‘I struggled without realising’: Tommy Freeman reveals mental toll of workload

England’s Tommy Freeman has revealed the extent of his mental struggles after the victorious British & Irish Lions tour of Australia at the end of a season when he exceeded the player welfare limits for the number of appearances.

Freeman played in 34 games last season – 19 for Northampton, nine for England and six for the Lions – and has spoken of a “built-up anxiety” as a result of the workload. The mandated limit is 30, but players were given dispensation for the Lions tour on the proviso they were allowed five weeks off on returning from Australia and missed the first two rounds of the 2025-26 season.

The 24-year-old, who started all three Tests against the Wallabies, was one of 15 England players to take part in the Lions tour. Ireland, England’s opponents at Twickenham on Saturday, contributed 18 to a squad overseen by their head coach, Andy Farrell.

Freeman returned to action for Northampton in round three of the Prem in October, but explained that his Saints coaches Phil Dowson and Sam Vesty intervened, sensing something was not right, and adjusted his workload. He started England’s autumn victories against Australia and Fiji, only for a hamstring injury to strike, making his comeback just before Christmas and appearing in every match for which he has been available since then.

“I struggled without realising it,” Freeman said. “I had the five weeks off, the body felt good, but my mental state wasn’t in the best spot. Saints did really well at noticing that and giving me the time. England as well, picking that up and getting me back into the games in the right way. They’ve done very well since then.

“You go on a big Lions tour and I think it was off the back of 34 games or so. It’s a lot of rugby and then I could probably have managed my off time better. Without realising it, I think I was tired. My body felt like I was OK to go and I was saying to coaches: ‘Yeah I’m fine, I’m fine.’ I just think mentally it was a bit more of a struggle.

“I can’t really explain the feeling, if I’m honest, it was just a mix of up and downs, really. [The coaches] pulled me from bits here and there: some gym sessions and running, bits and bobs of training and then a few games, which was really good.

Tommy Freeman started all three Lions Tests against Australia. Photograph: Dan Sheridan/Inpho/Shutterstock

“On the Lions tour, if you weren’t involved you were with the non-23 quite a lot and doing stuff outside. I just locked myself in and it might have been a bit of buildup of anxiety. When you go on tours and go away for a long time I normally get ill, just the stress relief being off you. It is a mixture of all that.”

Freeman is likely to keep his place, either at centre or on the wing, as England seek to bounce back against Ireland at Twickenham after their defeat by Scotland. Steve Borthwick, the head coach, is understood to be waiting on the outcome of Henry Arundell’s disciplinary hearing on Tuesday morning before finalising his team.

Tom Curry, who came on for Sam Underhill at half-time at Murrayfield, is pushing for a start to add more physicality to England’s ranks. Borthwick will also ponder whether to include Marcus Smith or George Furbank in the squad for extra creativity.

“We have to front up better physically, especially the first 20-25 minutes,” Curry said. “There are a couple of things that probably didn’t go our way with regards to the bounce of the ball and that sort of stuff, but still we had multiple opportunities to put our best foot forward and we probably didn’t.

“Steve is great at reframing and attacking what we have to go after.”