Tommy Freeman has been one of the major success stories of this Six Nations for England. Three tries in three games, more line breaks than any other Englishman – by any metric he has looked the part on the wing for Steve Borthwick’s side. He has come a long way since being hooked at half-time by Eddie Jones on his home debut against South Africa in 2022.
The simplest thing then with Freeman would be to leave well alone and ink him in at No. 14 again for round four – rock on Tommy – but there is actually a persuasive argument for trying something different with him against Italy this weekend.
Freeman has been eyed as a potential outside centre for England pretty much ever since he broke into the team. He started 10 games there for Northampton last season as the Saints stormed to the Premiership title and reached the Champions Cup semi-finals. If there was ever a Six Nations game to see how he might go as a Test centre it is against the Azzurri at home.
This is not a match England are going to lose – they have never lost to Italy – but by the same token this Italian side is not so bad England would learn nothing from such an experiment. The French hammering last time out was out of kilter with what has gone before under Gonzalo Quesada. In particular, their Brexoncello axis makes for a strong midfield so a switch inside for Freeman would be an instructive experiment.
It would mean splitting up the existing England centre axis of Henry Slade and Ollie Lawrence after a run of 13 successive games together but that might be no bad thing. While it has evolved into a reliable partnership it is not one that leaps out in global terms. Not even in Six Nations terms.
The question for Borthwick if he wants to progress the side is whether he can extract more from a different combination. Would Freeman as one half of a centre combination up the wattage? There is only one way to find out.
At this moment we think our best seven has him on the wing but we’d have no qualms with moving him in one.
New Zealand engineered such a switch for Rieko Ioane and he has developed into one of the world’s best outside centres. Could Freeman do the same?
Northampton backline teammate George Hendy – an England A international himself – thinks the 6ft 3in, 16st 3lbs Freeman can make the transition at Test level.
“I’d definitely say he’s capable after watching what he did for the majority of last season at 13 for us. I think he’s got the skillset and the frame for it,” said Hendy.
“I feel like 13 is one of those positions where you just need time to get used to it – defensively it is quite challenging – but I can certainly see it in the long run as definitely an option for him.
“The more games you play the more you pick up and the better you get so if England are looking at him as a 13 option he is probably going to have to start putting in some shifts at 13 in a Saints shirt but I think he can do it.”
When Freeman occupied the No. 13 spot for his club – including at the elevated level of a Champions Cup quarter-final and semi-final – he looked comfortable there. However the 23-year-old has only started once in the Northampton midfield this season.
This is, insists the Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson, not because of any doubts over how he fits there, more trying to play to get the best out of Northampton’s backline personnel as a collective.
“At this moment we think our best seven has him on the wing but we’d have no qualms with moving him in one,” said Dowson.
If England adopt the same boot-first, think-later tactics as they did against Scotland, it will not make much difference who plays where in the backline.
“He’s more than capable of doing that. We obviously have to give him the training time, particularly from a defensive point of view, but on any given weekend depending on injuries, depending on opposition we would be more than comfortable to switch him around. We have been pretty flexible in the past in terms of moving him around and I think we will continue to do that.
“He’s a catalyst and you want to get him the ball as often as possible. The more he touches the ball the better. When he gets the ball, generally things happen.”
Freeman has the raw attributes for the part. He has power and pace; he can pass, kick and tackle.
And Borthwick has been quite flexible with regards to positional selection. The England head coach has been happy enough to use Marcus Smith at full-back despite him only starting one game there for Harlequins this season. Slade, too, has been deployed at No. 12 which is not where he operates for Exeter.
He would have to balance whether what he could gain from moving Freeman inside would outweigh what would be lost from doing so.
Such a move would rob England of their tallest wing which, given the additional emphasis placed on the aerial battle by the opening up of the kick-chase lanes this season, is a factor. But if England deem this to be of paramount importance they have another capped wing in Tom Roebuck who is arguably even better in the air than Freeman.
With two wins from three, England are in a good position in this Six Nations but they are absolutely not in a place to rest on their laurels in terms of developing the side.
Stubborn though they are, England are nowhere near the full package and could just as easily have been nought from three. It has been as much France and Scotland shooting themselves in the foot as England’s brilliance which has put them where they are.
An obvious work-on is their potency. Only Wales have scored fewer points than England so far. If England adopt the same boot-first, think-later tactics as they did against Scotland, it will not make much difference who plays where in the backline but you would imagine they would look to play more often against the Italians this weekend.
Freeman, even with limited possession, has proved one of England’s most dangerous attacking threats in this championship. It surely makes sense to put the ball in his hands as often as possible.
A move to No. 13 might just help with that.
Change coaches if you want to ignite England’s attack.
Careful now!
That’s like describing a pro footballer in terms of “he can stand on two feet, run and jump”.
Italy’s defence is quite good. So I’ll be surprised if England’s attack ignites anything more than some heartburn for a few of their fans.
Italy’s attack is quite good. Particulary out wide.
England’s defence is quite poor, particularly out wide.
England may wish to play it safe again, because getting carried away could spell disaster. Just keep kicking. Let’s try again in 2026.
If the wheels come off against Italy it would be the best thing for England. This painful slow death by a thousand box kicks is not doing English rugby any favours.
I think that the simple and logical move of starting Fraser Dingwall at 12, will ignite Englands attack.
A 9,10,12 club combination of Mitchell, finn smith and Dingwall, with lawrence at 13 (His best position was so astoundingly obvious that i’m amazed it’s taken Borthwick and Co 3 games to have their epiphany!!
Dingwall might look decent against Italy and Wales but I don't see him holding down a test shirt for long. He's not an international centre in my eyes. They can pick a Saints backline but against a top test side, the ball ain't ever getting outside of Mitchell's right boot. No centre combination is going to look good while Wigglesworth is around.
He’s great on the wing. Lawrence is great at 13. No need for this tinkering. All we actually need is a 12 to replace Slade (who is worth a bench spot at the most) and a better plan than kick the ball away.
Which bright spark suggested playing Ben Earl at centre?
Barrels are being scraped.
Freeman could be a great international 13 but..
1) Borthwick wants him chasing kicks, you could use Roebuck but given how established Freeman is and what a good job he's doing, I don't see this changing.
2) He won't ignite the England attack because he won't get passed the ball
3) Slade isn't the problem with England's attack. England's attack is the problem with England's attack.
England is the problem with England’s attack.