It’s been a pretty good June for Mike Lawrenson. The towering lock forward for Kutztown University helped propel the Golden Bears to the CRC Final, then he was named All American, and after that enjoyed three very strong games for the collegiates in the just-completed assembly.

That Lawrenson scored a try in the final game, a try that helped put the All Americans briefly in the lead over the Ontario Blues, was just reward for his work.

It doesn’t end there. Lawrenson may well be going on to play rugby and study at Palmer College in Iowa, although there are rumors that he’s caught the eye of the some prominent rugby people along the way. Certainly USA Head Coach Mike Tolkin likes him, and could well draft the lock into the USA Selects team for the Americas Rugby Championship.

It all seems to be coming together.

“This year has been a good year for me,” Lawrenson told Goff Rugby Report. “I am always looking for a challenge, and my goal has been to play for the USA. To do that I knew I had to get stronger, and I put on weight and got stronger. I knew after last year that I had so much more to learn. I asked the coaches what I needed to do to get better, and they said get lower in the tackle and on attack, and get stronger so if I am not low enough, I can push through.”

Lawrenson did that, and he remains extremely mobile. He is a lineout leader, and has good open field skills.

He has also ramped up the work, studying video, dedicating himself to 7s when it’s time to play 7s.

“Sevens has been a big part of my development,” Lawrenson explained. “It forces you to do certain things. My open field tackling has really improved, because if you miss a tackle in the open field in 7s, they score.”

He said he has enjoyed this All American assembly despite, or maybe because of, the fact that there were so few players returning from last year’s team. The vibe has been different, but a good one, he said.

After beating Cambridge twice, the All Americans knew they had a challenge ahead of them with the Blues.

“It’s going to be a war in the breakdown,” said the KU lock. “It’s going to be really scrappy.”

He was right. The sad part perhaps was that Lawrenson was not able to partner with UW-Whitewater standout Ben Landry, who was injured against Cambridge. The two had formed a good partnership, and Lawrenson had nothing but good things to say about Landry and his play.

We will hear from Ben Landry again, for certain, but perhaps this summer is, at second row at least, a summer of Mike Lawrenson. Born in South Africa, Lawrenson said he has committed himself to the USA and wants to be an Eagle. Something tells us this June got him a step closer to that goal.