ENGLAND v BARBARIANS
30 May 2009 - Twickenham Stadium
Match Preview

With most of the media attention in the southern hemisphere for a certain rugby tour in South Africa, England supporter eyes will be momentarily focused on events at Twickenham this weekend. After yet another Six Nations of mixed results for England, Martin Johnson will be looking to continue the good work his side put in in the latter half of the competition when his newly appointed XV take to the field against a star-studded Barbarians side.

Mixing the old (sorry, experienced) with the new is the order of the day on Saturday for Johnson, in what will be the annual fixture against the Baa-Baas at Twickenham. Six players will be making their first senior starts for England in a team that is radically different to that which played in the Six Nations. Lions call-ups, injuries, recent form and enforced rests have conspired together in a way that allowed Johnson to tinker and try out new players in a far less intense environment. With the two Test series against Argentina on the horizon, Johnson will be thankful for this fixture as he attempts to introduce or re-introduce players in the mix and give them a chance to impress before announcing his Test team for the following Saturday.

Both Thompson and Turner-Hall have been selected in the matchday 22

Lewis Moody and Steve Thompson have been recalled into the starting line-up after various periods of absence from the England shirt. Moody last played for England in the opening match of the 2008 RBS Six Nations Championship and Thompson has not played for three years. “Thompson is 30, he could be yet to peak,” Johnson said. “The time out has done him the world of good mentally, while Lewis is as hungry as ever.” Louis Deacon is also recalled after two years out of the international scene.

In terms of the debutants, half a dozen have been given the nod by Johnson including Dylan Hartley, the Northampton Saints hooker who has had to be patient with a bench spot in the last nine Test matches. In a surprising move, Ben Foden, Hartley's team-mate at Northampton, was a replacement scrum half against Italy but starts on the right wing, with Matt Banahan, the 6ft 7in giant from Bath, making his debut on the left wing. With Mark Cueto surely waiting in the wings to be selected on one wing against Argentina, both players will be looking to impress in the hopes of bagging the left wing position. Jordan Turner-Hall, the Harlequins centre, and David Wilson, the Bath-bound tighthead prop also start.

Harlequins flanker Robshaw gets his chance to impress in England colours

Chris Robshaw, the Harlequins flanker who was the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season, also gets a first call-up, and will be eased into senior international rugby alongside the experienced duo of Moody and Nick Easter. Moody admitted yesterday that he had been at “a particularly low ebb” after suffering a broken ankle in a collision on the Leicester training ground in January, but he promised that he would not tone down his gung-ho style of play. “Maybe training has to be slightly tempered but I won't play the game differently,” Moody said. “That is what I am and I wouldn't be as useful if I didn't play the way I do.” Moody returned in time to play for Leicester in the finals of the Premiership and the Heineken Cup, which persuaded Johnson that he was ready for an international recall.

With Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson injured and Danny Cipriani named in the second-string Saxons squad, Brive's Andy Goode takes the fly-half role alongside scrum-half Danny Care.

Thompson and Moody will square up one last time against Martin Corry, their former England team-mate, who will captain a strong Barbarians team before retiring. Other English representation in the Barbarians side includes former Wasps back Josh Lewsey, retiring from the game after this weekend, and France-bound Iain Balshaw. And with star names like Howlett, D’Arcy, Marshall, Jack, Collins, Betsen and Elsom in the starting team, you get the feeling it could easily be a tough day at the office for Martin Johnson’s men. The visitor’s back row is enough to strike fear into the hearts of most up against them and whilst Baa-baas teams of old might have been willing to throw the ball around at every possible opportunity, but if last year’s fixture, also coached by Cardiff Blues man Dai Young, is any indication, the visitors will do everything in their considerable power to win the match.

England: D Armitage (London Irish); B Foden (Northampton), J Noon (Newcastle Falcons), J Turner-Hall (Harlequins), M Banahan (Bath); A Goode (Brive), D Care (Harlequins); T Payne (London Wasps), D Hartley (Northampton), D Wilson (Newcastle Falcons), S Borthwick (Saracens, captain), L Deacon (Leicester), C Robshaw (Harlequins), L Moody (Leicester), N Easter (Harlequins).

Replacements: S Thompson (Brive), N Wood (Gloucester), C Jones (Sale Sharks), S Armitage (London Irish), J Haskell (London Wasps), P Hodgson (London Irish), T May (Newcastle Falcons).


Barbarians: B Blair; D Howlett, J Lewsey, G D'Arcy, I Balshaw; G Jackson, J Marshall; C Dermody, S Brits, G Somerville, M Corry (captain), C Jack, J Collins, S Betsen, R Elsom.

Replacements: S Bruno, B Botha, P Tito, P Waugh, C Whitaker, M Catt, R Nasiganiyavi.