Courtney Lawes

Courtney Linford Lawes (born 23 February 1989) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for Pro D2 club Brive and formerly for the England national team.

Lawes was born 23 February 1989 in Hackney to a Jamaican father and English mother and moved at the age of four to the town of Northampton where his mother was from.

Lawes attended Northampton School for Boys and is a product of Northampton Old Scouts, the same club that produced his former teammate Rob Milligan as well as Ben Cohen and Steve Thompson, amongst others.

In October 2007, Lawes made his Saints first team debut against Esher in National One in the 2007–08 season which ended in promotion. The following season, he began to establish a reputation as a tackler, notably in the final of the 2009 European Challenge Cup against Bourgoin where he dislocated the shoulder of Morgan Parra and in the 2015 Six Nations Championship match against France with a tackle on Jules Plisson.

In March 2010, Lawes was part of the side that beat Gloucester to win the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the following season saw him start in the 2011 Heineken Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium as Northampton finished runners up to Leinster.

In May 2013, Northampton were beaten by Leicester Tigers in the Premiership final however the following season saw Lawes play an integral part in Saints securing both the Premiership and European Rugby Challenge Cup titles in 2014. They beat Bath at Cardiff Arms Park to win the Challenge Cup and the following weekend defeated Saracens to win their first ever Premiership title.

Lawes was shortlisted for the Saints Supporters' Player of the Season in 2016/17 but lost out to teammate, Louis Picamoles.

After 17 years at Northampton Saints, Lawes announced on the 23rd of February 2024 that he would be leaving the club at the end of the 23/24 season to join French club Brive.