Courtney Lawes Returns to Premiership with Sale Sharks

Courtney Lawes is coming back for one last swing at English rugby’s biggest stage – and he’s chosen Sale Sharks as the place to do it.

The 37-year-old England and British & Irish Lions forward has agreed a one-year deal with Sale from the start of the 2026/27 season, a move that will drag one of the most decorated careers of the professional era back into the Gallagher Premiership spotlight.

A heavyweight returns

Lawes is not drifting gently towards retirement. He’s charging at it.

After almost 300 appearances for Northampton Saints, 105 England caps, four Rugby World Cups and two Lions tours that brought five caps, he had the perfect storybook ending in 2024: captaining his boyhood club to a first Premiership title in a decade, beating Bath in a final that felt like a coronation in green and gold.

That was supposed to be the full stop. Instead, it became a comma.

Lawes left for Brive, spent two seasons grinding away in the south of France, and discovered that the competitive itch hadn’t gone anywhere. Now he’s heading back across the Channel, not for a testimonial lap, but to throw himself into Sale’s “Northern Force” project and, remarkably, to reopen the door to England.

“I’m really excited to be joining Sale,” he said. “I’ve been out of the Prem now for a couple of years and I just want to finish my career playing at the top level. I think Sale have got a brilliant squad so hopefully I can add to that and we’ll see what we can do next year.”

The message is clear: this is not a nostalgia signing. Lawes is backing his body and his form.

“My body feels good and I’m still performing at a high level. I feel like I can compete with the best of them, and then some, and I think if I retired now, I’d probably regret it when I was older.”

Sale’s statement of intent

For Sale, this is a thunderous statement about where they believe they belong.

Alex Sanderson has spoken often about building a squad with steel, edge and character. In Lawes, he gets all three in one imposing, 6ft 7in frame. A player who can lock the scrum, boss the line-out, or wreak havoc from the back row. A captain who has led England, lifted a Premiership title, and gone toe-to-toe with the best in the world for over a decade.

“Courtney is the kind of player and person that suits this club,” said the Sharks’ Director of Rugby. “He’s robust, dynamic around the park and he hits hard, but he has a fantastic skillset that means he’s so much more than just a banger.”

Sanderson knows the value of personality as much as physicality.

“Rugby is a small world and if you’re a good bloke, you work hard, you’re honest, and bring energy to a club, that goes around and that’s exactly what you hear about Courtney.

“He wants to bring people with him and lead from the front and I love that. Plus he’s captained England and knows what it’s like to play and win on the biggest stage.”

This is not just about match days. It’s about raising standards from Monday to Friday.

“I can’t wait to see him train and play with us, but from a coaching perspective I’m really looking forward to working with someone I’ve heard so many good things about.

“Courtney believes in what we’re doing and wants to be part of the club. He’s coming back to try and win trophies and play international rugby again and he believes he can do that with us.

“It’s another sign of the intent of the club and the passion and commitment of the owners to really put Sale on the map.”

Familiar faces, fresh fire

Lawes has chosen his landing spot carefully. When he decided to return to the Premiership, the shortlist was brutally tight.

“When I decided I wanted to come back to the Prem there were only a couple of teams I would have signed for. Obviously Saints because of my history, but Sale were the other one because my wife’s family is all from Cheshire.”

So there’s a family pull, but also a rugby one. The Sharks dressing room will not be new territory. He knows the England core, he knows what they demand, and he knows at least one key figure very well.

“There will be quite a few familiar faces at the club. I’ve played with a lot of the England lads and Dorian West was my first forwards coach as a professional player. I know the club is bringing in some brilliant player for next season too – guys like Joe Marchant and Alex Lozowski will add a lot on and off the field.”

Drop that experience into a squad already bristling with international quality, and the picture sharpens. Sale are not just trying to compete. They are trying to win.

Un-retired and unapologetic

The twist in the tale comes at Test level. Lawes had stepped away from England duty. Now he’s ripping that page up.

“I’m officially un-retiring from international duty and I’d love to play for England again but first and foremost I want to play well for Sale and we’ll see what happens after that.”

At 37, that is a bold declaration. But this is Lawes: a player who has built a career on timing his hits, timing his leaps, timing his runs into contact. He clearly believes there is one more big push left.

“As a rugby player, you’ve got a very finite career and you’re a long time retired so I want to make the most of it while I can, give it everything for another season and then we’ll see what happens.”

Steve Borthwick will not ignore that. A fit, firing Lawes, driving standards at Sale, will always be hard to overlook in an England context, especially when knockout rugby looms and experience under pressure becomes priceless.

So the stage is set. A modern great, a northern club with serious ambition, and a final Premiership chapter that refuses to fade quietly.

If Lawes gets the ending he’s chasing, it won’t be gentle. It will be silver.