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'He now knows, especially having seen people like Jack Nowell'

(Photo by Alex Davidson/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Incoming Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson has hailed the rapid progress of rookie winger Tommy Freeman. Restored to his club side in early April, he has started the last six Saints matches, five of them in the Gallagher Premiership where they have qualified for a semi-final this Saturday away to Leicester. The 21-year-old made his breakthrough at Northampton last season, making 14 league and European appearances after a fleeting taste during the interrupted 2019/20 campaign.

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That resulted in England boss Eddie Jones taking an interest with numerous training camp call ups this term and while the youngster remains uncapped, head coach Dowson believes that Test squad exposure has rapidly accelerated Freeman’s progress.

“It’s always very good to get into a different environment where there are lots and lots of good players and lots and lots of good coaches, so Tommy going into the England environment was very positive,” explained Dowson when asked by RugbyPass to elaborate on the rookie’s emergence which has made him an option to tour Australia next month.

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The Breakdown | Sky Sport NZ | Episode 16

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“He got to see how leading players in England prepare, how they review games, how they train in the gym, how they train on the pitch, different input from different coaches in terms of not exactly looking at what Sam Vesty might be looking at or Ian Vass might look at but getting different inputs from Martin Gleeson and Eddie Jones.

“It’s very valuable in terms of making him a more rounded player, giving him different experiences and showing him what it takes to be consistent at the top. I hope he has taken a lot of that on board.”

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Rejected by Leicester at the age of 16 due to skills and a lack of size, Freeman went from 83kgs to 99 in a two-year period and while this added bulk took its toll on his knees, resulting in him getting an operation done last summer in Sweden, he has gone from strength to strength this season despite setbacks such as a hamstring issue at England training in Brighton at the end of January.

“He understands it and I think any of these lads who go from the environment of going from the academy into the first team are well versed in nutrition and weights and understanding how that affects them physically,” continued Dowson about the Freeman transformation witnessed at Northampton thanks to his England involvement.

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“He has been very good. He has been very professional and is switched on. He now knows, especially having seen people like Jack Nowell and those guys who have been doing it for a long time. He will become more and more professional, understand his game more and more and understand his body more and more as he plays and he goes on that learning curve of playing week in week out.”

Elsewhere at his Tuesday media briefing, Dowson added: “Tommy has been class, he is a big man who can move quickly. It’s his game understanding as well, he reads the game, and he has got the ability to beat people, footwork, speed, power and ball on the floor and with his kicking ability to put ball in behind people. He’s a class act and a lovely guy as well in the environment.

“He is a top man who has been playing brilliant rugby and in all those tries he has scored (twelve in 13 Premiership appearances this season) he is benefiting from people like Fraser Dingwall, Dan Biggar and Alex Mitchell playing really well as well as George Furbank so that backs unit is providing Tommy opportunities.”

Northampton will hope that the likely selection of Freeman to start the Premiership semi-final versus Leicester will be a good omen as the youngster didn’t play in the two beatings the Saints suffered against the Tigers this season (26-55 at home and 20-35 away).

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“We have taken a hiding twice and they have been chastening experiences, particularly a local derby, and we have to learn the lessons from that,” insisted Dowson, who takes over as director of rugby from Chris Boyd at the end of the season.

“It is as clear as day in terms of getting our game on the field and dealing with a very aggressive and very dominant performances. How we manage to get ourselves in the game and how we manage to get our game on the pitch is integral to the success of our game plan.”

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 2 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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