{"id":102958,"date":"2023-12-09T01:24:51","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T01:24:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crossfitsugarland.com\/?p=102958"},"modified":"2023-12-09T01:24:51","modified_gmt":"2023-12-09T01:24:51","slug":"interview-baths-alfie-barbeary-is-a-different-kind-of-rugby-player","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crossfitsugarland.com\/rugby\/interview-baths-alfie-barbeary-is-a-different-kind-of-rugby-player\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW: Bath&apos;s Alfie Barbeary is a &apos;different&apos; kind of rugby player"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> INTERVIEW: Alfie Barbeary is a &#8216;different&#8217; kind of rugby player &#8211; flying high with ambitious Bath and full of ambition to break into Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England squad<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Barbeary, 23,\u00a0 is fast becoming one of the country&#8217;s brightest young prospects\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>No 8 is looking to move past the demise of former club Wasps and injury issues\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Despite having featured for England&#8217;s age group sides, he&#8217;s without a senior cap\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Asked to describe himself in three words while wearing a trendy fleece and cap and sporting a trim moustache and pair of earrings, Alfie Barbeary\u2019s response isn\u2019t really much of a surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There are a few words which come to mind which I can\u2019t say! I\u2019d say I\u2019m a character, different, and cheerful,\u2019 Barbeary \u2013 flying high with ambitious Bath this season \u2013 quips with a smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019ve always liked to do different things with my hair. When I was younger I used to grow it all out. I used to have boots that were as bright as anything so my mum could tell when I was playing. When I first started playing (professionally) I thought I\u2019d better go in a bit humble with black boots but my mum said she couldn\u2019t see me so I\u2019d do some crazy things with my hair for better or worse. Some of the haircuts have been horrendous. My mum is still a hairdresser. I don\u2019t let her touch mine though.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>And what was the maternal verdict on the earrings?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018She wasn\u2019t too happy, I can tell you that!\u2019 Barbeary responds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/00\/78757473-12843949-image-m-36_1702080136811.jpg\" height=\"618\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Bath Rugby&#8217;s Alfie Barbeary describes himself as a &#8216;character&#8217; &#8211; and &#8216;different and cheeful&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/00\/78757475-12843949-image-a-37_1702080163149.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>In the thick of a strong season with Bath, Barbeary is one of the England&#8217;s brightest talents<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/00\/78757479-12843949-image-a-38_1702080312484.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Barbeary is fully focused on playing No 8 after playing as a hooker under Eddie Jones<\/p>\n<p>He will hope to let his rugby \u2013 and not his fashion \u2013 do the talking on Saturday when Bath begin their Champions Cup campaign at home to Ulster.\u00a0England head coach Steve Borthwick will be in the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ever since he was welcomed into England camp by Borthwick\u2019s predecessor Eddie Jones as a young rookie, Barbeary, now 23, has been seen as one of the country\u2019s brightest prospects.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His last 18 months have been ruined by the demise of his boyhood side Wasps and hamstring and knee injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Those issues are now behind him and he is impressing after joining Bath. Barbeary has also grown to understand post-match nights out are not optimal for recovery and that he must battle his dislike of gym work in order to stay fully fit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I can\u2019t do it. My body is in bits after a game,\u2019 he says of ditching the beer. \u2018You\u2019ve got to look after yourself to stay on the pitch. I\u2019d love to be out there, but unfortunately I just don\u2019t have it in me anymore! I\u2019ve never been the biggest fan of the gym but as much as I enjoy rugby, I\u2019ve got to work hard at the other stuff. There\u2019s a bit of maturity starting to come out.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018That probably wasn\u2019t there in previous years. When you are young you have no fear. You either come out of it a hero or not and I had no fear.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I would just go out to play and see what happened.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A product of Banbury Rugby Club, Barbeary is now fully focused on playing No 8 after Jones wanted him to concentrate on being a hooker. If he continues as he is, a Six Nations call from Borthwick next month looks likely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bath, guided by No 10 Finn Russell but with a powerful pack, are second in the Premiership going into Europe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/00\/78757477-12843949-image-a-39_1702080318433.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Barbeary has featured for England&#8217;s youth sides but is yet to win a senior cap for his country<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/09\/00\/78757519-12843949-image-a-40_1702080331509.jpg\" height=\"406\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>But the former Wasps player is hopeful of hearing from Steve Borthwick ahead of Six Nations selections next month<\/p>\n<p>Barbeary \u2013 who scored a hat-trick on his Premiership debut with Wasps \u2013 has played for England\u2019s age group teams but is yet to win a senior cap. He has held recent talks with Borthwick.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There are aspirations to play for England. It has been a childhood dream of mine,\u2019 he says. \u2018We\u2019ve had a brief conversation. I\u2019ve got to put in the performances to be selected.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I have to focus on playing each week, building up minutes, and getting confidence. I was out for a while and I am just about finding form again. That long time out really struck me.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We\u2019re obviously very excited about being in Europe. Everyone loves this competition. We\u2019re confident in ourselves and our team. We know we\u2019re a team that\u2019s hard to beat.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12843949\/INTERVIEW-Alfie-Barbeary-Bath-England-Steve-Borthwick.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>INTERVIEW: Alfie Barbeary is a &#8216;different&#8217; kind of rugby player &#8211; flying high with ambitious Bath and full of ambition to break into Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England squad Barbeary, 23,\u00a0 is fast becoming one of the country&#8217;s brightest young prospects\u00a0 No 8 is looking to move past the demise of former<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>INTERVIEW: Bath&amp;apos;s Alfie Barbeary is a &amp;apos;different&amp;apos; 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