Ollie Lawrence usually dominates collisions. It is a big part of his repertoire. But, ahead of the Six Nations, the England centre found himself being condemned for play-acting, after slight contact with a Test team-mate.
When Bath’s 25-year-old midfield maestro spoke to Mail Sport in Girona, there was a pressing need to set the record straight. Lawrence was stunned by the backlash he faced earlier this month and was at pains to emphasise that he is not a diver.
He is not a cheat. These were the accusations made against him after events at Franklin’s Gardens on January 5.
To recap for those who missed it; Bath travelled to Northampton to face the Saints three weekends ago and their No 13 was cast as the sinner in a close encounter, which the Midlands club won 35-34 against their West Country rivals. Lawrence became the castigated pantomime villain when he made a break, only to take a tumble after a glancing blow to the head, delivered by Alex Mitchell.
The hosts’ England scrum-half was sin-binned and the Northampton crowd turned on Lawrence, who was then subjected to further abuse, in person and on social media. So, having joined up with the national squad, for a pre-championship training camp in northern Spain, he sought to explain the episode and his measured response to it.
‘I got a lot of stick at the ground,’ said Lawrence. ‘During the game, I was being booed and called a cheat. After the game, a few people spoke to me. One person said their kid looked up to me but now they wouldn’t want me to be a role model for them. That made me think, “Maybe I need to reflect on my actions. Was it the right decision (to go down)?”.
England’s Ollie Lawrence has emphasised he is not a diver after facing a fierce backlash
Lawrence took a glancing blow to the head from Alex Mitchell, who was then sin-binned
The crowd turned on Lawrence and he faced further abuse in person and on social media
‘In sport, you do everything you can to win. I was frustrated to be called a cheat for diving because I got hit in the head. If someone called me soft for going down, I could take that, but to be called a cheat; I didn’t agree with that.
‘I’m doing what I can for my team and, in the moment, that is what I chose to do. Maybe in future I wouldn’t do it. It was tough – I was getting a lot of heat. I didn’t want to be the villain and that’s why I apologised (in a social media post). We all make mistakes.’
Lawrence’s argument was that, given the fact that a familiar foe made contact with his head – such a no-go area in rugby – he was entitled to go down, knowing that a penalty could have aided Bath’s hopes of clinching a momentous away win. However, there have been growing concerns about play-acting becoming an issue in rugby, which may explain the ferocity of the criticism aimed at Lawrence.
‘I understand that,’ he said. ‘Maybe I copped a bit of stick because of that. But I wouldn’t say that it is creeping into our sport. When people talk about football and diving, that is players rolling around on the ground, trying to milk something. I didn’t dive. I didn’t throw myself to the ground and start rolling around.
‘I don’t think it’s creeping into our game. As players in rugby, we do a good job of keeping our heads together, being respectful towards the ref and playing in a good spirit.’
There is one more important point to make on this subject; a vital bit of context. This is not a player with a track record of so-called simulation, far from it. In fact, just a week earlier against Saracens, Lawrence had sustained a brutal, illegal shot and made no fuss at all.
‘I carried off first phase and got absolutely melted in the head,’ he said. ‘I got back up and just went straight to the next phase. Then the ref pulls it back and he (Toby Knight) gets red-carded. I ran into that guy probably 10 times harder than I did to Mitch, got smashed in the head and I just played on. If I was diving, it would be a consistent trait of mine. It’s not. I play hard to win.’
Having drawn a line under an incendiary incident, Lawrence took stock of a key juncture in his career. He has become a fixture in England’s midfield; starting in every one of the last 10 Tests played by Steve Borthwick’s side – initially at inside centre and latterly at 13. He considers himself to be in ‘good shape’ for the forthcoming Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin next Saturday, having tuned up with a ‘dress rehearsal’ against most of the same opponents when Bath faced Leinster.
Lawrence issued an apology on social media and wants to draw a line under the incident
Lawrence is adamant that play-acting is not creeping into rugby despite rising concerns
He has become a fixture in England’s midfield and is in ‘good shape’ ahead of the Six Nations
Having become established as one of the country’s pre-eminent players, he has joined a handful of other oval-ball A-listers as a client of Roc Nation – rapper Jay-Z’s talent agency. His intention is to start carefully exploring opportunities which go with his sporting status.
‘I just thought there might be some growth for me off the field,’ said Lawrence. ‘Hopefully, I can build up my brand. That something I felt like I was ready for. I might do well with it, I might not, we’ll have to wait and see!’
There was a chuckle as he said that. This is a player with a stack of self-belief, but he is not an arrogant character who just assumes that he has a right to be up in lights. He is also sensible enough to have waited for the ideal moment to set about enhancing his profile.
‘If I was 21, 22 and signing with Roc, it might have gone to my head a bit,’ he said. ‘Maybe I’d have felt bigger than who I am. But when you’ve been around a bit longer and feel more comfortable in your own skin, I think it’s okay to take those opportunities. I felt it was the right time.’
He wants to be at the heart of rugby’s quest to appeal to new and younger markets, adding: ‘It’s important for us to grow rugby off the field. There are so many great players getting recognised in a wider space now, because of things they do outside the game. That’s hugely important because it can bring new fans into our sport and we need to do that.
‘I enjoy seeing guys being themselves and expressing themselves in terms of what they wear, how they talk and who they associate with. I saw some of the French boys – Cameron Woki and Antoine Dupont – at a Louis Vuitton fashion show. Go back five or 10 years and something like that wasn’t happening. It’s brilliant for them and it’s not taking away from what they do in their work. It doesn’t mean France aren’t going to play well in the Six Nations because they are at an event like that.
‘They had an opportunity to do something cool and meet some new people, and that’s good; to have people there from our sport who can interact with other people and get recognition. Hopefully, it can become a much more recognised sport with a wider fanbase. That’s what we all want.’
Lawrence was adamant that ‘rugby will always be the priority’. He is not about to take his eye off the ball. And when pressed about whether it was appealing to be recognised and receive the attention which goes with being an England player, he admitted that it is a complex equation.
Lawrence wants to be at the heart of rugby’s quest to appeal to new and younger markets
He knows that a quick revival is required if England’s Six Nations campaign is to be a success
‘That’s a tough one,’ he said. ‘I’ve thought about this a lot. There are times when it is great and times when it really is not. When you are young, coming through, you think, “This is class – everyone wants my photo, everyone wants my signature. I want to have this attention”. But as you get a bit older and you have a partner and a family, it goes away from that and you want privacy.
‘In terms of my life now, it can be tough sometimes when you just want to go out with your partner for a drink or some food. I did live in town (Bath), but I moved out because I wanted to get away from it. It’s not something that I love. When I was younger, I definitely thought it (being recognised) would be cooler, but as I’ve got older it’s something that I want less of.’
On the flip-side, Lawrence wants to engage with the public in other, innovative ways, which is why he has started vlogging – sharing videos on TikTok to provide an insight into his daily routines and also serve as a platform for his views on the game. In the weeks ahead, he intends to share videos featuring his thoughts on England’s campaign in the Six Nations.
They are going in at the deep end; with a showdown against champions Ireland in Dublin. Lawrence knows that an urgent revival is required, after seven defeats in 12 Tests last year – and that he has a major role to play in making that happen. Having trumped the Irish by a point last year, he won’t head to their capital next week with an inferiority complex.
‘We believe that we can go over to Ireland and shock them,’ he said. ‘We want to be one of the best teams in the world and Ireland are in our way. You have to respect the other team, but not too much. We respect how well they’ve done over the last few years – but they are beatable. We beat them last season and we believe we can do it again this year.’
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Author : rugby-247
Publish date : 2025-01-25 23:21:29
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