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New Saracens flyhalf starts as Barbarians name team for Fiji
By Ian Cameron
The Barbarians have named their 23 man squad for the Killik Cup fixture against Fiji with Sam Whitelock leading the side at Twickenham Stadium.
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Head coach Robbie Deans has a squad full of international experience with 968 Test caps. Whitelock captains the Barbarians and starts in the second row with David Ribbans. Scott Sio and Kyle Sinckler line up with hooker Harry Thacker in the front row.
Jack Cornelsen and Lachlan Boshier are selected as flankers with Zach Mercer at No.8. New Saracens flyhalf Fergus Burke starts at 10 for the side with England veteran Danny Care at scrum-half.
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Gael Fickou and Virimi Vakatawa form the midfield partnership. Jonny May and Leicester Fainga’anuku are on the wings with Chay Fihaki at fullback. The bench includes Ben Youngs Shota Horie Jonathan Joseph and Cameron Woki.
“This has been a fantastic group of players to coach,” said Deans. “We’ve picked a side which blends experience at the very highest level with players at the front end of their careers who are relishing the opportunity to play alongside some legends of the game and show what they can do in front of a huge crowd at Twickenham.
“We’ve approached this match as all Barbarians teams do – with a focus on fun, enjoyment and connection within our group.
“The players have trained really well and made friendships this week to last a lifetime. We’re ready to put some exciting rugby onto the pitch tomorrow against a top-class Fiji side.”
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The match kicks off at 5.15pm.
Barbarians FC:
15 Chay Fihaki
14 Leicester Fainga’anuku
13 Virimi Vakatawa
12 Gael Fickou
11 Jonny May
10 Fergus Burke
9 Danny Care
1 Scott Sio
2 Harry Thacker
3 Kyle Sinckler
4 David Ribbans
5 Sam Whitelock – captain
6 Jack Cornelsen
7 Lachlan Boshier
8 Zach Mercer
Replacements:
16 Shota Horie
17 Craig Millar
18 Kieran Brookes
19 Fabian Holland
20 Liam Mitchell
21 Ben Youngs
22 Jonathan Joseph
23 Cameron Woki
Over 65,000 people have already secured their seats for the blockbuster match, which kicks off at 5.15pm on Saturday afternoon at Twickenham. Tickets are still available from from Ticketmaster and the RFU and also include entry to the Qatar Airways Cup showdown between South Africa and Wales. The two international heavyweights go toe-to-toe at 2.00pm, ahead of Barbarians vs Fiji.
Fantastic to see Fergus Burke starting at 10 for the Barbarians. He made a big difference to the Crusaders on his return and will play one last season for Canterbury before heading “ back “ to England to play for Saracens. I know Fergus well and he is a good man. Great to see fellow Crusader Chay Fihaki at fullback and of course former ‘Saders in Leicester Fainga’anuku and legendary captain Sam Whitelock. Robbie Deans as coach, playing and coaching legend from here. Should be a great game.