By ALEX SPINK

“It’s like you want to play Test match cricket,” he said. “You get 30 in a T20 game then 40 the next week.

“He’s got to get a lot of runs and then we’ll have a look at him. Good young player but let’s see more of it.”

So Lawrence got his head down at Bath and the plaudits poured in.

He was shortlisted for Premiership Player of the Month in October and won it in November.

Borthwick said: “I was watching him as a head coach of a different team and I saw how well he played.

“I’ve seen how well he has played for Bath since he embraced jumping into a new environment to give everything he has.

“He is a really talented player who can defend well, pass and distribute.

“He is quick and powerful and he wants to get better. I have been really impressed by his work ethic.”

With Jack Willis also back in the starting line-up, having overcome a year-long injury and redundancy when his club Wasps went broke, Borthwick believes he has sufficient character in his team to get the job done.

And scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet has vowed that England have fixed up their leaky defence.

The Leicester No.9 was guilty of one missed tackle in the 29-23 defeat to Scotland last Saturday as they let in four scores.

Defence guru Kevin Sinfield warned his side this week about the problems caused by slipping off challenges in Test matches.

And Van Poortvliet insists the 82,000 crowd at Twickenham will see a different side.

He said: “Some of us have worked with Kev in the past and he knows what he wants.

“But others haven’t so it will take longer for them.

“We had a few blips against Scotland – there were too many missed tackles. I slipped off a few myself.

“We’ve been working very hard and fans will see a big improvement.”