Freddie for it
STEWARD: TIGERS ARE ROARING... NOW LET’S GO & WIN PREM
By
FREDDIE STEWARD was an eight-year old boy when he first went to Welford Road – and now the full-back is part of a Leicester team revisiting history.
Full-back Steward watched Tigers at the tail end of their domestic dominance which ended in 2013 after their fourth Premiership title in six years.
Now Steward, 21, is an integral part of a Leicester team under Steve Borthwick that has won nine out nine in the league, two out of two in Europe plus two out of two in the Premiership Cup. And the current crop are drawing comparisons with the greatest Tigers
outfit
of all which ruled
Europe in 2001 and 2002 – led by Martin Johnson. Steward said: “The coaches here have been an absolutely massive part of that. Steve has been brilliant ever since he came in.
“I have been lucky to work under him for a year or two now and he has been brilliant, not just with the rugby but with everything outside of that. He is a mentor as well as a coach.
“Steve is a brilliant mentor. He’s very good on his detail, he makes sure, in meetings, we leave far more informed than when we arrived.
“He’s a guy the boys look up to and want to work for.
“The club has a really rich history and we need to respect that. It is about adding elements of that to our new philosophy, our new game-plan and trying to get the best out of both.
“Since Steve has come in he has brought everyone together.
“That is his big thing, making sure that we are all on the same page. He has instilled in us a DNA similar to the old
Tigers and the history. Just being brutal and being dominant and trying to bully teams. He has got the best out of us so far and hopefully in the seasons to come we can get even better.”
Steward has been catapulted to national fame after starring in the Autumn Series for England.
A picture of him hugging his grandfather Gabriel in the Twickenham stands after the 27-26 win over South Africa went viral, and when he visited Gabriel recently there were newspapers reports of the game piled up in the house. He added: “It was a
bit strange. Me and my family, we’re tucked away in Norfolk so we’re sort of away from all that sort of thing.
“But I went to see Grandad after the South Africa game and
he has all the copies of the papers, bless him.
“I had a bye week after the Autumn Series and had a good opportunity to go home to the family and just reflect on the journey that it has been, the last two years of it.
“It has been unbelievable, an awesome experience, everything that has happened and it has happened so fast.
“This club is the perfect place in terms of keeping your feet on the ground and working hard. It is a fantastic environment under the tutorship of Steve.
“Sometimes you have to give yourself a pat on the back without getting carried away but, saying that, it is always
the next thing.”