England’s reinstated captain Courtney Lawes has warned Wales that he is back firing on all cylinders after needing to show patience to emerge from a significant spell out with concussion.
Lawes has been restored to the back row and taken over from Tom Curry as skipper to reinforce England’s Guinness Six Nations title push in time for Saturday’s collision at Twickenham.
His last match was for Northampton against Ulster on January 16, in the aftermath of which he became symptomatic and while a specialist was able to put his mind at rest over the severity of his condition, there was no quick fix.
“It wasn’t in one particular game. I had just taken a couple of little knocks the past month or two,” Lawes said.
“I guess pretty much the day after I had headaches which didn’t go away for a little while. I also had headrush-like symptoms.
“I was a little worried, obviously because it is to do with your head, but I came into camp and we got a scan and saw a specialist. He said it was nothing to do with my brain, which was a massive relief.
“It was to do with my vestibular system, so the connection between your eyes, ears and neck had essentially got a bit rattled.
“It was explained to me that with the vestibular system you get headaches because the connection’s been rattled and your brain is having to compensate. Maybe your neck doesn’t think your head is in the position it is.
“When your brain has to compensate with that you get things like headaches and trouble with the eyes, which is why I was getting headrush or those kind of symptoms.
“It was all explained quite well so I knew exactly what was going on. It can take a little while to come right, which is why I couldn’t get back fit, but it’s nothing from a long-term health point of view, which is fantastic.
“I knew I just had to take my time. I’ve been able to train and work hard whilst doing rehab for this so I am feeling good again.
“I’m 100 per cent OK now. I’ve been going pretty hard this week and I’ve come through it fine. I am pretty confident.”
Lawes turned 33-years-old on Wednesday and was presented with a chocolate cake at the squad’s Surrey base with permission from Eddie Jones to eat as much as he likes given his difficulty maintaining the necessary bodyweight for a back five forward.
Jones, who recalled Joe Marchant on Thursday after losing starting centre Manu Tuilagi to injury, had no second thoughts over pitching him into a contest England must win if they are remain in title contention.
“Courtney has had a pretty solid preparation for the game and the one thing that we know about him is that he tends to play pretty well fresh on to the paddock. That’s our experience with him,” Jones said.
“He’s got quite a unique body, Courtney – he’s fast-twitch but he’s tall and skinny, so it’s easy to get the work into him, which has happened, so we believe he’ll be able to play a significant role in the game.”
Lawes is in the form of his career and in the injury-enforced absence of Owen Farrell, Jones now views him as indispensable as a leader and player. But when Jones took charge in 2015, he held a different view.
“I always remember watching him for England and he was like this torpedo coming out of the line and drilling people. That was the most significant part of his game,” Jones said.
“When I first got here, I must admit I was not that impressed by him. His attitude was very laid back, 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.”
