Ollie Lawrence: Eddie Jones’ harsh criticism was exactly what I needed

Ollie Lawrence believes that scathing criticism he received from Eddie Jones set him on the right path as he prepares to face his former head coach when England host Japan this weekend.

Lawrence was just 21 when Jones, now head coach of Japan, wrote: “The way that some of the media raves about [Lawrence] you would think he’s already assured of becoming one of the best players in the world.” Jones also accused Lawrence, whom he handed a Test debut in 2020, of having an attitude that was “not hungry or disciplined enough”.

Since Steve Borthwick succeeded Jones at the end of 2022, Lawrence has become a regular in the England side and has now started nine Test matches in succession alongside Henry Slade. The 25-year-old holds no ill will against Jones, though, even suggesting that the Australian spurred him into action.

“I’ll always be grateful to Eddie because he gave me my first cap playing for England,” Lawrence explains. “He’s one of those coaches, as we all know, that likes to challenge players. There was a point in my career where he challenged me on my attitude and whether I was working hard enough to warrant being in the squad and whether I was pushing myself enough in training.

“At the time, you can look at it and be frustrated and be, ‘oh, the boss isn’t on my side here’, and probably back then I was probably a bit annoyed. I was probably like, ‘why is he on my case so much, why is he on my case?’ But now I look back three or four years on and think that was probably the best thing that I needed.

“I’d come into an England squad at a young age, things had gone well for me at Worcester and then you’re on the international stage and you’re with all these players and there’s another level where you have to raise your game. Maybe at the time I didn’t see that but, looking back, I can definitely see why he may have thought that I wasn’t pushing myself as much as I needed to. Hopefully that lesson back then has helped me to be where I am now.”

Borthwick has resisted wholesale changes, promoting Cadan Murley from the England A squad as an injury replacement for Elliot Daly and bringing back Tom Curry, who suffered a concussion in the loss to Australia. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has not completed return-to-play protocols following his own head injury. Murley is preferred to Gabriel Ibitoye and Will Muir, two other wings who have impressed for England A.

Lawrence is confident that his partnership with Slade can bear fruit as England strive for back-line fluency. “It’s getting there,” he said. “We just need to keep working on it, so that when we get to the weekend, we can fire some shots at the opposition and start making some line-breaks.”

Cowan-Dickie accepts blame for ‘match-defining slip-up’

England’s loss to the Springboks, their fifth Test defeat in succession, was again characterised by an impotent final quarter in which they failed to register a single point. Luke Cowan-Dickie, their replacement hooker, was penalised for dummying a throw at a late line-out five metres out as England were pushing for a try, and held up his hands on Tuesday evening.

“It was a difficult one, especially on my part,” he said. “I feel like my performances are getting better but there was a slip-up at the weekend where... it was a match-defining moment, the dummy-throw.

“It was the first time I’ve done it, probably ever. But it’s potentially cost us the game. It was pretty gutting, I came out of the game not happy. Everything up to then I felt like I was performing well.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of games and it’s about bouncing back. Hopefully I get another opportunity to show what I can do. If that comes then hopefully I can rectify that. If not, I’ll still train hard this week and help put the boys in the best possible position for the weekend.”

Ibitoye will move up pecking order if he keeps shining for England A

It was truly heart-warming to see Gabriel Ibitoye shine for England A on Sunday at the Twickenham Stoop, where he represented Harlequins before leaving the club in 2020 and embarking on a journey that eventually brought him to Bristol Bears via stints in France and Israel.

Pat Lam has been among the most vociferous champions of the 26-year-old, continually insisting that despite unconventional traits, such as holding the ball in one hand when on the move, Ibitoye has become a polished operator capable of thriving at Test level.

His security under the high ball has certainly improved, and Ibitoye himself has explained how he has worked to maintain focus during matches. Those things were in evidence at the weekend. Even better, he was able to translate aspects of his Bristol performances; weaving runs, offloading and roaming around the pitch to link phase play.

Undoubtedly, Ibitoye would have deserved a call-up to the senior squad in the absence of Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. But the rule in these situations is simple. Which positional rival should be dropped to bring him in?

Cadan Murley, who scored twice for England A, was promoted and has joined up with the front-line group to cover for Elliot Daly’s injury. Those who watch Murley every week for Harlequins are amazed that he is yet to be capped. He is a busy, bustling player who has spent plenty of time in camp and has shown admirable patience.

Already in the squad are Ollie Sleightholme, Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck. As much as Ibitoye possesses a certain X-factor, do any of those three – none of whom are over 24 – deserve to sink down the pecking order? Even in a brief cameo against South Africa, Roebuck earned three precious points by chasing an up-an-under.

Holding back Ibitoye is more a sign of maintaining a pecking order than it is a hint of conservatism. Starting Sleightholme against the Springboks was a bold move. There are more potential wings. Will Muir, the Bath player recently back from injury, arrived from the bench for England A and scored a superb interception try.

Ibitoye’s exploits on Sunday will have made him more prominent on the radar. Now, he must keep plugging away for Bristol and can target another England A outing against Ireland in February.

That fixture takes place at Ashton Gate, which can be an entertaining homecoming and a chance to push Ibitoye further up the ladder.

England squad for Japan Test

Forwards

Fin Baxter (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Alex Coles (Northampton Saints), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Sale Sharks), Chandler Cunningham-South (Harlequins), Ben Curry (Sale), Tom Curry (Sale), Theo Dan (Saracens), Trevor Davison (Northampton Saints), Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins), Ben Earl (Saracens), Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears), Jamie George (Saracens), Ted Hill (Bath), Nick Isiekwe (Saracens), Maro Itoje (Saracens), George Martin (Leicester Tigers), Asher Opoku-Fordjour (Sale), Will Stuart (Bath), Sam Underhill (Bath).

Backs

George Ford (Sale), Tommy Freeman (Northampton), George Furbank (Northampton), Ollie Lawrence (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Cadan Murley (Harlequins), Luke Northmore (Harlequins), Harry Randall (Bristol), Tom Roebuck (Sale), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ollie Sleightholme (Northampton), Fin Smith (Northampton), Marcus Smith (Harlequins), Ben Spencer (Bath), Freddie Steward (Leicester), Jack van Poortvliet (Leicester).