Ollie Lawrence apologises after 'dirty tactics' accusation in Bath defeat : Planet Rugby

England star Ollie Lawrence drew the ire of the Northampton Saints supporters, as well as the neutrals watching on TV, for his antics in Bath’s Premiership defeat on Sunday.

The midfield powerhouse enraged the fans – who accused him of “dirty tactics” – on two separate occasions during the clash at Franklin’s Gardens, which saw the hosts claim a crucial 35-34 victory.

Firstly, Lawrence produced a late shoulder charge on George Hendy, who had already been nursing an issue after a tackle on Finn Russell injured his AC joint.

Hendy was subsequently taken off just after that hit before the centre was then shown on the big screen where he appeared to be smiling.

Alex Mitchell incident

That was perhaps not the most contentious issue of the match, however, as with just a few minutes remaining and the game in the balance, there was a collision between Lawrence and England team-mate Alex Mitchell.

The Bath player, who had made a half break, ran a couple more metres before going to ground and clutching his head. As a result, the incident was immediately reviewed and Mitchell was yellow carded, giving Russell a shot at goal in the latter of stages of the contest.

Once again, the 25-year-old seemed to be grinning when the camera panned to him, leading to a chorus of boos from Saints fans as the fly-half took the kick.

Russell converted to make it 34-32 in the visitors’ favour, but Northampton would go on to win the clash following Fin Smith’s three-pointer with the clock in the red.

Lawrence certainly copped it on social media during and after the encounter, and the England star duly apologised.

“Apologies if my actions today offended anyone. On review, I understand the frustration voiced! I’ll be better,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The later incident was addressed by both bosses, although neither particularly wanted to be drawn on it as they played a straight bat.

“I have not spoken to Ollie Lawrence, obviously he got hit in the head which the referee gave a penalty for and a yellow card,” Bath head of rugby Johann van Graan said.

“I haven’t seen the medical team or Ollie as an individual yet.”

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Meanwhile, Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson added: “The one who matters had a whistle and Anthony Woodthorpe said it was head-on-head.

“We’ve seen a few angles of it. We are looking to remove that concussion danger out of the game. It looked pretty innocuous but the referee gave that decision and therefore it stands.”

Social media reaction

Those watching, either at the ground or on TV, were unsurprisingly forthright in their opinions on social media.

“First a cheap shot very late shoulder charge in Hendy then milking the Mitchell situation like a footballer and each time grinning as he got the result he wanted. Shouldn’t be anywhere near an England shirt,” one person wrote on X, while another added: “Ollie Lawrence give that man an Oscar, pathetic effort getting Mitchell binned.”

Some claimed that he took a football-like ‘dive’ and suggested that if Lawrence had truly been hurt by the Mitchell collision, he should have gone off for a HIA.

“So much to like about Ollie Lawrence, but the dirty tactics on show today certainly weren’t likeable,” a Saracens fan wrote.

“The cheap shot was bad enough but the stopping for the head knock was really poor. This isn’t football. Do better Ollie.”

The football theme continued due to the apparent reaction from Lawrence, with one person adding: “Ollie Lawrence, it was the Ronaldo like wink after the yellow card that summed it perfectly”.

READ MORE: Northampton Saints v Bath: Winners and losers as England hopeful produces ‘elite’ performance while Bomb Squad weakness ‘exposed’

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