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Eddie Jones convinces Alfie Barbeary to switch position to pursue England cap
By Chris Jones
Wasps forward Alfie Barbeary, one of the most exciting talents in the Premiership, is going to concentrate on playing No8 after discussions with Eddie Jones, the England head coach, who convinced the injury prone youngster to switch from hooker.
The strong running Barbeary scored four minutes into his return to action against Gloucester last night as Wasps lost 35-33 at the Coventry Building Society Arena
The 21-year-old forward spent time in the England camp during the Autumn Nations Cup last year after bursting onto the scene with Wasps during the 2019/20 season
Having made his senior debut as an 18-year-old replacement hooker in the Premiership Cup in 2018 and being selected for England U20 in the front row, Barbeary’s 14 senior appearances to date have all come in the back row.
Wasps head coach Lee Blackett told CoventryLive. “He'll be a back-rower. We spoke at the end of last season, myself Eddie Jones and him. We were all involved in the discussion and Alfie wants to play back-row. His appetite and his passion is to be there, so he'll be a number eight.
“His last two games he's played in, he's got injured in the warmup. So half of him was hoping to get through just the warm-up, I think there were a few nerves just to get through that. I was happy with his game back but there's plenty more to come.
“He's someone that just wants to play. It's been pretty hard, this, I believe is the first time his dad has seen him in a Wasps first-team jersey. Look his dad's seen him in the age-group stuff but he's never seen him play for the first team and that meant a lot to Alfie. It was a lot of motivation to come back and play in front of his family.”
Injury ravaged Wasps suffered two further set backs in the lead up to the Gloucester defeat with Ali Crossdale and Marcus Watson both pulling out from the starting line-up to take their casualty list to 19.
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In the fine tradition of Irish rugby, Leinster cheat well and for some reason only known to whoever referees them, they are allowed to get away with it every single game. If teams have not got the physicality up front to stop them getting the ball, they will win every single game. They take out players beyond the ruck and often hold them on the ground. Those that are beyond the ruck and therefore offside, hover there to cause distraction but also to join the next ruck from the side thereby stopping the jackal. The lineout prior to the second try on Saturday. 3 Leinster players left the lineout before the ball was thrown and were driving the maul as soon as the player hit the ground and thereby getting that valuable momentum. They scrummage illegally, with the looshead turning in to stop the opposing tighthead from pushing straight and making it uncomfortable for the hooker. The tighthead takes a step and tries to get his opposite loosehead to drop the bind. Flankers often ‘move up’ and actually bind on the prop and not remain bound to the second row. It does cause chaos and is done quickly and efficiently so that referees are blinded by the illegal tactics. I am surprised opposition coaches when they meet referees before games don’t mention it. I am also surprised that they do not go to the referees group and ask them to look at the tactics used and referee them properly. If they are the better team and win, fair play but a lot of their momentum is gained illegally and therefore it is not a level playing field.
Go to commentsI’d be fascinated to see what other candidates you all might have for the Lions captaincy role. Let me know, below 👍
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