By Paul Eddison
The support from England fans at Allianz Stadium has been exceptional in 2024 – centre Ollie Lawrence has urged his teammates to repay those who have made it so special.
While England have opened their Autumn Nations Series campaign with back-to-back heartbreaking losses to New Zealand and Australia, the home support has been unfailing behind Steve Borthwick’s side.
Next up is a meeting with back-to-back world champions South Africa, a first encounter between the sides since the one-point loss in the World Cup semi-final in Paris last November.
And for Lawrence, there is no better way to evacuate the frustration of the two most recent defeats than to put on a show against the world’s best.
“It’s (the Allianz Stadium atmosphere) been amazing ever since the back end of the Six Nations and that Ireland game. Running out in front of 80,000 people, it’s been pumping,” said Lawrence, speaking at the launch of Allianz’s Future Fund…
“Although we haven’t had the results we wanted over the last few weeks, we really appreciate the support and everything everyone is doing here to make it a really special place to be.
“You’re going against the No.1 team in the world (South Africa), you have to rise to the occasion. Off the back of the last two results, this one is even more important for us.
“We know what we need to do to get a good win at the weekend. If we put our best foot forward, I think we can make it a special memory, beating one of the top teams and continuing on this journey as a team.”
England had missed out to New Zealand in their opening game of November by the width of a post with George Ford’s penalty coming away off the upright.
And there was more disappointment this weekend as Australia triumphed 42-37 thanks to Max Jorgensen’s try with the clock in the red.
That inability to see out victories is particularly frustrating given that the best performance of 2024 came at this same ground, Marcus Smith hitting a last-gasp drop goal to defeat Ireland.
For Lawrence, who has established himself as a key figure in the England midfield, it is vital that the team learn to manage the business end of games for themselves, as well as those who turn up to support.
He added: “Moving on from each game is sometimes difficult. You can hold onto it a bit too long. But with a short turnaround, you’ve got to review it, forget it and move onto the next challenge. With South Africa, it’s going to be a physical game, it’s going to be a tough game and they are not going to roll over easily.
“The challenge in itself is going to be truly exciting and we’re really looking forward to it.
“I think the main thing for us is that to beat the top teams, you need to be able to see off games. We’ve not quite been able to do that so far. We know our learnings from the back of it, but we haven’t been able to put it into fruition on the field.
“Hopefully this weekend we can right some wrongs, going up against a team that we lost to in the semi-final of the World Cup. Hopefully this time we can create a special memory, especially for all these fans who have supported to us and been loyal over the last few weeks.”
Allianz Stadium will host England v South Africa this weekend in the ultimate showdown
