LONG READ Tommy Freeman: ‘I always had to work really hard to get what I wanted. I always felt like I was up against it’

There are easier weeks to be in Argentina as an England international. England’s team hotel sits on Avenida 9 de Julio, one of the busiest roads in Buenos Aires, where the celebrations following Argentina’s dramatic World Cup semi-final victory over England on Wednesday carried on long into the night.

For Tommy Freeman, the backdrop has provided a timely reminder of what it means to represent your country.

“I kind of have to pinch myself on game day. You’re doing what you love, you’ve grown up doing it and you’re doing it to represent not only yourself, but everyone who supports the country and is part of it. Especially now, it’s probably heightened, with the football at the front of mind.”

That perspective has been hard-earned. The last three seasons have seen the 25-year-old become a mainstay in Steve Borthwick’s team, win two Prem titles with Northampton, and win a Test series with the Lions. Sometimes the speed of his rise can obscure the setbacks that shaped it.

For Freeman, the memory of being substituted at half-time in his first England game at Twickenham, against South Africa in November 2022, hasn’t gone away. Nor has the disappointment of missing out on selection for the World Cup in 2023, even though he now believes it was the right decision.

“On reflection, I definitely wasn’t ready for the World Cup in ’23. I think that was probably the right decision, being the player I am now. [Now I feel] able to transfer how I am playing at my club to my country and not being uptight or playing a bit too safe.”

Rugby is full of players who insist setbacks make them stronger. Few, though, look back on the biggest disappointment of their career and conclude the coaches were right. Freeman does.

It feels almost inconceivable that Freeman didn’t make the 33-man squad for France 2023, given there are now few names more certain to be involved than the Northampton flyer. In fact, in 2026 the only debate about Freeman is not whether, but where he should be playing.

If I get picked on the wing, I still want to be the best winger on the pitch. I still want to be considered the best 13 if that’s where I’m at. That’s always the end goal.

Having starred on the wing, Freeman has also impressed at outside centre for Northampton. England have begun exploring the same possibility, starting him there in four of their five Six Nations matches and the opening Nations Championship fixture against South Africa before switching him back to the wing against Fiji. For Freeman, the shirt matters less than the opportunity to influence the game.

“At the end of the day, it’s the coach’s decision and I want to impact the team as best I can. If that’s at 13 and they think I’m best suited at 13 for a game, and there’s a game plan where they think I’m better on the wing, then it is what it is. I just want to be on the pitch, get my hands on the ball.”

That doesn’t mean he isn’t aware of the debate, or immune to it. He smiles before continuing.

“I try not to read too much but you do see people saying before it’s even happened, based on games, ‘Why change him from being on the wing and playing really well and going into the centre?’ Of course, it’s on your mind and you think about it.”

Freeman comes across as easy-going company, but there is an unmistakable edge beneath the laid-back exterior. For all his willingness to put the team first, he has little interest in being viewed as a rugby Swiss Army knife.

“The only thing I didn’t want it to be was obviously when you’re able to be quite versatile and you want to get the number 23. If I get picked on the wing, I still want to be the best winger on the pitch. I still want to be considered the best 13 if that’s where I’m at. That’s always the end goal.”

It is a mindset that has not appeared overnight. Freeman doesn’t describe himself as a natural prodigy. If anything, he remembers the opposite.

“I always had to work really hard to get what I wanted. Especially at school, I wasn’t the cleverest, so I had to work pretty hard to get the grades I needed. I wanted to be captain at school, had to work hard and beat other lads. I was quite small at the time. I always felt like I was up against it.”

When you’re 10 and don’t want to go back to school and you’re homesick as hell and you’re hanging on your mum’s ankles, [boarding school’s] tough. But I think it makes coming away for five weeks a bit easier.

Freeman was released by Leicester’s academy at 16. Two years later, he confesses his ambition was simply to make a handful of senior appearances for Northampton. A serious epileptic seizure at 19 left him fearing he might not make any. In May this year, Freeman became the club’s all-time leading Prem try-scorer, surpassing World Cup winner Ben Cohen.

Yet Freeman has never taken himself too seriously. Last autumn, a TikTok dance filmed with England team-mates became an unexpected viral hit.

“I remember just posing the idea as a bit of craic. Us being young lads and having a bit of free time, we all kind of bought in. I was at home and asked my girlfriend, ‘Should I post this? Maybe it’ll be a bit of a laugh. There’s no harm in it.’ I remember waking up in the morning and her tapping me, going, ‘It’s going crazy.’ My phone was just pinging away.”

The video has been viewed more than 22 million times. Whether intended or not, it reached an audience rugby rarely does. Among Freeman’s fellow dancers was “big blondie” Henry Pollock, perhaps the closest thing rugby currently has to a crossover star.

Yet none of that was the point. The dance was simply a way of passing the time during a long England camp. International rugby can mean weeks away from home, and Freeman knows those tours become much easier when the squad genuinely enjoys each other’s company. Freeman traces that outlook back to boarding school, where he was sent at seven because his father’s RAF career meant the family moved regularly.

“[Boarding school] was huge for keeping the same friendship group, not having to chop and change and learn different stuff with different teachers. Don’t get me wrong, when you’re 10 and you don’t want to go back to school and you’re homesick as hell and you’re hanging on your mum’s ankles, it’s tough. But I think it makes coming away for five weeks a bit easier. Not so much on the girlfriend and the dog though!”

As our conversation draws to a close, we briefly touch on the football World Cup semi-final due to take place the following evening. Freeman jokes that England have planned their training schedule so they can watch it together, before hoping they will be spared too much noise if Argentina win.

Those hopes proved to be in vain. Argentina’s dramatic comeback victory sparked loud and lengthy celebrations across Buenos Aires, including just outside England’s team hotel. Freeman even shared a video of the scenes on social media. It was hardly the backdrop England would have chosen before facing Los Pumas. Then again, Saturday offers Freeman and his team-mates the chance to level the score.