FREEMAN: I SIMPLY NEEDED A REST

TOMMY FREEMAN was rescued from his Lions hangover by club bosses at Northampton who saw he was frazzled in preseason.

- BY ADAM HATHAWAY

The England centre played 34 games last season, including all three Lions Tests in Australia, and admits he tried to come back too early.

The players got 10 weeks off from the final Test match in Sydney but Freeman was not right and Phil Dowson, director of rugby at Saints, and head coach Sam Vesty picked up on it.