Even 24 hours after the exciting drama in the last minute of the Premiership final, Twickenham is ready to host another demonstration match as England face the Barbarians.
If this afternoon’s game is something like yesterday’s, it will be a white-knuckle ride. While Leicester’s 15-12 victory over the Saracens was not exactly rugby, Freddie Burns’ goal 30 seconds into the game marked an exciting end to the Premiership season.
With Leicester players no doubt still celebrating and Saris recovering and licking his wounds, Eddie Jones is without a significant number of his regular starters today. As such, his England XV is a mix of youngsters, players and celebrities returning from injury.
Meanwhile, the Barbarians pointed to a predominantly Francophone country, which is not surprising, given that the team is composed of French coach Fabien Galti. Speaking exclusively to the Telegraph Sport, Galti acknowledged that “our team is essentially France Development XV”.
Explaining the rationale behind his choice of team, Galti said: “There are players who will become international, players who are already, and some who are not yet in [France] starting XV.
“Damian Peno is already our first choice, but everyone else is evolving. They can all join the French team one day.”
Jones also wants to emphasize that his team is experimental, even if some of the players will hope to make their way in thinking about the English tour in Australia next month. “This is a young team, they have prepared really well and worked hard over the last few camps to come together as a group … it’s a great opportunity to play in this England XV team and show what they can do,” he said.
“We look forward to playing against the unusually French barbarian team – which you usually only get when you play with the French barbarians.
“We will use it as an opportunity to develop combinations and evaluate players for the tour in Australia.
“We will do our best and that should make a great rugby game for all Twickenham fans.”
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