Lawes 'out of England retirement' and joining Sale
Former England captain Courtney Lawes says he is "officially un-retiring from international duty" after signing for Sale for 2026-27.
Former England captain Courtney Lawes has 105 caps for his country [Getty Images] Former England captain Courtney Lawes says he is "officially unretiring from international duty" after signing for Sale Sharks for the 2026-27 season. The 37-year-old second row won three Six Nations championships and played in the 2019 World Cup final during a glittering 14-year England career before retiring from internationals after the 2023 tournament. Lawes spent his club career with Northampton Saints, winning two Prem titles, before joining French side Brive in 2024.
"I'm officially un-retiring from international duty and I'd love to play for England again but first and foremost I want to play well for Sale and we'll see what happens after that," he told Sale's website . Lawes made his debut for Saints in 2007 and earned his first England cap two years later. He was part of England's Six Nations grand slam-winning squad in 2016 and went on to win the championship twice more in 2017 and 2020.
He also featured in four World Cups as the Red Rose exited in the pools stage of the home tournament in 2015, before going all the way to the final in Japan four years later, where they were beaten by South Africa in Yokohama . Lawes' final England cap came in the semi-final of the 2023 tournament in Paris when England were again eliminated by the Springboks . 'I want to finish my career playing at the top level' Lawes won the 2024 Prem title as Northampton beat Bath at Twickenham in his final appearance for Saints [Getty Images] He was part of Saints' Prem title-winning team of 2014 and captained the club to victory in the 2024 campaign, making his final appearance in the final victory over Bath at Twickenham .
Lawes has made 39 appearances in two seasons for Brive. "When I decided I wanted to come back to the Prem there were only a couple of teams I would have signed for," he added. "Obviously Saints because of my history, but Sale were the other one because my wife's family is all from Cheshire.