Was Lawrence initially rubbish? (5)

I believe the answer is:

waste

'rubbish?' is the definition.
(rubbish is a kind of waste)

'was lawrence initially' is the wordplay.
'lawrence initially' becomes 'te' (T.E. Lawrence's (Lawrence of Arabia's) initials).
'was'+'te'='WASTE'

(Other definitions for waste that I've seen before include "Not use effectively" , "Squander; spoil" , "Discarded material" , "Rubbish, barren land" , "Blue" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

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