Barbarians Vs England June 1st 2014

First 14 players announced:
Ex-All Blacks Ali Williams, John Afoa, Carl Hayman, Hosea Gear, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Rene Ranger and Jimmy Cowan have all got the nod alongside former Wallabies Matt Giteau, James O'Connor and Drew Mitchell. And they have also called up Julien Bonnaire, Francois Trinh-Duc and Aurelien Rougerie from France
Read more at http://www.espnscrum.com/barbarians/rugby/story/219711.html#ugk48uD2ZORgI8xl.99
O, Connor, Giteau, Mitchell, Sivivatu, Gear, Cowan, Ranger, Afoa, Williams, Haymen, Rougerie, Trinh-Duc, Bonnaire, S.Armitage.

 So lets say a team of
 1. Afoa
 2.
 3. Haymen
 4. Williams
 5.
 6. Bonnaire
 7. Armitage
 8.
 9. Cowan
10. Giteau
11. Gear
12. O,Connor
13. Ranger
14. Sivivatu
15. Mitchell

16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. Trinh-Duc
23. Rougerie
 
 England will be without any players in the final and those starting in the in the 1st test against NZ.

 (So saying Saints v Sarries final) So the team could be like
 1. Catt
 2. Ward
 3. Snickler
 4. Stooke
 5. Kitchener
 6. Fearns
 7. Seymour
 8. Ewers
 9. Robson
10. Cipriani
11. Rokoduguni
12. Eastmond
13. Daly
14. Thompstone/Sharples (?)
15. Tait
 
16. Cowan-Dickie
17. ?
18. Collier
19. Robson
20. Haskell
21. Simpson/ K.Dickson
22. Slade
23. Miller

 And if the extended squad goes as well we could be missing Ewers, Daly, Rokoduguni and more

So the English are preparing for the AB's.

Any one else find this game a little soulless?

Looks like a good Baabaa's team on paper but in reality these last few years the only players that have really tried are either ex England Int's or youngsters looking to make a point. I hope they get a few of those in around the big stars looking for their pay cheques.

Also saying that I have a massive mancrush on Ranger so he better be playing!

Welly, i would be looking to take Ewers, Fearns, Eastmond and possibly Haskell to NZ...depending on form.

Back row is a bit light if we lose Robshaw and Wood...and we need to see what else we have.

Eastmond needs to be looked at now...and i rate Daly so highly...maybe even take him, though i cant understand why they're forcing him to play 15...not 13.

GeordieFalcon I mentioned that I don't know if England are going to take the whole extended squad to NZ straight away or if some are staying for a week.

 Cant see Ewers, Fearns and Haskell going reckon one of them will go but not 2 or 3.

 If Lancaster takes everyone maybe the team would be maybe Benjamin or Varndell depending on fitness etc.

 1.Catt, 2. Ward, 3.Snickler, 4, Stooke, 5.Kitchener, 6.Gibson 7.Seymour, 8. Haskell 9.Robson, 10. Slade 11.Thompstone, 12. Allen, 13. Joseph, 14. Sharples, 15.Tait 16. Cowan-Dickie, 17. ? 18, Collier, 19. Robson, 20. Garvey, 21. Simpson, 22. Burns, 23.Miller
 
 Either way it scarping the pot a bit.

Cant see the England squad for this one having much motivation either

I still think a fit firing and on form Haskell is a very potent weapon to have. But maybe his time has gone.

Ewers is a powerhouse who can cover 6 aswell...and Fearns is anther powerhouse who seemingly covers all the back row. We need to see if these guys can take it to the next level...as to be honest if we lose either of Robshaw or Wood, we have croft and Johnson...ie we're screwed!!

Fixture madness. Surprised the likes of Fiji aren't touring as well and looking for a game.

Good for England looking to have at some more players but if I were a Baa baa, I'd be hitting the turps hard for a game like this. More pointless than a broken pencil.

Jesus what a team. I suppose it's good prep for England 2nd's to face ABs though.

Might be a pretty even match. Usually the Baa baas lose as they lack the cohesion of an international team. But this is just an England XV, so a few out of form capped players and the rest inexperienced.
Will be good for the England youngsters playing, but apart from that its not really a fixture of any importance. Should play it on the Saturday straight after premiership final at Twickenham, get a much bigger attendance that way.

The How Much Are We Getting Barbarians should play for at least half an hour..maybe 37 minutes if they really want to put on a show. Then thoughts will change to either Home hedge cutting or Barbados beaches.

Or they could be in in awe of the constant bruising collisions and rampaging back play of an England team full of players looking to make an impression....

In awe? Possibly.

But still smoking the Hamlets as they look on.

This is now an utterly pointless fixture. It made sense when we believed that the second weekend in June was the second Saturday in June, since that would have given Lancaster a chance to field players who weren't appearing in the Aviva final.

Now that the NZRU wants the second weekend to start on the first Saturday, no-one involved with the First Test, even as back-up to the matchday 23, can be available for the Barbarians match.

This is a pointless fixture, I agree. Either England should play a Tier 2 European nation who need more high-profile tests or the Barbarians should!

Would England vs Georgia be any less competitive than some of the England vs Barbarians fixtures of times past? And imagine the reception that a team with the stars the Barbarians can attract would get in Tblisi.

Notch wrote:This is a pointless fixture, I agree. Either England should play a Tier 2 European nation who need more high-profile tests or the Barbarians should!

Would England vs Georgia be any less competitive than some of the England vs Barbarians fixtures of times past? And imagine the reception that a team with the stars the Barbarians can attract would get in Tblisi.

Ah but you are mistaking this for something other than the revenue making exercise it really is.

There is the added bonus of seeing young prospects in a different environment, but this match (and all the other Country v Barbarian fixtures) is all about the cash.

They are a real waste of time now. Sad, but true.

And won't the young prospects be traveling off to the JWC at the same time anyway?

Other than as an end of season p155 up and day out, what's this game for now - I live less than an hour from Twickenham and wouldn't pony up £40 - £60 for a couple of tickets, plus travel/drinks/food/etc. to watch an England 3rd team.
Would like to see as Notch says either the Baa Baas v a European team or how about an England 15 V a "Euro Barbarians"?