Courtney Lawes' Premiership win admission: 'I was actually pretty pissed off'

Courtney Lawes revealed his immediate reaction to Northampton’s Gallagher Premiership title triumph was annoyance that they had played so poorly.

Saints prevailed 25-21 in a tense final at Twickenham even though Bath completed 59 minutes with 14 men after prop Beno Obano was sent off for a high tackle on Juarno Augustus.

Lawes, playing his last game for the club before joining Brive, admitted they had won ugly but insisted they were worthy champions given their performances over the course of the season.

“I couldn’t believe we had actually won it because we tried so hard to lose,” the Northampton captain said.

“At the end of the game I was actually pretty pissed off. Slowly it has kind of settled in. We did what we needed to. We got across the finish line and that’s what rugby is.

“Sometimes it doesn’t look pretty and it certainly didn’t today, but we won and that’s what matters. I think we’ve deserved it throughout the season.”

Lawes signed off his 17-year Northampton career with his 283rd appearance and a victory made possible by George Hendy’s late break and the support line run by match winner Alex Mitchell.

The 35-year-old, who arrived for Saints’ victory press conference bare-chested and wearing ski goggles, heads to Brive as one of the greats of the English game.

“It will take a bit of time to set in. You always focus on the next thing in rugby because the next job is always so important,” Lawes said.

“There are a lot of things I will never do again at the Saints, but I owe the club so much. It won’t be the last time I contribute something to the club.

“I’m just really happy to have been able to deliver what the club deserves, really.”

Bath rallied from the red card shown to Obano to lead 21-18 with 13 minutes left and even after Mitchell had raced over they were pressing for the score that would reward their resilience.