Barbarian F.C.

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Barbarian
Full nameBarbarian Football Club
Nickname(s)Baa-Baas
Founded1890; 134 years ago (1890) [1]
Coach(es)Australia Eddie Jones
Most appearancesIreland Tony O'Reilly (30)
Top scorerIreland Tony O'Reilly (38 tries)
Team kit
First match
Hartlepool Rovers 4–9 Barbarians
(27 December 1890)[2]
Largest win
Belgium  10–84 Barbarians
(24 May 2008)
Largest defeat
England XV  73–12 Barbarians
(31 May 2015)
[3]
Official website
www.barbarianfc.co.uk

The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians, is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip.[4] Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, players from 31 countries had played for them.[5] Traditionally at least one uncapped player is selected for each match.[4][6]

Until rugby union became a professional sport, the Barbarians usually played six annual matches: with Penarth, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport at Easter; a game with Leicester on 27 December and the Mobbs Memorial Match against East Midlands in the spring. In 1948, the Barbarians were invited to face Australia as part of the Wallabies' tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Although initially designed as a fundraiser towards the end of the tour, the encounter became a popular and traditional fixture. Initially played every three years, it has become more frequent in the professional era, with the Barbarians now often playing one of the national teams visiting Britain each autumn.

On 29 May 2011, at halftime in the Barbarians' match against England at Twickenham, the Barbarians and their founder William Percy Carpmael were honoured with induction to the IRB Hall of Fame.[7] A women's team was established in 2017.

Many rugby clubs around the world are based on the Barbarians model of an invitational scratch team, including the French Barbarians, Australian Barbarians, New Zealand Barbarians and South African Barbarians.

History[edit]

Barbarians team that played Devonshire at Exeter, 1 April 1891

The Barbarian Club was formed by William Percy Carpmael, who had played rugby for Cambridge University,[8] and had been part of the Cambridge team which had undertaken a tour of Yorkshire in 1884.[9] Inspired by the culture behind short rugby tours he organised his first tour in 1889 with Clapham Rovers,[9] which was followed by an 1890 tour with an invitational team calling themselves the Southern Nomads.[10] At the time practically every club ceased playing in early March; there were no tours and players just 'packed up' until the following season. In 1890 he took the Southern Nomads – mainly composed of players from Blackheath – on a tour of some northern counties of England.

His idea – collecting a touring side from all sources to tackle a few leading clubs in the land – received strong support from leading players, particularly ex-university players. On 8 April 1890, in Leuchters Restaurant and later at the Alexandra Hotel in Bradford, the concept of the Barbarians was agreed upon.[11] The team toured later that year and beat Hartlepool Rovers 9–4 on 27 December in their first fixture.[12]

The team was given the motto by Walter Julius Carey, former Bishop of Bloemfontein and a former member of the Barbarians:

Rugby Football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but for no bad sportsman in any class[13][14]

Penarth[edit]

The Barbarians in 1904

The concept took hold over the years and the nearest thing to a club home came to be the Esplanade Hotel at Penarth in South Wales, where the Barbarians always stayed on their Easter tours of Wales.[15] The annual Good Friday game against the Barbarians was the highlight of the Penarth club's year and was always attended by enthusiastic capacity crowds. This fixture marked the start of the Baa-Baas' annual South Wales tour from their "spiritual home" of Penarth, which also included playing Cardiff RFC on the Saturday, Swansea RFC on Easter Monday and Newport RFC on the Tuesday.

The non-match day of Easter Sunday would always see the Barbarians playing golf at the Glamorganshire Golf Club,[16] in Penarth, while the former Esplanade Hotel, which was located on the seafront at Penarth, would host the gala party for the trip, sponsored by Penarth RFC. The first match took place in 1901,[15] and over the next 75 encounters, Penarth won eleven games, drew four and lost 60. Between 1920 and the first Athletics Field game in 1925, the Good Friday games were hosted on Penarth County Grammar School's sports field.

The final Penarth v Barbarians game was played in 1986, by which time the Penarth club had slipped from its prominent position in Welsh rugby. However, a special commemorative game, recognising the 100 years since the first Good Friday match, took place in 2001 and was played at the Athletic Field next to the Penarth clubhouse the day before the Barbarians played Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Gary Teichmann, captain of South Africa and the Barbarians, unveiled a plaque at the clubhouse to mark the event.

The Final Challenge[edit]

After the Second World War, in 1948, the Barbarians were asked by the British and Irish unions to raise a side to play the touring Australia team, to raise funds for the Australians' journey home via Canada.[12] This started the tradition of the "Final Challenge" – played as the last match in a tour of Britain and Ireland by Australia, New Zealand or South Africa.

'The best try ever scored'[edit]

The Barbarian 'Final Challenge' match with the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park on 27 January 1973 is celebrated as one of the best games of rugby union ever played.[17] It was a game of attack and counterattack, and the Barbarians won the match 23–11, handing the All Blacks their fourth defeat of the tour. Gareth Edwards scored a try widely considered to be one of the best ever in rugby union.

Cliff Morgan described Gareth Edwards' try:

Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff! Phil Bennett covering chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant, oh, that's brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score!!.....Oh that fellow Edwards....If the greatest writer of the written word would've written that story no one would have believed it. That really was something.[18]

Gareth Edwards said of the match:

People tend only to remember the first four minutes of the game because of the try, but what they forgot is the great deal of good rugby played afterwards, much of which came from the All Blacks. For us after the success of the 1971 British Lions tour, which captured the imagination of the whole country, it was an opportunity to bring a lot of that side together again.

Traditional matches[edit]

The nature of the Barbarians as a touring side made for a diverse fixture list, but at a number of points in the club's history they have settled for a time into a regular pattern. Most of these regular matches have fallen by the wayside, whilst others continue to the present day:

  • 27 December game against Leicester Tigers – this began in 1909 as the third and final match of the Christmas Tour. It was played for the last time as a regular fixture in March 2006[19] but returned in November 2014 when the Barbarians beat Leicester 59–26 in their 125th anniversary season.[20]
  • The Edgar Mobbs Memorial Match – held for Edgar Mobbs, who was killed in the First World War. Played at Franklins Gardens against Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues or the East Midlands select XV. The first took place on 10 February 1921, and in later years became a tradition on the first Thursday in March. The last Mobbs Match to feature the Barbarians took place in April 2011. Since then, the invited opposition has been a British Army side instead of the Barbarians.[21]
  • Easter Tour – traditionally four matches against Penarth RFC (Good Friday), Cardiff RFC/Cardiff Blues (Holy Saturday); Swansea RFC (Easter Monday) and Newport RFC (Tuesday following Easter Monday). The Penarth match was dropped after 1986 as a regular fixture although in 2001 a special commemorative game, recognising 100 years since the first Good Friday match, was played at the Athletic Field next to the Penarth clubhouse the day before the Barbarians played Wales at the Millennium Stadium. The game against Newport was moved away from Easter after the 1982 fixture due to problems fielding a team for the fourth match of the tour[22] and was played as a midweek game early in the season from September 1982 onwards.[23] The Barbarians last played Newport in November 1996.
  • The Final Challenge – played as the last match in a tour of the UK by Australia, New Zealand or South Africa. Initially played every three years, these games have become more frequent in the professional era. The fixture on 3 December 2008 between the Barbarians and Australia was played at Wembley Stadium, the first rugby union match played there since its redevelopment.
  • Remembrance Day game against the Combined Services, played in November. The fixture was first played in 1997 and the most recent game, in 2014, resulted in a 31–15 win for the Barbarians.[24]

They typically compete against teams from the home nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) as well as other international sides. Other matches are played against club teams, often to celebrate anniversaries. The 2014–15 fixture list included matches against Leicester Tigers and Heriot's Rugby Club in addition to the Final Challenge game with Australia and the annual Combined Services match.[25] The Heriot's game celebrated the 125th anniversary of both that club and the Barbarians,[26] while the Leicester game was also part of the Barbarians' 125th anniversary schedule.[27] The Barbarians were also invited to play in the first ever Rugby match at the London Olympic Stadium in 2015 against Samoa.

Olympic rugby union centenary celebration match[edit]

Australia was approached by the British Olympic Association to play the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium on 3 December 2008. The match formed part of the BOA's programme of events to celebrate the centenary of the first London Olympic Games where Australia defeated a Great Britain (Cornwall) side in the final 32–3.[28] In 1908 France were the defending Olympic champions, but when they withdrew from the event, leaving just Australia and Great Britain to contest the gold medal, it was then County champions Cornwall who took to the field to represent the host nation. Cornwall had already been defeated in Australia's earlier 31-match tour. Cornwall's 1908 contribution was also further recognised by the presentation of the Cornwall Cup to the winning 2008 captain at Wembley, with the players of the respective sides receiving gold or silver commemorative medals. The 2008 game was the first rugby union fixture to take place in the new Wembley Stadium.[29] Australia went on to win 18 points to 11.

In a change to the tradition of the Barbarians players wearing their own club socks, in this game, they all wore Cornwall's black and gold socks. The break with the tradition was highly regarded by the secretary of the Cornwall Rugby Football Union, Alan Mitchell, who was said to have been humbled by the honour.[29]

Women's team[edit]

In October 2017 a women's team was announced for the first time in the club's history.[30] Their first match was a 19–0 victory against Munster on 10 November 2017, played as part of a double header with the men's team playing Tonga.[31] They subsequently played a match against the British Army in March 2018, winning 37–0.[32]

Their first-ever match against international competition saw six tries scored in a 34–33 victory against the USA at Infinity Park in the Denver suburb of Glendale, Colorado.[33][34] On 2 June 2019, Barbarians Women took on England at Twickenham as the prelude to a men's Barbarians match against an England XV (non-cap match)[35] losing the contest 40–14 (two tries scored to six conceded).[36][37] They went on to beat Wales at the Principality Stadium 43–33 on 30 November 2019 scoring 5 tries to 3 conceded.[38][37]

Matches against national teams[edit]

The Barbarian F.C. have played men's international matches since 1915 and women's international matches since 2019.[39]

Gender Opposing Teams For Against Result Date Venue City Competition
Men  Wales 26 10 Won 17 April 1915 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Tour match
To raise 'patriotic funds'
Men  Australia 9 6 Won 31 January 1948 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  South Africa 3 17 Lost 26 January 1952 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 5 19 Lost 20 February 1954 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Australia 11 6 Won 22 February 1958 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  East Africa 52 12 Won 28 May 1958 RFUEA Ground Nairobi Tour match
Men  South Africa 6 0 Won 4 February 1961 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Canada 3 3 Draw 17 November 1962 Gosforth Greyhound Stadium Gosforth Tour match
Men  New Zealand 3 36 Lost 15 February 1964 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Australia 11 17 Lost 30 January 1967 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 6 11 Lost 16 December 1967 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  Rhodesia 24 21 Won 26 May 1969 Police Grounds Salisbury Tour match
Men  South Africa 12 21 Lost 31 January 1970 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Scotland 33 17 Won 9 May 1970 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
In aid of 1970 British Commonwealth Games
Men  Fiji 9 29 Lost 24 October 1970 Gosforth Greyhound Stadium Gosforth Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 23 11 Won 27 January 1973 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 13 13 Draw 30 November 1974 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  Australia 19 7 Won 24 January 1976 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Canada 29 4 Won 12 June 1976 York Stadium Toronto Tour match
Men British Lions 14 23 Lost 10 September 1977 Twickenham London Silver Jubilee Match
Men  New Zealand 16 18 Lost 16 December 1978 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Scotland 26 13 Won 26 March 1983 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Australia 30 37 Lost 15 December 1984 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Italy 23 15 Won 26 May 1985 Stadio Flaminio Rome Tour match
Men  Australia 22 40 Lost 26 November 1988 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 10 21 Lost 25 November 1989 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  England 16 18 Lost 29 September 1990 Twickenham London Tour match
Centenary celebrations
Men  Wales 31 24 Won 6 October 1990 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Tour match
Centenary celebrations
Men  Argentina 34 22 Won 17 November 1990 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Scotland 16 16 Draw 7 September 1991 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Russia 23 27 Lost 6 June 1992 Lokomotiv Moscow Tour match
Men  Australia 20 30 Lost 28 November 1992 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  New Zealand 12 25 Lost 4 December 1993 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Zimbabwe 21 23 Lost 4 June 1994 Police Grounds Harare Tour match
Men  South Africa 23 15 Won 3 December 1994 Lansdowne Road Dublin Final Challenge
Men  Ireland 70 38 Won 19 May 1996 Lansdowne Road Dublin Tour match
Peace International
Men  Scotland 48 45 Won 17 August 1996 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Dunblane Disaster Fund Match
Men  Wales 10 31 Lost 24 August 1996 Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Tour match
Fully capped match for Wales
Men  Australia 12 39 Lost 7 December 1996 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  Ireland 31 30 Won 28 May 2000 Lansdowne Road Dublin Tour match
Men  Scotland 45 42 Won 31 May 2000 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Germany 47 19 Won 12 August 2000 Eilenriedestadion Hanover Tour match
German Rugby Federation Centenary Match
Men  South Africa 31 41 Lost 10 December 2000 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  Wales 40 38 Won 20 May 2001 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Men  Scotland 74 31 Won 24 May 2001 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  England 43 29 Won 27 May 2001 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Australia 35 49 Lost 28 November 2001 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Final Challenge
Men  England 29 53 Lost 26 May 2002 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Wales 40 25 Won 29 May 2002 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Men  Scotland 47 27 Won 1 June 2002 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  England 49 36 Won 25 May 2003 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Scotland 24 15 Won 28 May 2003 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Wales 48 35 Won 1 June 2003 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Men  Scotland 40 33 Won 22 May 2004 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Wales 0 42 Lost 27 May 2004 Ashton Gate Bristol Tour match
Men  England 32 12 Won 30 May 2004 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Portugal 66 34 Won 10 June 2004 Universitário Lisboa Lisbon Tour match
Men  New Zealand 19 47 Lost 4 December 2004 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  Scotland 7 38 Lost 24 May 2005 Pittodrie Aberdeen Tour match
Men  England 52 39 Won 28 May 2005 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  England 19 46 Lost 28 May 2006 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Scotland 19 66 Lost 31 May 2006 Murrayfield Edinburgh Tour match
Men  Georgia 28 19 Won 4 June 2006 Mikheil Meskhi Stadium Tbilisi Tour match
Men  Tunisia 33 10 Won 19 May 2007 Stade El Menzah Tunis Tour match
Men  Spain 52 26 Won 23 May 2007 Martínez Valero Elche Tour match
Men  South Africa 22 5 Won 1 December 2007 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  Belgium 84 10 Won 24 May 2008 Stade Roi Baudouin Brussels Tour match
Men  Ireland 14 39 Lost 27 May 2008 Kingsholm Gloucester Tour match
Men  England 14 17 Lost 1 June 2008 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Australia 11 18 Lost 3 December 2008 Wembley Stadium London Final Challenge / Cornwall Cup
Men  England 33 26 Won 3 May 2009 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Australia 7 55 Lost 6 June 2009 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Tour match[40]
Men  New Zealand 25 18 Won 5 December 2009 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  England 26 35 Lost 30 May 2010 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Ireland 29 23 Won 4 June 2010 Thomond Park Limerick Tour match
Men  South Africa 26 20 Won 4 December 2010 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  England 38 32 Won 29 May 2011 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Wales 31 28 Won 4 June 2011 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Celebration of 130th anniversary of the WRU; fully capped match for Wales
Men  Australia 11 60 Lost 26 November 2011 Twickenham London Final Challenge
Men  England 26 57 Lost 27 May 2012 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Ireland 29 28 Won 29 May 2012 Kingsholm Stadium Gloucester Tour match
Men  Wales 21 30 Lost 2 June 2012 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Fully capped match for Wales
Men  England 12 40 Lost 26 May 2013 Twickenham London Tour match
Men British & Irish Lions 8 59 Lost 1 June 2013 Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Lions tour match [41]
Men  Fiji 43 17 Won 30 November 2013 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  England 39 29 Won 1 June 2014 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Australia 36 40 Lost 1 November 2014 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Ireland 22 21 Won 28 May 2015 Thomond Park Limerick Tour match
Men  England 12 73 Lost 31 May 2015 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Samoa 27 24 Won 29 August 2015 Olympic Stadium London Tour match
Men  Argentina 31 49 Lost 21 November 2015 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  South Africa 31 31 Draw 5 November 2016 Wembley Stadium London Tour match
Men  Czech Republic 71 0 Won 8 November 2016 Markéta Stadium Prague Tour match
Celebration of 90th anniversary of the Czech Rugby Union
Men  Fiji 40 7 Won 11 November 2016 Ravenhill Stadium Belfast Tour match
Men  England 14 28 Lost 28 May 2017 Twickenham London Tour match
Old Mutual Wealth Cup
Men  Australia 28 31 Lost 28 October 2017 Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Tour match
Men  New Zealand 22 31 Lost 4 November 2017 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Tonga 27 24 Won 10 November 2017 Thomond Park Limerick Tour match
Men  England 63 45 Won 28 May 2018 Twickenham London Tour match
Quilter Cup
Men  Argentina 38 35 Won 1 December 2018 Twickenham London Tour match
Women  United States 34 33 Won 26 April 2019 Infinity Park Glendale, Colorado Tour match
Women  England 14 40 Lost 2 June 2019 Twickenham London Tour match
Double-header
Men  England 43 51 Lost
Men  Fiji 31 33 Lost 16 November 2019 Twickenham London Tour match
Men  Brazil 47 22 Won 20 November 2019 Estádio do Morumbi São Paulo Tour match
Women  Wales 29 15 Won 30 November 2019 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Tour match
Double-header
Men  Wales 33 43 Lost
Men  England Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled 25 October 2020 Twickenham London Quilter Cup Moved from June fixture due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Cancelled on 23 October 2020 due to players breaking COVID rules[42]
Women  South Africa 60 5 Won 27 November 2021 Twickenham London Tour match
Double-header
Killik Cup
Men  Samoa Cancelled Cancelled Cancelled
Men  England 52 21 Won 19 June 2022 Twickenham London Quilter Cup
Men  Spain 26 7 Won 25 June 2022 El Molinón Gijón
Men New Zealand All Blacks XV 35 31 Won 13 November 2022 Tottenham Hotspur Stadium London Killik Cup
Men World XV 48 42 Won 28 May 2023 Twickenham London Killik Cup
Men Samoa Samoa 14 28 Lost 18 August 2023 Stade Amédée-Domenech Brive-la-Gaillarde Tour match
Women  South Africa 38 26 Won 23 September 2023 Athlone Stadium Cape Town Tour match

Overall[edit]

Match summary as of 23 September 2023
Gender Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
Men  Argentina 3 2 1 0 66.66%
Men  Australia 14 3 11 0 21.43%
Men  Belgium 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Brazil 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Canada 2 1 0 1 50.00%
Men  Czech Republic 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  East Africa 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  England 19 9 10 0 47.36%
Women  England 1 0 1 0 0.00%
Men  Fiji 4 2 2 0 50.00%
Men  Georgia 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Germany 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Ireland 6 5 1 0 83.33%
Men  Italy 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men British & Irish Lions 2 0 2 0 0.00%
Men  New Zealand 11 2 8 1 18.18%
Men  Portugal 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Russia 1 0 1 0 0.00%
Men  Samoa 2 1 1 0 50.00%
Men  Scotland 11 8 2 1 72.72%
Men  South Africa 8 4 3 1 50.00%
Women  South Africa 2 2 0 0 100.00%
Men  Spain 2 2 0 0 100.00%
Men  Tonga 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Tunisia 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Women  United States 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Wales 10 6 4 0 60.00%
Women  Wales 1 1 0 0 100.00%
Men  Zimbabwe (& Rhodesia) 2 1 1 0 50.00%
Men Total 100 53 43 4 53.00%
Women Total 4 3 1 0 75.00%
Both TOTAL 104 56 44 4 53.85%

Current squad[edit]

Men[edit]

Men's Barbarians squad to face Spain on 25 June.

Head coach: Australia Eddie Jones (rugby union)

Note: Bold denotes players that have represented the Barbarians in previous matches. Italics represents uncapped players.

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Club/province Union
Scott Baldwin Hooker (1988-07-12) 12 July 1988 (age 35) Wales Ospreys Wales Wales
Kirby Myhill Hooker (1992-02-05) 5 February 1992 (age 32) Wales Cardiff Wales Wales
Scott Andrews Prop (1989-08-01) 1 August 1989 (age 34) Wales Cardiff Wales Wales
Ed Byrne Prop (1993-09-09) 9 September 1993 (age 30) Ireland Leinster Ireland Ireland
Allan Dell Prop (1992-03-16) 16 March 1992 (age 32) England London Irish Scotland Scotland
Charlie Faumuina Prop (1986-12-24) 24 December 1986 (age 37) France Toulouse New Zealand New Zealand
Wiehahn Herbst Prop (1988-07-05) 5 July 1988 (age 35) South Africa Sharks South Africa South Africa
Steve Mafi Lock (1989-12-09) 9 December 1989 (age 34) England London Irish Tonga Tonga
Joe Tekori Lock (1983-12-17) 17 December 1983 (age 40) France Toulouse Samoa Samoa
Devin Toner Lock (1986-06-29) 29 June 1986 (age 37) Ireland Leinster Ireland Ireland
Dan Baker Back row (1992-07-05) 5 July 1992 (age 31) Wales Dragons Wales Wales
James Botham Back row (1998-02-22) 22 February 1998 (age 26) Wales Cardiff Wales Wales
Rob Harley Back row (1990-05-26) 26 May 1990 (age 33) Scotland Glasgow Warriors Scotland Scotland
Abraham Papali'i Back row (1993-06-20) 20 June 1993 (age 30) Ireland Connacht New Zealand New Zealand
Tom Wood Back row (1986-11-03) 3 November 1986 (age 37) England Northampton Saints England England
Sébastien Bézy Scrum-half (1991-11-27) 27 November 1991 (age 32) France Clermont Auvergne France France
Mathis Galthié Scrum-half (2001-11-18) 18 November 2001 (age 22) France Colomiers France France
Tim Nanai-Williams Fly-half (1989-06-12) 12 June 1989 (age 34) France Toulouse Samoa Samoa
Hadleigh Parkes Centre (1987-10-05) 5 October 1987 (age 36) Japan Saitama Wild Knights Wales Wales
Rey Lee-Lo Centre (1986-02-28) 28 February 1986 (age 38) Wales Cardiff Samoa Samoa
Seabelo Senatla Wing (1993-02-10) 10 February 1993 (age 31) South Africa Stormers South Africa South Africa
Adam Byrne Wing (1994-04-10) 10 April 1994 (age 29) Ireland Leinster Ireland Ireland
Owen Lane Wing (1997-12-20) 20 December 1997 (age 26) Wales Cardiff Wales Wales
Rhyno Smith Wing (1993-02-11) 11 February 1993 (age 31) Italy Benetton South Africa South Africa
Ahsee Tuala Fullback (1989-08-23) 23 August 1989 (age 34) England Northampton Saints Samoa Samoa

Women[edit]

Women's Barbarians squad to face South Africa on 23 September 2023 and Munster on 30 September 2023.

Head coach: Wales Sean Lynn (England Gloucester-Hartpury)

Note: Italics represents uncapped players. Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Club/province Union
Ciara O'Connor Hooker (1988-12-16) 16 December 1988 (age 35) New Zealand Ponsonby Fillies Ireland Ireland
Joanna Kitlinski Hooker (1988-07-05) 5 July 1988 (age 35) United States Colorado Gray Wolves United States United States
May Campbell Hooker (1996-05-16) 16 May 1996 (age 27) England Saracens England England
Lindsay Peat Prop (1980-11-05) 5 November 1980 (age 43) Ireland Railway Union Ireland Ireland
Kathryn Buggy Prop (1987-09-01) 1 September 1987 (age 36) England Gloucester-Hartpury Ireland Ireland
Liz Crake Prop (1994-11-08) 8 November 1994 (age 29) England Trailfinders England England
Beth Stafford Lock England Bristol Bears England England
Ciara Cooney Lock (1988-01-18) 18 January 1988 (age 36) England Harlequins Ireland Ireland
Eloise Blackwell Lock (1990-12-28) 28 December 1990 (age 33) New Zealand Ponsonby Fillies New Zealand New Zealand
Victoria Fleetwood Back row (1990-04-13) 13 April 1990 (age 33) Retired England England
Christiana Balogun Back row England Bristol Bears
Kaleigh Searcy Back row England Sale Sharks
Ciara Griffin Back row (1994-01-10) 10 January 1994 (age 30) Ireland UL Bohemians Ireland Ireland
Sara Barattin Back row (1986-09-11) 11 September 1986 (age 37) Retired Italy Italy
Ailsa Hughes Scrum-half (1991-08-18) 18 August 1991 (age 32) Ireland Railway Union Ireland Ireland
Patricia García Scrum-half (1989-12-02) 2 December 1989 (age 34) Retired Spain Spain
Elinor Snowsill Fly-half (1989-06-27) 27 June 1989 (age 34) Retired Wales Wales
Gemma Rowland Centre (1989-02-07) 7 February 1989 (age 35) England Wasps Wales Wales
Katie Alder Centre England Wasps England England
Megan Gaffney Wing (1991-12-03) 3 December 1991 (age 32) Scotland Heriot's Scotland Scotland
Maria Magatti Wing (1992-08-21) 21 August 1992 (age 31) Italy Benetton Rugby Italy Italy
Carla Hohepa Wing (1985-07-27) 27 July 1985 (age 38) New Zealand Kihikihi Rugby Club New Zealand New Zealand
Elizabeth Goulden Fullback England Gloucester-Hartpury New Zealand New Zealand
Mary Healy Fullback Ireland Galwegians RFC Ireland Ireland

Previous squads[edit]

Presidents[edit]

The club's current president is former England and Barbarians player John Spencer, who was named in the position in December 2019.[43]

The office was first instituted in 1913. The previous six presidents were:

Honours[edit]

See also[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Starmer-Smith, Nigel (1977). The Barbarians. Macdonald & Jane's Publishers. ISBN 0-86007-552-4.
  • Evans, Alan (2005), The Barbarians, the United Nations of Rugby, with a foreword by Sir Anthony O'Reilly, Mainstream Publishing Company, Edinburgh ISBN 1-84018-970-3

References[edit]

  1. ^ The founding at Baarbarian FC
  2. ^ History of the Barbarians at Barbarian FC
  3. ^ "Rugby Union News | Live Scores, Odds | Sporting Life". Archived from the original on 2 June 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Odd socks and bi-lingual referees". ESPN. 20 June 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Mason on bench for Baa Baas". ESPN Scrum. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  6. ^ "Barbarians announce team to face England". Sky Sports. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Carpmael and Barbarians in Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 29 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  8. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 13.
  9. ^ a b Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 14.
  10. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 15.
  11. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 20.
  12. ^ a b "Barbarians at the gate". espn.co.uk. 3 December 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  13. ^ "The Founding". The Barbarians FC.
  14. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 10.
  15. ^ a b Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 37.
  16. ^ Starmer-Smith (1977), p. 38.
  17. ^ "My favourite game: Gareth Edwards and the Baa-Baas stun All Blacks". The Guardian. 15 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Morgan fears for game that has lost its sense of fun". The Independent. 25 January 2003.[dead link]
  19. ^ "Leicester v Barbarians: Richard Cockerill relishes Baa-Baas game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  20. ^ Bolton, Paul. "Leicester 26, Barbarians 59: Tigers downed in 13-try spectacular in revival of traditional fixture". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
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