Lawes surprised at Saxons call-up

Lawes came from the Old Scouts club which also produced Ben Cohen

Northampton Saints forward Courtney Lawes admitted he was surprised by his call-up into the England Saxons squad.

The 20-year-old back-row - a product of the Old Scouts club in Northampton - joins Saints team-mates Ben Foden, Shane Geraghty and Stephen Myler.

"I'm pretty happy at the moment and I wasn't expecting it," said Lawes.

"I've had a lot of congratulations but now I'm going to keep my head down, work hard during pre-season and hopefully come back a better player."

Lawes, who began playing rugby just six years ago, is the only member of the England Under-20 squad that reached the final of the IRB Junior World Championships to be promoted into the Saxons.

"I'm particularly happy for Courtney who's come a long way in a short space of time," said Northampton forward coach Dorian West.

"With the amount of game time he had in the first team this year - and his performances in the IRB Championships - it's easy to forget that he only entered our Senior Academy a couple of years ago.

"He has worked hard on and off the field, and his call-up is thoroughly deserved."

As well as the quartet in the Saxons, Northampton hooker Dylan Hartley has earned a place in Martin Johnson's 32-man Elite Player squad.