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The Junior Wallabies will continue their preparations for the world championships later this month by facing the Australian Barbarians on Wednesday.
The match is being played at Waratahs HQ – David Phillips Sports Field in Sydney in Daceyville at 7:30pm.
For those unfamiliar with them, the Australian Barbarians are the Australian version of the much-loved British Barbarians and similar to the New Zealand Barbarians. They are likewise an invitational team, were founded in 1957, and are part of Rugby Australia.
The Australian Barbarians have also in recent years brought their concept to Schoolboys rugby naming the Australian Schools Barbarians team. This team has included the likes of Nick Frost, Matt Faessler, Mack Hansen, Will Harrison, Tate McDermott, Jordan Petaia and Dylan Pietsch.
Australia line up for the national anthem during the match between New Zealand U20 and the Junior Wallabies. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
This was a great way of providing some meaning to what was the Australia A schoolboy side. To honour them with the Barbarian tradition for their international fixtures for those players who didn’t make the Australian Schoolboys team, but as you can see from the players above, were very important to have and keep in Australian rugby.
The Australian Barbarians v Junior Wallabies fixture offers a fantastic opportunity for fans to see some of the future stars of the game in the Junior Wallabies team and give them some support before they head off to South Africa to begin their Junior World Cup campaign starting June 24.
After a recent win and a close loss against the Junior All Blacks and boasting a talented team headlined by players such as Tom Lynagh, Teddy Wilson and Lachlan Hooper (brother of Tom), it should be an exciting display.
Captained by Sam Croke from Randwick in Sydney, the Australian Barbarians team has a good selection of players from all around Australia with players from Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra clubs. Some of their talent includes Oscar Enasio, Alex Gibbon and Brendan Jiminez.
It will be a tough ask for the Baa Baas to compete with the Junior Wallabies. But it’s an honour for those players to be invited to pull on the Baa Baas jersey. They are a mixture of young talent and guys who have plied their trade in premier rugby and now they have a chance to show what they can do, represent their clubs by wearing their club socks and hopefully offer some excitement and flair in the spirit of the Barbarians.
One of the best rugby memories was watching the Australian Barbarians v Fiji at a packed North Sydney oval in the 1999. The Barbarians included John Eales, Jason Little, Keith Gleeson and Chris Latham and Fiji included Jacob Rauluni. It was an amazing celebration of rugby.
Unfortunately, the Australian Barbarians don’t get many chances to put out a team and they don’t get a lot of support by way of funding and promotion. Since the professional era, it hasn’t had the fixtures, nor the star power that I think it deserves.
I really encourage those who live in Sydney to get down there, be part of the tradition and see the future Wallabies in action.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.