Courtney Lawes’ tour de force made Leinster sweat and proved he is still England’s most important man

To make a meaningful bid for victory in Croke Park, or even to make Leinster sweat, it always felt like Northampton Saints needed a tour de force from Courtney Lawes. Luckily for them, such appearances have been fairly regular for the past two years.

That Saints braved a terrible first quarter to come within three points of their hosts and ultimately trail 20-17 was testament to a number of factors. They are a resilient, well-coached team who are confident in their approach. Instead of panicking after being 20-3 down, Northampton remained calm and steadily took on Leinster.

Starters Juarno Augustus, ...