STAMP IT OUT
Racism must be crushed warns skipper Lawes
ENGLAND captain Courtney Lawes admitted he was stunned by Luther Burrell’s recent allegations of racism in rugby but insists it is not the only problem union has to tackle.
Lawes, who leads Eddie Jones’ side against Australia in Perth today, is a close mate of Burrell’s from their days together at Northampton and with England.
Centre Burrell (inset) recently claimed he had been the target of racists during his career but Lawes said he, himself, had largely escaped that fate.
The 33-year-old, who has a Jamaican father and English mother, revealed he was the victim of bigots once – when he was a teenager at Saints.
Lawes, who said he will be in touch with Burrell after this tour, is convinced racism is not rampant but it should be crushed if it rears its head.
“I’ve only been at Saints and the only time I’ve ever experienced racism there was when I was 16 there, coming through the academy,” said Lawes. “Since then, honestly, it’s just not even thought about at the club.
“I read the article and I was shocked about the stuff that’s been said to Luther because at most clubs it just wouldn’t be accepted, that kind of stuff.
“It’s not even a joke, that kind of stuff. It’s way beyond that. I’m feeling for him and I’m not sure what’s going on up there, but it’s absolutely not acceptable. I’m with (England team-mate) Ellis Genge – the person or people who are doing that need to be outed, because it’s just not acceptable in our game, at this point in time.
“I haven’t heard of many players going through that. It’s not happening everywhere, which is a good thing.
“We need to squash this. We need to find out what is happening and if it’s happening at any other clubs. We need to get it sorted.”
Lawes was born in Hackney before moving to Northampton as a toddler and admits he wouldn’t have played rugby if he hadn’t gone to the right school and that is a massive headache for the sport.
“I think class is the main thing,” he added. “It’s about making the game accessible for everyone and if you do that, you will see lots of different kinds of people and different colours of people playing the game.”
ENGLAND: F Steward; J Nowell, J Marchant, O Farrell, J Cokanasiga; M Smith, D Care; E Genge, J George, W Stuart, M Itoje, J Hill, C Lawes (capt), T Curry, B Vunipola. Replacements: L Cowan-Dickie, M Vunipola, J Heyes, O Chessum, L Ludlam, J Van Poortvliet, G Porter, H Arundell.
AUSTRALIA: T Banks; A Kellaway, L Ikitau, S Kerevi, M Koroibete; Q Cooper, N White; A Bell, D Porecki, A Alaalatoa, D Swain, C Neville, R Leota, M Hooper (captain), R Valetini. Replacements: F Fainga’a, S Sio, J Slipper, M Philip, J Gordon, N Lolesio, J Petaia.