The ‘genuine attempt’ law change England full-back Freddie Steward would love to see
England's Freddie Steward has called on the authorities to make a further change to the refereeing of the aerial contest
Back in favour England full-back Freddie Steward had fired up the contestable kicking debate just days before the 2026 Six Nations gets underway.
The 25-year-old featured just once in last year’s tournament, starting the opening weekend away loss to Ireland. Steve Borthwick selected Marcus Smith on three occasions in the No.15 shirt and Elliot Daly once after that, but Steward is coming into the latest edition of the Championship very much the man in possession.
The Leicester player re-established himself in the team on last summer’s July tour to Argentina, and he continued that grip on the jersey by starting the November wins versus Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.
With England now set to begin their Six Nations at home to Wales next Saturday in London, Steward is currently in Girona with Borthwick’s squad for warm-weather training ahead of the Round One fixture.
Nuisance
Steward burst onto the Test scene in 2021, quickly becoming a regular Eddie Jones pick, but his fortunes have fluctuated under Borthwick who, for instance, dropped him for the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final versus Fiji in Marseille and did so again for last year’s Six Nations Round Two clash with France.
However, with the aerial contest now an increasingly vital part of international rugby following the clampdown by referees on escort runners, Steward’s jumping ability is now very much back in fashion.
His catching skills have been an important asset in getting England up the pitch in attack or minding the house in defence. But as encouraging as that development is, the Tigers player wants the lawmakers to revisit the contest and start clamping down on players who only jump with one hand.
While one-handed knock-ons in defence are regularly ruled as deliberate and punished by the concession of a penalty and potentially a yellow card, there is currently no risk of a penalty being conceded if a one-handed knock-down in the aerial contest goes forward, but Steward would like that punishment introduced.
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He believes the current situation has lowered the skill level and provided a runway for players who just flap at the ball in the hope of getting a favourable backwards ricochet instead of attempting to gather the ball two-handed.
Speaking to reporters in Spain with the countdown now on for the English hosting the Welsh in London, Steward said: “There are no restrictions now on the guy coming in to contest for the ball. That it’s too easy for wingers just to be a nuisance. It lacks a bit of skill, just being able to just throw your body in and flail an arm. A law change where they would have to make a genuine attempt to catch the ball, I’d be an advocate of that.
“It’s difficult because then you’d have to measure what is a genuine attempt to catch. But that would be a really positive change. Rugby is a sport where we want to see big collisions. The whole point of the law change was to see these aerial contests and these one-on-ones. I’d encourage that sort of physicalness. As long as both parties are in control of their momentum, then I don’t see an issue with it.
“When they are at top speed and just sort of lurching for the ball, you question whether they are in control of themselves. That is when you have to question the legality of it a bit. The more that wingers are getting up and genuinely trying to catch the ball, it’s better for everyone.”
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Steward added that players contesting in the air now have to be braver than they once were due to the collisions that take place. “You have to get your knee in the right position every time if you want to come down with the ball,” he said, explaining his jumping style.
“There’s so much more physicality now in the air. It used to be quite a safe space. Now, you have to be braver. You have to almost expect a collision every time you go up for the ball. I’ve done a lot of work because I used to turn a bit as I caught the ball. I’d almost go with my hip.
“Now, I’m trying to catch a lot squarer. So, my knee is a genuine battering ram. If a winger is trying to flap at the ball, they often turn their back. So, it’s almost like, ‘I’m going to try to knee you in the spine as hard as I can so you think twice about coming and just trying to flap again.’ It’s got to that.”
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