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England are sweating on the fitness of Ollie Lawrence before their final autumn clash with Argentina this weekend, the Guardian understands.
Lawrence starred on Saturday in the statement victory against the All Blacks but limped off in the closing stages and could be forced to sit out the match against the Pumas on Sunday. The 26-year-old centre will be assessed when England reconvene on Tuesday after an extra day off but if Lawrence is ruled out it would be a blow for Steve Borthwick.
The England head coach may also be without Freddie Steward, who was withdrawn midway through the first half against New Zealand with a head injury, as he prepares for England’s pursuit of an 11th successive victory and a clean sweep of their autumn fixtures.
Lawrence was in fine form against the All Blacks, scoring England’s opening try before teeing up centre partner Fraser Dingwall in the second half. He was seen hobbling in the closing stages on Saturday, however, and was replaced by Chandler Cunningham-South in the 79th minute with Henry Pollock shifting to the backline.
Lawrence missed the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia last summer with a long-term achilles injury but battled back to action ahead of schedule and while he was omitted from the side that beat Australia at the start of the month, he has impressed against Fiji and New Zealand.
Against the Wallabies, Tommy Freeman, a winger by trade, started at outside-centre having explained at the start of the season that he sees his long-term position in midfield. He is sidelined with a hamstring injury, however, and is not available to face Argentina.
Scotland's Darge reveals 'quiet changing room' after slump against Pumas
ShowRory Darge admitted he is perplexed at how Scotland allowed themselves to unravel so spectacularly in Sunday’s dire defeat by Argentina.
The Scots looked to be cruising to victory as they led 21-0 midway through the third quarter, but the Pumas hit back with five tries in the closing 24 minutes to claim a remarkable 33-24 victory.
The nature of the capitulation – met with booing from sections of the capacity Murrayfield crowd – has brought fresh focus on the position of long-serving head coach Gregor Townsend.
“It was a quiet changing room afterwards,” said vice-captain Darge. “21-0 up and it felt that way, we felt like we were on top. It was a massive momentum swing and we struggled to stem the flow. The guys on the pitch are the ones that have to do better. “
Asked how a match could turn so dramatically, Darge said: “It’s not good enough. Watching it back, I’m sure there will be loads in there from 21-0 onwards that we can do so much better.”
Darge felt Scotland picked up where they left off in the second half of their spirited 25-17 defeat by New Zealand the previous week as they bossed the Pumas for the first 50 minutes. However, the Glasgow back-rower acknowledged his side became flustered when the visitors started finding their way back into the game and admits that they need to remain far more clear-headed when faced with such adversity.
“We’re constantly looking at ways to get better and I think we had a massive carry-over from last week in what worked for us,” said Darge. “21-0 up, putting them under stress and on top from an attack point of view, from a defence point of view, set piece. Obviously, what we need to look at is how we keep our composure in that last 30 minutes when we’re so far ahead.
“Maybe a bit of an understanding of what Test match rugby is like from us in those moments. You have to be ruthless, particularly against a team as good as Argentina. If you’re not, they can score tries. We just weren’t good enough in that last half hour."
Attention now turns to their Autumn Nations Series game against Tonga on Sunday. “We need to watch the game back and let it hurt over the next wee while and during the reviews and then quickly the mindset will flip on to Tonga,” Darge said. PA Media
Elliot Daly is fit again and would come into contention for the No 13 jersey if Lawrence is unavailable to face the Pumas, who showed their class with the victory against Scotland on Sunday, but he does not offer the same ball-carrying threat. Daly could also be pressed into action at full-back if Steward is ruled out while Max Ojomoh would be another centre option. Borthwick could even roll the dice and start Ben Earl or Pollock in the back-line.
