England’s ‘adrenaline freak’ TOMMY FREEMAN on ‘loving’ his transfer from wing to centre, why he has a youngsters’ electrical Porsche, watching TV within the bathtub and the way he needs his crew to ‘swagger’ in to the Six Nations

Before Tommy Freeman was diagnosed with epilepsy as a teenager, he harboured dreams of becoming a fighter pilot. His father was an RAF officer and his uncle owned a small plane that elevated his ambitions in the Oxfordshire skies.

These days, Freeman gets his kicks on terra firma. Theme parks and rugby pitches. He spent his summer holiday with his girlfriend, Ashleigh, in Florida, where they chased thrills on the biggest rollercoasters in the world. His favourite? The Jurassic World VelociCoaster that accelerates from 0 to 50 miles per hour in two seconds flat.

His appetite for speed runs in the blood, so perhaps it is fitting that he finds himself at the heart of England’s blueprint for high-tempo rugby ahead of their Six Nations campaign which kicks off this weekend. ‘You could say I’m from a family of adrenaline freaks,’ Freeman tells Daily Mail Sport.

‘My brother has a motorbike and we always watched Max Verstappen growing up. I was in the RAF cadets when I was at school and I thought it would have been pretty cool to be up in the air. Now I settle for the odd flight for rugby or holidays.’

Having played the early years of his international career on the wing, Freeman is now injecting his pace into England’s midfield. His positional switch has been one of Steve Borthwick’s priority projects, collaborating closely with club coaches at Northampton as England try to unlock their winning formula for this Six Nations and next year’s World Cup.

Admittedly, Freeman does not have the out-and-out pace of wingers Henry Arundell or Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, but they do not possess the all-round abilities of the 6ft 3in back.

‘When you are supporting Manny and Henry on the inside, you are about 10 metres behind them,’ he says. ‘I thought I was quick but they are properly rapid. It’s genius I’ve come to the middle now because having the pace to be a winger is tough.

‘There are lads in the game with massive amounts of speed and they’re just getting quicker. I don’t know what they’re feeding them at school now. The whole game is speeding up and we’re doing a good job of getting that pace. Props and back-rowers have wheels. [Forwards] Henry Pollock and Guy Pepper could go on the wing if you needed them to.’

Freeman studies his high-speed metres after every match. His numbers are tracked on the team’s GPS devices and immediately uploaded to a data base that can be followed by club and country.

‘On the wing, my high-speed metres were very good. We measure how many times in a game you run over 70 per cent of your maximum speed. We call it hussles. So if your max speed is 10 metres per second, you count how many times you get over seven metres per second in a match. When I was playing on the wing, I would be hitting that 30 times plus.

‘Playing in the centres, that number might be closer to 15. You’re not exposed to as much space. You’re connecting laterally in the centres, rather than sprinting to get back behind the ball. You’re still chasing kicks but you’re closing the field down and trying to stop them from passing, rather than going for the ball. You don’t get as many opportunities in the centres so when they do come you’ve got to make the most of them.’

Freeman gets his thrills from a midfield break, catching a ball outside the defensive press or exploiting a hole in the defence. Some wingers have struggled with the move inside. Wales’s George North did not have the same impact when he moved to the midfield but Freeman’s recent form in Northampton’s No 13 jersey suggests the investment could pay off.

His athleticism can be game-breaking in the midfield. Defensive positioning and adapting to the tighter confines is key but Freeman is using All Black Rieko Ioane as his blueprint.

‘I’m loving it. I had a good stint at Saints and I’m learning loads. It’s a lot easier when I’ve got Fraser Dingwall inside. He’s someone I know and play with at club level and his communication is second to none.

 

‘It’s still a challenge and I’ve still got loads to learn, but I’m loving it. It’s not as easy as just running off shoulders. Rieko Ioane did the switch really well. He picked up the habits of playing in the centre without losing that wing factor.’

As a winger, Freeman’s form had reached World XV levels. It is a befitting reflection of his performances in 2025 that he was gifted a Porsche by one of his sponsors after the Lions tour. A 4×4 Cayenne worth almost £100,000.

‘My first car was a Corsa so it’s a step up from that! We’ve had some interesting cars in the carpark at the club. Jamal Ford-Robinson had a Mustang when he was at Saints. Courtney Lawes had a Bentley. Henry Pollock’s got a nice little Defender now. Fin Smith’s got a nice BYD. He used to have a Fiesta.

‘I also have a toy Porsche! We had this darts competition at Northampton and we had to do a little walk-out. I bought this miniature Porsche to come in on. A kids’ electric one. It didn’t arrive on time for the darts event so I have it at home now. Fin Smith has been driving it around my kitchen when he pops round.’

The cars have been parked up for England’s Six Nations campaign. Freeman will carry his fearless approach into Saturday’s game against Wales. Having won 11 Tests in a row, England are expected to deliver a comprehensive victory at Twickenham. Public expectations are high and Freeman feels the young squad are ready to handle the pressure.

‘There is an element of confidence but I don’t think there’s any complacency. You listen to things too much and you can coast along. We take each week as it comes and look at who we are going to play, how we can disrupt their game plan and impose ours. As soon as we do that, and get to grips with that, that gives us confidence to keep doing what we are doing.

Entering a new campaign, Freeman says the team now want to master their ability to adapt on the pitch. ‘Our attack has been good. It’s how quickly we can problem-solve. When things are not going our way, how quickly can we get back on page and change something to better ourselves? We’ve been doing that brilliantly in training, and the quicker we pick that up, the better it is for us to get back in control.

‘Don’t get me wrong, we want to stick our chests out. We are hard to beat and you have seen that over the last year. We recognise that and we will have a bit of swagger about us. Steve talks about getting used to lifting silverware. We want to be winning as much as possible.’   

England’s ability to raise the intensity in the final quarter was key to their success in 2025. The players focussed their energies into ‘Q4’, with the likes of Pollock, Tom Curry and Ellis Genge deployed from the bench.

‘We understand that the referee might be on their side. How do we get him to swing back so we’re disciplined? Not competing in breakdowns if that gives away silly penalties. It’s things like that. 

‘Knowing how to wrestle back momentum when the opposition have come with a different plan that we might not have picked up at the start.’

England arrived back from Spain on Wednesday to kick-off their campaign. They checked into a hotel in Richmond ahead of the match, before they return to the familiar surroundings of Pennyhill Park.

Freeman always a trick up his sleeve – as Daily Mail Sport discovered first hand. He carries a pack of playing cards wherever he goes and has previously hosted the magician Dynamo in camp.

‘When you’re in camp, you’re living there. You’re with the boys 24-7. It has been the same faces over the last couple of years so it is a really good spot to be in. The place is unbelievable to be around, we are all good mates, the connections we are building.

‘There’s more opportunity to switch off now, compared to how things used to be. The baths in the rooms are huge. They’ve got a TV in them! It’s lovely. You can chill out and play cards or whatever. Play some golf. I’m taking in a Lego Ferrari to build!’

It seems like everything is in place for Freeman to get off to a flying start.