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Dowson’s delight at re-signing 'game-breaker' Tommy Freeman
By Jon Newcombe
Twenty-four hours after RugbyPass exclusively broke the story, Northampton have confirmed that England back Tommy Freeman has re-signed with the Gallagher Premiership club. The news come hot on the heels of the announcement that back row forward Tom Pearson had put pen-to-paper on a new deal and Phil Dowson, the Saints director of rugby, couldn’t be happier at getting another big piece of recruitment done.
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“Tommy Freeman is a really good example of our recruitment policy from an academy point of view. He showed very quickly what he is capable of, he made his debut at 19,” Dowson told RugbyPass. “He is somebody who goes from strength to strength; he has undoubted game-breaking abilities and can pull a rabbit out of a hat, so we are delighted to keep both of those Toms.”
Did Dowson have to pull a rabbit of a hat himself, to keep two such highly-sought after stars? “It is tricky because when you are successful people are playing well and when they are playing well they want to be rewarded. And when they want to be rewarded there is only so much that can go around, so you have to make some tough decisions,” he admitted.
“But we felt those two guys were performing very well and we wanted to keep hold of them. With what happened to London Irish, which was very sad, all the clubs were interested in TP because of his quality and he hasn’t disappointed. He has come in and I think he has got better. I think he has shown what he is capable of and we are excited about where he could go.”
Freeman, who made his England Test debut against Australia in 2022 and appeared in all three games on this summer’s tour to Japan and New Zealand, is also delighted to remain in the black, green and gold having come through the ranks at Saints.
“Northampton at their very best”
Tommy Freeman flies through and over the line for @SaintsRugby levelling the game once again 👀🏉#NORvMUN | #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/tju1KbAzZi
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) April 7, 2024
“Staying on for more time at Saints was really a no-brainer for me,” said 23-year-old Freeman, who has 11 caps for his country and 83 appearances behind him for Saints. “This club has been my home for the last six years, and I feel really settled here in Northampton. The fans are unbelievable week in, week out, and make cinch Stadium the best place in the league to play rugby.
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“The coaching set-up at the club is brilliant as well. I feel like I’m always improving here, all my skills are developing all the time, and every coach here is trying to make you a better player every day you come in. That’s only going to help me and the team moving forwards, so I know this is the right place for me to stay and achieve all my goals.
“I love the lads within our group; last season was obviously an incredible time for all of us, but we’re a really young squad so I’m excited to see what lies ahead, and what we can achieve together over the next few years in Northampton.”
Freeman moved into Saints’ academy set-up while in sixth form at Moulton College having previously represented Wymondham RFC and Leicester Tigers academy. The strapping flyer has since gone on to score a try every other game for his one and only club and showed his worth to the team in last season’s Premiership-winning campaign by playing across the backline, on the wing, at full-back, and in the centres.
Dowson added: “Tommy’s an incredible player whose improvement over the last few years has been remarkable. We saw throughout last season, and also on the New Zealand tour with England, how good he can be. As well as having a ton of X-factor, Tommy has got a lot of resilience and has shown that over the last year or so in his behaviours.
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“He has got an inner steel; he didn’t make the World Cup squad but came roaring back and proved a point with his performances, working on all the elements of his game that he needed to earn another shot with England. He has taken that with both hands now and that is a credit to him and his personality.
“He can make a massive difference for us – he is a genuine gamebreaker – and we are delighted to keep him on board at Saints.”