Former England fly-half Freddie Burns has given a very raw assessment of his rugby career when appearing on the For The Love Of Rugby podcast this week, calling it “a hell of a journey”, as he looked back at his short time in an international shirt and his coloured club career.
The Bath-born maverick has appeared for a whole host of clubs during his time, including stints in New Zealand and Japan, as well as extended stays at Gloucester, Leicester and Bath.
From his youth days at Oldfield Old Boys, Burns joined the Bath Rugby academy before transferring to the Gloucester Rugby academy set-up. Since eventually turning professional, the 35-year-old has gone on to score almost 3,000 career points – including a last-minute drop goal to win Leicester Tigers the Premiership title in 2022.
As capable at full-back as he is fly half, the Dinamo București player was also once touted as a promising young star coming through for England.
Although he did play against the mighty All Blacks an impressive three times, and against Argentina twice, Burns’ international career never took off in the way he would have hoped. Despite this, he’s at peace with how his time with England panned out.
“I’m very aware of what I am, and I know what I’m not,” said Burns.
“I’ll back myself, like I think you all have to. I’ll back myself against anyone on my day. I also know that I probably wasn’t consistently good enough to be like a Faz [Owen Farrell] or a Fordy [George Ford] – like a 100 capper.
“You look at what you want your career to be, and like, I’d be lucky to have a couple of good moments. Obviously, my debut beating the All Blacks was massive, and then the drop goal that we talked about. I’d never want to be that bitter ex-rugby player.
“I was at the England game the other week against the All Blacks, and you do sit there, and you can’t help but be a little bit envious, ‘maybe I could still be here’, but then it’s like, I’d rather be thankful for the five caps that I’ve got, than bitter about the ones that I didn’t.”
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“A hell of a ride”
Burns’ name will forever be synonymous with the game. From hitting last-minute drop goals to having the ball stripped from his hands while celebrating a try that never was, and even telling his ex-partner that the Premiership final was all about him, there’s no doubt that the ageing star has made a huge impact on the game.
“It’s been a hell of a journey,” continued Burns. “I’ve probably made every mistake you can make in a game, but then also had the highs of some certain moments. Like a shinned drop goal that I’ve not hit since.”
“I played down in New Zealand with the Highlanders, played in Japan, and I’m now in Romania. I just think that when it comes to retiring, I’ll be able to sit back and just be like, ‘God, that was a hell of a ride.’
“I’ve contributed to those teams as well, which I’m glad about. So I am proud of what I’ve achieved. Don’t get me wrong, I’d always feel like I left a little bit out there, but not through want of trying.”
Compared to Farrell and Ford
With so many highlights to his frenzied career, many fans in years to come will wonder, just how good was Freddie Burns? Well, on his day, as good as anyone, but it wasn’t always his day.
“If I’m being honest, Faz and Fordy were always in a different class in terms of, not the type of person or style of player they were, but I was a bit more like a maverick in that sense. I’d have some great moments, but I’d have some sh*t moments.
“I thought I had a very short window to get my caps in, if I’m honest. I thought that Fordy and Faz would come through, as they have, and dominate the shirt. So it was slightly different for me.”
There’s no timestamp on Burns’ retirement as of yet, but one thing we can guarantee is that he won’t go out quietly.
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