Australian trio to start for Eddie Jones' Barbarians

Australian trio Pete Samu, Joe Powell and Luke Jones will start for the Barbarians in their opening match against Fiji in London on Saturday.

Melbourne Rebels duo Angus Cottrell and Matt Philip have also been named among the replacements for the famous invitational side but centre Billy Meakes misses out despite his original inclusion in the squad.

The Barbarians start their three-match tour against the Fijians at Twickenham.

Ireland’s Rory Best will captain the Baa Baas in his last ever professional appearance, having won 124 international caps for his country over 14 years.

World Cup-winning trio Makazole Mapimpi, Tendai Mtawarira and Lukhanyo Am head up a large South African contingent in the side.

Fellow Springboks Marco van Staden, Curwin Bosch, Dillyn Leyds, Andre Esterhuizen also get starts, with Hencus van Wyk, Jano Vermaak and Morne Steyn on the bench.

France’s Mathieu Bastareaud, Scotland’s Josh Strauss, Canada’s Tyler Ardron and New Zealand’s David Havili round out the starting 15.

“We’ve got a great mix of experience in the team as well as some of the younger ones coming through and I’m excited to see how the guys are building this team,” Eddie Jones said.

“We’ve had a great week so far and now I’m looking forward to getting out there and having a good game of rugby against an exciting Fiji side.”

After the tour’s opening match, the former Wallabies mentor will take his team to Sao Paolo to play Brazil, before concluding the tour with a fixture against Wales at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on November 30.

Barbarians: David Havili, Dillyn Leyds, Mathieu Bastareaud, Andre Esterhuizen, Makazole Mapimpi, Curwin Bosch, Joe Powell, Josh Strauss, Marco van Staden, Pete Samu, Tyler Ardron, Luke Jones, Enrique Pieretto, Rory Best (capt), Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements: Andrew Makalio, Campese Ma’afu, Hencus van Wyk, Angus Cottrell, Matt Philip, Jano Vermaak, Lukhanyo Am, Morne Steyn.