Freddie Steward insists his game has evolved during his England exile but will remain true to his core strengths when South Africa visit Allianz Stadium on Saturday.
Steward has been restored at full-back to reinforce England’s aerial game following the introduction of a new law directive intended to create more contestable kicks.
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus on Thursday described his ability in the air as “devastating”, while Steve Borthwick views it as his “super strength”.
The 6ft 5in Leicester Tiger started 2024 as first choice in the position but lost his place to George Furbank midway through the Six Nations and has appeared in only three of this year’s 10 Tests.
“It was difficult emotionally and I learned a lot about myself in that period. I’m definitely stronger emotionally as a person on the back of that experience,” Steward said.
“The whole way through the coaches have been brilliant – there have been open conversations about what I needed to do to get back in the team to push my game on.
“There is a difference between trying to be something that you are not rather than focussing on what got you there in the first place.
“I am not going to shy away from the fact that my strengths lie more in the aerial bits of the game and stability at the back.
“I would like to think that hasn’t changed too much – hopefully it has improved – but of course I’m looking to grow other areas of my game and I have been pushing them over the last couple of months. Hopefully I can bring them on to the field.”
Borthwick stated on Thursday that the rushed introduction of World Rugby’s crackdown on ‘escort’ runners – brought in this autumn – threatened to turn the sport into Australian rules football. But Steward welcomed the development.
“It’s a brilliant law change. It brings back that genuine one-on-one contest in the air that we haven’t seen for a while. That’s an exciting facet of the game,” Steward said.
“It’s an exciting challenge for us, especially at the back because you look forward to those aerial contests.
“It’s proper one-on-ones now. You don’t have any blockers or obstructions, so it’s something to get excited about.”
The penultimate clash of the autumn is a rematch of last year’s World Cup semi-final that was lost 16-15 when England pushed the back-to-back global champions to the wire by confronting them head on.
“The Springboks bring a lot of contests to the game. Up-front, physically and in the air, they have got footwork on the outside and speed and we have got to front up,” said Steward, who started the match in Paris.
“We are never going to be a team that sits on the back foot and lets the challenge come at us. We have to tackle it head on.”
