My size used as ammunition against me - Steward

Too big, excessively slow. England and Leicester Tigers full-back Freddie Steward knows nan disapproval well.

Standing astatine 6ft 4in (196cm) and weighing successful astatine 16st 8lb (107kg), nan 24-year-old accepts he is sizeable target.

From being England's preferred full-back astatine nan 2023 World Cup, which he vanished pinch a bronze medal, he has been successful an evolving conflict to reclaim nan number 15 shirt.

Northampton's George Furbank made it his for overmuch of 2024, only to break his limb playing for Saints successful nan European Champions Cup successful December.

Steward started past year's Six Nations run astatine full-back, but aft their opening conclusion by Ireland it was playmaker Marcus Smith who took connected nan domiciled for overmuch of what remained of nan tournament. Smith would past spell connected to play astatine full-back for nan British and Irish Lions successful nan summer.

The agile and crafty were put up of Steward – each seen arsenic much attack-minded and versatile options.

"I deliberation being nan size, nan weight and style I am, it gives group ammunition to chop maine down much than different 15s," Steward told BBC Radio Leicester.

"I spot different 15s make akin mistakes, getting beaten one-on-one, and group don't thin to opportunity anything, but erstwhile it's maine because of nan size I americium its always, 'he's excessively slow and he's excessively immobile', which is frustrating.

"But that is nan athletics we play – you spell retired location and you are unfastened to opinion. Whether I work together pinch what a batch of group opportunity is down to me."

And he surely doesn't.

Steward said past twelvemonth of realising he would need to activity connected different areas of his game if he was to reclaim his England spot, pinch his knack for defusing nan precocious shot – a accomplishment that England leader Steve Borthwick erstwhile called a "super strength" – nary longer seen arsenic capable connected nan world stage.

"I'm alert of what (criticism) has been said and I'd ne'er beryllium a subordinate to make excuses, but what I americium doing is moving unbelievably difficult astatine those things," he said.

"But much importantly, I'm moving connected things that coaches want maine to and what is going to get maine backmost successful nan team, not what group sat connected nan sofa are saying."

Steward's good shape for Tigers past play - successful a run that ended successful a constrictive Premiership last conclusion by Bath - saw him recalled for England successful nan summer.

And it was connected circuit successful Argentina, wherever he scored 2 tries successful 2 Test appearances, that Steward said he fto his "rugby do nan talking".

When selected for nan bid against Los Pumas, he had been described arsenic nan "forgotten man", external - having featured only doubly for England during nan 2024-25 play earlier that.

"That circuit for me, there's nary 2 ways astir it, was an opportunity for maine to get a ft backmost successful nan doorway and I deliberation I performed well," Steward said.

"I took that opportunity and put a spot of unit connected myself, which I deliberation really helped my performances.

"I needed to perform, I was elder subordinate retired there, I hadn't been playing successful Test matches earlier that truthful location was a batch unit to benignant of, not punctual Steve [Borthwick], but show that I americium still a Test-match value 15.

"I was loving it retired location and it sewage nan champion retired of me."