Tommy Freeman revels in Lions selection after mother's injury mishap in Australia
Freeman has been picked to start on the right wing against the Wallabies in Brisbane, with the Englishman joining Irish pair Hugo Keenan and James Lowe in the back three with Mack Hansen an injury absentee.
Suncorp Stadium will be familiar turf to the 24-year-old having made his international debut in the city on England's summer tour of Australia in 2022, and he will now get the chance to run out again at the ground in Lions red.
On that tour Down Under, Freeman promised to pay for his parents, Sara and Cliff, to fly business class for this tour if he were to earn a Lions selection that looked a long way off at that time - a vow he regretted after making Andy Farrell 's touring party.
But having followed through with his promise, the Freemans suffered a mishap when Sara suffered a Lisfranc injury out on tour, forcing her into hospital in Adelaide.
'I gave them a ring [when I learned of selection], but they are having troubles of their own,' Tommy Freeman revealed. 'Mum has just broken her foot so she has had surgery in Adelaide, so a bit of good news for them was good. They were obviously delighted and all the travelling miles they have put in for me has paid off.
'They were travelling from Canberra to Adelaide and thought they would drive it, so they pulled over, got some photos and she hurt her Lisfranc [joint]. Her only concern was whether she fit enough to fly to get here, and luckily she has touched down here and that [selection] news probably put a smile on her face.'
After earning three caps in 2022, Freeman's international career was put on hold after a half-time hooking against South Africa at Twickenham in what proved to be Eddie Jones's final game in charge.
The Northampton wing, who can also play at outside centre, had to wait for a chance to appear under Steve Borthwick but forced his way back into the side during last year's Six Nations, and has since been a consistently impressive performer and certain starter.
He became the first England men's player to score in every game of a Six Nations campaign earlier this year and has looked good since joining up with the Lions, thriving in a system that affords the wings plenty of opportunities to roam and get touches on the ball.
'That's something Andy goes after us for as wingers,' Freeman said. 'it's not like the olden days with the speed on the wings, and you just kind of stay on your wing.
'For me, I want to find the ball as much as possible and playing in the midfield has probably helped that. I've kind of found cues of where I can pop up in spaces and things like that.
'that's where the game's going at the moment for wingers in general. I kind of just try to focus on myself and making sure I get as many touches as I can in the game and pop up in spaces that aren't expected. Mack [Hansen]'s very good at that and very good at linking as well. It's good competition and it's awesome to learn off each other as well and get each other's ideas.'
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