Bishop now a Barbarian
Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02
Veteran Ireland wing Justin Bishop is one seven internationals in the Barbarians team for the 81st Mobbs memorial match against Bedford at Goldington Road next Tuesday, March 18.
The Barbarians invited players from eight nations to represent the club.
The starting line-up features the brothers Mark and Bradley Davies among the backs and Steve Martin, who will emulate his father Allan by playing for the Barbarians.
The international contingent includes United States star Paul Emerick at centre and the 25-times capped Ireland wing, Bishop.
Club president Micky Steele-Bodger said: "Our squad reflects the balance we always try to bring to these long-established fixtures. Alongside the established players we also have promising stars of the future such as the England Under-20 wing Dan Norton and the Wales Sevens player, Dafydd Hewitt."
He added: "We are looking forward to returning to Goldington Road where we have many happy connections. That includes our coach for the match, Paul Turner, who played with such distinction for the Bedford club a decade ago."
Bedford Blues provide the opposition for the Mobbs memorial match for the first time, though the Barbarians did play a fixture against the original Bedford club in 1894.
Barbarians: 15 Bradley Davies (Plymouth Albion), 14 *Dan Norton (Gloucester Rugby), 13 *Paul Emerick (Newport Gwent Dragons and US), 12 *Dafydd Hewitt (Cardiff Blues), 11 *Justin Bishop (Doncaster Knights and Ireland), 10 *Mark Davies (Gloucester Rugby), 9 *Ross Blake (Cambridge University), 8 *Richard Parks (Newport Gwent Dragons and Wales), 7 Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues), 6 Luke Sherriff (Nottingham), 5 *Andrew Hall (Newport Gwent Dragons and Scotland), 4 *Steve Martin (Neath Rugby), 3 Ben Evans (Sale Sharks and Wales), 2 *Sean Crombie (Boroughmuir), 1 David Maddocks (Coventry).
Replacements: 16 Joe Duffey (Nottingham), 17 Nigel
Hall (Nottingham), 18 Andy Kennedy (Banbridge), 19 *Ledua Jope (Army and Fiji), 20 *Harvey Biljon (Blackheath), 21 *Oliver Viney (Preston Grasshoppers), 22 *Darragh O'Mahony (Old Albanians and Ireland).
[* - denotes new Barbarian]
Barbarian Fixtures March-June 2008:
Tuesday 18 March: v Bedford at Goldington Road (Mobbs Memorial Match) - 19.30 GMT
Wednesday 9 April: v Edinburgh Academicals at Raeburn Place - 18.00 GMT
Saturday 24 May: v Belgium XV at King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels – 18.00 GMT
Tuesday 27 May: v Ireland at Kingsholm, Gloucester – 19.45 GMT
Sunday 1 June: v England at Twickenham – 15.00 GMT
