LONDON — Fin Smith said the England squad are “devastated” for Ollie Lawrence after the centre was forced off in the first half of their win over Italy with a suspected severe Achilles injury.
Lawrence went down injured in the ninth minute. He collapsed on the turf away from the action, and was stretchered off. Head coach Steve Borthwick said post-match they would wait on further scans to determine the severity of the injury, but admitted it looks like a “tough” injury.
England ended up beating Italy 47-24 to keep alive their slim hopes of a Six Nations title win next weekend in Wales, but the victory was overshadowed by Lawrence’s injury.
Smith knows Lawrence well — the two were teammates at Worcester Warriors and play alongside each other in the England team. Post-match, Smith was asked about how Lawrence was bearing up, and admitted that both the team and Lawrence were left “devastated” by the injury.
“Obviously you play in a game and you want to win and all this stuff, but I think there’s a sort of deeper level to it and when you see one of your best mates potentially losing the chance to go on a Lions tour and what was bound to be a massive year for him, it breaks your heart,” Smith said of Lawrence.
“I think I was probably a bit too gutted on the pitch seeing that happen and it maybe rattled me for a few minutes. I probably made a few mistakes off the back of it. We’re all absolutely devastated for him.
“I’ve got everything crossed that the scans say it’s not too bad but it is not looking brilliant. He is absolutely devastated.
“He has been a massive part of Bath and pushing them forward and a massive part of this England team. I don’t think he has played below a seven, eight out of 10 ever really for either his club or his country. So yeah I am devastated for him and I know he’s devastated as well.
“We have just got to get around him. I think as teammates, we’ve got to be good friends to him now and look out for him because it is going to be a tough time for him.”
England rejigged the backline after Lawrence’s injury with Elliot Daly moving into the centres and Marcus Smith coming on at fullback.
“It’s an Achilles injury. We’ll know more in the next 48 hours when he has the scans and sees the specialist,” Borthwick told a post-match news conference. “Fingers crossed it’s not quite as severe as we feat it might be. He’ll get the very best care and see the very best people to be looked after.”
Borthwick added: “It looks like it could be a real tough injury but I am hesitant to say exactly without any detailed assessment of it in terms of the scans. It looks like it is a tough injury for him.”
Regardless of the diagnosis, Borthwick said Lawrence will miss next week’s trip to Cardiff, with England are still technically in with a chance of winning the championship, although they need other results to go their way.
Asked about the challenge of Wales next week, captain Maro Itoje said: “It’s a tough place to go. I’ve been fortunate to play there numerous times and I know exactly how difficult it is.
“Wales vs. England is a humungous fixture so I know all of Wales will be cramped in the principality and it’s a challenge that we’re very much looking forward to.”
Having beaten Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, France are in the box seat to claim the title. A win against Scotland in Paris next week will secure them the crown.
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