Back to Dublin; the scene of the crime. Two years ago, at the Aviva Stadium, Freddie Steward was the victim of a miscarriage of justice which wrecked England’s quest for a shock win and fundamentally changed the sport.
The 24-year-old Leicester full-back is gearing up for the next instalment of a fixture which generated a torrent of outrage on his behalf in 2022. Ireland away in the Six Nations. On that previous occasion, Steward was sent off just before half-time, after his arm made contact with the head of opposite number Hugo Keenan.
It was just wrong. The ‘offender’ had realised, a split-second before the collision, what was about to happen and he was trying to get out of the way. All hell broke loose when he was shown a red card. There were furious protests from fans and former players alike. When it came to a hearing, Steward was exonerated – the red card was overturned.
Then the authorities took steps to avoid such blatant injustice in future. The so-called ‘bunker’ system was created, to decide if some yellow cards should be upgraded to red. More recently, 20-minute red cards have been adopted for technical offences, so that players can be replaced after that period, thus reducing the number of games undermined by a numerical imbalance.
Looking back on that difficult period, Steward said: ‘That was two years ago now and I’m better for it, having dealt with what happened and the emotion surrounding that. Psychologically, it was a real big challenge.
‘It almost feels like a little dream, like everything is in slow motion, then it takes a while to process it. I remember sitting down (after being sent off) and thinking, “S**t, did that really happen?”. But I dealt with that a while ago, and it’s out of my mind. I’m happy to go there fresh.’
Freddie Steward is gearing up for his return to the Aviva Stadium with England
In 2023 Steward was controversially sent off when he committed a challenge against Ireland
Having been cast as the villain of an agonising defeat for England, Steward was relieved to be cleared when the hearing took place, although some of the damage couldn’t be undone. ‘It was important for myself to know that justice was served,’ he added. ‘When it happened, a lot of lads were coming to me and saying, “Oh, that’s harsh”. At the time, you think that they’re just saying that because I want to hear it. So, to sit in a citing meeting and have that outcome was, for me, a line in the sand.
‘Of course, it’s not great because you don’t get that second half back. At the time, we were in a great spot away from home. We were in control. I felt like I let the team down so that (hearing decision) didn’t really make me feel a huge amount better, but it was a nice end to that saga.’
In fact, it wasn’t quite the end of the saga though. It had ramifications. It forced vital change which Steward believes is ‘good for the game’. He supports the bunker review process and the on-set of 20-minute red cards, saying: ‘You’ve seen red cards ruin Test matches. It needs to be the right decision. It is imperative because it shapes campaigns for teams. You can lose games on a decision. It really kills you. I am glad they have taken strides to get it right.’
Steward himself has taken strides too; back into the mix for an England starting place again thanks to consistently imperious form in Leicester’s No 15 shirt. With George Furbank still recovering from injury, the flying Tiger is a prime contender to take his place in a revamped back line. He spoke about ‘training his absolute b******s off’ at his club, to make the attacking improvements which had been demanded by Steve Borthwick.
As a passionate patriot, being usurped by Furbank last year hit him hard. ‘I missed the nervousness before games, the noise, the atmosphere and the pressure,’ said Steward. ‘Those emotions in Test match rugby are so heightened. I love that feeling of adrenaline, so it was horrible sitting in the stand, watching it and thinking, “I want to be out there”. That’s why we do what we do, to get those thrills and make people proud.
‘There was never any doubt when I had that first conversation with Steve (about being dropped) that I was just going to keel over, accept what had happened and not put up a fight.’
Steward believes that the changes as a result of the red card are beneficial for the game
After working extremely hard for Leicester Tigers, Steward has impressed Steve Borthwick
Having fought his way back, he will now step up the fight for aerial supremacy. While a crackdown on ‘escort’ runners has heightened the importance of his trademark area of influence, Steward knows that having full control in the skies is harder than ever. ‘It’s difficult with these new laws,’ he said.
‘It’s not often now you see clean catching and players come down with the ball. You can get exposed very easily. A lot of the focus now is on how you can dominate the contest itself. It’s about stuff like using your knees. I’ve been studying a lot of AFL (Aussie Rules Football) footage with the coaches at Leicester, looking at the way those guys use their knees to propel them higher and win that collision.’
Unlike two years ago, this time the mission for Steward is to keep soaring without enduring a devastating come-down.
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