Lawes looks to keep improving as Saints square up to London Irish

Saints star Courtney Lawes insists he can still get even better.
Courtney Lawes skippered Saints to victory against Bath (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)Courtney Lawes skippered Saints to victory against Bath (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)
Courtney Lawes skippered Saints to victory against Bath (picture: Kirsty Edmonds)

The England and British & Irish Lions forward has been in brilliant form during recent times.Lawes ended last season with three successive man of the match awards as his club booked their place in this season’s Champions Cup.He then headed off on the Lions tour, coming off the bench in the final two Test matches, one of which the Lions won and the other they drew, as the series in New Zealand was drawn.And Lawes, who played a starring role as England won the Six Nations last season, has picked up where he left off in this campaign.He has been hugely influential in back-to-back wins at Franklin’s Gardens, impressing in the back row as Saints beat Leicester Tigers and Bath during the past two weeks.He captained his boyhood club for the first time in last week's convincing 24-6 success against Bath.And Lawes will now look to produce another gargantuan display when Saints head to the Madejski Stadium to face London Irish today (kick-off 3pm).“I’m playing pretty well,” Lawes said. “There are still obviously things to improve on and I just want to crack on and see where I can get to in terms of my potential.”Lawes came through the Academy at Saints and has gone on to make 195 appearances for the club.He hadn’t anticipated being made captain for the first time last week, but enjoyed the experience and was delighted that it ended with a bonus-point win for Saints.“I didn’t really see it coming - I only got asked to be skipper on the day before,” Lawes said.“It was kind of out of the blue and I didn’t really think much about it previously, but it was a great honour to lead the team and play for the boys.“It was really nice to see the support and I really appreciate everyone getting in touch.“But it’s not just about the skipper, it’s about the team, and we had a job to do.“I thought we showed that desire when we came out.And on this afternoon’s clash with Irish, Lawes said: “Every game’s tough in this league and if we’re not on good form they will turn us over, no doubt.”