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'There must have been, he's lying to us, tell us the truth...'

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Dan Mullan/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Out-of-favour Scotland forward Ryan Wilson was tongue-in-cheek branded a dinosaur when reacting to international newcomer Freddie Steward telling him that court sessions and drinking japes by the England squad at the end of the Guinness Six Nations are a thing of the past. 

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The 21-year-old Steward wrapped up his first-ever Six Nations campaign with a try-scoring effort in the defeat to France last weekend in Paris and how England went on to spend the last night of the tournament together was in sharp contrast to what took place a year ago when Wilson was last capped by Scotland. 

The 32-year-old won a surprise 50th Test cap last March when called up by Gregor Townsend shortly before Scotland flew out to Paris and after his first appearance since the 2019 World Cup, a raucous night of celebration followed at the end of a 2021 Six Nations where the Scots signed off with their first win in Paris in 22 years.

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Freddie Steward | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 26

We wrap up the Guinness Six Nations with England fullback Freddie Steward joining the show this week. We get their view on Italy’s historic win against Wales, Scotland’s disappointing performance in Dublin and France’s Grand Slam winning performance in Paris. Freddie tells us about his pre-match rituals, his England bestie, life in student digs, Pennyhill Park and which opposition player impressed him the most in the Six Nations.

Video Spacer

Freddie Steward | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 26

We wrap up the Guinness Six Nations with England fullback Freddie Steward joining the show this week. We get their view on Italy’s historic win against Wales, Scotland’s disappointing performance in Dublin and France’s Grand Slam winning performance in Paris. Freddie tells us about his pre-match rituals, his England bestie, life in student digs, Pennyhill Park and which opposition player impressed him the most in the Six Nations.

First capped in 2013, it appears that Wilson hails from an old school approach to post-match Test rugby activity given his conversation this week with Steward, the new kid on the England block who made a Test debut just last July.  

The fast-emerging full-back regular, whose selection last Saturday on the wing by Eddie Jones dismayed the critics, made an appearance on this week’s RugbyPass Offload, the show Wilson co-hosts with Max Lahiff, the Bristol prop. 

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Steward provided plenty of insight into the championship but one aspect of life with England left Wilson incredulous and highlighted the eleven-year age difference between the pair. The revelation that amusingly dumbfounded the Scot started out rather innocently, Steward getting asked who was the most entertaining guy in the England camp. Below is Steward’s answer to that question and the conversation which then unfolded between the England player, Wilson and Lahiff:  

Steward: The most entertaining in camp? Joe Marler. He is just brilliant. He knows how to get a good laugh and he is a funny guy. 

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Wilson: Is he the one who runs all the court stuff? Who runs all that stuff at the end? Surely you had a bit of a court session?

Steward: We actually didn’t. There was no court session at the end… there wasn’t too much. We had a couple of beers in Italy after the (round two) game. I remember it was Ollie Chessum’s debut. He is with me at Tigers, so he had a couple of drinks that was entertaining, it was all good fun.

Wilson: So no court session?

Lahiff: It’s not like that anymore, old pro. You’re a dinosaur, pal. 

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Wilson: There must have been, he is lying up us. Tell us the truth!

Steward: I promise you. We went to a cider factory in the Bristol (training) week, which was good fun but there was nothing outrageous.  

Lahiff: You went down to Thatchers?

Steward: We did, yeah. 

Lahiff: How good is it? 

Steward: To see all the machinery and how it all works was actually class and we did a cider tasting.

Wilson: So you watch France win their trophy, the fireworks, wonderful, you have a beer in the changing room, you get back to the hotel and you go, ‘We’re just going to bed’? 

Steward: No, no, it wasn’t that sudden. We had a couple of beers in the team room together. It was nice. There was nothing mental but it was nice. A good way to sort of end it. 

Wilson: No one took it a bit far?

Steward: No, no, surprisingly not. The boys were well behaved. 

Wilson: Tight lips. Loose lips sink ships.

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J
Jon 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

36 Go to comments
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