The Barbarians were formed in 1890 by a player from Blackheath, London, called William Percy Carpmael. At that time the rugby season finished in March so he decided to invite a group of players to join him on an end-of-season tour to the north of England. This he saw as an opportunity to play with friends from various clubs who were normally opponents. It was such a success that he formed the Barbarian Football Club to continue touring on an informal basis and the first tour took place in December of that year, playing Huddersfield and Bradford. The original ethos is still in place, with the Barbarians being a team which brings together players from different clubs to play a few matches each year to enjoy the camaraderie of the game and play attacking, adventurous rugby without the pressure of having to win. Carpmael’s dream was to spread good fellowship amongst all players where all the things that are great about the game – flair, courage, spirit and passion – could be encapsulated in one team, who exist for the joy of the game and having fun.
Getting to know each other
- During their first team meeting of the week the president of the Barbarians club, 92-year-old Micky Steele-Bodger, hands out pins and ties to the players, here he presents former All Black Dominic Bird with his.
With the players meeting up for the first time on the Monday before Saturday’s game, it doesn’t give them much time together to bond and work on tactics.
- New Zealand players Mitchell Drummond (above left), George Bridge (above right) and Luke Whitelock try on shirts for size in the kit room at the team’s base for the week, the Hilton on Park Lane.
- In a team meeting the Barbarian players, including Harold Forster (above left) and Mitchell Drummond (above right), are asked to write down their desires and motivation for the week as well as a unique fact about themselves that no-one else would know.
For the New Zealand game, the Baa-Baas have named a 26-man squad, including six current or former All Blacks, but there are no players from the home nations and only two from the Premiership (Gloucester’s Ruan Ackermann and London Irish’s Ben Franks). A deal had been struck with the English top flight for access to players but with a recent glut of injuries, most clubs have been reluctant to release anyone.
The invitational club are finding it harder to find players for their matches than ever before, because as the game has become more professional and more money has flowed into top flight rugby, clubs have been reluctant to release players for fear of them getting injured.
- Crusaders head coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson from New Zealand, who this week is Barbarian assistant coach to Robbie Deans, works out line-out drills with specially painted cubes, left. These drills are then carried out at the Barbarians training centre at Latymer School in West London, they are put into practice by players such as Adrian Strauss from South Africa and Dominic Bird in the stripes.
Ex-England player and World Cup winner Will Greenwood, right, who is an assistant coach this week, shakes hands with New Zealand World cup winner Ben Franks in the Latymer School clubhouse. Greenwood has spoken out about the club’s trouble selection problems, saying that “it was disappointing” that there were no England based English players in the side as their clubs didn’t allow them to be picked.
The difficulty this situation presents was demonstrated by the case of young New Zealander George Bridge who, up until he received a phone call last Saturday, hadn’t been asked to play or was even aware of the match.
- Julian Savea (far), a World Cup winner with New Zealand, practices his basketball skills on a netball court with fellow winger Vince Aso.
With it being nigh on eight years since the teams last met and the All Blacks being the current world champions, there is much media attention ahead of the match which the players are happy to be involved in. Gloucester’s South African Ruan Ackermann performs his try celebration routine during a photo-call and Julian Savea speaks to the press during a Barbarians media session.
Once the “serious” business is over it’s time for one of the over-riding principles of the Barbarians – fun.
- There’s time for one final team meeting to discuss tactics before the Barbarian players head out for a Halloween meal. Steven Luatua is either waiting for a crime to be committed or the rest of his team-mates and 6ft 10” Dominic Bird has chosen an apt outfit as he attempts to crams himself into a black cab as the team head off to celebrate Halloween.
Captain’s Run
With just one day to go before the match, the Barbarians again head to Latymer School for some last minute practice. Hooker Akker van der Merwe from South Africa practices thrown ins, above, whilst fly-half Richie Mo’unga, from New Zealand, who next week joins up with the All Blacks in France, practices his kicking and another New Zealander Barbarian, and World Cup winner, Julian Savea works on his passing.
Following their training session naturalist Steve Backshall turned up with a number of animals and reptiles for the players to be introduced to and handle, as part of a plan to help the players conquer their fears and spur them on against the world champions. Apart from Savea, who took one look at the animals and scarpered. Amongst those who stayed to get acquainted with the animals were Ruan Ackermann, who got to know an albino Burmese python, South Africa’s Kwagga Smith, who looked quite taken with an eagle owl, and captain Andy Ellis from New Zealand, who looked less impressed by a tarantula. Backshall had an interested audience when he showed a caiman to a group of players.
Looking to the past for inspiration
- Victorious Barbarians scrum-half Gareth Edwards is chaired off at the end of their 1973 match, with All Blacks captain Ian Kirkpatrick far left, at Cardiff Arms Park after the Barbarians defeated the All Blacks for the first time. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex/Shutterstock
The teams have met 10 times over the years, with their first meeting taking place at Cardiff Arms Park on 20 February 1954, where New Zealand set the tone for the subsequent meetings with a 19-5 victory. It wasn’t until their fourth clash, in January 1973, that the Barbarians first tasted victory, with a 23-11 triumph in a fantastic match which some have rated as one of the greatest ever played. The sweet taste of victory was enhanced by the Baa-Baas’ first try, scored by Gareth Edwards, which has since been labelled as some as “The greatest try of all time” and the match is rated as one of the greatest ever played
Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff. Phil Bennett covering. Chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant! Oh, that’s brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score! Oh, that fellow Edwards! – Cliff Morgan, commentator
- The build-up to ‘that’ try. Gareth Edwards, second right, looks on as John Dawes passes to Tom David. Photograph: Colorsport/Rex/Shutterstock
The game is one I will never forget and those of us who played in it will never be allowed to forget. It is a match that will live with me forever. People tend only to remember the first four minutes of the game because of the try, but what they forgot is the great deal of good rugby played afterwards, much of which came from the All Blacks – Gareth Edwards
A 13-13 draw followed in November 1974 but then New Zealand regained the upper hand with victories in 1978, 1989, 1993 and 2004. The teams last met in December 2009 when a hat-trick of tries by Springbok Bryan Habana inspired the Barbarians to a 25-18 victory at Twickenham.
- Barbarians’ South African player Bryan Habana surges past the challenge of New Zealand’s Mike Delany to score his third try.
It is right up there with my best moments. It was a fantastic side with an unbelievably talented group of players … To beat an All Blacks side who haven’t lost on this tour is pretty special. We understand the Barbarians ethos and rugby is all about friendship. It has been an amazing week – Barbarians wing Bryan Habana
Game on
- Barbarians captain Andy Ellis greets the mascots in the tunnel before the match.
More than 60,000 fans turned up at Twickenham to witness this year’s clash between the Barbarians and the All Blacks. With no fewer than ten New Zealanders in their lineup, the Baa-Baas made a roaring start against a Kiwi side featuring a host of fringe players. The Barbarians were 10-0 up in the first 14 minutes and even led 17-10 at half-time as Richie Mo’unga, George Bridge and Sam Carter all crossed the line in the opening stanza.
- Above left: Julian Savea takes possession – his brother Ardie Savea was on the opposing team. Above right: Dominic Bird receives treatment.
- Above: Richie Mo’unga dives in for the first try of the game. Below: Steven Luatua runs clear.
The introduction of the experienced Sam Cane five minutes after the restart turned the tide in the All Blacks’ favour. The world champions made fewer defensive errors and wing Waisake Naholo used his raw strength and soft hands to carve out opportunities. Tries from Cane, Ngani Laumape and Nathan Harris put Steve Hansen’s side 31-17 ahead before a late effort from George Bridge deservedly reduced the arrears. But it wasn’t enough for the Baa-Baas, and the Kiwis were able to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the New Zealand Rugby Union with a hard-fought win. Final score: New Zealand 31-22 Barbarians
- Above: Vince Aso gets clobbered by a shoulder tackle from Luke Romano. Below: Barbarians captain Andy Ellis (right) and the rest of the players on the bench celebrate the final try of the game.
- Above: A hard-earned beer after a pulsating match which saw shades of the Barbarians of old.