Northampton Saints beat Bedford Blues 45-21 in a pre-season friendly on Friday night, but one of the moments of the match was when replacement lock Courtney Lawes made a massive, trademark hit on debutant Mike Le Bourgeois. It was a baptism of fire for the summer signing from Jersey, as athletic England lock Lawes lined him up and asbsolutely smashed him. One could be mistaken for thinking Lawes was offside, but if you watch carefully he came from way back and covered the turf in no time at all. Le Bourgeois endeared himself to the crowd by playing on, and managing to hide the relief at having survived the tackle from a player who has become known as a bit of a hitman. "I’m just happy to have got up from it! It was just one of those where I didn't see him coming, but thankfully I was able to take it," Le Bourgeois told Bedfordshire News Sport. It's a quick clip from Saints Rugby TV and the quality isn't great as the match wasn't broadcasted on TV, but it's a great example of incredible linespeed by the big guy, and a perfectly executed tackle. View more of Courtney's big hits in the Related Posts below Click here to view the full post More...