All Black legend joins Rassie's Baabaas
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT: New Zealand great Wyatt Crockett are among the latest group of players added to the Barbarians squad to face Argentina on December 1.
Head coach Rassie Erasmus increases the famous club’s cosmopolitan feel with further recruits from Italy, Australia, Fiji and France for the Killik Cup match at Twickenham Stadiu, the Barbarian’s officieal website revealed.
Italy’s Tommaso Benvenuti Benvenuti — due to face New Zealand for the Azzurri this weekend — and prop Crockett are joined by lock Luke Jones (Bordeaux Begles & Australia), scrumhalf Frank Lomani (Melbourne Rebels & Fiji) and prop Alexandre Menini (Lyon & France).
Already on board are South Africa’s Handre Pollard, Eben Etzebeth and Schalk Brits, as well as Argentina’s Juan Manuel Leguizamon. Erasmus will confirm the rest of his squad — including several current Springbok tourists — over the weekend.
Crockett will make his first appearance for the Barbarians at the end of a distinguished career that saw him win 71 caps and a World Cup winners medal in 2015. He is the most-capped Super Rugby player after after making 202 appearances for the Crusaders.
His one appearance against the Baa-baas ended in a famous defeat when Bryan Habana’s hat-trick of tries saw the All Blacks beaten 25-18 in 2009.
Benvenuto has made 54 appearances for Italy, the most recent of which was against Australia in Padua. The wing, who played at Perpignan and for Bristol Bears before rejoining Benetton in 2016, is also making his first appearance for the club.
The Barbarians welcome back Luke Jones, who will make his fourth appearance for the club. Jones featured against Samoa and Worcester in 2015 and played a starring role in the 31-28 defeat against Australia in Sydney last year.
France prop Menini has become one of the Top 14’s most consistent performers in his spells with Biarritz and Toulon before moving to Lyon in 2016.
He is joined but young Fiji scrum half Frank Lomani. The 22 year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough year after signing for the Melbourne Rebels and is due to make his eighth Test appearance against France this weekend.
@Barbarian_FC
PLAYER NEWS 🗞
More names for our clash with @lospumas 🇦🇷
ADVERTISEMENTTomasso Benvenuti 🇮🇹
Wyatt Crockett 🇳🇿
Luke Jones 🇦🇺
Frank Lomani 🇫🇯
Alexandre Menini 🇫🇷
Squad in full on Monday… 💯#rugby #rugbyunited 🏉#LosPumas pic.twitter.com/4rab959WKy
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) November 23, 2018
