Courtney Lawes goes from England benchwarmer to British & Irish Lions contender

A ruse that was central to England winning the Six Nations might this week have the ultimate result of earning one of its main protagonists selection for the British & Irish Lions.

Courtney Lawes wore England’s No 5 shirt for the duration of that tournament. No surprise there. He has played all his international career in the second row, after all.

So good was he as England secured back-to-back championship titles, he is now being spoken of as a potential Lions tourist when Warren Gatland names his squad on Wednesday.

Despite the fact he did not actually pack down in the second row at any point during the Six Nations, he says.

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“I actually packed down at No 6 at every scrum, and I don’t think anybody noticed,” Lawes said. “Even though I was wearing five, and Maro [Itoje] six, I was playing blindside.

“I don’t honestly know why, and I don’t ask questions. You get told to do something, and you do it. I’m very happy packing at blindside. Defensively I’m sound, I’m not going to give away anything down there, so I’m very happy playing there.

“It actually gives me a lot more freedom around the park, where you can affect the game, which is good.”

Wearing a shirt number relating to a different position to that which he actually played has meant Lawes has generally been spoken of as a potential lock forward for the Lions for their summer tour to New Zealand.

There are no shortage of options for Gatland, the Lions coach, in the second row. But the route may be marginally more accessible than that to a place in the back row, which is stacked with the likes of Sam Warburton, Peter O’Mahony, CJ Stander, Justin Tipuric, Toby Faletau and Billy Vunipola vying for jerseys.

Lawes says he is just happy to be spoken about, given that he was not a guaranteed starter for his national team not so long ago.

He eventually featured in 15 of the 18 matches England won in their record-equalling run of success. But he was on the bench for five of those matches from the start of that sequence.

He was, he says, always due to start this year’s Six Nations in the second row alongside George Kruis. When Kruis suffered an injury that precluded him from the tournament, it prompted the rejig that led to Lawes reverting to the back row. That was the butterfly effect that set in motion his run to Lions contention.

“Obviously everyone thinks about it,” Lawes said, during a recent trip to Dubai. “I’m just happy to have put myself in a position to perhaps be selected.

“There are no guarantees. I don’t know where I stand on Gatland’s list of players to go on tour. If I don’t go on tour, then fair enough, I’ll just continue what I’m doing.

“I’m just happy to have come from last year, where I wouldn’t have had a shadow of a chance of getting on tour, to have come so far, and at least give myself a shot.”

Not only has his form since merited a place in the Lions conversation, he is also on a three-man shortlist to be named England’s Player of the Season, alongside Owen Farrell and Joe Launchbury.

“I’ve been grafting all year,” Lawes said of his re-emergence this season.

“Eddie has told me what he needs from me. I’ve been working very hard to show him I can be the player he wants me to be.

“‘Launch’ came in and we had a great partnership, along with Maro. I’ve started carrying a lot more.

“I’ve always been good in defence, I make cover tackles and big hits and things like that, but ball in hand, I’ve been trying to improve my gainline success, dominating collisions, and trying to offload.

“Luckily, being at [Northampton] Saints, I’ve been able to get that practice in games, so I have been able to improve vastly.”

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Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.

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Teams:
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
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