Courtney Lawes says challenging Eddie Jones led to England captain role

Courtney Lawes believes his willingness to challenge Eddie Jones convinced England’s head coach that he should be appointed captain for the series against Australia.

Lawes will lead the tourists into Saturday’s first Test in Perth after retaining the role he performed during Owen Farrell’s injury-enforced absence in the autumn and Six Nations.

Even with Farrell restored at inside centre having overcome his ankle issues, Jones has kept faith with the 33-year-old lock whose calm and thoughtful manner have stood out throughout a period of transition.

As a self-confessed “old geezer”, Lawes insists he is comfortable pushing back against Jones if it is in the best interests of the team.

“Eddie wants to challenge himself. If I’m honest, I’m probably skipper because I think differently to him and I’m willing to challenge him as a leader. I think that’s why he’s kept me on,” Lawes said.

“I’m a old geezer now and don’t mind saying what’s on my mind. I think he liked that approach.

“I’m more than willing to essentially get a feel of what the team needs. The coaches will have a feeling for what the team needs and then we’ll come to a compromise from there, instead of it all being one way in terms of we just do what the coaches say.

“I’ve made a lot of the lads comfortable around the team and that’s the team environment we want.”

Jones has admitted that anointing Lawes as the third significant captain of his reign after Dylan Hartley and Farrell has the potential to cause friction.

Farrell is the dominant figure of a squad he has led since 2018 and his demotion creates a new dynamic, prompting Jones to note that “it’s a difficult situation, but they are both good players, good team-mates and they’re working it out.”

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