Fraser Dingwall excited for All-Saints centre pairing with Tommy Freeman against Wales

Today at 02:48 PM

England head coach Steve Borthwick has made an unorthdox alteration to his team, for the final round of the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations. Borthwick has decided to unleash his regular starting wing Tommy Freeman in the centre of the park, with the Northampton man partnering up with his Saints teammate Fraser Dingwall in the midfield.

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England take on Wales tomorrow afternoon at the Principality Stadium, and Borthwick’s side can’t settle for anything less than a bonus point win if they want to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive. England have not won the Six Nations since 2020, and should Scotland defeat France in the final match of the tournament, England could well end their half decade of waiting tomorrow afternoon.

Fraser Dingwall starts at inside centre, with Tommy Freeman outside him in the 13 jersey. The change comes into fruition after Ollie Lawrence sustained the potentially season-ending Achilles injury last Sunday against Italy, with Henry Slade named as a travelling reserve for the Cardiff match. Dingwall expressed his excitement at the green, black and gold painted midfield, and insisted how Freeman has already taken well to the positional change.

“I’ve probably seen what everyone else has seen around Tommy’s talents with ball in hand, but also on the other side of the ball as well.” Dingwall said this afternoon, at England’s captain’s run media event at the Principality Stadium.

“I think he’s very, very competent and makes really good decisions. So, the exciting thing about him being in that position is that he potentially gets more, even more opportunity to get hands on the ball. That’s something that is exciting for everyone watching rugby. So, hopefully we can involve him in the game.”

“We work together a lot, but he’s sharp enough, when it comes to rugby anyway, to pick things up. He quickly got hold of things. As I said, he makes good decisions, and ultimately, that’s what you need from people who are defending in that channel.”

There is a real East Midlands feel to this new generation of the England back-line, as at it’s full flight, Borthwick could unleash a near All-Saints attacking set-up. Injuries aside, the hypothetical back-line of Alex Mitchell, Fin Smith, Fraser Dingwall, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Sleightholme and George Furbank leaves just one midfield or wing spot to be filled, with cohesion proving to be key in the England head coach’s eyes. Dingwall expressed how whilst the Saints synergy certainly is useful, it is by no means a requirement to star in the England attacking set-up.

“It definitely helps. I think having that familiarity is definitely beneficial. Isn’t necessarily essential. I think there’s a lot of good players here, and you’ve spent a lot of time with people in camp that you create connections anyway. But I’m just fortunate enough that, I’m playing alongside some guys that I play with weekly and know very well, when it comes to being off the pitch as well.

“Potentially with us being so familiar with each other, that may well prove to be be beneficial. But I've got no doubt that a lot of people within this team would find good ways to get together and get messages to each other."

Dingwall went on to express how he would have liked more game-time with Ollie Lawrence, as the Bath centre sustained an Achilles injury after just eight minutes against Italy. Lawrence could well be out of the mix for Bath’s Premiership title hopes and the upcoming British & Irish Lions tour, in what is a brutal blow for the blue, black and whites man.

"To be honest, I was really looking forward to playing with Ollie and I didn't get much of a chance. I can't answer that completely. I would love to play with Ollie even more, we are all feeling desperately sorry for him.

“But playing with Freemo (Tommy Freeman) it is a similar kind of role for me. You've got two boys who are very good with ball in hand, so it is how you can create opportunities to take it on. It doesn't change anything defensively for me other than keep trying to give as much information as I can to them and organise things as much as possible. Arguably, it is a similar kind of fit."

Keeping things all green, black and gold, Dingwall then had his say on the incoming England Test debut of Henry Pollock. The Northampton Saints back row has been the one true bolter of the England squad for this Six Nations campaign, with Dingwall excited to see the 20-year-old bring his regular brand of high-octane energy and aggressive action to the Test match stage.

“I know Henry well, I think he's just very excited. Speaking to him as much as possible, I think he's just relishing this opportunity. He's got loads of talent and ultimately we just want to see him get on the pitch and do his thing. I think what we'll see from Henry is a lot of energy, excitement to go and get involved as quickly as possible.”

“That's one of the best things about Henry. He's able to transfer from each environment what he's really good at and who he is. He's not necessarily loud in terms of constantly, he's just got a lot of energy and that's something that can be really valuable to squads.”

England had their pre-match tune-up this afternoon at the Principality Stadium, with Pollock and Will Stuart getting a short ceremony of sorts ahead of the players entrance out of the tunnel. It’s a milestone match for both the back row and tight-head prop, with the England team recognizing every milestone that gets achieved within their camp.

“It's just a bit of thing whenever we do a stadium visit, if there's a notable thing for someone. It's Stu's 50th and then it's Pollock's first game.”

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