Former England captain Courtney Lawes has made himself available for an international comeback after agreeing to join Gallagher Prem club Sale.
The 37-year-old flanker retired from international duty after the 2023 Rugby World Cup and left Northampton for French second-tier club Brive the following year.
But the 105-cap forward will join Sale for the 2026-27 season and become an option for England boss Steve Borthwick.
“I’m officially un-retiring from international duty and I’d love to play for England again,” Lawes told his new club’s website.
“But first and foremost I want to play well for Sale and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Lawes, who made five appearances across two British and Irish Lions tours, won two Premiership titles across a 17-year stint at Northampton.
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He departed Franklin’s Gardens after captaining the Saints to victory in the 2024 Premiership final.
Lawes added: “When I decided I wanted to come back to the Prem there were only a couple of teams I would have signed for. Obviously Saints because of my history, but Sale were the other one because my wife’s family is all from Cheshire.
“My body feels good and I’m still performing at a high level. I feel like I can compete with the best of them, and then some, and I think if I retired now, I’d probably regret it when I was older.”
