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Highlanders sign ex-England flyhalf Freddie Burns

(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)

The Highlanders have signed former England flyhalf Freddie Burns from Leicester Tigers, who have released the playmaker mid-season.

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Burns has agreed terms with the Highlanders and “with the support of Leicester” will land in New Zealand in time for the first round of Super Rugby Pacific.

Leicester Tigers said in a statement they “have agreed terms with Freddie Burns for an early release from his contract with the club to pursue an opportunity in Super Rugby” with the Highlanders.

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Burns has made 114 appearances for Leicester, during two stints, and scored 794 points.

He made his Tigers debut in 2014 after joining from Gloucester Rugby and scored 603 points in three seasons, as well as featuring in the 2017 Anglo-Welsh Cup winning campaign, before departing for Bath ahead of the 2017/18 season.

“As a young lad I grew up watching Super rugby in the early hours of morning. To have the opportunity to represent such a prestigious club as the Highlanders in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season is a huge honour. I look forward to getting started and adding to the group both on and off the field.”

“This decision is not one I have made lightly and has been unbelievably hard.”

“It’s hard to put into words what Leicester Tigers and what this group of players means to me. I can’t single out one thing that I’ll miss the most, I will miss everything about being a part of this club.”

“At this stage in my career, the opportunity was one I saw as too good to turn down and go down to gain this experience on the field as well as the life experience of living and playing in New Zealand.

“Now, for me, is the right time to move on and I am so grateful to Wiggy, the board and everyone at the club in allowing me to make this next step in my career.

“I leave with a heavy heart but will be giving my all until I leave Leicester Tigers.”

“It’s the supporters for me that make this club so great,” he said.

“I have always felt such a special relationship with Leicester Tigers fans. They are the one constant at the club and to have felt that warmth from them, in both my stints here, is something I will never forget.

“The commitment from the fans, whether it’s home sellouts or travelling support, is just unrivalled with any club I have played for in my career

“I’ll forever be bound to Leicester Tigers as not just a player but a supporter.”

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Highlanders Head Coach Clarke Dermody has welcomed the arrival of the seasoned veteran.

“Having a player of Freddie’s calibre available to us in such a crucial position is a real boost for the squad. Last year we were exposed at 10 due to a run of injuries and while we covered the situation, we were asking a lot of Sam Gilbert and Vili Koroi who are not regular starting first-fives. Freddie’s arrival will provide us with that extra insurance against that scenario playing out again in 2023”.

A former England U20 representative he represented the senior side five times most notably debuting against the All Blacks in 2012, replacing Owen Farrell, in their 38-21 victory.

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Burns will be the second international back to be added to Dermody’s 2023 squad with Argentinian outside back Martin Bogado also set to play in Highlanders colours.

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f
fl 55 minutes ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

I ultimately don’t care who the best club team in the world is, so yeah, lets agree to disagree on that.


I would appreciate clarity on a couple of things though:

Where did I contradict myself?

Saying “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” is entirely compatible with ranking a team as the best - over an extended period - when they have won more games and made more finals than other comparable teams. It would be contradictory for me to say “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.” and then completely ignore Leinster record of winning games and making finals.


“You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself.”

What you said (that I think trophies matter) is true, in that I said “Trophies matter. They matter a lot. But so does winning games. So does making finals.”. Do you understand that Leinster won more games and made more finals than any other (URC-based) team did under the period under consideration?


“Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.”

I really don’t understand why you would think that this is irrelevant. You seem to be saying that winning trophies is the only thing that matters when assessing who is the best, but doesn’t matter at all when assessing who is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.


“What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.”

Well then we’ve just been talking at cross purposes. In that my position (that Leinster were the best team overall in 2022-2024) was pretty clear, and you just decided to respond to a different point (whether Leinster were the best team individually in particular years) essentially making the entire discussion completely pointless. I guess if you think that trophies are the only thing that matters then it makes sense to see the season as an individual event that culminates in a trophy (or not), whereas because I believe that trophies matter a lot, but that so does winning matches and making finals, it makes it easier for me to consider quality over an extended period.

24 Go to comments
M
MT 1 hour ago
Ex-Wallaby laughs off claims Bath are amongst the best in the world

As I said in one of my first replies to you - we can agree to disagree. If you want to leave it no problem. I completely disagree with your ranking of Leinster as the best team in the world. Now you have said you will change it if Bordeaux win the Top 14. Well as Leinster themselves prioritise the CC over the URC and Bordeaux won the CC, how are they not ranked higher by you? Are Leinster one of the best teams, yeah - never said they weren’t. But not the very best team, as the very best team have trophies to show for their seasons. They matter when you discuss the very best.


You can get frustrated and say I am not reading what you write, but when you quote me, then your first line is to say thats true (what I wrote), but by the end of the paragraph have stated something different, thats where you contradict yourself. Just so we are clear, you said you would too on my statement that I would rather be a fan of a team that won a trophy over the three seasons, but end the paragraph saying you would rather be a fan of the team that won the most matches but didn’t win a trophy. Both cant be true. Thats one example of where you contradict yourself.


Pointless comparison on Blackburn and Tottenham to this discussion as no-one includes them on a list of the best club. I would say that Blackburns title season was better than anything Tottenham have done in the Premier League. My reference to the league was that the team who finished second over two seasons are not better than the two other teams who did win the league each time. One of the best - of course, but not the best, which is relevant to my point here about Leinster, not comparing teams who won 30 years ago against a team that never won.


What I referred to in my Leinster wouldn’t say the were the best is your post earlier where you said Leinster were the best overall. You said that in two separate posts. Seasons dont work like that, they are individual. Unless the same team keeps winning then you can say they were the best over a period of time and group them, but thats not the case here.

24 Go to comments
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