Radradra among 3 stars confirmed to face Eddie Jones' Barbarians in May

Former New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen has confirmed the recruitment of three superstars for his World XV ahead of their match against Eddie Jones’ Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday, 28th of May.

Since leaving his post as New Zealand head coach in 2019, Hansen has been working as a consultant with Japanese Top League outfit Toyota Verblitz. But 2023 marks a return to the world stage for the 63 year old, with Hansen set to lead the World XV which will include a string of rugby’s most exciting players – including Semi Radradra, Marika Koroibete and Ngani Laumape.

The trio have all been confirmed to be appearing for the World XV and Hansen admits he cannot wait to return to Twickenham for what is set to be an epic clash.

“Like many Fijian players, Semi’s strong, fast, and a good athlete,” he said. “Fijians always just naturally know how to play footy. They love the running aspects of the game, and they play a lot of sevens, so they’re highly skilled and always brings that bit of x-factor.

“I know a lot about Ngani from his All Black days. Before he had a little injury [in Japan] he was playing outstanding rugby. Marika is just a wonderful player; lots of energy and he works for 80 minutes.

“So, I’m just really looking forward to working with them all, and excited about the game because it’s going to be played in the right manner.

“Traditionally, you want a Barbarians game to be open and flowing, and a World XV game is the same. This event gets you a combination of both those teams – and both coaches will treat it with the respect that it deserves.

“Whilst both sides will have a little bit of fun during the week, come Saturday they’ll have the freedom to express themselves and pour it out on the park. I’m sure we’ll see a wonderfully high- skilled spectacle that hopefully people will come along and really, really enjoy.”

General admission tickets for the blockbuster Barbarian F.C. vs World XV clash are on sale now from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/barbarians at the early bird price of just £25* for Adults and £15* for Under-16s.

For a 10% discount on groups of ten or more, please visit www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/events. Hospitality packages are available to purchase from £299 per person via www.twickenhamstadium.com.

*booking fees apply