‘I’ll be better’ – Bath centre Lawrence apologises for 'actions' after Saints clash

Lawrence took to social media after the game to express his regret for his reaction to the clash of heads which led to the sin-binning of Saints scrum-half Alex Mitchell.

Bath were a point behind in the 77th minute when Lawrence charged forward and was caught high by Mitchell.

Lawrence continued forward before slowly going to ground holding his face.

Mitchell was sin-binned by referee Anthony Woodthorpe while Lawrence was shown smiling as Finn Russell lined up the penalty to a backdrop of boos.

Russell kicked the three points to put Bath ahead, but Saints had the last laugh as Fin Smith's penalty with the final kick of the match secured a memorable 35-34 success at a sold-out cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.

And Lawrence later posted on X (formerly Twitter): "Wasn’t to be today… Credit to Saints.

"Big shift from the boys second half. We’ll take the 2 & move on…

"Ps - Apologies if my actions today offended anyone. On review, I understand the frustration voiced! I’ll be better."

Saints boss Phil Dowson was asked about the incident after the match.

And 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 had attracted the ire of the Saints supporters in the first half of the match as he made a late hit on George Hendy.

Hendy was already suffering with a left shoulder problem by the time the incident occurred and many onlookers felt Lawrence had deliberately targeted the injured area.

The heavy collision forced Hendy to leave the field before the end of the first half.

Referee Woodthorpe awarded a penalty against Lawrence, but boos rang out as replays were shown as the home supporters felt stronger action should have been taken.

Lawrence was also seen smiling after that incident, drawing more criticism.