The radical move Freddie Steward eyes as 'way back in' to England team

Freddie Steward’s England career since the 2023 World Cup has not gone the way he would have wanted.

Once one of the first players on the team sheet for Steve Borthwick, he has seen his game time severely reduced over the past year.

Still a perennial member of England’s wider squads, he has had to feed on occasional starts, usually as an injury replacement, as England have opted for ball-playing No.15s in the form of George Furbank and the freshly converted full-back Marcus Smith.

That’s not to say that 24-year-old lacks a solid distributing game, but his strengths will always lie under the high ball – where he remains one of the best in the world – rather than his playmaking.

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Nevertheless, he recently admitted that it was still painful to lose his place this Guinness Six Nations to Smith, who has played the majority of his career at fly-half and is still striving to win over his critics in his new position.

With Furbank out of the Championship with a broken arm, the opportunity was there for Steward to reclaim the No.15 jersey. But after starting in round one against Ireland in Dublin, he did not feature again as Smith and Elliot Daly were deployed in the backfield. Joining the Stick to Rugby podcast recently, the Leicester Tiger admitted that was “frustrating”.

“When you’ve played that position your whole life and that’s your craft, it’s hard to see, it’s frustrating,” he said.

“England rugby is in that position where there is so much strength now in all these positions and competition for places is unbelievable. So it’s not been easy, but I’ll keep working at it.”

Steward shed some light on the conversation he had with Borthwick on how he can improve his game and work his way back into an England starting XV and add to his 36 caps, which could well come in July with various players away with the British and Irish Lions.

He added: “I said to Steve ‘right, what do I need to do to get back into the team?’ He gave me a clear idea, which is what I needed. Attacking side of the game, obviously I’ve got that high-ball ability but it’s trying to be more well-rounded add that other stuff as well. I was beaten a few times one-on-one at the back, which I was disappointed with. So I had to go away and work on that, which has been a big key for me.”

One option for Steward is to switch positions. A move to inside centre for the 1.96m, 105kg full-back has long been mooted – similar to Jordie Barrett’s move for the All Blacks – and it was once again raised by Lawrence Dallaglio on the show.

This could potentially fix two problems– not only could it allow a route back into the team for Steward, but it could be a new option as England strive to fix their longstanding centre conundrum. It may work, it may not, but Steward is keen.

“I would never say no to that opportunity,” he said. “It would be very different because at full-back you’re out of the game and being in that would be a new experience.

“But I would love to do it. I enjoyed playing there when I was younger and if that’s my way back in, I’d take that opportunity with both hands. I’d love to do it.”