Ollie Lawrence has confirmed fears that the serious injury he suffered playing for England against Italy in the Six Nations was season-ending.
The Bath centre went down off the ball during the early stages of Sunday’s 47-24 bonus-point win at Twickenham that will see Steve Borthwick’s side best-positioned to capitalise on any France slip-up in the title hunt on Super Saturday, receiving lengthy treatment on the pitch before appearing emotional as he was taken off on a medical cart.
Head coach Borthwick confirmed after the game that Lawrence had suffered a “tough” Achilles injury and would undergo scans and specialist assessment to determine the severity of the issue, with reports of immediate concern that his season was over - and with it his strong case for selection for the British & Irish Lions’ summer tour of Australia.
Those worst fears have now been realised, with the 25-year-old taking to social media to confirm that he would not play again this term in a major setback for both club and country as England head to Cardiff next week with their Six Nations championship hopes still alive, albeit depending on a fourth successive victory over mostly resurgent Wales and a huge favour from Scotland away against favourites France in Paris.
Lawrence - who suffered a ruptured left Achilles and was seen on crutches after the Italy game wearing a protective boot - wrote on X on Monday: "Lost for words... That's not how I imagined my season to end!
"Extremely grateful to have such an amazing partner, family and friends around me to take on this next chapter. The comeback is always greater than the setback."
Attention now quickly turns to exactly who England will play in the centres against Wales, with Henry Slade and Lawrence having long been their established midfield partnership under Borthwick.
However, they had neither player on the field for the majority of the win over Italy, with Lawrence off injured after less than 10 minutes and Slade having been surprisingly replaced in the team by Fraser Dingwall, making his first Test appearance for more than a year as one of five starting Northampton Saints in the England backline.
Lawrence’s withdrawal led to a forced early reshuffle that saw Elliot Daly move from full-back to outside centre along Dingwall and the dropped Marcus Smith come on to play at 15. Back-row regular Ben Earl later finished the game in midfield when Dingwall went off, a day after flanker Oscar Jegou had come on to play centre for France in their statement victory over Ireland in Dublin.
Dingwall and Daly may yet continue as the preferred 12-13 duo in Cardiff, though Slade could return and some fans believe that wing Tommy Freeman should get a run through the middle.
Harlequins favourite Oscar Beard is another centre option in the wider tournament squad, while on Monday England drafted in another uncapped player in Lawrence’s Bath team-mate Max Ojomoh.
Wales’ preparations to face England as they attempt to halt a record 16-Test losing run that has included 10 successive Six Nations losses have been hit by wings Tom Rogers and Josh Adams both being released from Matt Sherratt’s squad due to injuries. No replacements have been called up.
