Barbarian F.C.

Barbarians
Nickname(s) Baa-Baas
Coach(es) South Africa Rassie Erasmus (December 2018)
Most appearances Ireland Tony O'Reilly (30)
Top scorer Ireland Tony O'Reilly (38 tries)
Team kit
First match
Hartlepool Rovers 4–9 Barbarians
(27 December 1890)
Largest win
Belgium  10–84 Barbarians
(24 May 2008)
Largest defeat
England XV  73–12 Barbarians
(31 May 2015)[1]
Official website
www.barbarianfc.co.uk

The Barbarian Football Club, usually called the Barbarians and nicknamed the Baa-Baas, is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear the socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation, and as of 2011, players from 31 countries had played for the Barbarians.[2] Traditionally at least one uncapped player is selected for each match.

The Barbarians traditionally played six annual encounters: Penarth, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport during their Easter Tour; a game with Leicester traditionally on 27 December and the Mobbs Memorial Match against East Midlands in the spring. In 1948, the Barbarians were invited to face Australia as part of that team's tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Although initially designed as a fund raiser towards the end of the tour, the encounter became a popular fixture for most touring nations to Britain, and a Barbarian tradition.

On 29 May 2011, during halftime of the Barbarians' match against England at Twickenham, the Barbarians and their founder William Percy Carpmael were honoured with induction to the IRB Hall of Fame.[3]

A women's team was established for the first time in 2017. Many invitational clubs are based on the Barbarians, including the French Barbarians, Australian Barbarians, New Zealand Barbarians and South African Barbarians.

History

Barbarians team that played Devonshire at Exeter, 1 April 1891

The Barbarian Club was formed by William Percy Carpmael, who had played rugby for Cambridge University,[4] and had been part of the Cambridge team which had undertaken a tour of Yorkshire in 1884.[5] Inspired by the culture behind short rugby tours he organised his first tour in 1889 with Clapham Rovers,[5] which was followed by an 1890 tour with an invitational team calling themselves the Southern Nomads.[6] At the time practically every club ceased playing in early March and there were no tours and players just 'packed up' until the following season. In 1890 he took the Southern Nomads – mainly composed of players from Blackheath – on a tour of some northern counties of England.

His idea – collecting a touring side from all sources to tackle a few leading clubs in the land – received strong support from leading players, particularly ex-university players. On 8 April 1890, in Leuchters Restaurant and later at the Alexandra Hotel in Bradford, the concept of the Barbarians was agreed upon.[7] The team toured later that year and beat Hartlepool Rovers 9–4 on 27 December in their first fixture.

The team was given the motto by Walter Julius Carey, former Bishop of Bloemfontein and a former member of the Barbarians:[8]

Rugby Football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but for no bad sportsman in any class.

Penarth

The concept took hold over the years and the nearest thing to a club home came to be the Esplanade Hotel at Penarth in South Wales, where the Barbarians always stayed on their Easter tours of Wales.[9] The annual Good Friday game against the Barbarians was the highlight of the Penarth club's year and was always attended by enthusiastic capacity crowds. This fixture marked the start of the Baa-Baas' annual South Wales tour from their "spiritual home" of Penarth, which also included playing Cardiff RFC on the Saturday, Swansea RFC on Easter Monday and Newport RFC on the Tuesday.

The non-match day of Easter Sunday would always see the Barbarians playing golf at the Glamorganshire Golf Club,[10] in Penarth, while the former Esplanade Hotel, which was located on the seafront at Penarth, would host the gala party for the trip, sponsored by Penarth RFC. The first match took place in 1901,[9] and over the next 75 encounters, Penarth won eleven games, drew four and lost 60. Between 1920 and the first Athletics Field game in 1925, the Good Friday games were hosted on Penarth County Grammar School's sports field.

The final Penarth v Barbarians game was played in 1986, by which time the Penarth club had slipped from its prominent position in Welsh rugby. However, a special commemorative game, recognising the 100 years since the first Good Friday match, took place in 2001 and was played at the Athletic Field next to the Penarth clubhouse the day before the Barbarians played Wales at the Millennium Stadium. Gary Teichmann, captain of South Africa and the Barbarians, unveiled a plaque at the clubhouse to mark the event.

The Final Challenge

After the Second World War, in 1948, the Barbarians were asked by the British and Irish Unions to raise a side to play the touring Australian side. This started the tradition of the "Final Challenge" – played as the last match in a tour of Britain and Ireland by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

'The best try ever scored'

The Barbarian 'Final Challenge' match with the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park on 27 January 1973 is celebrated as one of the best games of rugby union ever played. It was a game of attack and counterattack, and the Barbarians won the match 23–11, handing the All Blacks their fourth defeat of the tour. Gareth Edwards scored a try widely considered to be one of the best ever in rugby union.

Cliff Morgan described Gareth Edwards' try:

Gareth Edwards said of the match:

Traditional matches

The nature of the Barbarians as a touring side made for a diverse fixture list, but at a number of points in the club's history they have settled for a time into a regular pattern. Most of these regular matches have fallen by the wayside, whilst others continue to the present day:

  • 27 December game against Leicester Tigers – this began in 1909 as the third and final match of the Christmas Tour. It was played for the last time as a regular fixture in March 2006[12] but returned in November 2014 when the Barbarians beat Leicester 59-26 in their 125th anniversary season.[13]
  • The Edgar Mobbs Memorial Match – held for Edgar Mobbs, who was killed in The First World War. Played at Franklins Gardens against Northampton Saints, Bedford Blues or the East Midlands select XV. The first took place on 10 February 1921, and in later years became a tradition on the first Thursday in March. The last Mobbs Match to feature the Barbarians took place in April 2011. Since then, the invited opposition has been a British Army side instead of the Barbarians.[14]
  • Easter Tour – traditionally four matches against Penarth RFC (Good Friday), Cardiff RFC/Cardiff Blues (Holy Saturday); Swansea RFC (Easter Monday) and Newport RFC (Tuesday following Easter Monday). The Penarth match was dropped after the 1986 match as a regular fixture although in 2001 a special commemorative game, recognising the 100 years since the first Good Friday match, took place in 2001 and was played at the Athletic Field next to the Penarth clubhouse the day before the Barbarians played Wales at the Millennium Stadium. The game against Newport was moved away from Easter after the 1982 fixture due to problems fielding a team for the fourth match of the tour[15] and was played as a midweek game early in the season from September 1982 onwards.[16] The Barbarians last played Newport in November 1996.
  • The Final Challenge — played as the last match in a tour of the UK by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Because of the changes in the game in recent years, long tours have effectively disappeared from the game and there is less scope for this challenge. The fixture returned on 3 December 2008 when the Barbarians played Australia at Wembley Stadium, the first rugby union match to be played there since its redevelopment.
  • Remembrance Day game against the Combined Services, played in November. The fixture was first played in 1997 and the most recent game, in 2014, resulted in a 31-15 win for the Barbarians.[17]

They typically compete against teams from the home nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) as well as other international sides. Other matches are played against club teams, often to celebrate anniversaries. The 2014-15 fixture list included matches against Leicester Tigers and Heriot's Rugby Club in addition to the Final Challenge game with Australia and the annual Combined Services match.[18] The Heriot's game celebrated the 125th anniversary of both that club and the Barbarians,[19] while the Leicester game was also part of the Barbarians' 125th anniversary schedule.[20]

Olympic rugby union centenary celebration match

Australia was approached by the British Olympic Association to play the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium on 3 December 2008. The match formed part of the BOA's programme of events to celebrate the centenary of the first London Olympic Games where Australia defeated a Great Britain (Cornwall) side in the final 32 – 3.[21] In 1908 France were the defending Olympic champions, but when they withdrew from the event, leaving just Australia and Great Britain to contest the gold medal, it was then County champions Cornwall who took to the field to represent the host nation. Cornwall had already been defeated in Australia's earlier 31-match tour. Cornwall's 1908 contribution was also further recognised by the presentation of the Cornwall Cup to the winning 2008 captain at Wembley, with the players of the respective sides receiving gold or silver commemorative medals. The 2008 game was the first rugby union fixture to take place in the new Wembley Stadium.[22] Australia went on to win 18 points to 11.

In a change to the tradition of the Barbarians players wearing their own club socks, in this game, they all wore Cornwall's black and gold socks. The break with the tradition was highly regarded by the secretary of the Cornwall Rugby Football Union, Alan Mitchell, who was said to have been humbled by the honour.[22]

Women's team

In October 2017 a women's team was announced for the first time in the club's history.[23] Their first match was a 19-0 victory against Munster on 10 November 2017, played as part of a double header with the men's team playing Tonga.[24]

They subsequently played a match against the British Army in March 2018, winning 37-0.[25]

Matches against national teams

Opposing TeamsForAgainstResultDateVenueCityCompetition
 Wales2610Won17 April 1915Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffTour Match
To raise 'patriotic funds'
 Australia96Won31 January 1948Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 South Africa317Lost26 January 1952Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 New Zealand519Lost20 February 1954Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Australia116Won22 February 1958Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 East Africa5212Won28 May 1958RFUEA GroundNairobiTour Match
 South Africa60Won4 February 1961Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Canada33Draw17 November 1962Gosforth Greyhound StadiumGosforthTour Match
 New Zealand336Lost15 February 1964Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Australia1117Lost28 January 1967Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 New Zealand611Lost16 December 1967TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 Rhodesia2421Won26 May 1969Police GroundsSalisburyTour Match
 South Africa1221Lost31 January 1970TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Scotland3317Won9 May 1970MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
In aid of 1970 British Commonwealth Games
 Fiji929Lost24 October 1970Gosforth Greyhound StadiumGosforthFinal Challenge
 New Zealand2311Won27 January 1973Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 New Zealand1313Draw30 November 1974TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 Australia197Won24 January 1976Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Canada294Won12 June 1976York StadiumTorontoTour Match
British Lions1423Lost10 September 1977TwickenhamLondonSilver Jubilee Match
 New Zealand1618Lost16 December 1978Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Scotland2613Won1983MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Australia3037Lost15 December 1984Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Italy2315Won26 May 1985Stadio FlaminioRomeTour Match
 Australia2240Lost26 November 1988Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 New Zealand1021Lost25 November 1989TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 England1618Lost29 September 1990TwickenhamLondonTour Match
Centenary celebrations
 Wales3124Won6 October 1990Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffTour Match
Centenary celebrations
 Argentina3422Won17 November 1990Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Scotland1616Draw7 September 1991MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Russia2327Lost6 June 1992LokomotivMoscowTour Match
 Australia2030Lost28 November 1992TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 New Zealand1225Lost4 December 1993Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffFinal Challenge
 Zimbabwe2123Lost4 June 1994Police groundsHarareTour Match
 South Africa2315Won3 December 1994Lansdowne RoadDublinFinal Challenge
 Ireland7038Won1996Lansdowne RoadDublinTour Match
Peace International
 Scotland4845Won17 August 1996MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
Dunblane Disaster Fund Match
 Wales1031Lost24 August 1996Cardiff Arms ParkCardiffTour Match
Fully capped match for Wales
 Australia1239Lost7 December 1996TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 Ireland3130WonMay 2000Lansdowne RoadDublinTour Match
 Scotland4542Won31 May 2000MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Germany4719Won12 August 2000EilenriedestadionHanoverTour Match
German Rugby Federation Centenary Match
 South Africa3141Lost10 December 2000Millennium StadiumCardiffFinal Challenge
 Wales4038Won20 May 2001Millennium StadiumCardiffTour Match
 Scotland7431Won24 May 2001MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 England4329Won27 May 2001TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Australia3549Lost28 November 2001Millennium StadiumCardiffFinal Challenge
 England2953LostMay 2002TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Wales4025WonMay 2002Millennium StadiumCardiffTour Match
 Scotland4727WonJune 2002MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 England4936WonMay 2003TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Scotland2415WonMay 2003MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Wales4835WonMay 2003Millennium StadiumCardiffTour Match
 Scotland4033Won22 May 2004MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Wales042Lost27 May 2004Ashton GateBristolTour Match
 England3212Won30 May 2004TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Portugal6634Won10 June 2004Universitário LisboaLisbonTour Match
 New Zealand1947Lost4 December 2004TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 Scotland738Lost24 May 2005PittodrieAberdeenTour Match
 England5239Won28 May 2005TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 England1946Lost28 May 2006TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Scotland1966Lost31 May 2006MurrayfieldEdinburghTour Match
 Georgia2819Won4 June 2006Mikheil Meskhi StadiumTbilisiTour Match
 Tunisia3310Won19 May 2007Stade El MenzahTunisTour Match
 Spain5226Won23 June 2007Martínez ValeroElcheTour Match
 South Africa225Won1 December 2007TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 Belgium8410Won24 May 2008Stade Roi BaudouinBrusselsTour Match
 Ireland1439Lost27 May 2008KingsholmGloucesterTour Match
 England1417Lost1 June 2008TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Australia1118Lost3 December 2008Wembley StadiumLondonFinal Challenge / Cornwall Cup
 England3326Won3 May 2009TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Australia755Lost6 June 2009Sydney Football StadiumSydneyTour Match [26]
 New Zealand2518Won5 December 2009TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 England2635Lost30 May 2010TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Ireland2923Won4 June 2010Thomond ParkLimerickTour Match
 South Africa2620Won4 December 2010TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 England3832Won29 May 2011TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Wales3128Won4 June 2011Millennium StadiumCardiffTour Match
Celebration of 130th anniversary of the WRU; fully capped match for Wales
 Australia1160Lost26 November 2011TwickenhamLondonFinal Challenge
 England2657Lost27 May 2012TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Ireland2928Won29 May 2012Kingsholm StadiumGloucesterTour Match
 Wales2130Lost2 June 2012Millennium StadiumCardiffTour Match
Fully capped match for Wales
 England1240Lost26 May 2013TwickenhamLondonTour Match
British and Irish Lions859Lost1 June 2013Hong Kong StadiumHong KongLions Tour Match [27]
 Fiji4317Won30 November 2013TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 England3929Won1 June 2014TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Australia3640Lost1 November 2014TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Ireland2221Won28 May 2015Thomond ParkLimerickTour Match
 England1273Lost31 May 2015TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Samoa2724Won29 August 2015Olympic StadiumLondonTour Match
 Argentina3149Lost21 November 2015TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 South Africa3131Draw5 November 2016Wembley StadiumLondonTour Match
 Czech Republic710Won8 November 2016Markéta StadiumPragueTour Match
Celebration of 90th anniversary of the Czech Rugby Union
 Fiji407Won11 November 2016Kingspan StadiumBelfastTour Match
 England1428Lost28 May 2017TwickenhamLondonTour Match
Old Mutual Wealth Cup
 Australia2831Lost28 October 2017Allianz StadiumSydneyTour Match
 New Zealand2231Lost4 November 2017TwickenhamLondonTour Match
 Tonga2724Won10 November 2017Thomond ParkLimerickTour Match
 Argentina1 December 2018TwickenhamLondonTour Match

Overall

As of 10 November 2017
Against Played Won Lost Drawn Win %
 Argentina211050.00%
 Australia14311021.43%
 Belgium1100100.00%
 Canada210150.00%
 Czech Republic1100100.00%
 East Africa1100100.00%
 England1589047.59%
 Fiji321066.67%
 Georgia1100100.00%
 Germany1100100.00%
 Ireland651083.33%
 Italy1100100.00%
British and Irish Lions20200.00%
 New Zealand1128118.18%
 Portugal1100100.00%
 Rhodesia1100100.00%
 Russia10100.00%
 Samoa1100100.00%
 Scotland1182172.72%
 South Africa843150.00%
 Spain1100100.00%
 Tunisia1100100.00%
 Wales963066.67%
 Zimbabwe10100.00%
 Tonga1100100.00%
Total965141453.13%

2018 squad

Current Barbarians squad to face Argentina on 1 December.

Note: Italics denotes an uncapped player. Bold denotes players that have represented the Barbarians in previous matches. Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR nationality.

Player Position Date of Birth (Age) Club/province Union
Tendai Mtawarira Prop (1985-08-01) 1 August 1985 South Africa Sharks South Africa South Africa
Schalk Brits Hooker (1981-05-18) 18 May 1981 South Africa Stormers South Africa South Africa
Eben Etzebeth Lock (1991-10-29) 29 October 1991 South Africa Stormers South Africa South Africa
Will Genia Scrum-half (1988-01-17) 17 January 1988 Australia Melbourne Rebels Australia Australia
Handré Pollard Fly-half (1994-03-11) 11 March 1994 South Africa Bulls South Africa South Africa

Previous squads

Past presidents

The office was first instituted in 1913:

See also

Bibliography

  • Starmer-Smith, Nigel (1977). The Barbarians. Macdonald & Jane's Publishers. ISBN 0-86007-552-4.

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Mason on bench for Baa Baas". ESPN Scrum. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "Carpmael and Barbarians in Hall of Fame" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 29 May 2011. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  4. ↑ Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 13.
  5. 1 2 Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 14.
  6. ↑ Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 15.
  7. ↑ Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 20.
  8. ↑ Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 10.
  9. 1 2 Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 37.
  10. ↑ Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 38.
  11. ↑ Morgan fears for game that has lost its sense of fun independent.co.uk, 25 January 2003.
  12. ↑ "Leicester v Barbarians: Richard Cockerill relishes Baa-Baas game". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  13. ↑ Bolton, Paul. "Leicester 26, Barbarians 59: Tigers downed in 13-try spectacular in revival of traditional fixture". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  14. ↑ Richards, Huw (22 April 2011). "The end of an era". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 24 April 2011.
  15. ↑ Jenkins, Vivian (1983). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1982–83. Rothmans Publications Ltd. p. 157. ISBN 0907574130.
  16. ↑ Steve Jones, ed. (1983). Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1983-84. Queen Anne Press. p. 153. ISBN 0356097315.
  17. ↑ Bolton, Paul. "Combined Services 15 Barbarians 31, match report: Josh Drauniniu sinks old comrades in Remembrance Match". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  18. ↑ "RESULTS AND FIXTURES - 2014-2015". barbarianfc.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sponsor announced for Heriot's v Barbarians match". Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  20. ↑ "Matchday guide: Tigers v Barbarians". Leicester Tigers. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  21. ↑ "Australia approached to mark Cornwall v Australia centenary match". Sportinglife.com. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  22. 1 2 Hooper, Bill (3 December 2008). "Cornish rugby to be honoured at Wembley". Western Morning News. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  23. ↑ 9 Oct (2017-10-09). "Barbarians women's team to play first match in November - BBC Sport". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  24. ↑ "Barbarians beat Munster in Limerick to win first women's game". BBC Sport. 10 November 2017.
  25. ↑ Evans, Julian (19 March 2018). "Defeat For British Army Women In Historic Barbarians Clash". Forces Network.
  26. ↑ "The Barbarians – News". Barbarianfc.co.uk. 22 December 2008. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  27. ↑ "Lions line up match in Hong Kong". BBC News. 18 October 2010.
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