Tommy Freeman crossed three times in Northampton Saints’ emphatic Round of 16 46-24 win over ASM Clermont Auvergne.
Having recently made history for the first Englishman to score in every one of the country’s Six Nations outings, Tommy Freeman hit the ground running in the Investec Champions Cup on Friday.
The young winger crossed three times in his side’s emphatic 46-24 win over French side ASM Clermont Auvergne to take his tally to five for the competition this season and claim the Investec Player of the Match award.
But it was Saints’ final try of the evening that was the topic of conversation in the on-field interview post-match, as he was teased as to why he hadn’t scored four.
With him and Henry Pollock chasing down a loose ball into touch, either man could’ve confirmed the five points for the hosts. But it was Pollock whose arm reached the longest score.
"It was classic Pollock! It was fair play to him - he got himself in the right space and pinched it off me. But he hadn’t got one that game, so I thought I’d give him one!” Freeman joked.
A commanding win and form that takes him to nine tries in his last seven games will certainly send strong messages to the rest of the field in the Investec Champions Cup.
But for Freeman, Friday’s result was all about righting the wrongs of recent form:
“We were disappointed with the game against Leicester in the Premiership. We definitely needed a reaction and we wanted to put a performance in here at home for us and the fans.”
Saints march on thanks to this win to the quarter-final of club rugby's greatest competition, with a home tie against either Castres Olympique or Benetton Rugby awaiting them in the final eight.
Scorers:
Northampton Saints: Tries: Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman (3), Juarno Augustus (2), Henry Pollock. Conversions: Fin Smith (4). Penalty: Fin Smith.
ASM Clermon Auvergnet: Tries: George Moala, Alivereti Raka, Folau Fainga'a. Conversions: Anthony Belleau (3). Penalty: Anthony Belleau.
Teams
Northampton Saints: 15 James Ramm, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Burger Odendaal, 12 Fraser Dingwall (c), 11 George Hendy, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Juarno Augustus, 7 Henry Pollock, 6 Josh Kemeny, 5 Alex Coles, 4 Temo Mayanavanua, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Curtis Langdon, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun. Replacements: 16 Henry Walker, 17 Tom West, 18 Luke Green, 19 Tom Lockett, 20 Angus Scott-Young, 21 Tom Pearson, 22 Tom James, 23 Rory Hutchinson.
ASM Clermon Auvergnet: 15 Alex Newsome, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Irae Simone, 12 George Moala, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Anthony Belleau, 9 Sebastien Bezy, 8 Fritz Lee (c), 7 Killian Tixeront, 6 Pita-Gus Sowakula, 5 Thomas Ceyte, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Cristian Ojovan, 2 Barnabe Massa, 1 Giorgi Akhaladze. Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Etienne Falgoux, 18 Michael Ala’alatoa, 19 Anthime Hemery, 20 Alexandre Fischer, 21 Jules Bousquet, 22 Ben Urdapilleta, 23 Pierre Fouyssac.
