Northampton Saints’ Courtney Lawes voted Gallagher Player of the month for December

Lawes, who retired from England duty after an impressive Rugby World Cup 2023, maintained his blistering form in club colours and was central to Saints’ unbeaten run in both the Gallagher Premiership and Investec Champions Cup during December.

The England centurion was the Gallagher Player of the Match as Saints overcame champions Saracens at the StoneX Stadium in Round 8 and the five-test British and Irish Lion showed his international pedigree in further wins over Harlequins and Gloucester Rugby.

Lawes becomes the third recipient of the Gallagher Player of the Month award for the 2023/24 season, with Bath Rugby captain Ben Spencer voted as October’s winner and Bath teammate Ollie Lawrence claiming November’s award.

Sam Armstrong, Business Development Executive at Gallagher’s Leicester Office, said: “It’s a pleasure to present the trophy to Courtney as he has been influential for Saints since his return from the Rugby World Cup.

“More recently during the Gallagher Premiership, Saints have shown great performance and drive, starting the New Year at the top of the table with 3 from 3! This year looks like an exciting one for us Saints fans!”

The shortlist was voted for by a panel of media professionals.

The judges for the 2023/24 Gallagher Premiership Rugby season are: Ali Eykyn (TNT Sports), Ugo Monye (BBC, TNT Sports), Jill Douglas (ITV, BBC), Ashleigh Wilmot (Eurosport, TNT Sports), Rugby Inside Line, Alex Lowe (The Times), Hugh Godwin (i), Nick Mullins (TNT Sports) and Chris Jones (BBC).

Winners in the 2022-23 season

December - Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
November - Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)

Winners in the 2022-23 season

March - Tom Pearson (London Irish)
February - Fraser Dingwall (Northampton Saints)
January - Janse van Rensburg (London Irish)
December - Rob du Preez (Sale Sharks)
November - Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
October - Alex Goode (Saracens)
September – Theo McFarland (Saracens)

Winners in the 2021-22 season

March - George McGuigan (Newcastle Falcons)
February – Freddie Burns (Leicester Tigers)
January - André Esterhuizen (Harlequins)
December – George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
November – Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
October – George Ford (Leicester Tigers)
September – Adam Radwan (Newcastle Falcons)

Winners in the 2020-21 season

May – Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
April – Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby)
March- Danny Care (Harlequins)
February – Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
January – Piers O’Conor (Bristol Bears)
December – Alfie Barbeary (Wasps)
November – Sam Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)

*Winners in the 2019-20 season

August – Jack Willis (Wasps)
May– Paul Hill and Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints)*
April - Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs)
March – Jamal Ford-Robinson (Gloucester Rugby)
February – Charles Piutau (Bristol Bears)
January – Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
December - Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester Rugby)
November – Tom O’Flaherty (Exeter Chiefs)

* Gallagher ran public polls while play was suspended to nominate a ‘Community Player of the Month’ in recognition of inspiring off-pitch performances made by players during lockdown to support their local communities and boost the morale of the wider rugby community.

Winners in the 2018-19 season

April – Francois Hougaard (Worcester Warriors)
March – Santiago Cordero (Exeter Chiefs)
February – Rory Hutchinson (Northampton Saints)
December – Cobus Reinach (Northampton Saints)#
November – Ollie Thorley (Gloucester Rugby)
October – Alex Goode (Saracens)
September – Danny Cipriani (Gloucester Rugby)

Winners in the 2017-18 season

April – Vereniki Goneva (Newcastle Falcons)
March – Joe Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
February – Jack Willis (Wasps)
December – Josh Adams (Worcester Warriors)
November – Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester Rugby)
October – Jonny May (Leicester Tigers)
September – Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)

Winners in the 2016-17 season

April – Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby)
March – Christian Wade (Wasps)
February – James Short (Exeter Chiefs)
December – Tom Varndell (Bristol Rugby)
November – Freddie Burns (Leicester Tigers)
October – Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
September – Jimmy Gopperth (Wasps)

Winners in the 2015-16 season

April – Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints)
March – Francois Hougaard (Worcester Warriors)
February – George Smith (Wasps)
January – Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs)
December – Maro Itoje (Saracens)
November – Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
October – Nick Evans (Harlequins)

Winners in the 2014-15 season

April – Joe Simpson (Wasps)
March – Elliot Daly (Wasps)
February – Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
January – Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
December – Samu Manoa (Northampton Saints)
November – Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs)#
October – Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby)
September – Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby)

Winners in the 2013-14 season

April – Chris Ashton (Saracens)
March – Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks)
February – Vereniki Goneva (Leicester Tigers)
January – Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
December – Nick Easter (Harlequins)
November - George Ford (Bath Rugby)
October – Samu Manoa (Northampton Saints)
September – Jacques Burger (Saracens)