Ollie Lawrence

Oliver Francis Lawrence (born 18 September 1999) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for Premiership Rugby club Bath and the England national team.

Ollie Lawrence
Full nameOliver Francis Lawrence
Date of birth (1999-09-18) 18 September 1999
Place of birthBirmingham, England
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Weight99 kg (218 lb; 15 st 8 lb)[1]
SchoolOld Swinford Hospital
Bromsgrove School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Current team Bath
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017–2022 Worcester Warriors 57 (75)
2022– Bath 16 (25)
Correct as of 28 August 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2017–2018 England U18 2 (10)
2018–2019 England U20 4 (0)
2020– England 18 (10)
Correct as of 28 August 2023

Early life

Lawrence was born in Birmingham. His father, Michael, played rugby on the wing for Moseley. Lawrence went to rugby-playing schools, West House for Junior followed by Old Swinford Hospital for secondary, and then to sixth form at Bromsgrove School on a scholarship. He played football and cricket, as well as rugby, when young. He joined the Warriors academy by age 15.[2][3]

Club career

Lawrence burst onto the senior Warriors scene in November 2017 with a try on his first-team debut against Sale Sharks in the Anglo-Welsh Cup at Sixways Stadium.[4][5] He went on to make three first-team appearances during the 2017–18 season while he impressed for Warriors Under 18s and Worcester Cavaliers, the latter where he scored two tries in six appearances, which also included four try assists in a single game against Sale Jets.

Lawrence continued his impressive progress in the 2018-19 campaign when he made fourteen senior appearances, and scored two important tries which helped Warriors to successive EPCR Challenge Cup victories over Ospreys and Stade Français.[6][7]

On 5 December 2018, Lawrence signed his first professional contract to stay with Worcester, and was subsequently promoted to the senior squad from the 2019–20 season.[5] He scored a first-half try hat-trick in just ten minutes against Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup in January 2020, and a try against Wasps on his first Premiership start later that month.[8][9] On 22 June 2020, Lawrence signed another contract extension with Worcester, of an undisclosed length.[10]

In May 2022 Lawrence was a member of the Warriors side that beat London Irish in the final of the 2022 Premiership Rugby Cup to win Worcester their first ever top-flight trophy.[11]

On 5 October 2022, Lawrence had his contract terminated at Worcester due to the liquidation of the company to which players had been contracted.[12] After initially joining Bath on a short-term loan due to uncertainty around the future of the Warriors, Lawrence signed a long-term deal with the club in October 2022.[13]

On 10 May 2023, after a very successful season at Bath, Lawrence was named the English rugby premiership's player of the season.

International career

Lawrence first represented England at U16 level against Wales where he scored two tries and was awarded man of the match. In 2018 Lawrence scored a try for England under-18 against Wales, and also played one game in the 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship against Scotland.[14][15] Later that year he received his first call-up to train with the senior England squad by coach Eddie Jones prior to their summer tour of South Africa.[16] He again represented England in the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, before an ankle injury during the tournament ended his season two months early, preventing him from competing at the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship.[16][17]

Lawrence was again called up to the England senior squad for the completion of the 2020 Six Nations Championship and the subsequent Autumn Nations Cup.[18] On 31 October 2020 he made his senior England debut from the bench in their delayed final Six Nations match against Italy which they won to win the tournament.[19] The following month saw Lawrence make his first start in the opening round of the Autumn Nations Cup against Georgia.[20]

On 10 June 2021 Lawrence was included in the squad for Tests against the United States and Canada.[21] He scored his first try at international level against the US in a 43–29 win, but was forced to leave the field early with a head injury and did not appear in their next game against Canada.[22][23]

Career statistics

List of international tries
As of 25 February 2023[24]
TryOpposing teamLocationVenueCompetitionDateResultScore
1 United StatesLondon, EnglandTwickenham Stadium2021 July rugby union tests4 July 2021Win43 – 29[22]
2  Wales Cardiff, Wales Millennium Stadium 2023 Six Nations 25 February 2023 Win 10 – 20

References
  1. "Ollie Lawrence player profile". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. "Ollie Lawrence: Ten things you should know about the England centre". 2 February 2023.
  3. "Hotshot: Worcester and England U20 centre Ollie Lawrence". 6 February 2019.
  4. "Worcester Warriors 21-24 Sale Sharks". ESPN. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  5. Berkeley, Geoff (5 December 2018). "Ollie Lawrence signs first-team contract at Warriors". Worcester News. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  6. "European Rugby Challenge Cup: Worcester battle past Stade Francais". BBC Sport. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  7. "European Rugby Challenge Cup: Worcester 27-21 Ospreys". BBC Sport. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  8. "Highlights & Report Warriors 66-10 Enisei-STM". Warriors. 13 January 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  9. Scott, Ged (25 January 2020). "Premiership: Worcester 26-30 Wasps – Wasps continue winning run against Warriors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  10. "Ollie Lawrence signs contract extension at Worcester Warriors". Premiership Rugby. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  11. Peddy, Chris (17 May 2022). "London Irish 25-25 Worcester Warriors: Worcester win Premiership Rugby Cup with most tries after extra time". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  12. "Worcester player and staff contracts terminated after high court ruling | Worcester | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  13. "Lawrence commits to Bath Rugby long-term while Lee-Warner signs for 2022/23". Bath Rugby. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  14. Orders, Mark (25 March 2018). "What happened when the most exciting Wales and England rugby stars of the future just played each other". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  15. "Scotland U20 24-17 England U20". The Scotsman. 23 February 2018. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  16. Mockford, Sarah (6 February 2019). "Hotshot: Worcester and England U20 centre Ollie Lawrence". Rugby World. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  17. Berkeley, Geoff (19 March 2019). "Ollie Lawrence set to miss rest of season with ankle injury". Worcester News. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  18. "Jones announces second England training squad". England Rugby. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. Grey, Becky (31 October 2020). "Italy 5-34 England: Visitors' victory proves enough to win Six Nations title". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  20. Kitson, Robert (12 November 2020). "Eddie Jones picks 'flipping tough' Jack Willis for England debut against Georgia". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  21. "England announce 34-man summer training squad". Six Nations Rugby. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  22. Grey, Becky (4 July 2021). "England 43-29 United States: Joe Cokanasiga shines on international return". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  23. Macpherson, Will (5 July 2021). "England duo Max Malins and Ollie Lawrence set to miss Canada clash". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  24. "Ollie Lawrence". ESPN. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
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