‘Exhausted’ England players to be treated on a ‘case-by-case’ basis for PREM return, says Northampton Saints boss
Tommy Freeman and Fin Smith (pictured) are among eight players returning to Northampton Saints from England duty this week.
Northampton Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson will treat his returning England players on a ‘case-by-case’ basis on their return to club duty from the Six Nations, but admits a lot of them have come back ‘exhausted’ after a trying campaign.
The 2023/24 PREM Rugby champions boasted the most England selections from the top flight, with eight players named in Steve Borthwick’s initial 36-man training squad.
Of that cohort, Tommy Freeman, Alex Coles, Henry Pollock and Trevor Davison featured in all five Tests in some capacity, while Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall also made appearances across the Championship.
Per regulations, England players returning to their clubs will have to sit out one of the next three club matches, but the clubs and players can choose which game that is.
‘I think they’re frustrated, and I think they probably are exhausted’
The physical toll of the campaign will surely be playing on the England cohort, but the mental effects will also be something Dowson will need to manage as well as they return to PREM and European action over the next few weeks.
England came into the Championship as one of the leading contenders for the title, with their Round Five meeting with France viewed as a possible Grand Slam decider, but it turned out to be anything but as Borthwick’s side slumped to a fifth-placed finish and their worst-ever record of just one win from five Tests.
“I’ve chatted to them throughout that period (Six Nations),” Dowson said ahead of his side’s PREM meeting with Newcastle Red Bulls. “I try not to annoy them, but try to also make sure they don’t feel forgotten about.
“I think they’re frustrated, and I think they probably are exhausted; even when it’s going incredibly well, it’s tiring. There are guys in there who haven’t played and would have been frustrated; Emmanuel Iyogun and Fraser Dingwall later, Trevor Davison would have wanted to play more and Henry (Pollock) starts and then goes to the bench. All of these things have some emotional baggage to them, and that takes energy.
“We have to look after them on a case-by-case basis, to refresh them and get them going again for us. Taking into account all those things, and have a bit of empathy with them too, but understand we have to get them back playing. How you strike that balance is part of what we talk about as a coaching group.
“I wouldn’t say we have a policy per se. It’s based on ‘what does Henry Pollock need’, ‘where’s Fin Smith at from a physical point of view’ or ‘does Fraser Dingwall need a game having not played for four weeks’? We try to do it on a case-by-case basis and not worry about having hard and fast rules.”
“One of the things is getting them back into a routine, more than anything else,” he continued. “They’ve been staying in Pennyhill Park or travelling all around Europe, but actually just getting them back in their own beds. We don’t need to go away from any of that.
“Getting them involved with the squad again, where they can be themselves and let their hair down, and making sure they have the opportunity to unwind and talk about it if that’s what they need to do.
“Ollie Dickson, our sports psychologist, will pick up with them individually around how they’re feeling, what they thought about, where their game is at and how they feel physically. It’s getting back to routine, refreshing them as much as we can and making sure we treat them as individuals.
“Steve and I want the players to be playing really well, and we have squads to manage that.”
‘The last thing that Steve and I want is for Freemo to burn out’
One player in particular who might be taken out of the firing line is versatile outside back Freeman.
Since missing out on the 2023 World Cup squad, the 25-year-old has played in 24 of England’s past 29 Tests, only missing the summer tour due to his selection on the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. On that tour, Freeman also featured in six matches, including the pre-tour fixture against Argentina and all three Tests against the Wallabies as well.
In that same time, Freeman has also played 55 times for Northampton Saints, including appearances in the 2024 PREM Final and 2025 Investec Champions Cup Final.
Appearances are one thing, but it’s also the sheer number of minutes he has played that potentially raises a concern. In the years since the World Cup, including this campaign, Freeman has averaged 77 minutes for England per Test and 72 per Northampton game as well.
“That comes down to management, and with the hybrid contract we can take that into account from an England and a Northampton point of view,” Dowson said.
“The last thing that Steve and I want is for Freemo to burn out or get injured or both.
“Tommy’s experienced and honest enough with us to say ‘I’m feeling X, Y or Z’. We did that after the Lions tour; Sam (Vesty) and I said to each other, ‘he’s looking a bit worn out’, and we managed him accordingly.
“It’s always a conversation with the player and making sure we’re doing the best thing short, medium and long-term with regards to his career.”