OLIVER TWIST

Rejected under Jones, but artful Lawrence proved he’s no dodger ... and now Borthwick is ready to give him MORE!

OLLIE LAWRENCE lines up against Italy having seen his club go bust and knowing what it’s like when your England bubble gets burst.

The Bath centre becomes the latest in a long line of midfield partners for Henry Slade after scaling a mountain of adversity and convincing Steve Borthwick (right) that he has not been scarred by the journey.

“I see a quiet, humble young man who has been through a really challenging time at a club which no longer exists,” England’s head coach said of the 23-year-old former Worcester Warriors star.

“He’s had to move and go into a new environment and new team. Watching all that, you learn about someone.

“I see somebody with a high degree of humility who is trying to grab this opportunity with both hands, who is determined to be the best he can be.”

So impressed has Borthwick been with what he saw that on Friday he dropped Marcus

Smith and moved

Owen Farrell to fly-half to make room for Lawrence at inside-centre. The view of Borthwick’s predecessor, Eddie

Jones, was somewhat different.

The Australian gave

Brummie Lawrence his debut in 2020, seeing shades of Manu Tuilagi in the tackle-busting power he brought.

He dropped him from quite a height the following year, less than happy with others likening the two – saying it was akin to comparing the batting averages of Sir Donald Bradman and Jimmy Anderson.

Lawrence took that on the chin, then lived through the demise of Worcester, before taking himself off to Bath and making an immediate impression.

But Jones gave him no credit when asked in the autumn whether Lawrence’s form warranted a recall.

“It’s like if you want to play Test match cricket,” Jones 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.”

England gathered to prepare for their November campaign and, back at Bath, new centre Lawrence got his head down.

Shortlisted for Premiership player of the month in October, he then won the award in November.

“To begin with I was watching him as a head coach of a different team and I saw how well he played,” added

Borthwick, who was Leicester boss until December.

“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 very 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.

The Italian Job, that is.