UPDATE: England v Barbarians on Sunday, October 25, has since been called off.
A trio of Cardiff Blues players have received shock call-ups to the Barbarians squad to face England on Sunday.
Back-rower Will Boyde, centre Max Llewellyn and outside back Ioan Davies have answered an SOS to join up with the invitational side in the wake of the Covid scandal that emerged yesterday.
Players were not part of John Muvihill's plans for his side's trip to face Munster this weekend and it is thought they were taken aback by the call-up.
It has been revealed that 12 Barbarians players left the team bubble at their hotel earlier this week without authorisation.
The players were said to have been kept separate from the rest of the squad when they returned and have now left the group.
Multiple national newspapers have reported that former England captain Chris Robshaw was among them and will now be denied his Twickenham swansong before heading to America.
The actions of those players cast considerable doubt over the game, with the RFU setting a deadline of 3pm on Friday for the invitational side to find replacements.
However those replacements must come from Covid-secure environments that have been regularly testing.
With English Premiership players banned from taking part by the league and a full round of Guinness PRO14 fixtures taking place this weekend, finding new faces is no easy task.
It is believed that former Wales under-20s stars Boyde, Llewellyn and Davies arrived in London last night to join up with the Barbarians.
Boyde has been playing at the top level since making his Scarlets debut in 2014 and there was considerable shock when the region showed him the door in 2019. He found a new home at the Arms Park that summer.
21-year-old Llewellyn has a handful of Cardiff Blues appearances to his name and there is much excitement about his potential.
The same goes for young full-back Davies, who has been likened to a young Leigh Halfpenny.
