Tommy Freeman’s rise to become England’s most potent back provides a salutary twist on the “big is best” academy selection policies enshrined at some Premiership clubs. Leicester’s loss of Freeman becoming Northampton’s gain is one of them.
Five years ago when Neale Harvey featured Freeman in our Young Guns series, the youngster revealed that he had been on Leicester’s books from ages 13 to 16 before he was “released for being too small”.
However, Northampton, then coached by Chris Boyd, saw something in Freeman, and the savvy Kiwi’s decision to sign him for the Saints academy, and then on a...