Ryan Mills reckons Ollie Lawrence has got "X-factor"

Lawrence played a key role in Warriors’ second-half fightback as they overcame a 15-7 half-time deficit to beat Ospreys 20-18 at the Liberty Stadium in the European Challenge Cup on Saturday.

Mills provided the assist for the young centre who slipped off a tackle from Keelan Giles before weaving his way over the whitewash on 48 minutes.

“He is very sharp,” said Mills on Lawrence’s try.

“I told him ‘You run that second line’ as he is a lot quicker than me. I can’t do that.

“I just passed him the ball and he did the rest.”

Lawrence was making his ninth appearance of the season for Warriors and was at fault for Ospreys’ first try as his pass was intercepted by Giles who ran almost the length of the field to score in the corner.

The 19-year-old also missed a tackle on George North who offloaded to Olly Cracknell for the home side’s second try.

But Mills has been impressed with Lawrence, who made his Warriors debut last season, and reckons he will only get better as he continues to learn his craft.

“He is a young boy who has got a lot to learn but is extremely good and got a lot of talent,” Mills continued.

“He can do things that a lot of players can’t.

“He’s definitely got that X-factor so hopefully with a good group of people around him he can go a long way.

“He has played really well for us and is learning every day.

“He is extremely powerful.

“You can coach things like passing, decision-making and kicking but he is a powerful athlete and you can’t coach that.”

Warriors will assess the fitness of Lawrence ahead of Saturday’s encounter with Stade Francais at Sixways (1pm).

Lawrence hobbled off on 55 minutes after losing his footing just metres from the try-line following another blistering break.

“Ollie was cramping,” head coach Rory Duncan said.

“He went down and did a couple of stretches in the first half.

“I thought he put in a good shift but we didn’t want to risk any injury so we pulled him off.

“We are obviously monitoring him.

“We were fortunate enough to have Will Butler come on. He is another great young product from our academy.”

Duncan praised the performance of Lawrence who landed a two-year first-team contract last month.

“Every time Ollie has been given an opportunity he has proven that he is a quality player,” Duncan said.

“I have always said that I am pretty sure he will play international rugby one day and he showed what he is capable of on Saturday.”

Ben Te’o, whose availability for Warriors has been limited due to injury and England duty, made his third successive 80-minute outing for the club as he partnered Lawrence in midfield against Ospreys.

Duncan added: “Ben has really shown his quality over the past couple of weeks.

“Since he has come back for us he has proven again why he is a British and Irish Lion.

“When he carries ball into contact he gives you that front-foot ball.

“We saw that again on Saturday so I am very happy with his efforts.”