"Shot ourselves in the foot" – Freddie Steward: England fullback frustrated after Six Nations defeat to Ireland
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It was a less than ideal start to the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations for England, as Steve Borthwick’s side capitulated to a second half comeback from Ireland in the opening round. England led 10-5 at the break thanks to Cadan Murley’s ninth minute score and the sharpshooting of Marcus Smith, yet Simon Easterby’s Ireland rallied back for an eventual 27-22 win at the Aviva Stadium.
Despite the hot start, England took their foot off the gas and allowed Ireland through for 22 unanswered points in a breathless break against the run of play. Ireland battered through to score through Bundee Aki, Jamison Gibson-Park and Dan Sheehan, before England scored two con solitary tries to round off the match. England fullback Freddie Steward believes that his side ‘shot themselves in the foot’, having reached their favorable position ahead of the eventual defeat.
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“Frustration is probably the right word. Coming in at half time we were in a good position in the game. We had a good period of pressure in the first half. We executed our game plan well – and then just shot ourselves in the foot in the second half. We lost the first 20 minutes significantly and left ourselves too much to do.
“We were pretty strong defensively and we’ve forced a few errors on Ireland in the first half. But in the second half they executed their kick plan very well and we probably didn’t deal well with that. We got ourselves caught near our own try line and then gave them set pieces and attack close to our line and it was just wave after wave.”
England were full of belief as they headed to the half-time sheds, with Steward echoing the shared message that had a ‘real buzz’ about it at the 40 minute mark. It’s frustrating for England, with Steward highlighting how his side need to tighten up their discipline for their incoming Test with France this Saturday.
“100 per cent there was belief at half time. We were in a commanding position and the lads came in and there was a real energy, a real buzz, about coming out in the second half. The key message was discipline – which we didn’t do in the first 10, 20 minutes. It’s an easy game when you don’t get that right.”
I'm frustrated with the tackle on Gibson-Park where he slips me and scores. It’s pretty hard for me to stand here and say I’m happy because I’m not. I was frustrated with that. I had a few opportunities to run the ball back which I enjoyed, I enjoyed that open field running and had some some good involvements in attack. So I've just got to keep pushing myself and keep working.
There is no denying that France will bring an equally tough Test for England to overcome, with Fabien Galthie’s side flying high on some surguing momentum. France were the only side from the Northern Hemisphere to go unbeaten in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, and ignited their Six Nations campaign with a monstrous 43-0 home win over Wales.
The Parisian party looks to be rocking in full flow, with Steward expecting one ‘hell of a game’, for when France arrive at the Allianz Stadium this Saturday.
“It’ll be a big challenge, France at home. It'll be a hell of a game, hell of a challenge for us but we’re back in front of our fans, we’re back at the Allianz. Regardless of today and that we came away with a point, the boys will be wanting to prove a few people wrong in that game.”
Steve Borthwick and his England side have kept it no secret, that the side often look back on previous fixtures when preparing for an upcoming Test match. However, one match that will likley not been reviewed in retrospect, was the last time France played in Twickenham, back in the 2023 Six Nations. It was a high scoring horror show for England, who suffered their heaviest ever home defeat. Steward doubts that his teammates will discuss the 53-10 loss from two years ago in the current training week.
“I don’t think we’ll touch on it. It was two years ago, two very different teams meeting, so I’m not sure we’ll spend too much time talking about that. But we know there’s a challenge coming. “
“Momentum, it’s important. Sometimes you feel, when the other team’s got momentum, it’s hard to find a play or hard to find something to cut that momentum. Defensively we slipped off a few and we just gave them (Ireland) easy ins. There were a couple of really good sets of defence which ended in a penalty against them. It just gives them an easy out. It gets the crowd going. And it puts you on the back foot.
“I’m not going to question the fight of the lads because I think we did dig in. Defensively there were good bits. It’s just again that 80 minute performance.”
England fans could have a justified sense of unease, as they head up to the Allianz Stadium this Saturday, with the memories of two years ago only amplified by France’s current hot form. The Top 14 clubs are high flying in the Champions Cup, with the likes of Toulouse and Bordeaux-Begles making light work of their Premiership opponents in recent weeks. Despite the warning signs, Steward issued his public service announcement for England fans, to keep calm and carry on.
“We watched the game against Wales and there’s no questioning that the French have got that offload game, that attacking game. They’re strong defensively, they’re a pretty well-rounded team, a full package so it'll be a challenge for us.
“There’s no need to worry. I’d like to think from today, of course we’re fuming that we haven’t come away with more but there were bits today. We keep saying it but the challenge is that 80-minute performance. We started the game really well and slipped off so the challenge next week will be to continue that.”
Steward shared the England back three for the first time with Cadan Murley, with the Harlequin grabbing a debut try in the early goings against Ireland. However, a knee injury has set Murley back for the coming weeks, with the wing expected to miss the next fortnight of action in England colours.
“I thought Cadan was brilliant. It’s no easy task to come in and play your first Test match away at the reigning champions. I think he was brilliant today. He’s a great guy to play with. He's constantly on me and if you give him the ball he does special things. So he's a great player.”
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