Courtney Lawes has dismissed concerns over England’s tackling technique in World Rugby’s crackdown during the World Cup, insisting that they do so perfectly legally despite Piers Francis’s citing.
Francis is expected to find out on Sunday whether he will be banned for his high tackle on America’s Will Hooley in the opening seconds of their match on Thursday. Francis was the fourth player at the tournament to be cited as part of World Rugby’s efforts to come down hard on high tackles and following the governing body’s criticism of the standard of refereeing.
Lawes has a reputation for hitting hard – in the 2015 Six Nations he came in for criticism for one bone-crunching shot on France’s Jules Plisson while his tackle on Charlie Hodgson in the 2014 Premiership final has gone down in folklore. The Northampton second-row has been sanctioned once for a high tackle, however, and even though referees effectively on high alert after World Rugby’s decision to go public last week, Lawes is adamant England do not need to change their ways.
“I’m not really too worried about it,” he said. “Everyone knows what regulations are in place and generally we don’t really tackle like that. We’re low tacklers; chop tacklers. Nobody aims to tackle illegally but you can make mistakes. As long as we’re being safe and trying to tackle properly then it’s all good. My natural tackle technique is to chop. If I’m second-man then I’ll aim for the ball.
“I’ve only had one high tackle in my whole career so I’m doing all right. I’ve never felt worried going into a game. Everyone’s trying to do the best for each other, play well and play safe. You’ve just got to go out there and do your job. There’s always going to be big hits and you’ll always be able to make big hits legally.
“You don’t need to hit somebody high to make a big shot. Plenty of players have shown that throughout rugby. They’ve got every right to make the game safer and most players aren’t intentionally trying to hurt each other.”
England travel to Tokyo on Sunday after the squad were given two days off following their second bonus-point win, against the USA on Thursday. Lawes came off the bench in that seven-try victory, having started against Tonga, and contributed to a dominant performance by England’s forwards. They scored two tries from driving mauls – leading to some accusations of being boring – but Lawes says England are relishing “staying true to their roots”.
“It’s English rugby isn’t it, and he [Eddie Jones] absolutely loves it,” Lawes said. “He’s made it clear to us that he wants us to be the best pack in the world and have the most dominant set-piece and that’s what we’re striving to do.
“He knows what we’re good at. It helps us play to our strengths which is great. We develop and we add things as we go along.
“Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, Phil Vickery – they were big units, big scrummaging forwards. We are a bit more athletic now than back in the day but we still hold true to our roots.”
England face Argentina next Saturday in what is set to be their sternest test so far. The Pumas overcame Tonga 28-12 in Osaka on Saturday, with their hooker Julián Montoya scoring a hat-trick. “It’s a great challenge for us,” said Lawes. “Two big, strong set-piece based packs going up against each other. We very much welcome it and I’m sure it’ll be a great spectacle.”
Francis’s potential ban aside, Jones is set to have a full squad to select from with Jack Nowell and Mako Vunipola in contention after their respective ankle and hamstring injuries. Lawes is competing with George Kruis, Maro Itoje and Joe Launchbury for one of two second-row spots and is not reading anything into the fact he started England’s opening match of the campaign.
“All of us as second rows come here wanting to be first choice,” he said. “It’s down to Eddie, whatever he thinks is best and what kind of form we’re on. It might depend on who we play and when we play them. Eddie makes the decisions and he will do what is best for the team.”
Meanwhile, France, England’s final pool opponents, have lost the prop Demba Bamba for the rest of the tournament because of a thigh muscle injury he sustained during training.
How England’s second-rows compare in Japan
Courtney Lawes
Matches 2
Runs 8
Carries 7
Metres made 22
Tackles 10
Tackle success 83%
Joe Launchbury
Matches 1
Runs 5
Carries 4
Metres made 5
Tackles 2
Tackle success 0%
George Kruis
Matches 2
Runs 9
Carries 7
Metres made 30
Tackles 8
Tackle success 73%
Maro Itoje
Matches 1
Runs 8
Carries 6
Metres made 10
Tackles 15
Tackle success 88%