#3. Courtney Lawes
Lawes has thrown his hat into the ring for the British & Irish Lions’ 2025 tour to Australia, despite calling time on his international rugby career following the recent World Cup.
firmly shut down any speculation about reversing his retirement to bolster England’s back-row amid a growing injury crisis in the upcoming Six Nations.
The Northampton Saints legend concluded his England tenure with his 105th cap in a semi-final defeat to South Africa in Paris last month, citing a desire to prioritize family time with his wife and four young children.
Addressing the potential of a third Lions tour on Tuesday, Lawes, who played in all five Tests across New Zealand in 2017 and South Africa in 2021, expressed, “If I got another Lions call I would probably do that, yeah, yeah. I would get to complete the set, I have done two and doing Australia, which is one of my favourite places to tour, would be cool.”
Despite downplaying his chances for the 2025 Lions squad due to the wealth of back-row talent in Great Britain and Ireland, Lawes reflected on his surprise inclusion in the 2021 tour. He recalled being “pretty surprised” at making the squad, especially considering a lack of preliminary emails about his availability.