Courtney Lawes is a 6ft 7in colossus of the game of rugby union; not only is he a household name he’s enjoyed a glittering career as a lock with Northampton Saints, including winning Premiership titles and Challenge Cups, plus he’s now captained the national side and represented the British & Irish Lions on two tours.
In addition to this, at the age of 33, he still has plenty of time left to achieve further success, so much so, it was recently claimed by Rugbydump that he may now go on to be the ‘next great England captain’.
However, despite all these achievements and accolades, arguably the main thing he is known for is his array of tattoos!
His full body is almost covered with ink and in an interview with the Daily Mail, it’s become clear that it’s now got to the point where the man himself has admitted he doesn’t have any more room. Although apparently, this full covering is a deliberate move by Lawes as he always intended to make his tattoos ‘look like one piece’.
Here we’ve picked out a selection of his body art and explained a bit more about what each is meant to mean or represent.
His upper body
On his right arm he has a full sleeve, black, tribal tattoo, with some extra detailed intricate tribal designs on his hand. This colour is meant to be a tribute to those we’ve lost. On his chest he has more tribal artwork as well as a small crucifix; the tribal element could be to represent strength, while the cross reflects his religious beliefs.
His stomach
On his abdomen he has several roses along with the writing ‘The best of times’. This is said to represent new beginnings, hope and also balance. This then blends into another flower-led design on his left flank, perhaps continuing this theme.
Miscellaneous
His left hand’s ring finger he has a band of roman numerals that are his daughter’s birth date. Also, on his right forearm he has the poignant message ‘I owe it all to mum and dad’. In that same Daily Mail interview, Lawes explained that he got his first tattoo on his 18th birthday and essentially got hooked on them from there, as the more he got the more he wanted another. He also says he doesn’t have a favourite amongst his ink. A final interesting fact about Courtney Lawes’ tattoos according to this article, is that during the last Rugby World Cup, he (and several other tattooed players) had to cover their ink so Japanese locals didn’t mistake them for gangsters.
