AFOLABI FASOGBON

The Gloucester tighthead is chasing England honours following a breakthrough season

- JOE ROBINSON

TO CELEBRATE turning 21 in late August, Gloucester prop Afolabi Fasogbon spent the evening in very similar fashion to how he spent his summer - eating Argentinian steak.

“I celebrated my 21st birthday in Reading recently with my partner Bel and my mum, dad and brothers. We went to Buenasados, a lovely Argentinian steakhouse chain. I've been to the Reading, Walton and Bristol branches,” Fasogbon tells Rugby World.

“My missus met my mum and younger brother for the first time. It went well. She had already met my dad at Gloucester games.”

While the ribeyes and sirloins of Buenasados in Reading may not have been quite the same as La Plata, it was a continued taste of an exciting summer for Fasogbon, who found himself on last-minute Test duty in Argentina and the USA after being called up as an injury replacement for Northampton's Emmanuel Iyogun. And while he didn't get any game time on tour, being part of Steve Borthwick's setup was enough to make him hungry for more.

“It was something special for me. It was what I needed as a player,” explains Fasogbon. “You see the level of international rugby on television but it's something different when you are actually there. I now know in black and white what I need to do as a prop to get back there because I've experienced it. It taught me a lot.