Big money offers have reportedly been made to Lawes, who is in his 17th year at Saints, by Provence and Brive, while fellow ProD2 promotion hopefuls Beziers are also said to have entered the bidding.
Lawes, who turns 35 on Friday, had made no secret of the fact that money is the main motivating factor in what will likely be his last professional contract.
Having announced a £1.1 million loss before tax in the year to June 2023, Saints are focused on living within their means and won't be in a position to match those offers from across the channel.
However, the emotional pull of leaving the only club he has ever played for might still count in Saints' favour: Dowson says he very much hopes that the situation will be resolved one way or the other well before the Premiership leaders attempt to pick up where they left off in the first game back after the long break, at Bristol on March 22.
"I don't think it is a million miles away but there is nothing absolute. We are still hoping we can do something but we'll wait and see on that," he said.
Despite protestations from the majority of clubs, Dowson confirmed that next season's salary cap would revert back to the pre-Covid figure of £6.4million.
There needed to be a unanimous 'no' from all 10 Premiership clubs for the salary cap to remain at a more sustainable £5million, but the likes of Saracens and Bristol chose not to read the room and voted to increase it.
Esta historia es de la edición February 18, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 18, 2024 de The Rugby Paper.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Edwards gives Gatland a little to think about
A TERRIFIC effort from Ospreys should have seen victory and it was rough justice that high-flying Cardiff escaped with an undeserved draw.
Cowan-Dickie: I'm back and buzzing
LUKE Cowan-Dickie's journey back to the pinnacle of rugby is nothing short of extraordinary.
Clow keeps Rams in touch at the top
RAMS inward approach is paying dividends with the club involved in another title race thanks in part to free scoring flyer Zachary Clow.
Powell powers over to take Quins home
PLAYMAKER Kayleigh Powell powered past four defenders to score the eighth Harlequins try and narrowly edge out a spirited Trailfinders side to secure a late comeback win in a 15-try derby thriller.
Hathaway can follow Zam Skivington
GEORGE Skivington has backed Josh Hathaway to continue to go from strength to strength as the young winger attempts to follow in the slipstream of Louis Rees-Zammit and be a big hit for club and country.
Hybrid Hash will tie Borthwick in knots
THE description 'Hybrid Central Contracts' does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually means a bit of this, and a bit of that — and 'Hybrid Hash' would be a more apt term for the RFU contracts given to 17 England players just before the autumn series slump.
Quins leave it late to power past Falcons
MARCUS Smith showed his class on Friday night, being an imperious creator and finisher as Harlequins romped to an emphatic five-try victory on Tyneside.
We need to see a complete shake-up
A NEW year and change is on the way across many aspects of the game, not least with the possibility of an SGM creating a complete change at the RFU.
Cool McBryde steals it for RGC
BILLY McBryde held his nerve to land a last kick of the match conversion to snatch a stunning 4139 win for RGC over leaders Ebbw Vale at Parc Eirias.
Century of highs for La Rochelle
AN IMPRESSIVE milestone at Stade Marcel Deflandre was reached last night, where La Rochelle hosted their 100th sell-out match in a row – either side of the period of pandemic restrictions – a run stretching back to January 2, 2016.
