Versatility can be a double-edged sword for emerging youngsters but when Northampton’s director of rugby, Chris Boyd, waxes lyrical about the number of positions in which Tommy Freeman could play, he captures a large part of why Eddie Jones has taken such a liking to the Saints flyer.
In his fledgling career to date, the 21-year-old Freeman has proved himself equally at home on the wing or at full-back and after an untimely injury in January he has hit his straps again, running in four tries in six matches, including eye-catching efforts in the miraculous comeback at Bath and the thrilling win over Harlequins.
Intriguingly, the England management potentially sees a future at outside-centre and though he is still to win a first cap he has been on Jones’s radar since the 2019-20 season. “A big, strong, strapping lad with good pace and a good feel for the game,” says Jones, and you sense that game awareness comes from the fact he avoided being pigeonholed too early in his development. As Boyd explains: “Tommy played a lot of his rugby at a non-rugby school as a fly-half. I think he could play anywhere in the backs apart from half-back. I don’t know where the ceiling is but potentially it’s high.”
Big and strapping have not always been words to describe Freeman, however. He has made the seamless transition from the Saints academy to mainstay of their push for the playoffs but Jones likes players who have taken the road less travelled and Freeman has already overcome adversity. Released by Leicester at 16 – “I didn’t hit a growth spurt like a lot of the other boys” – he moved from Culford school in Bury St Edmunds to Moulton College in Northamptonshire, a more specialised sports institution, where he could keep his eye in. Turning his back on rugby was never an option – “There had been too many late Monday nights for Mum to let me give it up, we had to go for it” – and when he shot up in height, Northampton came calling.
The problem then, was filling out his rangy frame – a task he took to with gusto – jumping from about 85kg to 100kg, but that weight-gain comes with a salutary lesson for any youngster looking to bulk up quickly. Freeman’s knees paid the price and last summer he had surgery for tendinitis. “I had the frame height-wise but I needed to put the weight on and I was eating a lot to get myself on the pitch as soon as possible,” he says. “If I was to do it again I doubt I’d put so much on so quickly because it took a toll on my knees. If I was to do it again I think I’d slow it down a little bit, but then would I have had an opportunity so early on? It’s hard to say. I’m pretty happy with where I am at the moment.”
If his surgery came as a setback, England came calling in October and Freeman got his first taste of the international environment before the autumn internationals. His second came before the Six Nations in January but a hamstring injury sustained at the pre-tournament camp in Brighton ruled him out of action until March. “It was right at the time to shine and see if I could really put my foot forward,” adds Freeman. “The injury set me back, and then I had to rebuild and go from there. You start to feel good, start to feel you’re on form and then you get those little setbacks and you have to build it up and find that form again.”
Fortunately for Freeman, his recent performances have led to a call-up for next week’s England mini-camp in London. A first appearance beckons in the Barbarians match on 19 June, unless Northampton continue their run of form – in the league they have racked up five consecutive bonus point wins – all the way to the Premiership final which takes place the day before. “As long as I’m playing well, as long as the team is playing well and putting me in that window,” he says. “It gives me more opportunities, it allows me to keep knocking on the door and that’s all I can do really, and hopefully it will pay off.”
It also helps that the England coaches have stayed in touch – Anthony Seibold, the defence coach, has been assigned to Freeman – and though he considers full-back his favoured position, he has an open mind. “I used to get a lot of feedback from my old school teachers saying you don’t want to be that guy who can play in the whole backline because that ends up being No 23,” he adds. “Now that Eddie has had a look at me as a wing option and the club have put me there I’m pretty comfortable there. I was supposed to play at 13 against Racing away until it got cancelled with Covid. At school I was always at 13. I’ve gone through the backline really, I started at 10 and worked my way backwards.”
Before turning his attention to further impressing the England coaches, however, Freeman will look to assist Northampton in making it six wins in a row away to Saracens on Saturday and potentially booking their playoff spot, depending on results elsewhere. “We’re playing this Saints style of rugby. It’s definitely enjoyable, it’s fast-flowing, it takes its toll on defenders and that’s when it comes off,” says Freeman. “We’ve got the main goal in sight and we’ve got the belief.”
