England centre Ollie Lawrence says former boss Eddie Jones’ criticism made him raise his game to meet the demands of Test rugby.
Lawrence made his England debut under Jones against Italy in October 2020 but struggled for form and consistency under the Australian, who now coaches Japan.
Jones said Lawrence had not been “hungry or disciplined enough” in his 2021 book Leadership.
Lawrence had made four England appearances before Jones was dismissed at the end of the 2022 autumn internationals.
The Bath powerhouse, 25, has since become a mainstay in England’s midfield under Jones’ successor Steve Borthwick, whose side host the Brave Blossoms in their final Autumn Nations Series match on Sunday.
“I’ll always be very grateful to Eddie for my first cap,” Lawrence told BBC Sport.
“He is a coach who likes to challenge players and can get the best out of players at times.
“He was good for me. He humbled me and made me realise how hard I had to work to play for my country.
“It wasn’t good enough to be club standard and there was another level to it.
“He opened my eyes to that and I think it will be a good opportunity to go against his side on Sunday.”
Jones’ management style was recently criticised in a book by Danny Care in which the former England scrum-half claimed players were intimidated and belittled in a “toxic environment”.
The 37-year-old added that, despite his demanding style, Jones was also the best coach he had ever worked with. Jones has previously denied his leadership of England was unjustifiably harsh, claiming that players in the country are not pushed hard enough to improve.
England have lost their past five games and have not won since June when they cruised past Japan in Tokyo.
