England must back Tommy Freeman at centre this Six Nations

Another year has dawned with enduring uncertainty over the make-up of England’s midfield. As much as Steve Borthwick is developing impressive foundations, and as much as he deserves praise for overseeing 11 consecutive Test match victories, it still feels as though centre positions are unresolved.

Over four fixtures in the autumn, England fielded five players in three different starting combinations. Fraser Dingwall partnered Tommy Freeman against Australia before Dingwall and Ollie Lawrence took on Fiji and then New Zealand together. Injuries required tinkering, and November finished with Max Ojomoh and Henry Slade as the 12 and 13 against Argentina.

Seb Atkinson, excellent on the summer tour, will be in the equation despite Gloucester’s gloomy form. That only increases the number of possible configurations. And time is short. It is less than five weeks until England begin another Six Nations campaign by hosting Wales on February 7.

An autumn clean sweep may have been even more convincing had Borthwick been able to impart greater continuity in his selection of the back line. He clearly wanted to give Freeman, who had started at outside centre in Cardiff at the end of the 2025 Six Nations, more time in the 13 jersey. As players assemble this week for an alignment camp, there is plenty of sense in returning to that plan.

We are often told that Test matches swing on brief moments such as line-out steals or breakdown penalties. As spectators, some of these stick in our mind. Two of those cropped up in the first half of England’s 25-7 triumph over the Wallabies, and may have turned people against Freeman’s move to midfield.

The first begins from this box-kick hoisted by Jake Gordon, the Australia scrum-half. Note the initial position of the England backs at the top of the screen:

The strike sets up an aerial contest as Freddie Steward jumps against Harry Potter to contest. George Ford, who started in the back-field, is poised to pick up the “crumbs”:

Tactically, England do appear to be ahead of the curve in this area. They seem collectively attuned to these ricochets. In this case, an attacking opportunity arises as the ball drops to Ford. When the camera pans out, we see that most of England back line has backpedalled into their own 22. Meanwhile, there are 11 Wallabies highlighted in this screenshot, leaving four defenders covering the rest of the pitch.

Freeman is calling for a pass with Immanuel Feyi-Waboso beyond him. Ford finds Dingwall…

…who ships the ball onto Freeman after partially holding Joseph Suaalii:

Freeman takes off, holding the ball in two hands, but Max Jorgensen is extremely smart. He gradually backpedals, buying time for Suaalii to reconnect with him yet turning his shoulders so that he can bolt towards Feyi-Waboso if Freeman does release a pass. Freeman blinks first, and throws a dummy...

...before attempting to surge past the outstretched arm of Jorgensen:

Suaalii has made up the ground, though, and tackles Freeman before Feyi-Waboso can be released:

Ben Earl spills on the next phase.

Around half an hour later, England have a midfield scrum, with Freeman and Feyi-Waboso lined up on the left towards the top of the screen:

Alex Mitchell scampers away on the back of a dominant shove to feed Ford and Steward joins the line in between his fly-half and Freeman:

Steward receives a pass…

…and makes ground before transferring the ball to Freeman on the cusp of the 22. Jorgensen makes another intelligent defensive intervention. He pushes off the pass of Steward towards Freeman as Andrew Kellaway, the Australia full-back, keeps drifting to cover Feyi-Waboso:

Freeman perhaps has a small window to link with Feyi-Waboso...

...but Jorgensen dives to bring down the carrier. Again, Freeman is tackled and, again, Feyi-Waboso does not get a run. Here, the Exeter Chiefs wing appears to be calling for a pass:

There was a palpably frustrated reaction from the Twickenham crowd, too, because fans were eager to see Feyi-Waboso with ball in hand. But to write off Freeman’s centre prospects on the basis of these moments would be hasty.

He could perhaps have done more to fix Jorgensen for the first chance, but finding Feyi-Waboso from the scrum would have required a rapid take-and-give because the pass from Steward arrived so late, and Kellaway was drifting across anyway. In the latter scenario, England retain the ball and Earl is held up over the try-line on the next phase.

Either way, it is worth stressing that Freeman will become more effective in these situations with time in the saddle. England should be patient.

Indeed, his potential as an elite outside centre was on show against Australia as he shuttled across the pitch to maintain width in the defensive line and made sound decisions in that channel. His capacity to repeat sprints has been remarked upon by several coaches and England do need agile, extremely fit players in that role – especially if they are going to press up and swarm teams. Think of the ground that Slade has covered.

This is where Freeman would have an advantage over Lawrence, who has attacked as a 13 but invariably defended as a 12 for England. The latter’s power and jackalling is better suited to that narrower channel when opponents are in possession.

Northampton first started Freeman in midfield at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. With plenty of back-three options, they seem to believe he is increasingly suited to that role. When Burger Odendaal left the East Midlands last summer, for instance, the club did not seek a replacement centre.

Two consecutive starts in the Saints midfield have underlined Freeman’s credentials to stay there for England. The first try of his hat-trick against Bath saw Northampton probe the “seam” of the line-out defence. Freeman’s angle is superb:

Here is a map of this strike play, with Saints aiming to isolate Tom Dunn (Bath 2):

Although space is harder to come by in Test matches, line-out peels and dummy mauls – such as the one that sent Tom Roebuck slicing through New Zealand prior to Ford’s disallowed try – do pose problems consistently. Weighing 103kg, or around 16st 2lbs and standing 6ft 3in tall, Freeman is a hefty, explosive athlete and cuts carving lines. If they are even slightly off balance, defenders find it difficult to stop him.

The 24-year-old scored twice more against Bath. He threw a dummy and ghosted between Lawrence and Joe Cokanasiga with a little help from Emmanuel Iyogun:

Later, he broke outside Cokanasiga once more before foxing Santiago Carreras with another dummy:

Freeman is a skilful player with poise on the ball. England are confident of refining him into a “world-class” outside centre. Another moment reinforced how much he could improve. This clip, from the first half, begins with Anthony Belleau taking a pass from Rory Hutchinson that goes behind Freeman:

The pull-back from Hutchinson actually checks Belleau, who darts in the opposite direction, rather allowing the French playmaker to sweep around and feed the far flank.

Watch Freeman on the following phase. He spots an opportunity and acts decisively, sprinting off the ball behind Henry Pollock and calling for a pull-back:

Bath’s defensive line constricts and Freeman lifts the ball into space. Had the looped pass been slightly stronger, Sam Graham would have scored:

Either way, Freeman shows impressive vision, creativity and conviction.

With 17 Tests to go before the warm-up fixtures for the 2027 World Cup begin, Borthwick and his coaches, such as attack guru Lee Blackett, will be pondering how to get the most out of their best players.

At outside centre, Freeman can be a focal point. His aerial excellence may be compromised, but he would easily be able to migrate to the touchlines during matches – or as part of a positional switch. Indeed, a capacity to cover midfield and wing, plus full-back, is ideal for England’s tactic of loading six forwards onto the bench.

Who he could be paired with is a fascinating question. He and Lawrence have lined up together previously after mid-game back line reshuffles, notably for the Elliot Daly try that ousted France 11 months ago:

However, England are likely to want more of a ball-player, such as Dingwall, Ojomoh or Atkinson, alongside Freeman. Ojomoh, outstanding in the recent defeat of Argentina, joined the Bath warm-up prior to their game against Exeter Chiefs at the weekend, which was promising news after his recent calf injury.

Having signed for Sale Sharks for the 2026-27 campaign, Joe Marchant will be available to Borthwick next season. Still, it is worth seeing what a back line with Freeman plus two wings – two from the stable of Feyi-Waboso, Roebuck, Henry Arundell, Will Muir, Cadan Murley, Noah Caluori, George Hendy, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Adam Radwan – would look like. Feyi-Waboso’s capacity to beat defenders makes him especially valuable, with Roebuck’s aerial prowess a huge asset.

Lawrence was integral to England’s victory over the All Blacks, storming through for an individual try and laying on another for Dingwall with a deft pass on the gain-line. He could easily be accommodated in the same match-day 23 as Freeman in different ways. The latter could slip onto the wing or Borthwick could include Lawrence on a six-two or a five-three bench.

Full-back is another tricky, and interconnected, area. Steward and Marcus Smith both wore 15 for Tests in November and Daly is another candidate. George Furbank, who holds an enhanced Elite Player Squad (EPS) contract, will be under consideration for the Six Nations. Club cohesion is bound to be a factor in selection.

Scoring tries against Harlequins is not exactly a harbinger of success at Test level, but watch how Freeman reacts to Mitchell – arguably the most important individual to England’s attacking approach – to tear up the middle of the field and finish on Saturday evening:

Saints travel to Bordeaux this weekend for a re-run of last season’s Champions Cup final. It promises to be fast, furious and feisty. Freeman will be in the thick of things.

Having begun England’s autumn at 13, he reverted to the wing because of Roebuck’s ankle injury before suffering a hamstring problem himself. As much as Borthwick tinkers with line-ups according to opponents and tactical plans, Freeman should be given a chunk of the Six Nations to settle at outside centre. That is a good way for England to explore their ceiling as a team.

[Source: Daily Telegraph]