Barbarians v Wales – Teams and Prediction

PREVIEW: When the Barbarians and Wales meet on Saturday, one man who will want to put in an extra shift is George North.

The Wales and British & Irish Lions legend will lace up his boots for the very last time when he lines up on the replacements bench for the star-studded Barbarians at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham.

It will be a fitting finale for the 34-year-old, who scored 47 tries in 121 internationals for his country and still holds the record as the youngest player to reach a century of Test caps.

He hopes he will be able to walk away on his own terms after a ruptured Achilles brought a painful end to his final game for Wales in 2024.

Speaking from Kensington this week, North said: “It’s always been a dream of mine to play for the Barbarians, so to be invited now, for a game at Allianz Stadium against Wales, is incredible.

“What an amazing opportunity, to have the honour of playing for the BaaBaas, but to play against Wales, for one more dance, is amazing. If you wrote it perfectly, it would be in Cardiff, but I think Take That are there this week, so I’ll take this!

“My last game for Wales was a tough one to swallow and I reckon I’m still processing that somewhere deep inside.

“It had been a long journey that I loved every second of. The opportunity to do it at home in front of a home crowd was important to me, and having my family and friends there.

“Then inevitably, bam, my Achilles goes. What are the chances?

“That was tough. To finish like I did was not the fairytale ending I wanted, but that is the business we work in with injuries.

“So to get this opportunity now to properly walk away, as my final bow so to speak, is special.”

North will be following in the footsteps of fellow Wales internationals and good friends Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric, who also bid farewell to the game by playing for the Barbarians against their homeland.

It will undoubtedly be a strange feeling for the man who helped Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and reach two World Cup semifinals, but perhaps even harder to grasp for his two young sons, Jac and Tomi.

He added: “It was funny having a conversation with my two boys trying to explain that daddy’s going to play rugby again.

“They were like, ‘That’s good,’ but then I said it was against Wales. They were like, ‘No daddy, that’s not what you do, you play for Wales’.

“I said I played for Wales, and I was lucky to do that, but now I am playing against them. I’m just hoping we can get a couple of small Barbarians jerseys quickly for them.

“I thought I was finished and then this Barbarians opportunity came along. It is so special.”

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What can this man not do?! 🤷🏻‍♂️😆 pic.twitter.com/m8rdZV0qZB

— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) June 25, 2026

Wales looking to build

Saturday’s clash marks Wales’ first outing since the end of the international season and the beginning of preparations for the Nations Championship.

Head coach Steve Tandy believes facing the free-flowing Barbarians is the perfect way to sharpen his squad before tougher assignments, including a meeting with the Springboks.

The Barbarians head into the fixture after suffering a 31-80 defeat to the world champion Springboks last weekend.

“The Barbarians will present a good challenge for us,” Tandy stated.

“They have lots of skilful players and I’m sure it’ll be a high-paced game with lots of offloads.

“That, in turn, will be great preparation for us as we head into the Nations Championship and face Fiji the following week.”

After enduring a disappointing Six Nations campaign, where they finished at the foot of the table with just one victory over Italy, Wales are eager to continue their rebuilding process.

“The more games we play, the more consistent we can be.

“We’re looking to pick up where we left off in the Six Nations and continue to build and improve as a group.”

𝘿𝙖𝙪 𝙏î𝙢. 𝙐𝙣 𝘾𝙮𝙢𝙧𝙪 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Hear from our head coaches as they look ahead to the weekend’s double header 🆚️ @Barbarian_FC 💪#CymruAmByth pic.twitter.com/fsuTnUlmfX

— Welsh Rugby Union 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@WelshRugbyUnion) June 22, 2026

Players to Watch

For Barbarians: Springbok double World Cup winner Faf de Klerk will captain the star-studded invitational side. De Klerk scored a try off the bench as the Springboks defeated the BaaBaas last weekend in Port Elizabeth, but he now swaps the green and gold for the famous black and white. It will be fascinating to see the synergy between him and New Zealand flyhalf Harry Plummer as they pull the strings. De Klerk’s fellow double World Cup winner Vincent Koch packs down at tighthead, adding plenty of experience to the Barbarians’ forward pack. A player sure to receive a warm reception is Wales great George North. The British & Irish Lions star has been named on the bench and could make one final appearance before bringing the curtain down on an illustrious career.

For Wales: Captain Dewi Lake will once again lead from the front. The hooker will be crucial at line-out time and his leadership will be key as Wales look to build momentum ahead of the Nations Championship. He is joined in the front row by experienced props Gareth Thomas and Dillon Lewis, while Scarlets loose forward Taine Plumtree will be expected to bring plenty of physicality and intensity to the breakdown. In the backs, much of the creative responsibility falls on the shoulders of young flyhalf Dan Edwards. The playmaker will direct a relatively inexperienced backline and will be eager to stamp his authority on the contest.

Prediction:

Rugby365:  Wales by 7.

Teams: 

Barbarian F.C: 15 Tom Spring, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Harry Plummer, 9 Faf de Klerk (captain), 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Romain Taofifénua, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Giorgi Kharaishvili.
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Yoan Tanga, 20 Jordan Joseph, 21 Santiago Arata, 22 George North, 23 Liam McConnell

Wales: 15 Blair Murray, 14 Tom Rogers, 13 Eddie James, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Ellis Mee, 10 Dan Edwards, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Jac Morgan, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Teddy Williams, 4 Ben Carter, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Dewi Lake (Captain), 1 Gareth Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Ben Warren, 19 Ryan Woodman, 20 Harrison Keddie, 21 Reuben Morgan, 22 Sam Costelow, 23 Mason Grady.

Date: Saturday, June 27
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 14.00 (13.00 GMT)
Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)
Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas (England) & Jamie Parr (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)