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Behind the closed doors of England training this week, Noah Caluori has been playing the role of Joseph Suaalii in drills against the starting XV.
Not many players can replicate Suaalii’s athleticism but the 19-year-old Saracen has a rare ability for gravity-defying leaps that cause chaos under the high ball.
Suaalii’s kick-chase turnovers were central to Australia’s victory at Twickenham last year, catching England by surprise on his first-ever start in professional rugby union.
This time around, England have a plan.
Coaches Joe El-Abd and Richard Wigglesworth have been working on strategies for receiving kick-offs, with Steve Borthwick drilling down on detail with his second-rows.
But the man who is central to England’s aerial protection is Freddie Steward. The 6ft 5in full-back is England’s steady hand at the back, coordinating backfield coverage and marshalling opponents' rising tide of contestable kicks.
England full-back Freddie Steward rises high as Noah Caluori, who has been playing the part of Aussie Joseph Suaalii in training this week, watches on
Steward's dependability under the high ball is his superstrength and he is working on catching above his head (as above) rather than into his chest
Steward’s dependability under the high ball is his superstrength. He has rediscovered his mojo at Leicester Tigers and his form has been rewarded with selection in the No15 jersey.
‘Law changes to stop the escort runners (a player who intentionally slows down or blocks opponents from reaching a kicked ball) has basically made it a true one-on-one contest,' Steward tells Daily Mail Sport. 'So it’s now so important to get technique even more accurate.
'You get a lot of wingers who are coming in, not to even catch the ball, but just to get arms in, make it messy and slap the ball back.
‘One thing we’ve been doing a lot this season is practising our catching overhead (rather than into the chest). If we can get another metre higher with our catch, then it gives us that advantage. The aim of that is to win the contest before they can get their arms in.
‘Suaalii is brilliant at catching overhead. Israel Folau used that skill and he was almost unbeatable in the air for a long period.
‘The first thing to think about is your starting position. As soon as you realise it’s a contest, it’s how do you arrive to the catch at the highest speed possible.
'There’s a lot of contact in the air now so if you arrive with speed and use your knee as a weapon then you can win that space.’
Steward has studied YouTube footage of AFL star Bobby Hill, aiming to replicate the way he leaps above opponents for Collingwood. He has repeatedly watched clips of Hill’s ‘Mark of the Year’ against North Melbourne from 2024 in his mission to master the art of the skies.
Steward has studied YouTube footage of AFL star Bobby Hill (No23) of Collingwood, aiming to replicate the way he leaps above opponents
'What the AFL players do better than anyone else is how they use their knee to land on a shoulder and give themselves an extra push,' says Steward of Hill and other AFL stars
‘It’s one of the best high ball catches I’ve ever seen,’ Steward says. ‘What the AFL players do better than anyone else in the world is how they use their knee. It’s slightly different because in AFL they can attack the ball from any angle, but the way they use their knee to almost land on a shoulder and give themselves an extra push is unbelievable.
‘The way Bobby Hill gets his knee and uses it to propel himself, he’s so much higher than everyone else.
'My height helps, too. I tend to take off with my left foot so I’m trying to put as much force through as I can. If you arrive at speed, you end up getting higher.’
Steward’s priming work includes catching a 2kg ball above his head.
It is a test of skill and nerve. Steward has talked through his practise with sports psychologist David Priestley, whose clients include former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and goalkeeper Petr Cech.
Before Saturday’s Test against the Wallabies, Steward will walk across the Twickenham pitch and visualise the peppering of high balls to lock in his confidence.
‘It’s become a me versus you situation,’ he says. ‘It’s me against the winger and my mindset is to win everything. It’s about confidence. The last thing you need out there is to be nervy. If any doubt creeps into your mind then you start to second guess your jump and your take-off and your technique.
‘It’s absolute confidence in your own mind that you’re going to go out there and get the ball. Before every game, I go out on the pitch, I walk to both sides and visualise a box-kick.
Steward takes to the sky for Leicester against Sale's Tom Roebuck in the PREM at the weekend. He has rediscovered his mojo at the Tigers
Steward beats Tomos Williams of Wales to the ball during a Six Nations clash in Cardiff
‘The margins are so much finer at Test level so every catch matters,’ adds Steward. 'With the law changes, teams like South Africa use their ability to get in the air, regain the ball and get field position. As a defensive 15, you have to be so reliable and so robust at the back.
'There’s a little trigger word. When the ball goes up and hits the apex, I say, “Peak” and that’s my trigger to attack.’
With Tommy Freeman and Tom Roebuck selected in their backline, England are loaded with aerial specialists.
Borthwick’s analysts highlighted Aussie boss Joe Schmidt’s increasing appetite for box-kicks throughout the Rugby Championship but England’s selections may force Australia to change their approach.
‘It’s a bit like of a game of chess, particularly when you’re playing against a good fly-half like Finn Russell,' says Steward. 'Good half-backs who are able to see space and kick to space. It’s constant awareness and communication.
'I would probably be watching Finn Russell 80 per cent of the time when they (Scotland or Bath) have the ball.
'Where’s he looking and what cues is he giving me. Head movements is a big one; you can see a No10 scanning and picking up a bit of grass. Little nuances. If I see he’s picked up a bit of grass then I can check that’s covered.
‘In Test matches, the ability to put balls on the money is elevated. There’s less time and more pressure. Generally speaking, you look to get four seconds of hang time. The longer the ball is in the air, the more time the winger has to get in the contest and the harder it is for the defence.
'I would probably be watching Finn Russell 80 per cent of the time when the opposition have the ball. Where he's looking, what cues he's giving me,' says Steward
George Ford kicks in England practice. 'Fordy is so good at putting it on the money,’ says Steward
The 6ft 5in full-back Steward is England’s steady hand at the back
'When you come up against wingers like (South Africa's) Kurt-Lee Arendse and Cheslin Kolbe, they eat up the ball so fast that you can kick the ball 30 metres and they’re still in the contest.'
England’s backline have height on their side. They will no doubt look to turn the aerial game into a weapon, using George Ford’s kicking armoury to unsettle the Wallaby backfield in the same way that England were exposed last year.
‘Fordy is so good at putting it on the money,’ adds Steward. ‘He’s got spiral bombs in his armoury. He hits that nice high cross-field kick for wingers to get after. The difference between the best fly-halves is the consistency with their kick. To create a contest, the kick is the first and most important thing. There aren’t many better at it than Fordy.’
And with the safety of Steward at the back, England are unlikely to be caught cold for a second year running.
