Eddie Jones hails ‘role model’ Courtney Lawes and believes England forward could have best rugby ahead of him

Eddie Jones has heaped praise on the development of Courtney Lawes from a poor first impression six years ago to England captain with his best rugby ahead of him at 33.

Lawes is back from a head injury – an issue with his vestibular system, rather than his brain, the player said – to captain England against Wales this weekend in his first appearance since January 16.

Lawes excelled as England captain in the Autumn but, with Owen Farrell injured, he handed over to Tom Curry for the defeat to Scotland and win in Italy.

Jones has opened up on how he was “not that impressed” by the veteran forward when he first took over as Head Coach six years ago.

Lawes changed his ways and will win his 91st England cap (he also has five for the Lions) when he lines up on the blindside on Saturday.

“I always remember watching him for England and he was like this torpedo coming out of the line and drilling people,” he said. “That was the most significant part of his game.

“When I first got here, I must admit I was not that impressed by him. His attitude was very laidback, he had a lot of injuries, he didn’t train much. He had to come up to the standards of what we require in the team and he has done that brilliantly.

“I could not fault his dedication and his discipline now. He knows his body and looks after his body well. He is committed to being the best player he can be, but he hasn’t changed as a person, which is fantastic.”

Jones went into greater detail about what he felt Lawes needed to improve.

“I don’t mind the club sandwiches because he needs to keep weight on,” he laughed. “It was not looking after his body in terms of the rehab and he needed to train harder. He wasn’t training hard. He was doing more rehab than training