There are players that will be disappointed that didn't get in this year and they'll never have another chance but they're world class rugby players.

CNN: Rugby greats say 2009 Lions can roar

No-one is saying that Lawes is yet in the class of Johnson, an iconic figure of world rugby and one of the all-time great locks, but he is showing the potential to become a very special player.

BBC: Who is Courtney Lawes?

"When you buy a world-class player you hope he will stay at those levels even if he's not playing international rugby, " he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

BBC: Latham sidelined for four weeks