · Former England Captain
Captained England during a 105-cap Test career
Career · Premiership-Winning Captain
Led Northampton Saints to the 2024 Premiership title
Two-Tour British & Irish Lion
Won five Test caps across the 2017 and 2021 tours
Player data & sources
Caps use dated, reviewed snapshots. Measurements require a source; estimates also require a dated basis. Missing facts remain unrecorded while review continues.
- England Test record · snapshot 2023-10-25 · reviewed 2026-10-29
- Age: 37 · reported · as of 2026-11-06
- Height: 201 cm · reported · as of 2026-10-28
- Weight: 115 kg · reported · as of 2026-10-28
Player spotlight
Quiet Authority. Violent Impact.
Courtney Lawes built his authority without theatre. Quiet away from the contest and ferocious inside it, he led through standards, defensive violence and the willingness to do the hardest work when the stakes were highest.
Career rating
8.5/10
Career Record
The Numbers
Full name
Courtney Linford Lawes
Born
Hackney, London, England
Four Rugby World Cups · three Six Nations titles · World Cup silver and bronze medallist
British & Irish Lions
Debut 2017
Appearances
5
Points
0
Tries
0
Sale Sharks debut
2026
England debut
2009
Lions debut
2017
Leadership
Captaincy Record
Captain
Northampton Saints
2023–2024
Led his boyhood club to the 2024 Premiership title in his final appearance for Northampton.
Former Captain
England
2021–2023
Captained England during the 2021–22 season, including the 2022 series victory in Australia, and again on his 100th appearance in 2023.
◆
Captained Northampton Saints to the 2024 Premiership title.
◆
Set standards through defensive intensity, professionalism and consistency rather than volume.
◆
Served as a senior leader across four England Rugby World Cup campaigns.
◆
Returned to Premiership Rugby with Sale Sharks for the 2026–27 season.
Player spotlight
Leadership
Lawes leads through action and quiet authority. He has never needed to dominate a room to command respect: teammates follow the standards visible in his preparation, lineout intelligence, defensive accuracy and appetite for decisive physical moments. His captaincy is grounded in honesty, consistency and the credibility earned by repeatedly putting his body on the line.
Career Success
Honours
Premiership Rugby
2titles
2014 · 2024
Champion with Northampton Saints · captain in 2024
EPCR Challenge Cup
2titles
2009 · 2014
Champion with Northampton Saints
Six Nations
3titles
2016 · 2017 · 2020
Grand Slam winner in 2016
Rugby World Cup
Silver medal 2019 · bronze medal 2023
Test Career
International
National team
England
Caps
105+
Confirmed minimum senior Test appearances; exact total not recorded
Points
10
Total international points
Tries
2
Five points each
Test record dates and sources below
Career Journey
Club History
Northampton Saints
2007–2024
Appearances
280
Points
60
CA Brive
2024–2026
Appearances
37
Points
5
Sale Sharks
2026–Present
Appearances
Not recorded
Points
Not recorded
Career Story
Career Highlights
2009 — Made his England debut after emerging as one of the Premiership's most destructive young defensive forwards.
2014 — Helped Northampton complete a Premiership and Challenge Cup double.
2017 — Earned his first British & Irish Lions Test caps during the drawn series in New Zealand.
2019 — Started England's Rugby World Cup final against South Africa.
2024 — Captained Northampton to the Premiership title in his final match for the club.
2026 — Returned to the Premiership with Sale Sharks and made himself available for England again.
Defining Performances
Standout Matches
8 June 2024Premiership Rugby Final
Northampton Saints vs Bath
Northampton Saints 25–21 Bath · Twickenham Stadium
Captained Northampton to their first Premiership title in ten years, ending his 17-season Saints career by lifting the trophy.
2 November 2019Rugby World Cup Final
England vs South Africa
South Africa 32–12 England · International Stadium Yokohama
Started at blindside flanker in the defining final of England's 2019 World Cup campaign.
Great Campaigns
Standout Tournaments
2016
Six Nations
England · Champions · Grand Slam · Triple Crown
Provided lineout quality, defensive force and positional flexibility throughout England's unbeaten campaign.
2017
British & Irish Lions Tour
British & Irish Lions · Series drawn 1–1
Made influential appearances from the bench in the second and third Tests against New Zealand.
Career Assessment
Legacy
Lawes retires whenever that moment arrives as a Northampton great, a 105-cap England centurion and a five-Test Lion. His 8.5 rating reflects elite longevity, two-position excellence, major silverware and a rare ability to change a match through a single defensive intervention. The image that defines him is simple: quiet before the whistle, unmistakable once it blows.
Career rating
8.5/10
Assessed 2 September 2026
Player Profile
Player Summary
Courtney Lawes is an England and British & Irish Lions forward whose combination of height, speed, defensive timing and positional versatility made him one of the most intimidating players of the professional era. He spent 17 senior seasons with Northampton Saints, developed from an explosive young lock into an elite blindside flanker and finished his Saints career by captaining the club to the 2024 Premiership title. After two seasons with Brive, he returned to English rugby with Sale Sharks for 2026–27 and made himself available for England selection again.