Benji Marshall reveals his fears for fearless Wests Tigers teammate Chris Lawrence
Seventeen months ago Wests Tigers stalwart Chris Lawrence suffered an injury
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August 7, 2020 2:33pm
Benji Marshall has recalled the day his mate Chris Lawrence suffered a horror facial injury.
Benji Marshall has recalled the day his mate Chris Lawrence suffered a horror facial injury.
Seventeen months ago Chris Lawrence sat on a Whangarei training field in New Zealand struggling to breathe and choking on his blood.
West Tigers veteran Benji Marshall motions to his throat as he tries to describe the cackling sound Lawrence made every time the forward tried to take another breath.
“It’s the worst injury I have ever seen, ever,” Marshall said.
“Without bringing back too many bad memories or make it too gory but he was sitting there choking on his own blood waiting for an ambulance trying to keep himself calm.
CHRIS LAWRENCE: FACIAL INJURIES
- Broken jaw
- smashed nose
- busted eye sockets
- broken cheekbones
- collapsed palate
- dislodged teeth
Required eight plates to put his face back together that won’t ever be removed
“Man, the ambulance took an hour.
“He was sitting there in shock, his body shaking. There was nothing we could do.
“I swear to god, there was a chance he could have died.
“You could hear the blood, the blood man, in the back of his throat … I lost my shit, I was crying. I was rattled, I was rattled for two or three weeks.”
A shocking head clash with Ben Matulino left Lawrence with injuries so severe his face had caved in. Specialists at the time likened the impact to a car accident.
Other Tigers teammates say it was almost like Mautalino’s head was imprinted into the face of Lawrence.