Jerome Kaino in action for the All Blacks against the Barbarians in 2004. Photo / Photosport.
Jerome Kaino in action for the All Blacks against the Barbarians in 2004. Photo / Photosport.
Alex McLeod runs through all you need to know you need to know ahead of the first match of the All Blacks' end-of-year tour against the Barbarians.
Twickenham, London, 4am kick-off
This weekend will mark the 11th encounter between two of rugby's most famous teams, with the All Blacks set to face off against the historic invitational side, the Barbarians. The rivalry between the two sides dates back to 1954, when a Bob Stuart-coached All Blacks outfit claimed a 19-5 win in front of a 56,000 crowd at Cardiff Arms Park.
63 years on, the All Blacks have maintained their dominance over the black and white hoops, winning seven of their previous 10 clashes.
However, the Barbarians have had their successes over the decades. Robbie Deans' side head into Sunday morning's (NZT) match as the victors of the two team's last match, with a Bryan Habana hat-trick inspiring the Baabaas to a 25-18 win at Twickenham in 2009.
Bryan Habana scored a hat-trick in the last match these two teams played against each other. Photo / Photosport.
Perhaps the most iconic moment in Barbarians history was the Gareth Edwards try scored in the Baabaas' 23-11 victory against the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973.
The 63-test Wales and British and Irish Lions halfback capped off a scintillating counter-attacking play by sprinting 30 metres to outpace fullback Joe Karam and wing Grant Batty to dot down in the left-hand corner in spectacular fashion, scoring what many regard to be the greatest try ever.
This weekend's meeting between the two teams will be the sixth to be hosted at Twickenham. The All Blacks have a good track record against the Barbarians at London's premier rugby stadium, winning three times, drawing once and conceding just a solitary loss to the Baabaas in their previous five matches at the venue.
Both teams are at different stages of their respective end-of-year tours, with this match opening the All Blacks' five-match European schedule, while it will be the second of three matches for the Barbarians.
Following on from this weekend's showdown, the All Blacks travel to Paris, where they will take on France, before moving on to face a French XV in Lyon, Scotland in Edinburgh, and Wales in Cardiff.
Under a different coaching set up and a vastly changed playing squad, the Barbarians will be looking to improve on their entertaining 31-28 defeat against the Wallabies in Sydney last week. Their three-match itinerary concludes when they play Tonga at Thomond Park in Limerick next week.
The Barbarians were entertaining in their 31028 defeat to the Wallabies in Sydney last week. Photo / Photosport.
Line Ups:
As expected, the All Blacks have made wholesale changes to the match day squad from the side that was defeated 23-18 by the Wallabies in Brisbane a fortnight ago.
Only four players - Kane Hames, Scott Barrett, Waisake Naholo, and Patrick Tuipulotu - have retained their spots, with 12 changes being made in the starting side, while a further seven have been made on the bench.
Notable selections include three potential All Blacks debutants in the form of hooker Asafo Aumua, prop Tim Perry, and outside back Matt Duffie, all of whom have been named on the bench.
Other returnees after long-term lay-offs include three-test wing Seta Tamanivalu, who will make his first All Blacks appearance in 15 months following outstanding performances in Super Rugby and the Mitre 10 Cup for the Crusaders and Taranaki. He joins David Havili and Ofa Tu'ungafasi in making their first starts for the national side.
Seta Tamanivalu will play for the All Blacks for the first time since August last year. Photo / Photosport.
Hurricanes and Wellington prop Jeffery Toomaga-Allen is primed to make just his second All Blacks appearance from off the reserves bench, almost exactly four years after his test debut against Japan in Tokyo. Elsewhere, Beauden Barrett replaces Lima Sopoaga to start at number 10, and has been named as captain in the absence of Kieran Read.
Veteran loose forward Jerome Kaino returns to the match day squad for the first time since the British and Irish Lions series following his off-field personal issues, while Nathan Harris will make his first start for the All Blacks since their 74-6 demolition of the USA in Chicago in 2014.
There is some degree of experience on the bench, with Tuipulotu, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, and Lima Sopoaga named to balance out the likes of Aumua, Perry, Toomaga-Allen, and Duffie.
The Barbarians side named by Robbie Deans and his assistants Scott Robertson and Will Greenwood has a distinct Kiwi theme to it, with 10 New Zealanders named in the starting XV, and an extra three named on the bench.
Former World Cup-winning halfback All Blacks Andy Ellis will captain the side. Other capped All Blacks to make the run-on team includes two-test lock Dominic Bird, former Blues loose forward Steven Luatua, Highlanders number eight Luke Whitelock, and barnstorming wing Julian Savea.
Uncapped Kiwis Atu Moli, Richie Mo'unga, Vince Aso, Richard Buckman, and George Bridge are also starting, while Ben Franks, Mitchell Drummond, and Dillon Hunt make up the three New Zealanders selected on the bench.
Sunday morning's encounter will be a good opportunity for Bird, Moli, Mo'unga, Drummond and Hunt to prove their worth to the All Blacks selectors, as the quintet will join their opposition in France to provide cover for the clash against the French XV.
Dillon Hunt is one of five Barbarians players to join the All Blacks in France next week. Photo / Getty Images.
All Blacks: 1 . Kane Hames, 2. Nathan Harris, 3. Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 4. Luke Romano, 5. Scott Barrett, 6. Vaea Fifita, 7. Ardie Savea, 8. Jerome Kaino, 9. TJ Perenara, 10. Beauden Barrett (c), 11. Seta Tamanivalu, 12. Ngani Laumape, 13. Anton Lienert-Brown, 14. Waisake Naholo, 15. David Havili.
Reserves: 16. Asafo Aumua, 17. Tim Perry, 18. Jeff Toomaga-Allen, 19. Patrick Tuipulotu, 20. Sam Cane, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Lima Sopoaga, 23. Matt Duffie.
Barbarians 1. Jacques van Rooyen, 2. Adriaan Strauss (vc), 3. Atu Moli, 4. Sam Carter, 5. Dominic Bird, 6. Steven Luatua, 7. Kwagga Smith, 8. Luke Whitelock (vc), 9. Andy Ellis (c), 10. Richie Mo'unga, 11. Vince Aso, 12. Harold Vorster, 13. Richard Buckman, 14. Julian Savea, 15. George Bridge.
Reserves: 16. Akker van der Merwe, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Willie Britz, 20. Ruan Ackermann, 21. Mitchell Drummond, 22. Robert du Preez, 23. Dillon Hunt.
Odds:
The All Blacks are strong favourites to come away from Twickenham with a win, with the TAB paying $1.05 for a victory to Steve Hansen's men. In comparison, the Barbarians are paying eight times more than that, coming in at $8.50.
As is customary when it comes to All Blacks matches, the two wingers are the joint favourites to score the first try of the match, with the two Fijian-born flyers Seta Tamanivalu and Waisake Naholo paying $7.50. Julian Savea is the favourite from the Barbarians to dot down first, paying a slightly higher $11.
How to watch:
The Herald will be live blogging the game, and RadioSport will have live commentary. Sky TV will be showing the match live on Sky Sport 1 at 4am.
