Courtney Lawes hailed as 'unflappable and incredibly authentic' by Northampton coach Phil Dowson - as Saints prepare to wave goodbye to the former England star after 17 years of service

Northampton coach Phil Dowson hailed the impact of 'old dog' Courtney Lawes ahead of his farewell match in the Premiership final.

Lawes is one of several Saints legends who will bid farewell to the club after Saturday’s match against Bath at Twickenham.

Dowson said: 'He's an old dog now but Courtney's been exactly the same from the first week I met him. 

'One of the great things about Courtney is he's unflappable and incredibly authentic. Not much changes Courtney's demeanour or attitude and he's one of the guys who really grounds and anchors us as a squad because he's been in those big games before.

'It's really good for the players who haven't been in that environment to see how relaxed he is.'

Prop Alex Waller and flanker Lewis Ludlam will also be playing their final match for the club.

Scrum-half Alex Mitchell said: 'We have had a lot of emotion the last couple of weeks about it. Last week was huge because if we lost that was it. We wanted to earn one more week with the boys which we have done. 

'We want to send them off with some silverware, some legends of the club. Everyone appreciates it is the last dance, everyone mentions it in meetings. We don't need to touch on it too much now, we know it is a massive thing.’