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Retiring duo Toner and Wood named to start for Barbarians in Spain

(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Ex-Wales midfielder Hadleigh Parkes will skipper the Barbarians in Saturday’s match versus Spain, the game that will the last professional appearance for fellow starters Devin Toner, who turns 36 on June 29, and the 35-year-old Tom Wood along with 38-year-old replacement Joe Tekori.

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The respective former Ireland, England and Samoan internationals are all set to hang up their boots following the match in Gijon that the Barbarians have completely revamped for following last Sunday’s entertaining win over England at Twickenham.

France coach Fabien Galthie was in charge for that encounter last weekend and he named a starting team that included 14 Top 14-based players along with ex-England lock George Kruis, who was the man of the match in his last game before retirement.

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INSIDE THE BARBARIANS | Go behind the scenes with one of the most iconic rugby clubs in the world

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      INSIDE THE BARBARIANS | Go behind the scenes with one of the most iconic rugby clubs in the world

      Former Cardiff boss John Mulvihill is this week’s Barbarians head coach and he has named a start XV consisting of eight different nationalities – four Welsh players, three Irish, two each from Samoa and New Zealand as well as one representative from South Africa, France, Tonga and England.

      Wiehahn Herbst and Seabelo Senatla had been named in the squad earlier this week but their places have since gone to replacement Allan Dell and starting right wing Owen Lane.

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      Barbarians president John Spencer said: “We are very much looking forward to this week as we prepare to face Spain next Saturday night. The club is buzzing after a wonderful victory over England on Sunday and this new squad, coached by John, is excited to take up the reins and embody the Barbarians’ ethos and playing style: spirit, passion, courage and flair, united by lifelong friendship.”

      BARBARIANS (vs Spain, Saturday):
      15. Tim Nanai-Williams (Samoa); 14. Owen Lane (Wales), 13. Rey Lee-Lo (Samoa), 12. Hadleigh Parkes (capt, Wales), 11. Adam Byrne (Ireland); 10. Rhyno Smith (South Africa), 9. Sebastian Bezy (France); 1. Ed Byrne (Ireland), 2. Scott Baldwin (Wales), 3. Charlie Faumuina (New Zealand), 4. Devin Toner (Ireland), 5. Steve Mafi (Tonga), 6. Tom Wood (England), 7. James Botham (Wales). 8. Abraham Papali’i (New Zealand). Reps: 16. Kirby Myhill (Wales), 17. Allan Dell (Scotland), 18. Scott Andrews (Wales), 19. Joe Tekori (Samoa), 20. Rob Harley (Scotland), 21. Dan Baker (Wales), 22. Mathis Galthie (France), 23. Ahsee Tuala (Samoa)

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      Soliloquin 2 hours ago
      Competing interests and rotated squads: What the 'player welfare summer' is really telling us

      I don’t know the financial story behind the changes that were implemented, but I guess clubs started to lose money, Mourad Boudjellal won it all with Toulon, got tired and wanted to invest in football , the French national team was at its lowest with the QF humiliation in 2015 and the FFR needed to transform the model where no French talent could thrive. Interestingly enough, the JIFF rule came in during the 2009/2010 season, so before the Toulon dynasty, but it was only 40% of the players that to be from trained in French academies. But the crops came a few years later, when they passed it at the current level of 70%.

      Again, I’m not a huge fan of under 18 players being scouted and signed. I’d rather have French clubs create sub-academies in French territories like Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia and other places that are culturally closer to RU and geographically closer to rugby lands. Mauvaka, Moefana, Taofifenua bros, Tolofua bros, Falatea - they all came to mainland after starting their rugby adventure back home.

      They’re French, they come from economically struggling areas, and rugby can help locally, instead of lumping foreign talents.

      And even though many national teams benefit from their players training and playing in France, there are cases where they could avoid trying to get them in the French national team (Tatafu).

      In other cases, I feel less shame when the country doesn’t believe in the player like in Meafou’s case.

      And there are players that never consider switching to the French national team like Niniashvili, Merckler or even Capuozzo, who is French and doesn’t really speak Italian.

      We’ll see with Jacques Willis 🥲


      But hey, it’s nothing new to Australia and NZ with PI!

      109 Go to comments
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