England rugby wing Max Malins compared Freddie Steward to rising cricket star Harry Brook after seeing his full-back team-mate impress against Wales in the Six Nations.

Steward, 22, is just 20 caps into his Test career yet was hailed by Wales great Jonathan Davies as the world's best full-back following a commanding display during England's 20-10 Six Nations win in Cardiff on Saturday.

England batsman Brook, 24, is also an international novice yet he has already scored 809 runs -- including four hundreds -- in just nine Test innings at a huge average of nearly 90.

Malins, asked if he could see similarities between Steward and Brook, replied: "I would say so. He (Steward) is well beyond his years in that sense."

The England cricket team were in dire straits at 21-3 when Brook came to the crease during the ongoing second Test against New Zealand at Wellington.

Yet he responded with a magnificent innings of 186 and a colossal third-wicket partnership of 302 with former England captain Joe Root (153 not out) that took the tourists to 435-8 declared in their first innings.

"From 21-3 on day one to see Brook score those runs, I love the way they are playing, the no-fear factor of 'go and play cricket', and that has helped Brook to play his own game," said Malins.

Turning to Steward, a key factor in England's first win at Cardiff's Principality Stadium since 2017, Saracens flyer Malins said: "He was unbelievable.

"It is always nice knowing you have that safety net behind you, that he is going to clean up anything.

"He is one of the best, isn't he?... He doesn't always just catch it on his chest either, it's above his head as well. It's pretty impressive stuff.

"You take a ball like that, you know someone is coming to smash you. That is part of the skill, too."

New head coach Steve Borthwick recorded his second win in three Tests but England still have to face European powerhouses France and Ireland in this Six Nations, with a World Cup looming later this year.

Malins said there had been a marked improvement since England were beaten 29-23 by Scotland at Twickenham in Borthwick's first game

"We have come a long way in such a short space of time," Malins said.

"We were disappointed with the start against Scotland but we have shown promise."