Freddie Burns interview: Bath fans remember me as a t--- so I'm supporting Leicester

Telegraph

2 days ago

He has just returned to his hometown of Bath, having swept the board at the Japanese League One awards, but Freddie Burns insists he has no mixed loyalties ahead of the Premiership final on Saturday.
The former England fly-half had once grown up dreaming of playing at the Rec, and managed that feat for three seasons, having signed for Bath in 2017. Yet it was his heroics in the 2022 final, when he dropped the match-winning goal for Leicester Tigers in their 15-12 victory against Saracens that copper-fastened his sense of loyalty.
'I just feel more connected to Leicester,' says the 35-year-old. 'There is something special about Leicester, something different. I had great support from the Bath fans as well, but once you help a team win the Premiership that changes things.
'Bath fans probably remember me as the t--- who dropped the ball over the line, whereas the Leicester fans see me as the guy who kicked the drop-goal for them. That probably sums it up, mate.'
The costly blunder he refers to came in a Champions Cup match for Bath against Toulouse in 2018, when he started celebrating a 'try' before touching the ball down. Humiliation followed seconds later as Maxime Médard took full advantage of Burns's showboating by knocking the ball out of his hands.
Five minutes to go...
Chance to win the game...
"Oh he's dropped it!"
A brutal moment for Bath star Freddie Burns 😣 pic.twitter.com/K7S578Rdwx
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 13, 2018
They were underwhelming times for Bath – and for Burns, too. But at Leicester he found himself again when he returned for a second spell at the club in 2021 with Steve Borthwick as director of rugby.
He recalls the time when his match-winning cameo for England against the All Blacks at Twickenham in 2012 suggested a dazzling Test career lay ahead of him.
After a decade of frustration, when he found himself thrust into centre stage in the final against Saracens after just 24 minutes when George Ford was forced off with an Achilles injury, he was determined to seize the moment.
'I still remember the look on Steve Borthwick's face when George went down,' Burns says with a chuckle. 'He ran from the top of the stands down to try to get a message on. I think everyone was thinking, 'Oh f---, Fred's going on, what is going to happen?' But I always felt through my career, I always thrived in those bigger games. I remember seeing a few things in the first 20 minutes when I thought if we were a little bit braver, there would be a few opportunities for us.'
The magnitude of the dropped-goal only hit him for the first time on the train up to Leicester with his parents to watch the semi-final victory over Sale Sharks last Saturday.
'I have always hated sitting in the pocket,' he says. 'I never liked those 10s who were happy to drop back deep for a few phases. Any drop-goals I have hit in my career, I have always hit them last-minute.
'We had a few phases, and I felt like we had Sarries on the ropes for a bit. All I remember is seeing Jasper Wiese running over Jamie George and Maro Itoje and as soon as I saw that and it gave us a little nudge forward, I knew I had to hit it.
'I didn't want to wait too long in case we got turned over. I am not religious or spiritual in any way, but it was the only time in my career that I felt there was something else at play. It felt like it was meant to be. I didn't feel stressed or nervous. It was like something else took over.
'I was completely taken aback by the reception I got last Saturday when I went back. I cop a lot of flak from the boys, but I don't think it is a moment that will ever quite sink in.'
THE GREATEST MOMENT IN FREDDIE BURNS' LIFE! 🤩
Comes on to replace an injured George Ford, picks up an injury himself, soldiers on, and kicks the drop-goal to win the match 🤯
Simply incredible! #GallagherPremFinal pic.twitter.com/eQXBwVDdjV
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) June 18, 2022
He showed his colours while standing on a bridge to watch the 'Tigers' prowl' as the players walked to the stadium and was handed a green flare to let off by the club's chief executive, Andrea Pinchen.
'I just hoped Dan Cole would see me because I knew he would have muttered something like what I nutter I was,' he adds. 'I might have to sneak another flare in this Saturday.'
On Saturday Burns is working for Talksport as a pundit and, having returned from Japan, where he won all the second division awards – most valuable player, player's player of the season, top try-scorer and top points-scorer for Toyota Shokki Shuttles – he hopes to keep playing on next season. He could even end up in the Premiership again at some stage.
Does he think Leicester can upset the odds once more? Under the stewardship of Johann van Graan, Bath have been transformed into an English powerhouse again and Burns finds himself supporting the underdogs in Saturday's final, but he is adamant that Michael Cheika's side can repeat the 2022 triumph.
'Look in some ways I am in a win-win situation,' he says. 'If Bath win, I would be really pleased for guys like Tom Dunn and Charlie Ewels, who I played with. But on the flip side, there are guys like Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Julian Montoya who are finishing up with the Tigers and I would love to see them have a great send-off.
'I think it is Bath's final to lose. But look at last year. I thought Northampton were the best team in the league last year, and they probably should have lost to Bath, who were the better team on the day.
'I think the defensive side of Leicester has improved massively in the latter part of the season and they can definitely cause an upset.'