Ollie Lawrence put aside the frustrations and upheaval he has had to endure to make a powerful and very direct impact for England against Italy, in keeping with the clear instructions he received.

Asked to explain his Man of the Match role in Sunday's win over the Azzurri at Twickenham, the Bath centre said: ‘I think Steve (Borthwick) put it as, "You've got to kick the front door down".

You can understand what he means by that.'

Just a few minutes into the fixture, Lawrence was already giving that door a good kicking and it was well and truly down by the time he was being announced as the star performer in a 31-14 home win. Crucially, as well as providing a forceful, route-one carrying impact, the 23-year-old also gave England precious balance, by linking well with the ball-players either side of him.

‘Faz () has been really good for me, making sure that I know what I'm doing and he is giving me the right balls, so I've just fed off him,' he said.

‘Sladey outside is an experienced player, both of them are, so I am happy to be stuck in the middle of them. I take the lead runners off Sladey and let him deal with the fancy stuff out the back.'

That is a succinct summary of his intentions on the day, but Lawrence has had to show considerable character, to reach the point where he was trusted to return to the Red Rose midfield.

From the autumn of 2020 through to the summer of 2021, he had been a regular in match-day squads under Eddie Jones, but having been chronically under-used in attack, he was harshly discarded.

Ollie Lawrence has put aside the tumult and uncertainty he has experienced in his short career

The centre is thriving for hardcoreamateurpictures.com England - thanks in part to the clarity of Steve Borthwick's instruction

Referring to that period, when his evident talent was not properly harnessed, Lawrence carefully said: ‘I think last time… I don't want to say I wasn't in the plan… Sometimes, when you don't look for the ball, you don't get it.'

Injuries had frustrated his efforts to reignite his stalling career, but then came even more significant disruption for the rookie who had come through the ranks at Worcester, as his club went bust last autumn, which left him out of work.

Luckily for Lawrence, Bath signed him up and he responded with a series of stellar performances which propelled him back on to the England radar.

‘I'm fortunate that after what happened at Worcester, I managed to find a club so quickly and from then on I've never taken it for granted,' he said.

‘I think that's the main thing that spurred me on to keep performing each week.

‘I had to mature. There was a lot of pressure to take advantage of the opportunity I got. Fortunately, it was at a good club and I managed to get to where I am now.

‘There's been a lot of growing up, obviously, over the last six months; not having a job and having to find a new place and settle in to a new environment, meet new people at a new club.

It's been a whirlwind, but I have no regrets so far.'

He was saddened by the demise of the club who developed him, adding: ‘Finding out what had happened to Worcester and knowing that we were going into administration was pretty tough to take.

I'd been there since I was 15, it's always been a part of my life and my family's.

‘For anyone who is losing their job, it is going to be tough, and it was hard to lose out on a lot of friendships. We've all had to go in different directions.

But off the back of it, I can't say it wasn't the best thing for me because I think I needed the change. It took me leaving Worcester to realise that.'

Lawrence's exploits against Italy have thrust him firmly to the forefront of Borthwick's midfield plans for the remainder of this Six Nations and the immediate future, leading up to the World Cup in the autumn. His break-through performance also may have sped up the transition away from a long-standing dependence on Manu Tuilagi.

Lawrence spoke of the need for him to 'mature' in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the Worcester Warriors

Borthwick has adopted a back-to-basics approach for some areas so far in his England reign

Lawrence credited the experienced pair of Owen Farrell and Henry Slade (pictured) for helping his adapting to the side

With Farrell next to him at fly-half Lawrence has the help of one of England's most experienced heads

However, the man of the moment was at pains to emphasise how the veteran Sale centre has helped and encouraged him, despite his own personal disappointment.

‘This is the first camp I've been in with Manu and he's been nothing but helpful towards me,' said Lawrence.

‘He's a great character to have in the squad, he's got bags of energy and whether he is selected or not, nothing changes for him.
He's always pushing guys to get better. 

'He's always that character who can put his arm round you if you need anything. He gives you that confidence in the week when he could obviously be annoyed that he's not selected, but you never get that with Manu.

He's a great guy and I can only thank him for supporting me the way he has over the last few weeks.'

Tuilagi is not taking part in England's short training camp in south west London this week. Instead, he has been left at his club, so he is available for Sale's Premiership game at Northampton, which might also feature Tom Curry in the visiting team and Courtney Lawes in the Saints side.

Ben Youngs has also been omitted from a 26-man Red Rose training squad, while Kyle Sinckler's availability to face Wales on February 25 is in doubt due to the facial injury he suffered against Italy.