Freddie Steward is so good he reminds me of Jordie Barrett for the All Blacks

I haven’t seen a guy take a high ball and pull off the first tackle as well as Freddie Steward has done in Leicester since Tim Stimpson, although Charles Piutau also does very well. Having that ability in the back, especially in high pressure games, makes you worth your weight in gold.
This kid has a chance to win over 50 caps for England, he’s so good. He reminds me of Jordie Barrett for the All Blacks.
Normally games are activated on that secondary collision or dropped ball, due to the amount of box kicking that has crept into the game (thank you Richard Wigglesworth, it’s all your fault). Box kicks have become a weapon of attack, rather than a weapon you use to clear your lines – creating 50-50 catches, guys taking the ball and getting run over, or team players. of kicks swarming the breakdown and gaining penalties for holding up or turnover.
What Steward has given Leicester is that stability so they don’t lose ground when they line up those high kicks. He will do the capture. It is a skill in itself. He’s a big boy, he soars high in the air, but it’s also about getting into position to catch every kick, putting his body in the right shape to secure the grip. His positioning on the pitch is really good, and he will be tested as he plays international rugby.
It’s about how you add different layers to your game. There aren’t a lot of full-backs in the Gallagher Premiership who can take a high ball like Steward, who can ride that first tackle, who can dodge. to be turned around. It has that strength but also durability too. He can get run over, but just seems to absorb the tackle. Now he has to think, what else can I add to my game.
What I would like to see more of from him are outdoor breaks. He’s relatively quick but not as lightning-quick, so why not go get a sprint trainer? Spend time working on it over the next few years.
Speed ââwould be the first thing, because the faster you are the more impact you can have in international rugby. If you’re in the bottom three, you have to be one of the fastest five people on the pitch in every game you play. How can he go away and improve that speed without hurting himself? He must be thinking “what else can I build” – my unloading game, my relationship with my wingers.
Almost most of the side play is controlling your wingers, which by nature … let’s call them beer bottles. They are empty from the neck upwards. Most of them left with the fairies. In Jonny May and Adam Radwan, you have two guys who look alike. Electrically fast, but they have to be moved. The pendulum of these three rears must be controlled, in particular with the new law 50:22.