sport news England's poster boy Freddie Steward is learning to deal with the limelight trends now
When Freddie Steward came home from the tour of Australia with a discreet little ink marsupial as a memento of England's series win, he had to contend with the threat of parental disapproval.
This was new territory for the Leicester full-back, but there is plenty of body-art within the Red Rose squad and he decided that it was a fitting way to mark a special event in his rugby career. 'The tattoo was inspired by Gengey (Ellis Genge),' Steward told Sportsmail. 'He got a sumo tattoo when he was at the World Cup in Japan.
'He's actually got loads of tattoos on his feet from other campaigns. So a couple of the boys got the brains trust together and Jack Nowell designed the koala. I think there were about seven or eight of us who did it in the end. A couple of the boys got kangaroos, but most of us have got koalas. I've just got a little one on my ankle.
Freddie Steward - not usually accustomed the limelight - is learning to accustom himself with the attention
'My mum wasn't best pleased when I told her, but when she saw it, she actually didn't mind it. So it's alright. In fact, I wasn't going to tell her, but my brother did when he saw a clip about it on one of the Inside Line things (in-camp video diaries).
'It's on the inside of my ankle, so it's easily hidden, which is probably a good thing! It's there as a memory of the trip. Thank God we won 2-1, so it's a good memory, because we got the tattoos done in the build-up to the third Test, in a parlour at Bondi Beach.
'I surprised myself by doing it. My mum always told me never to get a tattoo, but the boys wanted to have some memory of what was a great tour, so I thought it wouldn't be a terrible idea. I might do it for every tour we go on - a little memory of each country - but I will keep the tattoos hidden!'
The full-back has become one of the most important players in Eddie Jones' England side
For Steward, the trip to that parlour was a rare foray out of his comfort zone, since he has been involved with England. Having made his debut against the USA at Twickenham 16 months ago, he has started every one of the national team's last 13 Tests and been remarkably assured from the off. The rookie Tiger is a fixture in Eddie Jones's first-choice XV as an ultra-reliable last line of defence, aerial master and a highly effective attacking runner.
So has his
