With the British and Irish Lions Tour rapidly approaching it can be quite easy to forget what's going on closer to home on the international level, especially considering so many of England's finest players will be on the plane to New Zealand in a week or so.

England once again face the Barbarians at Twickenham this Saturday in a match that some are calling the ideal opportunity to avenge England 's poor 6 Nations result. Last year saw the home side endure a 12-32 defeat. Unfortunately, the same mistake that happened with Argentina and the Lions cannot happen again, The Baa Baas shouldn't be underestimated, as given their team to face England, they seem to be pulling out all the stops in a brand new team.

England's severely depleted team for Saturday includes the hat-trick scoring Jamie Noon, who will be hoping to replicate his excellent performance against Scotland in the Six Nations. His pal, England hopeful Matthew Tait makes the bench. Several other exciting players also made the starting XV: Tom Voyce, Andy Goode, George Chuter, Tom Palmer, Chris Jones and Hugh Vyvyan will all start. Pat Sanderson has been named Captain.

After their 38-7 loss to Scotland on Tuesday, coach Bob Dwyer has named a completely revamped line-up including Springbok utility back Brent Russell, Former All Black fly half Carlos Spencer, Australia's Wendell Sailor, former Bok captain Corne Krige, and even a couple of England boys: Lock Simon Shaw, and World Cup winning hooker Mark Regan. French number 8 Sebastien Chabal of Sale Sharks also makes an appearance as does the 97-01 Lions prop Tom Smith. The forward pack certainly has the experience and the proven power. Dwyer is keen to show the world that his team shouldn't be written off so easily:

“Obviously we were very disappointed to lose in Scotland but we have tremendous strength in depth in this squad and we are determined to put the record straight against England . We face a tough challenge but these players in the Baa-Baas team are themselves quality individuals. Our task is to gel as a team and put on a performance worthy of the great traditions of the Barbarians at Twickenham. We are determined to do so. ”

With the Churchill Cup approaching, England will want a decisive victory this weekend to send them off on a high, but given the team listings, it seems like a lot of the fresh England players will have to battle it out with fully experienced Barbarians.

ENGLAND

15. Tom Voyce – London Wasps
14. Paul Sackey – London Wasps
13. Ayoola Erinle – London Wasps
12. Jamie Noon – Newcastle Falcons
11. James Simpson-Daniel – Gloucester
10. Andy Goode – Leicester Tigers
9. Andy Gomarsall – Gloucester (Vice Captain)
1. Mike Worsley – NEC Harlequins
2. George Chuter – Leicester Tigers
3. Micky Ward – Newcastle Falcons
4. Louis Deacon – Leicester Tigers
5. Tom Palmer – Leeds Tykes
6. Chris Jones – Sale Sharks
7. Pat Sanderson – Worcester Warriors (Captain)
8. Hugh Vyvyan – Saracens

Replacements: 16. Lee Mears – Bath , 17. Robbie Morris – Northampton Saints, 18. Stuart Hooper – Leeds Tykes, 19 . James Forrester – Gloucester , 20. Peter Richards – London Wasps, 21. Sam Vesty – Leicester Tigers, 22. Matthew Tait – Newcastle Falcons.

BARBARIANS

15. Brent Russell – South Africa
14. Wendell Sailor – Australia
13. Thomas Castaignede – France
12. Trevor Halstead – South Africa
11. Bruce Reihana – New Zealand
10. Carlos Spencer – New Zealand
9. Mark Robinson – New Zealand
1. Tom Smith – Scotland
2. Mark Regan – England
3. Cobus Visagie – South Africa
4. Simon Shaw – England
5. Selborne Boome – South Africa
6. Corne Krige – South Africa
7. Johnny O'Connor – W asps/Ireland (Captain)
8. Sebastien Chabal – France

Replacements: TBC

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