He was hoping to make a big impression on his first Six Nations start but England wing Tommy Freeman showed off a bit too much against Italy in Rome.

The Northampton Saints back has been in fine form for his club, both at outside centre or in the back three, and after two appearances on the tour to Australia in 2022, Freeman was recalled by Steve Borthwick ahead of this Six Nations.

Read more: Former boss Eddie Jones watches England in Rome

Coming into Saturday’s game, Italy had never beaten England but the Azzurri cut loose in the opening exchanges with Alessandro Garbisi and Tommy Allan scoring first-half tries.

England did rally and Freeman was at the heart of the visitors’ opening score. After debutant Ethan Roots’s powerful carry on the right-hand side of the Stadio Olimpico, the ball came left and Freeman made the most of the space before offloading to Elliot Daly who dotted down.

But that was arguably not the most eye-catching moment of Freeman’s first half. With England 17-8 down and eager to force their way back into the contest with just eight minutes remaining of the first 40, the 22-year-old’s impressive carry took him just short of the Italian tryline.

In fact, in his desperation to get over the whitewash amid the tackle from returning Italy centre Tommaso Menoncello and fly-half Paolo Garbisi, Freeman’s shorts and underwear were yanked down and he bared all in front of the TV cameras and all those in the stadium.

Watch “Cheeky” Tommy Freeman have his pants pulled down v Italy

Alongside a clip of the incident, one Twitter/X user wrote: “Cheeky Tommy Freeman shows his power.”

Another added: “Tommy Freeman showing his class….well it rhymes with class!”

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