‘It is flattering to be compared to Manu. I am not going to fight it’
hin the first of a three-part series of interviews with the rising stars in Eddies Jones’ Six Nations squad, Ollie Lawrence tells Daniel Schofield he has the appetite for the international stage
Ollie Lawrence has confidence. Bags of the stuff. This will undoubtedly put a few noses out of joint, but it is the prime reason why the Worcester centre has integrated himself so quickly into the England team.
Even before you reach the arena of Test-match rugby, meeting the demands of England’s training environment can be daunting enough. In a team dominated by a spine of 50-cappers, it is easy to understand why many new call-ups get their head down and slink into the background.
Among the dozens of young players selected by Eddie Jones in his five-year tenure, Lawrence is one of a select few who have instantly made themselves at home. There was no apprenticeship of shining boots or holding tackle bags. Instead, the 21-year-old made his debut in the
Six Nations finale against Italy before starting subsequent matches against Georgia and Ireland.
Of course his promotion was facilitated by the injury to Manu Tuilagi. As powerful ball-carriers this invited inevitable comparisons that frequently drew admonishments from Jones. “Making that comparison is like comparing Don Bradman to Jimmy Anderson [in batting averages],” Jones said.
You could understand why Lawrence would want to shy away from being labelled the new Manu, with all the extra and unnecessary expectation that would bring. Lawrence, though, views it only as a compliment.
“That’s not a burden at all,” Lawrence says. “If anything it’s flattering. Manu’s someone I’ve looked up to since I was a kid. When I was a lot younger I wanted to emulate him because the way he played excited me. As I grew up, I started seeing traits in myself that he was really good at. That’s probably how my game evolved, watching players like him.
“I know I’m never going to be Manu. Manu’s never going to be me. He’s got so many caps for England, he’s probably one of the best centres to ever play. If people want to compare me to him that’s their opinion. I’m not going to fight them on it.”
Of course the comparison is not exact. Lawrence is quicker and more evasive while Tuilagi has more horsepower in the tank and miles on the clock. To truly fill the void, Jones has challenged Lawrence to improve his consistency so that he does not veer from 9/10 to 4/10 performances. That might seem a tall order, but Lawrence simply says: “What is stopping me from doing that?” Lawrence is not diminishing the challenge of adapting from club to international rugby. He says the intensity in the Ireland game was “mind-blowing”, but he relished it. The bigger the stage, the greater Lawrence’s appetite. He says he went away from the Autumn Nations Cup “with a feeling of confidence of what I can offer the team, and where I am at with playing the game”. He added: “Test rugby is a huge step up, compared to club rugby, but it is one that excited me and one that I enjoyed. Playing those Test matches was the most enjoyable rugby I’ve played.”
This is not false bravado. Lawrence’s self-belief is fostered upon a determination to do things his way. He was on the books of Birmingham City and Aston Villa from the ages of six to 11, but walked away when he became disillusioned.
“I don’t want to be doing fitness shuttles at 10 years old, I want to be kicking a football about and eating sweets,” Lawrence says. “There are many people out there who step out the womb and want to be playing football, but for me that wasn’t the case. There are so many perks to being a footballer, but it’s something I never saw myself being.”
Instead Lawrence divided his time between rugby and cricket, which was his first love. He was in Warwickshire’s ranks until he was 15 and may have gone further had he been able to sign a Twenty20 contract.
“When I played, you could only sign a one-day contract or a threeday contract,” he says. “You won’t get me on a field for three days.”
Instead, his path was set when he headed down to Wellington Schools Festival as a 15-year-old to “see what the craic was” and came to the attention of England’s age-grade scouts.
The common theme was Lawrence’s relentless competitiveness. “Whatever sport I played – be it badminton in a PE lesson – I couldn’t lose,” Lawrence says. “There was no part of me that could play against people and just let them win. I took
it as a sign of weakness and I couldn’t do that.”
At times, he has struggled to contain that element of his personality, particularly when he was being eased into the first team by Alan Solomons, Warriors’ director of rugby. Conversations with former Worcester and England centre Ben Te’o helped him attain a more level footing.
“His main advice was that you need to be as professional as you can on and off the field, but rugby is just a game,” Lawrence says. “You don’t want to let it consume you. I have learnt how to have that balance of switching on and switching off. Because if your life is consumed by rugby, all of your emotions and your feelings will also relate to that.”
Further perspective was provided by the devastating neck injury suffered by Worcester team-mate Michael Fatialofa a year ago.
“The character he has shown to pull himself through to where he is now and have that determination to not give up, it makes you more grateful for the position you’re in,” ” Lawrence says. “It makes you realise you can’t take things for granted in life because it can be taken away from you at any point.”
Determined to make the most of every moment, Lawrence is unfazed by the challenge of helping England kick on in the Six Nations Championship.
“We were happy with the level we were at in the Autumn Nations Cup, but we know we can take it so much further,” he says. “It’s exciting. We really can take our game and the way we train and the way we play to another level.”