England rugby star Ollie Lawrence makes passionate plea ahead of crunch South Africa clash

While England person opened their Autumn Nations Series run with back-to-back heartbreaking losses to New Zealand and Australia, the location enactment has been unfailing down Steve Borthwick’s side

The enactment from England fans astatine Allianz Stadium has been exceptional successful 2024 – centre Ollie Lawrence has urged his teammates to repay those who person made it truthful special.

While England person opened their Autumn Nations Series run with back-to-back heartbreaking losses to New Zealand and Australia, the location enactment has been unfailing down Steve Borthwick’s side.

Next up is simply a gathering with back-to-back world champions South Africa, a archetypal brushwood betwixt the sides since the one-point nonaccomplishment successful the World Cup semi-final successful Paris past November.

And for Lawrence, determination is nary amended mode to evacuate the vexation of the 2 astir caller defeats than to enactment connected a amusement against the world’s best.

“It’s (the Allianz Stadium atmosphere) been astonishing ever since the backmost extremity of the Six Nations and that Ireland game. Running retired successful beforehand of 80,000 people, it’s been pumping,” said Lawrence, speaking astatine the motorboat of Allianz’s Future Fund…

“Although we haven’t had the results we wanted implicit the past fewer weeks, we truly admit the enactment and everything everyone is doing present to marque it a truly peculiar spot to be. You’re going against the No.1 squad successful the satellite (South Africa), you person to emergence to the occasion. Off the backmost of the past 2 results, this 1 is adjacent much important for us.

“We cognize what we request to bash to get a bully triumph astatine the weekend. If we enactment our champion ft forward, I deliberation we tin marque it a peculiar memory, beating 1 of the apical teams and continuing connected this travel arsenic a team.”

England had missed retired to New Zealand successful their opening crippled of November by the width of a station with George Ford’s punishment coming distant disconnected the upright. And determination was much disappointment this play arsenic Australia triumphed 42-37 acknowledgment to Max Jorgensen’s effort with the timepiece successful the red.

That inability to spot retired victories is peculiarly frustrating fixed that the champion show of 2024 came astatine this aforesaid ground, Marcus Smith hitting a last-gasp driblet extremity to decision Ireland.

For Lawrence, who has established himself arsenic a cardinal fig successful the England midfield, it is captious that the squad larn to negociate the concern extremity of games for themselves, arsenic good arsenic those who crook up to support.

He added: “Moving connected from each crippled is sometimes difficult. You tin clasp onto it a spot excessively long. But with a abbreviated turnaround, you’ve got to reappraisal it, hide it and determination onto the adjacent challenge. With South Africa, it’s going to beryllium a carnal game, it’s going to beryllium a pugnacious crippled and they are not going to rotation implicit easily.

“The situation successful itself is going to beryllium genuinely breathtaking and we’re truly looking guardant to it.

“I deliberation the main happening for america is that to bushed the apical teams, you request to beryllium capable to spot disconnected games. We’ve not rather been capable to bash that truthful far. We cognize our learnings from the backmost of it, but we haven’t been capable to enactment it into fruition connected the field.

“Hopefully this play we tin close immoderate wrongs, going up against a squad that we mislaid to successful the semi-final of the World Cup. Hopefully this clip we tin make a peculiar memory, particularly for each these fans who person supported to america and been loyal implicit the past fewer weeks.”

Allianz Stadium volition big England v South Africa this play successful the eventual showdown