Freddie Steward hopes to enjoy some Southern Hemisphere comfort after coming through what he admits has been one of the most “challenging” spells of his relatively short playing career.
The Leicester full-back insists a good heart-to-heart with Kevin Sinfield helped lift his spirit and morale following a series of setbacks.
Steward, 23, has been fully focused and working hard during England’s training camp preparations for the forthcoming tour to Japan and New Zealand.
But he is grateful to rugby league great and top coach Sinfield for being something of an emotional “crutch” after the agonising World Cup semi-final loss followed by being dropped by Steve Borthwick mid-way through the Six Nations.
Tigers’ failed Premiership campaign also increased his woes while seeing George Furbank flourish in the England jersey ahead of him, left him facing something of a cross-roads.
England, with Borthwick deciding a much more open and attacking style was needed to develop his team, rounded off with a fine win over Ireland and strong performance in France. Now, Steward needs to recover the head coach’s vote of confidence again and is thankful to Sin-field, below, for his wise words of advice. He admits: “It was a difficult time for me … a real challenge. The whole season was a challenge. We’d lost the World Cup semi-final by a single point which was mentally hard to take. I still think about that now and then. It’s something hard to park and let go.
“Not being picked for the Six Nations was an obstacle to deal with. On top of that we (Leicester) have not performed as well as we wanted.
“I had the conversation with Steve (Borthwick) before I missed the Scotland game. I knew what I needed to do. It was a case of having to learn from it. But the coaches were brilliant and, of course, I had Kev!
Inspirational: Kevin Sinfield
“I’ll single him out individually because he’s an incredibly inspiring bloke. He had some incredible stories about his own setbacks to tell me and such a wealth of experience. To hear from a guy like him was special.
“He spoke about what he went through when he was not selected for a Challenge Cup final when he was at Leeds and how it made him feel.
“It’s so easy when something like that happens to victimise yourself and be upset and frustrated. But it was important to respond positively because I could have easily gone into my shell and started sapping energy from the whole group. That would have been terrible.
“I don’t think you would be a true professional if you just accepted it or wasn’t upset or wanted to play. You need to experience those slopes and down bits. You certainly learn a lot more from them than when things are going well.
“It has certainly made me more mature as an individual and I will be a better player for it.”
Steward is now fully focused on the present and future and is determined to persuade Borthwick he should be running out to face Japan in two weeks’ time.
He hopes to add to his 33 caps with the one-off Test against the Brave Blossoms and then two against New Zealand.
He insists: “My aim is to play for England. Fundamentally you want to wear that shirt. It’s now up to me to put myself in a position to do so. I have to use these few weeks to train unbelievably hard and do what I can to be in the squad for Japan.
“It’s important to move on because there are always new things to attack and get better at. This summer is a new focal point to get excited about, and I’m fully invested.
“The biggest thing about rugby for me is to enjoy it and play my very best. I probably haven’t got into a rhythm this season and I want that again. I want to feel good about my rugby. Whether I play or not I don’t know. But I will do everything I can to be in the team.
“I’m always looking to evolve my game. I’ve had a conversation with Steve and I have things I need to work on. I see myself as a full-back and want to work on that position. That’s my focus.”
