Appointed captain of NSW, Lawrence took a match-winning 14 for 73 against Victoria in his first game, still a record.

Lawrence first saw the indigenous team under the instruction of Tom Wills playing a match at the Albert Ground.

On this occasion there was some contract disagreement between the failed sponsor Gurnett and Wills, and the players were left in Sydney.

He trained the players for two months at "Lake Wallace" in Edenhope in the Western District before selecting a side to tour England.

On his return to Sydney, the tour having lost £2,000, Lawrence sold the hotel, which fell into disrepair for some time, and moved up the coast to Newcastle where he worked for 24 years as an official for NSW Railways.

When Lawrence sailed for Australia with Stephenson, he and his wife Anne had a son and two daughters, all Dublin-born.

His eldest daughter Anne may have accompanied the team to England in 1868, as she is recorded as being with them on the return voyage.