England star reveals Josh van der Flier mind games ahead of becoming British and Irish Lions team-mates
Tommy Freeman scoring for Northampton Saints against Leinster, and flanker Josh van der Flier during the same game.
England and Northampton Saints star Tommy Freeman has revealed how future British and Irish Lions team-mate Josh van der Flier tried to get into his head during their clash with Leinster.
It is one of the brilliant features of the famous touring side where enemies at club and international level join forces every four years.
When Northampton took on Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final earlier this month, Van der Flier was no doubt looking to play some mind games with Freeman before their encounter.
Appearing on The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast with ex-England internationals James Haskell and Mike Tindall, the Saints wing was asked whether he had come to blows with any future Lions team-mate.
Opinion changed on Johnny Sexton
“Is there anyone you’ve had aggro with on the field that you’re then going to meet up with? When I went on the tour, Johnny Sexton and I had never really spoken to each other apart from having a row with him on the field and calling him a word that I couldn’t possibly say, it wouldn’t get through approval,” Haskell said.
Before Freeman answered, Tindall chimed in with his own story, saying: “Johnno [Martin Johnson] told me to ‘shut the f*** up, nobody’. When Johnno tells you, it’s ‘f***, he’s got a point’.”
Haskell also revealed other players who he formed a friendship with on Lions tours despite being fierce enemies on the field.
“There were guys like Sean O’Brien, who I played with loads and wasn’t sure what he was going to be like. Dan Biggar was really competitive and really chippy, and these guys I met and got on like a house on fire.
“Is there anyone you’ve had a bit of aggro with which you will be interested to see what they’re actually like?”
Tommy Freeman’s encounter with Josh van der Flier
Freeman duly responded: “I haven’t had aggro but we were in the tunnel walking out for that Leinster game. I started to run out and Josh van der Flier just pulled me.
“I don’t really know what he said to me but he kind of said: ‘Are you going to try?’ It was something like that, I don’t know [exactly] what he said and I will have to ask him.”
It evidently did not pay off as Freeman went on to score a hat-trick in the Saints’ shock 37-34 triumph over Leinster, prompting Tindall to quip: “After you scored three, did you walk back over…”
