Freddie Steward believes rugby union’s rulers should review the laws around contestable kicks that are making it “more difficult than ever” for those under aerial fire. With the Six Nations championship commencing next week, England’s full-back wants one-handed “flapping” by chasing players to be banned, with all jumpers required to make a two-handed effort to catch the ball.
With the England coach, Steve Borthwick, suggesting he expects Wales to kick the ball “50 times” when they come to Allianz Stadium next weekend, Steward says it is now much harder to collect high balls with consistent success because of the spoiling tactics of onrushing opponents encouraged by the crackdown on defensive escort runners.
“It’s probably more difficult than ever to come down clean with the ball with this new law,” said Steward, confirming he would be “a big advocate” of a tweak to the existing regulation. “A law change where they have to make a genuine attempt to catch the ball would be really positive. It’s too easy for wingers just to be a nuisance.
“It probably lacks a bit of skill just being able to throw your body in and flail an arm. I’ve struggled with it because I have that expectation of myself that you want to come down with absolutely everything. It’s very difficult to do that nowadays.”
Steward, in line to start at No 15 against Wales, has also revealed the situation has forced him to alter his technique in a way that puts opponents at greater risk of injury. “Before I could probably go up with less speed and less height,” said Steward. “Now you have to be at max speed and max height and get your knee in the right position if you want to come down with the ball.
“It’s so much more physical in the air now. It used to be quite a safe space. Now you have to be braver and almost expect a collision every time you go up. I used to turn my body a bit and almost lead 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 they often turn their back so it’s almost like: ‘Right, I’m going to try and knee you in the back as hard as I can.’ As hard as that is, that makes them think twice about coming and flapping again. It’s almost prioritising the physical bit rather than the ball which is a bit different. But that’s something I’ve had to do. You have to adapt if that’s the way the game goes.”
Clamping down on flying “taps” would effectively mirror the situation surrounding one-handed knockdowns by defenders that are penalised by referees. On the plus side, the increasing number of loose balls potentially offers more opportunities for broken-field running and counterattacks. It has yet, however, to reduce repetitive box kicking by teams hoping to benefit from any “crumbs” that might fall their way.
The 25-year-old Steward predicts there will be plenty more “up-and-unders” in this year’s Six Nations. “I think we will see an increase in contestable kicking in this tournament, for sure. With the law changes it’s become a tactic a lot of teams will go for. Teams are being smart now and you can see them putting players on the other side of the ball. It’s almost like a game of chess.”
There are others, however, who like the existing law on the grounds it encourages a fairer contest for the ball. The world champions, South Africa, unsurprisingly, would prefer to stick with the status quo with more defensive knock-ons potentially leading to more scrums. “We are going in the right direction with how the aerial contest has been cleaned up,” said the assistant Springbok coach Mzwandile Stick.