Freddie Burns has got his swagger back. It is only two years since he was starting at fly-half for England in New Zealand but after making an acrimonious move from Gloucester to Leicester that summer he struggled to regain the daring and touch of arrogance that had marked him out from the start of his senior career as one of the most exciting players in England.
Leicester were blunt in attack last season and at one point Burns lost his place to Owen Williams. The arrival of Aaron Mauger, the former New Zealand centre, as head coach in the summer prompted a tactical overhaul but Burns had to sit out the first two months of the season after breaking his jaw, having been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy a few months before.
He has been back to his impish best in the past six weeks as Leicester, after emerging from a mid-season wobble, hit form at the right time of the season. They are one victory away from sealing their place in the Premiership playoffs and face Racing 92 on Sunday in their first European Cup semi-final since 2009. Burns will be opposite the New Zealand World Cup winner Dan Carter, the leading outside-half in the professional era.
“To be up against the likes of Carter is something I am excited about and I am relishing going toe-to-toe with him,” says Burns. “I am going to try and enjoy the occasion and play with a smile on my face. I have got my confidence back and I am enjoying my role in the team. One of Aaron’s great qualities as a coach is that he challenges the players all the time, asking questions and getting you thinking.
“As a fly-half I think that’s something that’s helped me. He challenges me quite a lot in training which sometimes can run a little bit thin when you’re having your bad days, but on the whole you come out better for it, taking a different look at things. He will ask you to be in different positions and you think you cannot be there every time, but when you work a bit harder and get there, the opportunities are almost endless.
“I do not score many tries but in the past month I have got a few [three] and that comes from him. Learning from Aaron is paying dividends. I did not start at Leicester as I wanted to and there were some tough times, but they made me stronger.”
Carter was injured when Burns toured New Zealand with England in 2014. “I have watched his whole career and he is set apart from everyone else because he is quality week in, week out,” Burns says. “He showed in the World Cup he has still got it and he has made a huge impact at Racing.
“It will be a huge test but I cannot control what he does and he cannot control what I do. What is important for me is that I manage the game well and that a good team performance will get us the right result. We have some exciting backs and forwards who can do some damage. You see a line-up that is comfortable together, young lads enjoying chucking the ball around and having a crack at teams.”
Playing in a European semi-final and daring to think about appearing for England again were not on Burns’s mind at the start of the season as he nursed his broken jaw and battled with Bell’s Palsy, a condition he picked up at the end of his summer holidays through a viral infection. “I had it for the whole of the pre-season,” he said.
“I could not train too much because of headaches and I had to wear a patch because I could not close my eye. It’s still hanging around a bit now and I still feel it in my eye and lip. It’s more when I have a few too many beers now so I can no longer hide it from Cockers [Richard Cockerill, Leicester’s director of rugby] when I’ve had a couple! I still struggle a bit under floodlights because of my eye and when I saw a neurologist a few weeks ago, he said what damage remains might be permanent. It is not ideal, but it is not the end of the world.
“When you get a week like this you realise why you left Gloucester. A European Cup semi-final is what you dream about and now it is about being excited by the prospect, not being daunted by the task. The future looks bright for Leicester and it is now that Aaron’s influence is starting to show. We hit a sticky patch a few months ago and lost a bit of shape, but we can do some great things in the years to come.”
England are not short of fly-halves with George Ford and Owen Farrell cemented in the squad, pushed by Henry Slade and Danny Cipriani, but there would be no better platform for Burns than a Champions Cup final. “I’m massively hungry to play for England,” he says. “I feel I’ve always delivered in the Tests I have been involved in and being involved in big games can only put me in the shop window. I just have to keep playing well and maybe I will be in a conversation. You would rather everything be plain sailing, but it never is, is it? What has happened in the past has made me a better player and person. You grow from injuries and loss of form and that is what you are seeing now.”
