BaaBaas rugby

With the little interest being shown in the England Barbarian fixture, ie. England fielding weak team, spectators not turning out, why is England keep being granted this fixture. Don't give me tradition, as the end of season fixture for England against the BaaBaas is relatively new, compared to BaaBaa history.

Surely it would make more sense to allow this end of season game be passed around the home nations. This would have been a better fixture for the Welsh team than the Possible v Probable game.

Did the WRU ask the Baa baas to play Wales?

Anyway, England 3rds/4ths are 18-14 up at ht.

No9 wrote:Surely it would make more sense to allow this end of season game be passed around the home nations. This would have been a better fixture for the Welsh team than the Possible v Probable game.

The WRU would have needed the services of Mystic Meg to schedule the game. The three major Northern domestic finals were yesterday. While we can debate the chances of Welsh regions making the final, at least one might have made it, and two wasn't impossible. Welsh overseas players also may have been tied up, although only George North was needed in the end yesterday.

The fixture would only have made commercial and sporting sense for the WRU if they could have been certain most of their squad would have been free this weekend (as it turns out, they were).

Same could be said for the RFU. Which is probably why we have so many youngsters wearing the red rose, and NOT being capped.

I see your point, but not sure it is that relevant, sometimes you have to take a punt...

For me BaaBaas games should never be capped games but I know we have done it on few occasions last one being to give Nuggett his 100th cap.

I agree to an extent...

My issue is you either always cap the BaaBaa games or never cap them, but the inconsistency is wrong.

And that a ruling should be across all nations, so it's a even field.

Problem being I think its up to the individual Unions and unless I am wrong I think its only us Welsh that have capped BaaBaas games.

No reason why couldn't play eng and wales,one midweek
Are you jealous?  

I wouldn't say jealous, but I suppose the answer has to be yes, as I want to see BaaBaa rugby have some meaning again.

I'm old enough to remember the good old days of BaaBaa rugby and being at the Arms Park when a mostly Welsh BaaBaa side beat the might All Blacks.

I appreciate that in today's professional era BaaBaa rugby has taken a back seat. I'm also not naive enough to see it resurge, but it would be nice to see the ethos of BaaBaa rugby grow again, and maybe sharing these fixtures out is the first step.

No9 wrote:Same could be said for the RFU.

No, not really.

Only two premiership sides played yesterday. Regardless of who they turned out to be, we always knew there'd be a lot of England squad players without anything on this weekend. Also, the RFU were still labouring under the impression that there would be a two week gap before the first Test against NZ. Today's fixture ought to have been a tune-up for players who have already finished their season.

Instead, the team which should have been playing today is out in NZ getting ready for next weekend. Lancaster might have made a few more changes - maybe resting Robshaw and giving someone else a go at captaincy - but the England XV would have been closer to a second string team than a fourth string.

No9 wrote:With the little interest being shown in the England Barbarian fixture, ie. England fielding weak team, spectators not turning out, why is England keep being granted this fixture. Don't give me tradition, as the end of season fixture for England against the BaaBaas is relatively new, compared to BaaBaa history.

Surely it would make more sense to allow this end of season game be passed around the home nations. This would have been a better fixture for the Welsh team than the Possible v Probable game.

Eh? There was 50-odd thousand at the game and I think it's pretty obvious why England are having to field such an inexperienced side.

Wales didn't want it.

http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/featured-post/15927/barbarians-match-bid-snubbed-by-wales/

Would be good for the baa baas aura and home unions if they did a uk tour.get them involved more rather than being seen as an outdated gimmick

This was originally meant to be a warm up for the full squad before they flew out for the first Test in the 2nd weekend of June, but we've had plenty of debate on the different interpretations of that date in NZ and England.

50k spectators to watch effectively the Saxons isn't too bad