Baa-Baas aim for three-peat
Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:40
The Barbarians club will play the national teams of Ireland and England, as well as visit Belgium for the first time on their 2008 mid-year tour.
The three-match itinerary begins at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on Saturday May 24, when the Barbarians will play a Belgium International XV.
The fixture is the latest in a series of groundbreaking matches in recent seasons - when the Club has visited several countries, including Germany, Portugal, Russia, Georgia, Tunisia and Spain, to help increase the profile of the international game.
The match against Ireland is set to be staged at Kingsholm, Gloucester, on Tuesday May 27.
Club president Micky Steele-Bodger was very excited about the new direction the team is taking.
"This is a new departure for us, but a very interesting one," Steele-Bodger said.
"Ireland were keen to add a fixture in Europe to their own summer tour before travelling on to New Zealand and Australia. With Lansdowne Road and Thomond Park still under redevelopment, we are playing at one of the traditional hotbeds of rugby union in the west of England. Kingsholm was an obvious choice and one that we are sure will prove to be a great success for both players and fans."
The Barbarians have played Ireland on two previous occasions, in 1996 and 2000, and will be defending an unbeaten record.
They have played against the Gloucester club in the early days of the game in 1892 and 1900 and also appeared at the Kingsholm ground in 1999 for the annual Remembrance Match against Combined Services.
The mid-year tour concludes with the match against England at Twickenham on Sunday June 1, in what will be the eighth fixture between the two teams.
It will also be the 750th official match played by the Barbarians since the Club's inaugural fixture against Hartlepool Rovers on 27 December 1890.
Cardiff Blues' coach David Young will coach what promises to be another star-studded Barbarians' squad on the mid-year tour.
Meanwhile, the Barbarians have two domestic fixtures before then.
* On Tuesday March 18 they will play Bedford in the 81st Mobbs Memorial Match. Newport-Gwent Dragons' director of rugby Paul Turner has accepted an invitation to coach the Baa-Baas' squad for this fixture.
Then on Wednesday April 9 the Barbarians return north of the border to help the Edinburgh Academicals, the oldest club in Scotland, celebrate their 150th season with a match at Raeburn Place. Scottish rugby icon and Barbarian committeeman John Jeffrey will take charge of the Baa-Baas' team for what will be another landmark occasion.
Micky Steele-Bodger said: "This is a very busy season for everyone involved with the Barbarians. We had another great welcome in Plymouth when we played the Combined Services last November and our victory over South Africa in December was a magnificent event in every respect.
"Now we are looking forward to two more historic matches in Bedford and Edinburgh before making new friends in Belgium and renewing old acquaintances among the cream of Irish and English international rugby."
Barbarian Fixtures:
Tuesday 18 March: v Bedford, Goldington Road (Mobbs Memorial Match)
Wednesday 9 April: v Edinburgh Academicals, Raeburn Place (150th Anniversary Match)
Saturday 24 May: v Belgium International XV, Heysel Stadium, Brussels
Tuesday 27 May: v Ireland, Kingsholm, Gloucester
Sunday 1 June: v England, Twickenham
