Freeman: Saracens win shows character of Saints

Tommy Freeman commended Northampton Saints’ energy and ‘character' as they toppled reigning champions Saracens 18-12 in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday. 

The men in Black, Green and Gold claimed their first league victory at StoneX Stadium since 2019, with tries from Ollie Sleightholme and Alex Mitchell coupled with eight points from Fin Smith’s boot sealing the win for Saints. 

And 22-year-old Freeman – who has started the last two league clashes at outside centre for Northampton – praised his side’s commitment to stay in the fight against Saracens until the final whistle. 

“It is a tough place to play Sarries,” said Freeman. “They’ve been at the top of the table for the past decade, they’re the reigning champions. 

“We knew we had to throw the first punch, fire the first shot and we obviously had to hold on at the end too. But we did it and that just shows the character of this group. 

“We did make it a little bit hard for ourselves, but we practise these kind of situations and scenarios in training, so it was good to implement our gameplan on Saturday. 

“[Saracens] are a team that fight, and momentum can change and things happen in the game, so credit to the lads for sticking at it for 80 minutes, and we are really happy with the win.”

Saints’ last visit to Saracens still lingers in the memory for Freeman and his teammates, with Northampton coming up short in the Premiership semi-final at the close of last season – when Saracens ran out 38-15 winners. 

But the England international was pleased to see Saints right some of the wrongs from that knock-out clash back in May. 

He said: “There were definitely a few conversations in the week about [the semi-final], it still hurts a few of us. The thing that we took from it was that we didn’t throw a punch in that game, especially the first half, and by the second half it was too late. 

“Saturday’s game was all about coming out with energy, firing first and I thought we did that well.”

Saints held Saracens to just 12 points over the weekend, their lowest points conceded total of the Premiership season to date – a feat made all the more impressive when considering that high-flying Saracens failed to score a point in the first 40 minutes. 

That reinvigorated defensive effort is thanks to Lee Radford, Freeman insists, crediting the newest addition to Saints’ coaching team for the shift in Northampton’s game that is catching the eye of supporters and pundits alike. 

“A lot of it is down to Lee Radford coming in,” continued Freeman. 

“Defence has its foundations and we haven’t changed too many fundamentals from what we were doing before, it’s more about changing the mindset. 

“Ultimately it is about energy and intent, and that is what we are going after in training.

“We know that if we put our game on the pitch and come out with energy and intent like that, then we can put a lot of teams away, and we have got the skills to do it. 

“We had a slight immaturity in the previous seasons, but if we keep backing up our defensive performances and bring loads of energy, I think the results will come.”

Saints’ attentions now shift away from the Premiership as the Investec Champions Cup gets underway, with the men in Black, Green and Gold making the trip to Glasgow Warriors before returning home to host R.C. Toulon in the competition’s opening rounds.