Northampton issue update on Lawes 'Frankenstein's monster' injury
Courtney Lawes has been labelled “Frankenstein’s monster” because of his gruesome thumb injury, but Northampton insist he could still have a part to play this season. Saints head coach Phil Dowson has revealed that the damage sustained against Gloucester earlier this month is not structural but he is unable to give a precise timeline for the player’s return.
It raises the prospect of Lawes being available for England’s tour of Australia, as well as the closing stages of the Northampton battle for fourth place in the Gallagher Premiership. “The scan revealed there was nothing broken but obviously it was an open dislocation so he has been stitched up with a number of stitches,” Dowson said.
“It’s pretty early days and there is nothing broken. There is ligament damage, tendon damage, bits and pieces like that… he looks a bit like Frankenstein’s monster! So a weird injury, but he is not too bad.”
Lawes, 33, has produced some of the best rugby of his career over the last twelve months and is a central figure in Eddie Jones’ plans for the three-Test series against the Wallabies in July. With Owen Farrell’s availability this term limited by repeated ankle injuries, Lawes emerged as a popular replacement as England captain, leading the side five times.
“It would be a massive lift for us if he’s back because he’s a very good player and that helps us,” Dowson said. “You know that when Courtney is suited up and ready to play, you have got a world-class six/second row in the squad. His leadership style is not subdued, but fairly quiet, but you know that him being there will give confidence to a lot of the people around him.”
Northampton have climbed to fourth place in the Premiership on the back of four successive victories and on Friday night they host champions Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens. “What this season has proved is that everyone loses to everyone and everyone beats everyone,” Dowson said.
“It’s only the top two, Saracens and Leicester, who have been consistent throughout the season. It’s very tight and it’s been very tight all year, all the way down to the bottom. It’s an exciting league.”
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That's really stupidly pedantic. Let's say the gods had smiled on us, and we were playing Ireland in Belfast on this trip. Then you'd be happy to accept it as a tour of the UK. But they're not going to Australia, or Peru, or the Philippines, they're going to the UK. If they had a match in Paris it would be fair to call it the "end-of-year European tour". I think your issue has less to do with the definition of the United Kingdom, and is more about what is meant by the word "tour". By your definition of the word, a road trip starting in Marseilles, tootling through the Massif Central and cruising down to pop in at La Rochelle, then heading north to Cherbourg, moving along the coast to imagine what it was like on the beach at Dunkirk, cutting east to Strasbourg and ending in Lyon cannot be called a "tour of France" because there's no visit to St. Tropez, or the Louvre, or Martinique in the Caribbean.
Go to commentsJust thought for a moment you might have gathered some commonsense from a southerner or a NZer and shut up. But no, idiots aren't smart enough to realise they are idiots.
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