"A no-brainer for me" – England wing Tommy Freeman extends contract with Northampton Saints

10/10/2024 03:40 AM

England international Tommy Freeman has signed a new contract with Northampton Saints, which sees the 23-year-old remain at the club for the foreseeable future.

Freeman has 83 appearances and 215 points to his name so far in Black, Green and Gold, and has also become a regular starter for England over the last six months, with a Test cap tally of 11.

"Staying on for more time at Saints was really a no-brainer for me," said Freeman. "This Club has been my home for the last six years, and I feel really settled here in Northampton.

"The fans are unbelievable week in, week out, and make cinch Stadium the best place in the league to play rugby.

"The coaching set-up at the Club is brilliant as well. I feel like I'm always improving here, all my skills are developing all the time, and every coach here is trying to make you a better player every day you come in. That's only going to help me and the team moving forwards, so I know this is the right place for me to stay and achieve all my goals.

"I love the lads within our group; last season was obviously an incredible time for all of us, but we're a really young squad so I'm excited to see what lies ahead, and what we can achieve together over the next few years in Northampton."

Freeman is a product of the Northampton Saints Club's academy system, moving into the senior set-up while in Sixth Form at Moulton College. Freeman had previously represented Wymondham RFC and also East Midlands rivals, within the Leicester Tigers Academy.

The versatile back signed his first professional contract with Northampton ahead of the 2019/20 season – a campaign which saw him score on his first senior appearance in Black, Green and Gold (a preseason friendly against Leinster).

Freeman would make his competitive Saints debut against Sale Sharks in the Premiership Rugby Cup, and earn his first Gallagher Premiership start against Bath aged just 19. Freeman was quickly up and running at senior level, making 77 appearances over the next four seasons and scoring an impressive 43 tries in that time for the Saints.

He won the Club's Breakthrough Player of the Season award in 2020/21, Young Player of the Season award in 2021/22, and ended the 2022/23 campaign as Northampton's top try-scorer that term. Deployed on the wing, at fullback, and in the centres during Saints' Premiership title-winning season in 2023/24, Freeman bagged 14 tries including one in the Final against Bath at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

On the international stage, Freeman made his England debut in the second Test of the tour to Australia in 2022, under former England head coach Eddie Jones. Freeman then scored his first try against France in this year's Six Nations championship, and played every match of England's tour to Japan and New Zealand this summer.

Saints Director of Rugby, Phil Dowson, said: "Tommy's an incredible player whose improvement over the last few years has been remarkable. We saw throughout last season, and also on the New Zealand tour with England, how good he can be.

"He can make a massive difference for us – he's a genuine gamebreaker – and we're delighted to keep him on board at Saints.

"He's not only an exceptional athlete, but when you combine that size, speed and skill level with his natural competitiveness and optimism around how he wants to play the game, it's a really explosive mix.

"He's always willing to try things, he's not perturbed by making errors, and that is what makes him so dangerous on the pitch – and very fun to watch as well. He's still only 23 so the sky's the limit really for him.

"As well as having a ton of x-factor, Tommy's got a lot of resilience and has shown that over the last year or so in his behaviours. He's got an inner steel; he didn't make the World Cup squad but came roaring back and proved a point with his performances, working on all the elements of his game that he needed to earn another shot with England. He's taken that with both hands now, and that's a credit to him and his personality."

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