Six years on from watching England’s last win in Cardiff, Freddie Steward claimed the Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match award in his side’s historic 20-10 victory over Wales.
Steward was in the stands as a 16-year-old when Elliot Daly’s late score broke Welsh hearts and England left it late once more, with victory sealed just four minutes from time on head coach Steve Borthwick’s first assignment away from Twickenham.
Ollie Lawrence scored the game-clinching score for England’s largest win in Wales since 2003 while Steward made vital contributions across the park.
He led his team for carries and metres made and also chipped in with two dominant tackles as England starved their opponents of clear-cut opportunities.
Reflecting on a memorable day, Steward said: “We had a stadium run yesterday and I looked straight over to the corner to where I was sat in 2017.
“To then be able to come out here and actually be involved and playing is really special.”
England have shown in the first three games of the Championship that a strong kicking game will be one of the key pillars of Borthwick’s philosophy.
Adept under the high-ball and with a boot to rival any full-back in the world, Steward has already gained many admirers and the Leicester Tigers man admitted post-match that he harbours aspirations of one day becoming the very best in his position.
“You always aim to be the best in the world,” he said.
“That’s the one thing that every rugby player wants to aspire to. For me its setting myself those little challenges and stepping stones to try and get there.”
