England players vow to rally around 'incredibly upset' Freddie Steward

England players vow to rally around ‘incredibly upset’ Freddie Steward after full-back was shown a red card during England’s Six Nations loss to Ireland, as Anthony Watson insists: ‘I have no idea what he could have done differently’

• England’s rugby players have vowed to rally around ‘upset’ Freddie Steward 
• The full-back was shown a red card during England’s 29-16 tough loss to Ireland 
• Anthony Watson claimed his teammates will ‘wrap around him’ after the defeat

England players vowed to rally round an ‘upset’ Freddie Steward after his controversial red card as the Leicester full back awaits a disciplinary hearing tomorrow.

The Six Nations finale was finely balanced at 10-6 to Ireland just before half-time when Steward was sent off for a collision with Hugo Keenan, who could not play on after failing a head-injury assessment.

The incident sparked a polarised debate over the decision by referee Jaco Peyper, and England players expressed solidarity with their team-mate. 

‘I was gutted for him and he was incredibly upset,’ said England and Tigers wing Anthony Watson. ‘The only thing you can do is try to turn it into a lesson.

‘Saying that, I don’t know what else he could have done, really. The alternative is he tries to compete for the ball and you get a head-on-head.

Anthony Watson says England’s players will rally around ‘upset’ Freddie Steward (right)

Steward was shown a red card during England’s Six Nations 29-16 defeat by Ireland in Dublin

It was a decision that has sparked much debate in the rugby community with the full-back unintentionally colliding with Hugo Keenan, making contact with the Ireland players head

‘I have no idea what he could have done differently, which is why it’s even harder for him to take. It’s why he’s more upset.

‘We’ll wrap around him and make sure he’ll be all right.’

Players are concerned that, at close quarters and at high speed, head contact is sometimes unavoidable and accidental, so extreme punishments are harsh.

Another of England’s Leicester contingent, Dan Cole, said: ‘You want the game to be as safe as possible but you understand that when you play a contact sport and you’ve got people running into each other, sometimes these things happen. 

‘If there’s mal-intent, throw the book at people, send them off. But sometimes it is reaction stuff.’

Steward could be banned for six matches.

Source: Read Full Article