Seven Boks to start for BaaBaas
There are seven Springboks in the starting XV and a further two on the bench for the Barbarians' clash with Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday.
Bok skipper Jean de Villiers will captain the side from inside centre and he will be joined in the backline by flyhalf Pat Lambie whilst Schalk Burger, Duane Vermeulen, Flip van der Merwe, Bismarck du Plessis and Tendai Mtawarira have all been named in the forward pack with Coenie Oosthuizen and Willie le Roux on the bench.
New Zealand Under-20 and Hurricanes scrumhalf TJ Perenara is the sole uncapped player in the matchday side, as per tradition.
Many pundits have questioned the participation of key players such as De Villiers in Saturday’s spectacle after a gruelling marathon season.
However, it’s evident that it remains one of the top honours in the game to represent rugby’s most famous and unique club.
Saturday's match celebrates the Fiji Rugby Union’s centenary year and is a rematch of the famous 1970 game in which Fiji beat the BaaBaas 29-9.
Barbarians: 15 Santiago Cordera, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Gavin Williams, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Matias Diaz, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Guillermo Ruan, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Luke Whitelock, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 Willie le Roux.
Date: Saturday, December 30
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 14.30 (14.30 GMT)
Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, Greg Garner (England)
TMO: David Grashoff (England)
