'Those last five minutes encapsulated it - the fight, the belief'
Freddie Steward wants Leicester to use their Gallagher Premiership title triumph as a springboard for future success.
The Tigers completed one of English rugby’s most memorable revivals by being crowned champions after twice flirting with relegation.
Only Newcastle finished below them in 2019, then two years ago Leicester avoided the drop because Saracens were relegated as punishment for repeated salary cap breaches.
But they ended a nine-year wait to secure Premiership silverware by toppling Saracens 15-12 at Twickenham courtesy of Freddie Burns’ drop-goal 20 seconds from time.
While Leicester plummeted down the league table, Saracens, Exeter, Northampton and Harlequins all surged past them to land titles that the Tigers used to win on a regular basis.
Under head coach Steve Borthwick, though, they have reached the summit once more after a season when they were top of the table throughout and had an unbeaten Premiership home record.
“The improvement we’ve seen over the last year is really encouraging, and hopefully we can kick on again from here,” Leicester and England full-back Steward said.
“I know we’ve won the Premiership, but we are always looking to improve and add to our game.
“I can’t wait to rip in next season and hopefully do it all again.
“It is so surreal. The journey we’ve been on in the last year, and to be stood here now as Premiership champions is beyond belief, really.
“We have just taken it game by game and given everything for each other.”
The final five minutes of a pulsating final summed up Leicester’s spirit, as they prevailed after centre Matt Scott had been sin-binned and Owen Farrell kicked a penalty to tie things up and seemingly send the final hurtling towards extra-time.
“It was the theme of the season, really, where we are under the pump and we dig in and fight for each other,” Steward added.
“Those last five minutes encapsulated it – the fight, the belief – and we did it. We came together, and that is testament to the culture we have built at Leicester.
“Freddie is the best drop-kicker in the world! It was like slow motion. I don’t know what he did, but it went over and that’s all that matters.
“He has been such a big part of the club, and the fact he came on and did that shows what a huge squad effort it has been. To be around the boys and be with each other is just special.”
Steward’s spectacular rugby journey over the past 12 months will now continue with him set to be named in Eddie Jones’ England squad on Monday for a three-Test Australia tour next month.
As he headed for an evening of celebration, 21-year-old Steward said: “I am just going to enjoy the moment.
“You never know when it is going to be your last, so I am just going to take it in and enjoy myself. I am really excited for the next month.”
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments