October 13th 2009: Two of the key players from the recent British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa will reignite their rivalry this December, but this time they’ll be on the same team.

Wales scrum-half, Mike Phillips, and his Springbok counterpart, Fourie du Preez, will both don the famous black and white jersey of the Barbarians for the match against the All Blacks on December 5th at Twickenham.

Phillips commented; “The game will be my debut for the Barbarians, and it is such an honour to be asked to play. When I look back at the names that have worn the shirt before me, it’s incredible – a ‘who’s who’ of international rugby. It’s fantastic that the tradition of the Barbarians is still going strong in the professional era, you only need to look at the squad for this game versus the All Blacks on December 5th to see how highly regarded the club is.”

He continues; “I’m really looking forward being on the same team as Fourie, he’s such an exceptional player. That’s one of the beauties of Barbarians rugby, you get the chance to play with players that you’d only normally expect to play against. Hopefully, we’ll be able to give each other a few tips now that the Lions series is over!”


The two scrumhalves join a host of global rugby stars that have already been confirmed to represent the Baa-Baas and include; Matt Giteau, Bryan Habana, Juan Martin Hernandez, Stirling Mortlock, Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha.

Tickets are on sale via ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 847 2492
Prices range from £35 to £65 for adults, £17.50 to £32.50 for juniors (under-16) and special family tickets (two adults, two juniors) at £31.25