It has been a long road for several of the players who went on last year’s British & Irish Lions tour to Australia. They are putting on a professionally brave face, but for some the final weekend of the season cannot come soon enough. Factor in the travel, the training and associated other stresses and strains and the 2025-26 campaign has been relentless from a physical and a mental perspective.
Crunch the numbers before Saturday’s last hurrah against Argentina and it is a wonder many are still standing. Of the those English Lions, Henry Pollock is about to participate in his 32nd competitive game while his Northampton teammate Tommy Freeman his 29th. Ben Earl and Ellis Genge, assuming their involvement against the Pumas, will be in the same situation with Ollie Chessum one behind.
As ever, it speaks volumes for their collective resilience. Considering the hullabaloo swirling around him, Pollock is in remarkable shape and looked properly sharp in scoring a hat-trick against Fiji in Liverpool last Saturday. That said, thanks to his frequent deployment as an impact sub, his active minutes total stands at 1,533, substantially fewer than Freeman’s tally of 2,052.
There are clearly nuances surrounding this type of data and players are significantly better monitored than they once were. Freeman’s figures, even so, are worthy of closer examination. In 2023-24, he was selected for 35 games, totalling 2,530 on-field minutes. Last season, he appeared in 34 games, including all three Lions Tests, again well over World Rugby’s recommended threshold. The 25-year-old has clocked up more than 7,000 minutes of top-level rugby since September 2023, with an intense pre-World Cup year still to come.
It was not a massive surprise, accordingly, when Freeman admitted to having felt a sense of “built-up anxiety” on last summer’s Lions tour and revealed he had been “struggling without realising it” from a mental health perspective. Northampton did what they could to ease his workload, but it was not until he suffered a hamstring injury during last November’s international period that he had some much-needed respite.
Since just before Christmas, though, he has been fully back at it and, seven months later, the end is belatedly in sight. Maybe this weekend will also be the one that finally settles the argument about the shirt number he should wear for England after that vexed debate received another vigorous stir against Fiji.
Freeman, selected to wear 13 and 14 in England’s two Tests this month, ended up fulfilling both roles in Liverpool after a hamstring injury to Alex Mitchell, the arrival of Noah Caluori necessitating a sizeable backline reshuffle. With Henry Slade in lovely touch and England also keen to show faith in Benhard van Rensburg and Seb Atkinson, the ideal midfield blend continues to divide opinion.
Sooner rather than later the management will be forced to make a long-term call, with Max Ojomoh, Ollie Lawrence and the returning Joe Marchant also potentially in the frame for next year’s World Cup. Freeman, for his part, says he finds defending at 13 easier than on the wing and remains open-minded about his best role.
“I try and avoid stuff online, but you can see there are people saying: ‘He’d be better on the wing.’ Or: ‘He’d make a great centre.’ But I’ll go where I’m needed for the team. As long as I’m involved I don’t mind.”
He would also love to score on Saturday to silence the exuberant Pollock, who has been quick to point out that he contributed three more tries than his friend and supposed specialist finisher. “As you can imagine we’ve had a lot of stick from him. But he’s rapid, isn’t he? While his acceleration is very good and he’s a powerful guy I’d like to think I’ve got him for top-end pace otherwise I’ll be struggling for a job.”
Competition for places and professional pride, in other words, will keep everyone going for these last few days. “Your motivation is to be playing for England,” said Richard Wigglesworth, the defence coach. “You’re away with the country you want to be playing for. I’m sure all the players will have some well-deserved rest and relaxation after this, but at the moment it’s about what we’re doing this week.”
