Freddie Steward backs decision to introduce 20-minute red cards in Six Nations Freddie Steward has praised the Six Nations’ decision to introduce 20-minute red cards in this season’s championship, hailing it as “good for the game”.
The England full-back was shown a red card against Ireland in Dublin two years ago which was subsequently rescinded and he believes the game’s increasingly fine margins makes the new initiative a fairer solution.
The 24-year-old was dropped last season and told to improve aspects of his game by the head coach Steve Borthwick, but his aerial ‘super strength’ is now back in vogue following the lawmakers’ clampdown on ‘escort’ runners trying to block chasers from reclaiming high balls.
Under the new approach, England would now be able to replace Steward with another player after 20 minutes rather than having to play the rest of the match at a numerical disadvantage.
After the 2023 incident, when Steward was dismissed following a collision with Hugo Keenan, a disciplinary committee concluded the full-back should only have received a yellow card.
