Lawrence apologises for reaction to Mitchell clash

Alex Mitchell's tackle on Ollie Lawrence was punished with a penalty which Finn Russell kicked to give Bath a two-point lead with four minutes remaining

Bath centre Ollie Lawrence has apologised for his reaction to the clash of heads which led to the sin-binning of Alex Mitchell in the Premiership defeat at Northampton.

Bath were trailing 32-31 in the 77th minute when Lawrence made a half-break and England team-mate Mitchell, with little time to react, made contact with Lawrence's chest with his shoulder.

The force of the impact brought their heads together and Lawrence, despite having open field in front of him, slowly went to ground holding his face.

Referee Anthony Woodthorpe gave Mitchell a yellow card, while Lawrence was shown smiling as team-mate Finn Russell lined up the resulting penalty and the Franklin's Gardens crowd jeered.

Lawrence did not have a head injury assessment because the collision did not merit medical intervention according to data collected on the sidelines.

Saints won 35-34 thanks to Fin Smith's penalty with the last kick of the game.

"Apologies if my actions today offended anyone," said Lawrence on X.

"On review, I understand the frustration voiced! I'll be better."

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson said: "The one who matters had a whistle and Anthony Woodthorpe said it was head on head.

"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."

Lawrence earlier attracted the ire of the home support with a late shoulder charge on George Hendy, forcing the Saints full-back out of the game just before half-time.

Woodthorpe awarded a penalty against Lawrence.

Lawrence has become a mainstay of England's midfield, starting their past 10 Tests.

He and Mitchell were among 17 players awarded Elite Player Squad contracts in October.