Inside Line: What Alfie Barbeary's focus on No 8 could mean for England and their back row options

There were two clues, and they were taped to Alfie Barbeary’s thighs as the bleach-blonde 21-year-old bounded into the action on Friday evening against Gloucester.

He was wearing 21 on this back of his Wasps shirt. But Barbeary also had on lifting blocks to help colleagues hoist him in the lineout. As it happened, he was not required as a jumper. Even so, this was a subtle yet sure sign that Barbeary has moved away from his roots as a hooker.

Sure enough, in a story published by Coventry Telegraph on Saturday morning, Lee Blackett confirmed as much – as well as revealing some input from England head coach Eddie Jones:

Now, it would be seriously misguided – not to mention disrespectful to others vying for back row places – to venerate Barbeary like some sort of great white whale as far as England’s plans for the 2023 World Cup. His injury record must be a concern and he remains largely unproven at senior level.

That said, the impact of England full-back Freddie Steward has underlined that the ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’ maxim extends to the international arena. Besides, a brief cameo from Barbeary, in just his third Wasps outing of 2021 and his first since March, continued his remarkably consistent capacity for producing eye-catching moments.

A first contribution arrives from this lineout. He begins in the scrum-half slot, an important role for back-rowers in the modern game. Take note of Jack Singleton, Gloucester’s tail-gunner, as well:

Dan Frost’s throw is gathered by Vaea Fifita and Wasps briefly shape to set up a drive. Barbeary darts in and then peels away. He fixes Singleton and throws a flat pass that allow Jimmy Gopperth to cross the 22:

At this stage, Barbeary has a decision to make. He can either follow Gopperth or back away to make himself available to carry on the next phase. He is more valuable to the team in the latter role, and the industry of Frost allows that to happen:

The former Cornish Pirates hooker helps to clear the breakdown as Barbeary readies himself. Look at Kirill Gotovtsev and Mark Atkinson. Neither one of those Gloucester defenders is a small man...

…but they are both left sprawling by Barbeary’s charge to within five metres of the try-line:

We have seen enough of Barbeary to know that he is an astute and skilful ball-player. Here, on the back of his surge, he looks for a pass off the floor:

As it happens, Wasps keep possession and Barbeary shunts over for his ninth try in 15 first-team appearances:

His blend of dynamism and balance in contact is immensely impressive. Later on in this game against Gloucester, Barbeary attempts a pick-and-go. Jack Clement, another highly promising back-rower, stops him and begins to drive him backwards.

However, Barbeary wrestles Clement away. Despite losing a boot in the process, he fights up to the gain-line and almost beats Billy Twelvetrees as well:

Tom Willis is progressing nicely for Wasps and it was interesting that he slid to blindside flanker on Barbeary’s introduction:

Although he did pop up close to rucks…

… Barbeary often migrated to the wide channels:

He proved himself as a set-piece threat again in the 73rd minute. Had Clement not dived to knock down this return pass from scrum-half Sam Wolstenholme, Barbeary would have probably scored a second try:

A centre for some of his age-grade career, Barbeary was in midfield for Wasps’ bonus-point score:

Finally, take note of where he starts here. The ball is moved to Jacob Umaga via a pull-back pass from Gopperth:

Barbeary leaves the ruck alone once more, bounding around it to overload the Gloucester defence with a neat run and pass from first-receiver:

Blackett appears to be an empathetic man-manager who will treat Barbeary carefully and give him time to build up match fitness over the coming weeks. Provided the exciting youngster stays healthy, though, an England call-up in 2022 must be close to inevitable.

Jones’ involvement in Barbeary’s positional switch is fascinating, primarily because it represents a change of mind from the Australian. A year ago, when Barbeary was called up to England’s squad to prepare for the Autumn Nations Cup final against France, Jones categorised him as a hooker.

What has changed, then? One reading is that Jones feels as though Barbeary’s injury absences have cut into the time for Barbeary to hone his throwing and front row scrummaging and that, now, the best chance of him making the 2023 World Cup is as a hard-carrying back-rower rather than a hooker.

That makes sense. Luke Cowan-Dickie and Jamie George are at the top of England’s pecking order at hooker by some distance. An approach towards Ewan Ashman, via Matt Proudfoot, indicated that Jones was eager for a mobile understudy. Since then, he has looked at a plethora of candidates. Jamie Blamire and Nic Dolly featured in the autumn, but Gabriel Oghre and Sam Riley have also been into camp.

As for England’s No 8 role, it felt significant that Tom Curry started ahead of both Alex Dombrandt and Sam Simmonds over the autumn. Without the explosive Ellis Genge, England’s pack looked slightly underpowered against Australia and South Africa during phase-play, which stunted their fluency slightly.

If Jones is serious about moving on from Billy Vunipola, there is scope to promote a player of Barbeary’s profile. Here are the back row combinations fielded by Jones this month, including permanent and temporary replacements:

England v Tonga

Start: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Tom Curry
From half-time: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt

From 62nd minute: 6. Maro Itoje, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt

England v Australia

Start: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Tom Curry
From 48th minute: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt
From 58th minute: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Tom Curry
From 65th minute: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt
From 75th minute: 6. Sam Simmonds, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt

England v South Africa

Start: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Sam Underhill, 8. Tom Curry
From 55th minute: 6. Courtney Lawes, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt
From 73rd minute: 6. Sam Simmonds, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Alex Dombrandt

Only in the first game against Tonga did Jones keep a specialist lineout jumper at blindside flanker for the entire 80 minutes, by dropping Maro Itoje into that role.

You would think that Barbeary starting at the base of the scrum would require at least one back row colleague to be a lineout jumper. Tom Willis, Jack Willis, Nizaam Carr and Brad Shields all fit that bill at Wasps.

As for England, Courtney Lawes certainly does. Would Tom Curry, whom Jones likens to Ardie Savea? Might Itoje spend more time in the back row as England strike to steel their set piece? Ted Hill, George Martin and Nick Isiekwe would be other rangy options.

Simmonds only saw 12 minutes of game-time across three Tests, with none of that coming at eight. In fairness, the Exeter man’s most significant contribution tallied with Jones’ assertion that his defensive breakdown work improved over the British and Irish Lions tour.

He starts this phase, in the final stages of the win over the Springboks, close to the ruck as Herschel Jantjies feeds a charging Eben Etzebeth:

Watch how Simmonds recovers before threatening the ball just enough to encourage South Africa’s support-runners to fly off their feet and concede a penalty:

It was an interesting weekend for prospective No 8s. Dombradt was rested. Jones was in France and popped in to watch Zach Mercer – who will qualify to represent New Zealand from January 1 – in Montpellier’s win over Castres.

Simmonds scored this try from the base of a scrum against Bath on Friday evening. Exeter had forced penalties earlier in the piece, so Bath’s back-rowers clearly felt as though they had to stay down and push. That provided Simmonds with more than enough space:

This angle, captured from the corporate boxes, demonstrates his acceleration:

Ben Earl has seemingly dropped out of the England reckoning, with Simmonds preferred as a versatile and impactful replacement. Towards the end of Kieran Read’s career, New Zealand switched him and Savea around at the base of the scrum according to different scenarios and strike-moves. There is no reason why England cannot do the same, as long as their scrummaging improves.

Billy Vunipola is evidently hungry as well. This break headlined his excellent performance against Sale Sharks on Sunday:

He and Simmonds lock horns on Saturday, with Dombrandt heading to the East Midlands as Harlequins aim to regather momentum against Leicester Tigers. Barbeary and Wasps travel to Worcester.

Jones will monitor proceedings. There are multiple directions in which he can take England’s No 8 position. Barbeary is a captivating possibility.

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