Steward spoke last year of realising he would need to work on other areas of his game if he was to reclaim his England spot, with his knack for defusing the high ball – a skill that England boss Steve Borthwick once called a “super strength” – no longer seen as enough on the international stage.
“I’m aware of what (criticism) has been said and I’d never be a player to make excuses, but what I am doing is working unbelievably hard at those things,” he said.
“But more importantly, I’m working on things that coaches want me to and what is going to get me back in the team, not what people sat on the sofa are saying.”
Steward’s fine form for Tigers last season – in a campaign that ended in a narrow Premiership final defeat by Bath – saw him recalled for England in the summer.
And it was on tour in Argentina, where he scored two tries in two Test appearances, that Steward said he let his “rugby do the talking”.
When selected for the series against Los Pumas, he had been described as the “forgotten man”, external – having featured only twice for England during the 2024-25 season before that.
“That tour for me, there’s no two ways about it, was an opportunity for me to get a foot back in the door and I think I performed well,” Steward said.
“I took that opportunity and put a bit of pressure on myself, which I think actually helped my performances.
“I needed to perform, I was senior player out there, I hadn’t been playing in Test matches before that so there was a lot pressure to sort of, not remind Steve [Borthwick], but show that I am still a Test-match quality 15.
“I was loving it out there and it got the best out of me.”
