LONDON : England coach Steve Borthwick has added Max Ojomoh to his training squad ahead of next week’s final Six Nations match against Wales after his Bath teammate Ollie Lawrence was ruled out with an achilles injury suffered in Sunday’s 47-24 win over Italy.
England are yet to discover the full extent of the injury, which Lawrence suffered eight minutes into the game when starting a run with no players near him, though Borthwick described on Sunday as a “real tough-looking injury”.
However, it is expected to be serious enough to not only end his England and club season but also rule him out of contention for the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, for which he looked a likely selection after excellent performances through the Six Nations.
The injury led to an unexpectedly early reshuffle of England’s backline, as Elliot Daly was shunted from fullback to partner Fraser Dingwall in midfield with Marcus Smith coming off the bench to play flyhalf.
Lawrence’s obvious distress unsettled some of his teammates, not least flyhalf Fin Smith.
“Obviously you play in a game and you want to win 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.
“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 7-8 of 10 ever really for either his club or his country.”
The loss of Lawrence’s powerful ball carrying has left England a bit lightweight in their backline options, leading the call for Ojomoh.
The son of former England flanker Steve Ojomoh, he was also involved in the training squad under Eddie Jones in 2021, called up at the age of 20 having started one Premiership game.
England will travel to Cardiff seeking a bonus-point victory that would be enough to win the title if France fail to beat Scotland in Paris later on Saturday.
