BATH — As Ollie Lawrence strives to be a permanent fixture in the England midfield, he has made a powerful response to a savage and psychologically testing injury this year, with decent early form this season.
His club Bath’s head coach Johann van Graan said after the Premiership champions’ 40-15 thrashing of Bristol Bears on Saturday: “I think there’s loads left in him.”
The question is where do England see Lawrence fitting in, as they get ready for their autumn series starting against Australia on 1 November?
Lawrence had his participation in Bath’s winning Premiership final last season, and an almost certain place on the subsequent British & Irish Lions tour, ruined by a snapped Achilles tendon in March.
The 26-year-old fought back to make his return well ahead of schedule in this season’s Prem opener at Harlequins in September, and he has started each of Bath’s four wins, while being rested for the loss at Leicester last week.
Bath Rugby’s Ollie Lawrence is back to his best (Photo: Getty)He joined Bath from the defunct Worcester Warriors in 2022 and regenerated an England career that had stalled as a novice under then head coach Eddie Jones.
Even so, that experience, and an ankle injury in 2022, and the ongoing rotation of Owen Farrell, George Ford, Marcus Smith and Fin Smith at fly-half, and the trust placed in centres Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade, left a lingering doubt over Lawrence – was he definitely the man to be regular starter?
Even after 35 caps for Lawrence now, there is still a debate to be had.
The newly-published autobiography by Andy Farrell includes a reminder of how England tried Farrell himself at No 12 at the 2007 World Cup and Sam Burgess at the 2015 edition.
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They were big No 12s designed to fix opposition players in attack, and hit hard in defence.
A different approach is to deploy greatest heft one place out, in the No13 channel.
England’s best bullocking, straight-line centre in recent years was always Tuilagi – to the extent that at times it felt as if no one but he would do.
Lawrence does not quite possess the Tuilagi destructivity but Bath certainly see him as a No 13, although they sometimes run him as a first receiver or off Finn Russell, the fly-half.
In tight situations, Lawrence has soft hands, plus the bravery in the face of the defensive line to make the kind of deft, lofted pass to Alfie Barbeary we saw in the second half against Bristol.
Lawrence has sharp feet, too, as was seen in his dash for a try in the first half on the end of Russell’s outside-of-the-boot chip.
So he can unlock defences with guile and guts.
That's how you mark your home debut Henry Arundell is sent across the whitewash by Ollie Lawrence IN STYLE @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/Q7koVLasFI
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 3, 2025Lawrence also contributes steals and clear-outs in breakdowns – or as Van Graan noted after the Bristol win: “The small detail in terms of helping the forwards in those close-quarter combats was good.”
The flaw in Lawrence that makes it difficult to advocate him as a playmaking England No 12 is the limit to the range of his passing.
He threw three balls to nowhere in particular in the Bristol win, due to mistiming or miscommunication alongside him, or maybe the wet conditions.
Bath had Cameron Redpath as a more willowy No 12 – and they also stuck the Scot into a couple of nine-man line-outs, to show how every game plan has its set-piece variations.
What should England do?
An eventual return to fitness of Seb Atkinson and Elliot Daly, a promotion for Luke Northmore, or maybe a recall for Owen Farrell, a very experienced Test No 12, would deepen head coach Steve Borthwick’s options.
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There has been speculation about moving Tommy Freeman into outside centre, and possibly running Lawrence at 12, but the performance of Freeman on the right wing as he put four tries past Saracens on Friday night was a strong argument for keeping him where he is, for now.
Some see the right midfield balance to face the Wallabies as Lawrence in his club position of No 13, and Northampton’s Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall at 10 and 12.
Then there is Henry Slade, who is having a new lease of life as Exeter’s 13 with the quality Aussie, Len Ikitau, helping load the bullets.
And Slade remains one of the 25 players with England’s enhanced EPS contracts, as a vote of confidence from Borthwick.
Whichever way England end up using Lawrence, we know he has the mettle to stand up to the challenge.
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