O2 Inside Line | This Rose | Wales Week

It’s one of the oldest, and fiercest, rivalries in sport and this week’s episode takes you behind the scenes in camp, with Elliot Daly as your guide, as the squad gear up for an intense battle with Wales at Twickenham.

Away from the rugby field, winger Tommy Freeman opens up on his experience of living with epilepsy, and offers a powerful and positive message about living life to the full.

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Fierce physical and brutal one of the classic old six nations encounters England versus Wales at ttam and tck is bouncing Elliot da chases in down OT forland scores it’s always competitive against Wales there’s always it’s always built up not just in Camp but around camp and

And people M you saying oh it’s Wales this weekend good luck there’s always that rivalry it’s always a physical game they’re a skillful side they showed it over the last few years we know it’s going to a tough game but yeah it’s one we always look forward to when we see the [Applause] Fixtures It’s been a brilliant week of prep obviously it’s a bit different conditions coming back to to London uh rather than being in in Spain and in Italy so we’ve been working really hard on how this game is going to go for us and what we’re going to come against

With Wales but I think we just need to build on what we did last weekend there was a lot of good Basics from last weekend so it’s about building layering on those and hopefully we can get really good points [Applause] oh I’ve really enjoyed being in the back

Three with fremo and Fred I think freo’s just brought his his game to England at the moment I think he’s he’s obviously played really well this season for Northampton and over the last few years has been uh one of their best players and to get go last weekend against Italy

He played really well did what he’s been doing all year so I’m kind of the uh older Statesman in the back three at the moment which is nice it’s nice to if I can share any experiences but obviously I’m learning off those guys as as well they do things slightly differently I

Need to learn what they do well what they need off me for them to be in the best position for them to score tries or be in space so really enjoying working with Tommy at the moment hopefully he goes from strength to strength ell has been great over the

Last kind of couple of weeks he’s an experienced head he’s a smart rugby player but yeah he’s he’s an awesome bloke to be around as well to learn from I think that’s that’s great about the team in general to be honest and especially Elliot having been a part of

These games um for a fair few years now not too many though but yeah he’s uh he’s he’s been awesome with with any little kind of Fe feedback individually um and as a Winger what what to expect against a team like Wales so every opportunity we get to do it boys let’s

Make sure we are on it we are getting the detail we’re understanding what we want to do if we’re walking through something here let’s make sure we’re walking through that we’re going to go practice it out there and then we’re going to go do it on Saturday every

Opportunity we get cuz it matters Boys in these games it matters in these yearses against a big rival of us so I got diagnosed with a type of epilepsy when I was about 13 um I was at school I was reading out in class as you

Do as a youngster rude parts of a book and I just had this kind of blank where I just went quiet and I think that was that was the wakeup call for me to kind of go and get this looked at and that was it they said it was epilepsy um but

A staring vacant um something I could potentially grow out of because I they picked up at such a young age and they’d call it infantile epilepsy it then got to end of gcss I was on tablets didn’t have any of these episodes again for about two years came

Off the tablets they were like if you don’t have one of these episodes within a couple of weeks of coming off these tablets you’re probably cured and and it was when you had it when you were younger so it was looking all positive from that point of VI it got to two

Years at College absolutely fine learned to drive at 17 was brilliant um no issues at all rugby was going well um and then signed for Saints um when I was 19 and in that halfway through the first season I had a full full-blown fit tonic clonic whatever you call it seizure that

Lasted about 25 minutes was a pretty tough time obviously the unknown for me not not knowing if I could play rugby again mom and dad I remember Mom lying down next to me on the floor kind of supporting me crying in tears dad looking up he was um blubbering up there

As well so yeah for me it was it was a massive shock and for them they definitely thought it was the end of the road for rugby but luckily we we got on the on the right phone calls let everyone know and and got it under control and and here we are

Today a lot it’s definitely been a bit of a bump in the journey um it was hard to come to terms with I was probably in denial at first and obviously only having this one full-blown fit there is a bit of denial still there now today sometimes I forget

I’ve got it to be honest which is good the hardest part was the driving um that being taken away from you in in that moment kind of having your independence of doing what you want to do and and go here and there to then suddenly having

To rely on people and make them kind of what they’ve got a tax you about and you that was the worst thing for me I think having to rely on other people so that was tough in that respect but in a rugby in terms of the actual condition itself

It it’s completely under control and yeah there are a few things like having a bath and cycling it these thoughts do run through your head occasionally of not wanting to Bath alone not wanting to get a swimming pool Alone um so yeah in terms of that that probably impacts me

Slightly but everyone on the Rugby field is is aware I’m sure and and that I’m in the safest of hands when I’m playing so yeah it doesn’t really cross my mind I think that was the main thing I’d probably the reason I came out and said about the epilepsy about kind of my

Diagnosis is to just if if you do have it and you’re in this in the same similar boat don’t let it stop you along with any many of these conditions as well that they they’re a bump in the journey but it’s definitely not a barrier to stop you doing something so I

Think yeah if I can get another lad or or anyone who’s in a a similar boat to to pick up a rugby ball or to carry on doing what they love then that’s a win for me oh I think it’s important to talk about these conditions because it’s life

It’s it’s not we’re not all super human uh as as a professional athlete you’ve you’ve got your problems outside of the rugby pitch and I think that probably goes missed a lot there are a few other people in the world with other conditions and Henry mentioned obviously

His diabetes it’s just one of those things that that life throws at you and and if you can kind of get things under control and it shouldn’t stop you doing anything you love to do well it’s a fairly typical February weekend in the English Capital it’s not

That cold but it’s gray and a little bit miserable the Guinness 6 Nations returns to Twickenham it’s England against Wales at Twickenham Jamie George CTS him for the first time at the home of English rugby well England against Wales a CT that needs no further ingredient here’s yoan lyd getting knocked

Backwards they have to be careful here and it’s going to be a put him and an England [Applause] ball the pick up from Ben ER will try to go himself look at the power and the outstretch [Applause] St well George Ford moved but it’s all happening at twick

Him but he passes it back and it’s r d knocks it into touch and it is a stun twicken him Wales find themselves in the lead this crowd have been thoroughly entertained but there’s still a big 40 to come a crucial time in the match surely this there’s for B out to Dy

Dy that dve Danny K for oh and it’s gone loose well Mason Grady tried to pick it up but it’s a penalty to [Applause] England they go short to kl’s it’s there with Theo Dan Danny care will chip it into touch the referee blows his whistle for the end of the

Match and England have got themselves out of a very tight spot Boys this is special isn’t it great work again out there Lads like what we said show a lot of fight a lot of character couldn’t have had more thrown at us absolutely brilliant thanks again to the lads that traveled as well boys I thought the way that you that youed

Yourself this week was unbelievable so real Squad effort family [Applause] effort