The Barbarians coach, Robbie Deans, has brushed off suggestions that an absence of players from the northern hemisphere tarnishes their fixture against New Zealand on Saturday after the All Blacks expressed their disappointment.
The Baa-Baas have named a 26-man squad, including six current or former All Blacks but no players from the home nations and only two from the Premiership. A deal had been struck with Premiership Rugby Limited for access to players but with a recent glut of injuries most clubs have been reluctant to release anyone.
After he was left out of England’s autumn internationals squad last week, James Haskell said on social media he would be keen to play for the Barbarians at Twickenham while Semesa Rokoduguni was also believed to be on their radar before he was called up by Eddie Jones to replace Elliot Daly. Only London Irish’s Ben Franks and Gloucester’s Ruan Ackermann have been picked from the Premiership, however, leaving Deans with a squad that contains 13 New Zealanders and only one European player – Italy’s Simone Favaro.
As a result, Ian Foster, the All Blacks assistant coach, expressed his regret at the changing nature of the fixture. “It would have been nice to have had a few more UK players against us,” he said. “It’s a great occasion we’re looking forward to but we’re mostly playing guys we recognise. It’s certainly changed, hasn’t it? It is what it is. We just agreed to a game. We’re looking forward to it but clearly the concept has changed. It’s more like a local derby.”
Deans, however, has dismissed any concerns that the anticipated 65,000-strong crowd is being shortchanged. “The critical thing is that those that are here want to be here,” the former Australia head coach said. “You can only select from those that are available and it’s not straightforward. As you know, we don’t have an aligned calendar and until then it’s unlikely to happen. The reality is that it’s for someone up the food chain. They’ve had several meetings about it and nothing’s changed.”
While New Zealand are set to be without a handful of players who do not arrive in the UK until Friday, including Sonny Bill Williams, Kieran Read and Dane Coles, they are strong favourites to mark their 125th anniversary with victory at Twickenham. The last time the All Blacks faced the Barbarians – in 2009 – the invitational side triumphed 25-18, thanks to a Bryan Habana hat-trick of tries, and New Zealander Deans is relishing the challenge.
“We’ll challenge them; you never have it all your own way. How successfully we challenge them remains to be seen but we’ll ask some questions,” he added. “It’s about producing a game that befits the occasion.”
