5. No Space for Alfie Barbeary with Hopes Hindered By Double Disciplinary
Bath back-row Alfie Barbeary was not named in Borthwick’s squad, with his two cited disciplinary offences playing a factor in his exclusion. Barbeary is a highly rated young talent, yet received two yellow cards in Bath’s Champions Cup win over Racing 92, and has been cited separately for both incidences. The number eight’s suspension fate will be confirmed tonight, yet it’s certain that he won’t play an immediate part in Borthwick’s plans.
“I rate Alfie very highly and he knows that, I’ve said that to him. We met a good few weeks ago, we went to this nice health food cafe in Bath and we had a good chat then. I met up with him last week, I spoke to him yesterday, were in regular contact. It’s a competitive position (number eight), and I think he’s done really well.
The disciplinary factor, we are hearing tonight, is that a factor? Yes, no doubt about it, I wanted the squad to have certainty about what we do going forward. Do I think he’s going to feature the team in the near future? Yes. He’s got the disciplinary hearing tonight to deal with, but I think he’s going to be a… if he continues to go the way he goes, I think he would be a big part of English rugby.
“I recall (a match), I was coaching Leicester at the time, when we were playing against Wasps, and I think it was the game where we were going for the record for consecutive (Premiership) wins. We lost that day, and Alfie’s performance in the second half of that game was incredible. I remember we sat there watching and thinking ‘this guy, he’s not in the England squad now, but he will be. He will be an England player, a regular player. He’s had some injury setbacks, and it’s testing his character, the way he is playing now.”
Borthwick then spoke to the written press after the live media conference, with the top five talking points from those discussions set to come out later this week.
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