Courtney Lawes: It’s time for me to retire from England after Rugby World Cup campaign

Courtney Lawes: “I said to the boys, to everyone who asked, I think it’s time. I’ve done four World Cups so I’m quite happy with that. It’s an end of an era, but it was a It’s an honor for me to represent England for so long. It flies by. I’m proud of the journey I’ve been on.”

Test chief Courtney Lawes has revealed he will retire after the Rugby World Cup.

The 34-year-old’s bid to end his international career on a high was cruelly ended by Saturday’s heartbreaking 16-15 semi-final defeat to South Africa in Paris.

Vice-captain Lawes is a veteran of four World Cups, two British and Irish Lions tours and one of only five Englishmen to have finished 100 times.

Steve Borthwick’s team returns home from France after Friday evening’s bronze medal match against group opponents Argentina.

Lawes, who has made 105 international appearances in 15 years, said: “I haven’t told Steve yet! But I’ll let him know.

“I’ve said to the boys, to anyone who asks, I think it’s time. I’ve done four World Cups, so I’m quite happy with that.

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Courtney Lawes says England gave everything and should have claimed victory against South Africa in Rugby World Cup semi-final

“It’s a bit of an end of an era, but it’s been a real honor for me to represent England for so long. It’s flying by. I’m proud of the journey I’ve been on. It hasn’t always been the highlights. ” There are a lot of downs in it, but I got through it.

“I’m not really an emotional person, but it was just a huge honor for me. To be able to end up with this group is something I will cherish forever.”

England traveled to the World Cup in poor form and many pundits were dismissive of their prospects.

But they came agonizingly close to reaching a second successive final after topping the reigning champions by five minutes in an enthralling last-four encounter that was settled by Handre Pollard’s late penalty.

“It’s one that we thought we had, but at the same time we let it slip away,” Lawes said. “But we proved a lot of people wrong. You give it everything you’ve got. It’s sport, right?

“That’s what it means at the highest level. If you do a few things wrong, you will be punished.

The 2023 World Cup in France was Lawes’ fourth World Cup for England

“But a lot of people thought we would have struggled, and in the end we were unlucky to lose.”

Lawes made his England debut against Australia in 2009 when head coach Borthwick was team captain.

The flanker was a beaten finalist against the Springboks in 2019 and also played in the 2011 and 2015 tournaments, in addition to representing the Lions in 2017 and 2021.

He believes England have a bright future under Borthwick and is determined to help the team finish third.

“We showed everyone what it means to play for this team,” Lawes said. “Play for your country and the boys next to you.

“I think now people can see what a good coach he is and where this team can really go.

“We want to finish on a high level. It’s important that we finish well and send us all on a good win.”

Courtney Lawes led England to a 2-1 win in Australia in July 2022

Father-of-four Lawes joined World Cup-winning prop Jason Leonard and international teammates Ben Youngs, Owen Farrell and Dan Cole on a select list of England centurions in August by captaining his country in a shock warm-up defeat to Fiji at Twickenham .

He waved to the fans at the Stade de France after England’s dramatic elimination and plans to spend more time with his children while continuing to play for Northampton.

“The children are at an age where they need their father,” he said. “It will be good to be with them more, to give the crowd some much-needed structure.

“As hard as it is to be away from your family, you almost have another family. You really get that feeling, especially when you’re away in camps like World Cup camps. It’s five months, staying with your brothers.

“I will definitely miss the boys, the banter and all the things we do when we’re not training. I will also miss the hard work.

“And I will certainly miss putting on the jersey and giving it my all.”