Lockdown's Got Lawrence In The Shape Of His Life

England midfield hopeful Ollie Lawrence is revelling in lockdown loneliness as he aims to show Eddie Jones he can be a World Cup 2023 contender.

- Neale Harvey

Lawrence, 20, is rated one of the hottest young No.13s in the Premiership – a Manu Tuilagi-style blaster who also models his game on the sublime skills of Sonny Bill Williams.

Jones reckons some players will return in ‘terrible’ condition from the unwanted break, but the Birmingham-born Worcester centre insists he will not be among them as he looks to pressure established Red Rose stars Tuilagi, Henry Slade and Jonathan Joseph.

Lawrence told The Rugby Paper: “My dad told me what Eddie said and this period is a real test of character to see if boys have been working hard enough. I guess it will show when we get back whether we’ve all been doing enough or not.

“I’ve been training by myself and while Covid-19 has obviously hit everybody massively, the time off has given me time to re-evaluate things and work on small bits of my game that I needed to improve – I’m probably fitter than I’ve ever been right now.