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Video: Farewell message leaves 'blown away' Freddie Burns in tears
By Liam Heagney
Freddie Burns was left in tears reading out emotional messages from Leicester fans ahead of his final match for the club this Saturday versus Northampton. The 32-year-old, who dramatically kicked the drop-goal to beat Saracens 15-12 at Twickenham last June in the Gallagher Premiership final, is set to fly to New Zealand next Thursday to begin a Super Rugby Pacific contract at the Dunedin-based Highlanders.
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Ahead of his final appearance for Leicester, BBC Radio Leicester asked Tigers fans to submit their memories of Burns, the out-half/full-back who returned from Japan in the summer of 2021 for a second stint at the Welford Road club he previously played for between 2014 and 2017.
The radio station got Burns to read out some of the messages it received about him and one particular message left the ex-England player crying that his Twickenham drop goal has such an effect on people.
“My first Tigers game I was taken by grandpa,” began the final message that Burns was asked to read in an interview that the radio station also videoed. “You were playing and I had the pleasure of meeting you after the game.
“I grabbed a photo with my grandpa and he had it on the mantlepiece of me with Freddie. Fast forward to the Premiership final many years later and my grandpa was extremely unwell the weekend of the final. Having been at Twickenham it was an incredible experience and all the work you had put in as a club came to a head that day and I couldn’t have been prouder.
It will be ??????? ?????' ???? ???? in a Leicester Tigers shirt on Saturday?
He built such a special bond with Tigers' fans, and his title-winning drop goal is in Leicester folklore. We asked for your tributes, and showed them to him.
This one was special? pic.twitter.com/bm6y5QHMGZ
— BBC Sport Leicester (@BBCRLSport) January 27, 2023
“Shortly after the final the same night my grandpa sadly passed away. Before this, he couldn’t remember much at this point and could hardly speak at all. However, his last memories were… oh wow!” It was at this stage that Burns had silently jumped ahead with the message and its conclusion emotionally buckled him. “I am not sure I can finish that. WOW! I am terrible at this stuff,” he said before reading aloud the message.
“His last memories were watching the final on TV. We had a catch-up that night and so his last words to me were, ‘Your man from the photo won us the Premiership, didn’t he?’”
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A silent pause now followed, with Burns wiping tears away from his face before he resumed reading the letter again. “We spoke about it, the final, and how proud he was. I just wanted to say how incredibly grateful I am to Fred and cherish the last moments he gave me and my grandpa together.”
It was then that Burns addressed the BBC radio reporter he was sitting with. “What are you doing to me,” he quipped before adding his own context to what he had just emotionally read. “I actually lost my grandpa last year straight after the London Irish game. So yeah, wow. Thanks!”
Posted on Twitter by BBC Radio Leicester, the two-minute video has so far been watched by more than 100,000 people and ahead of Saturday’s farewell appearance, a match in which he will wear the No15 Leicester shirt, Burns added his own social media thank you to the video post.
“Been blown away by all your messages over the last week,” he wrote. “Thought I’d read them all until Adam Whitty put these in front of me. Thanks, Adam, and thanks, everyone. Can’t wait to represent one last time.”
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