article: Northampton's maligned hit man is primed to go big-game hunting again  with no intention of toning down his use of legitimate force in the wake of renewed criticism. Courtney Lawes arrived in France with the Saints, ahead of the Champions Cup quarter-final against mighty Clermont Auvergne, carrying notoriety as excess baggage. His brutal tackle on France fly-half Jules Plisson at Twickenham last month, in the Six Nations finale, angered the visitors to the extent that they tried to have him banned. While the match officials and citing officer deemed that no action was needed, the England lock has been derided as a thug across the Channel and there were cries of protest in these parts, too. England lock Courtney Lawes made a trademark hit on France fly-half Jules Plisson . Click here to read Jeff's article on Lawes' tackle . Writing in these pages, Jeff Powell suggested that Lawes should apologise for an offence that he argued would put parents off allowing their children to play such a brutal, damaging game. The comments found their target but the 26-year-old is a laid-back character and was unfazed by the storm he had created. ‘I just took it on the chin and thought, “People are going to say what they think sometimes, and sometimes people are going to view things differently”,’ said Lawes as he prepared for another momentous Anglo-French encounter. ‘Obviously he has the outlet of the Daily Mail to post his thoughts. I tweeted him. I wasn’t fussed about it but I thought I’d send him a little tweet, just to get my own back a bit!’ Aside from that particular outburst of condemnation, there were widespread concerns expressed about the timing and legality of his tackling style, but Lawes is unperturbed and emphasised his largely clean disciplinary record. ‘To be honest, as long as it is legal and I’m not putting my team in any jeopardy doing it, in terms of me getting booked or sent off or anything like that, I’m going to do anything I can to help the team,’ he said. ‘I’m not the sort of person who is fussed about what people think of me. I’m only bothered about what I can do for my team and for myself as a player. Coaches know how good you are, no matter what things other people are saying outside the room. Lawes crumples Plisson in the aftermath of his monstrous tackle on the French fly half . ‘The fact is that my record is very clean. I’ve only been cited once and I’ve never been red-carded. I don’t think I’ve had many yellows, if any, this year. I don’t have a malicious streak. I know I’m not a thug, I don’t go around punching or fighting, any of that rubbish. ‘I just get on with the game. I don’t even allow people to get me too aggravated, I just get on with my own thing. I’m comfortable being who I am. If people want to say I’m something else, that’s fair enough.’ One of the accusations levelled at Lawes is that he sets out to intimidate smaller opponents, notably half-backs, leading to a multitude of one-sided collisions. He argues that trying to unsettle and nullify these primary decision- makers is a reasonable and vital aspect of his repertoire. ‘If you can put pressure on the 10, then you go out and put pressure on the 10, and if you can do it legally then why can’t you do it?’ he said. ‘That’s the way I see it. I’ve got that kind of timing around the ruck and I’ve got the speed to get to the 10. My size is the reason that the impact is so big, but I don’t go looking for it. A livid Yoann Maestri pushed Lawes in the face and grapples with the England man following his challenge . Lawes and Maestri continue their disagreement on their feet as matters threaten to boil over . ‘It makes a big difference to the game if you can stop the 10 from passing or stop that particular play. It doesn’t even have to be a big hit, it just makes a difference if that 10 knows that he has pressure on him. ‘There is obviously a line between a legitimate and a late tackle because people get yellow-carded for late tackles. ‘You watch the replay of the hit on Plisson and the other player has not caught the ball before we’ve hit the ground. The fact is, had the tackle not looked as severe as it did no-one would have said anything. ‘The only reason is because of the impact, which looks bad because he’s landed on his head. I haven’t tipped him up or anything like that — I’ve just followed through with my tackle. I didn’t even know he didn’t have the ball until I looked up afterwards.’ 26-year-old Lawes passes the ball during a Northampton Saints training session earlier this week . Lawes has revealed that he intends to maintain his destructive style of play for Northampton on Saturday . Asked if he intended to resume normal, destructive service for Northampton on Saturday — in defiance of the criticism — he added: ‘Yeah, of course. I’ve never done anything to get myself sent off in terms of my tackle timing or whatever, so why would I stop if it is legal?’ Northampton, the champions of England, face a colossal challenge against a French club who simply do not lose at home, especially in Europe. The Saints and three of their fellow Aviva Premiership teams have daunting ties away from home, but captain Dylan Hartley has hope for the quartet. ‘I am fully confident in ourselves,’ Hartley said. ‘I think Wasps have a big ask in Toulon but we saw with 14 men the other night how dangerous they can be. I think Sarries against Racing could get a result there. And Bath v Leinster, who knows? I think there could be a few upsets.’
highlights: Courtney Lawes has been derided as a thug across the Channel .
  France tried to get him banned for brutal tackle on Jules Plisson .
  Northampton take on Clermont Auvergne in the Champions Cup .
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