Premiership final: Courtney Lawes ready for ‘perfect’ Northampton Saints send-off

Ex-England flanker Courtney Lawes says he “couldn’t picture a better way” of finishing his Northampton Saints career than playing in a Premiership final against Bath at Twickenham on Saturday.

The 35-year-old has made 282 appearances over 17 seasons at Franklin’s Gardens, but will play his final game for the club on Saturday before joining French club Brive next season.

Saints narrowly defeated defending champions Saracens at home in the Premiership semi-finals last weekend, and head into the final as favourites after topping the table during the regular domestic season.

“With it being a really high pressured situation you have to worry about enjoying it more than putting pressure on yourself,” Lawes told BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly.

“[You want to] really embrace the week as this is why you play rugby. These are the situations you want to be in, you want to be in these scenarios even though you have a mountain of pressure.

“It’s perfect [playing at a packed Twickenham]. I couldn’t picture a better way to finish.”

Northampton’s victory over Saracens meant they reached their first final since 2014 – when they won their only Premiership title.

Lawes, who retired from international rugby with 105 caps after the World Cup in France last autumn, played in that final victory over Sarries.

“You want to enjoy these weeks as they don’t come around very often,” Lawes added.

“It is just about going out there and doing what we’ve been doing all season. We have such a good team that is working well together and is so cohesive.

“We’ve grown throughout the season and proven to ourselves over and over again that we don’t need to have a 10/10 performance or do anything out of the ordinary.”