All Blacks team for match against Barbarians

Nov 2 • General News, International • 2640 Views • Comments Off on All Blacks team for match against Barbarians

Beauden Barrett named captain for first time; three new All Blacks on bench

The All Blacks team has been named to play the Barbarians in the opening match of the Vista 2017 All Blacks Northern Tour at Twickenham on Saturday 4 November.

The matchday 23 is as follows (with Test caps and new All Blacks in bold):

Kane Hames (6)
2. Nathan Harris (9)
3. Ofa Tu’ungafasi (11)
4. Luke Romano (29)
5. Scott Barrett (14)
6. Vaea Fifita (3)
7. Ardie Savea (22)
8. Jerome Kaino (81)
9. TJ Perenara (39)
10. Beauden Barrett (59) – captain
11. Seta Tamanivalu (3)
12. Ngani Laumape (4)
13. Anton Lienert-Brown (19)
14. Waisake Naholo (15)
15. David Havili (3)
16. Asafo Aumua *
17. Tim Perry *
18. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen (1)
19. Patrick Tuipulotu (15)
20. Sam Cane (50)
21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow (27)
22. Lima Sopoaga (13)
23. Matt Duffie *

First five-eighth Beauden Barrett will captain the All Blacks for the first time, while three new All Blacks, hooker Asafo Aumua, prop Tim Perry and outside back Matt Duffie have been named on the reserves bench.

All Blacks Head Coach Steve Hansen said: “We are very much looking forward to this great occasion which will be the 11th time we have played the Barbarians in their 127-year history. “Not only is it a special occasion for the team, it’ll also be a particularly special day for Beauden ,as well as the three new All Blacks Asafo, Tim and Matt, who will be pulling on the All Blacks jersey for the first time. We congratulate them on their impending milestones.

“It’s very rare that we get the chance to play a non-Test match in the modern era and it’s given us the chance to give our full squad an opportunity to stake claims for future matches and gain valuable big-match experience.

“The expected crowd of 65-70 thousand will create a Test-like atmosphere and the quality of the opposition will also add to the occasion. It looks set to be a very entertaining match so those who come to the game shouldn’t go home disappointed.”

Key notes

* Beauden Barrett will become the 132nd player to captain the All Blacks side. 68 players have captained the Test side while another 63 have captained the side in non-Tests.

* The Barbarians match does not carry Test status so Test caps aren’t awarded to those All Blacks who play in the match.

* The All Blacks have played the Barbarians ten times since 1954, with seven wins to the All Blacks, one draw and two losses. One of those losses was the last match between the two sides at Twickenham, in 2009.

* This will be the All Blacks 45th match at Twickenham. The last time the All Blacks played there was the Rugby World Cup final win over Australia in 2015.

The Vista 2017 All Blacks Northern Tour

1. vs THE BARBARIANS, Saturday 4 November, Twickenham, LONDON Kick-off: 3:00PM BST (NZT: 3:00AM, Sunday 5 November) 2. vs. FRANCE, Saturday 11 November, Stade de France, PARIS Kick-off: 8.45PM CET (NZT: 8.45AM, Sunday 12 November) 3. vs. FRANCE XV, Tuesday 14 November, Parc Olympique Lyonnais, LYON Kick-off 6.55PM CET (NZT: 6.55AM, Wednesday, 15 November) 4. vs. SCOTLAND, Saturday 18 November, Murrayfield, EDINBURGH Kick-off: 3.00PM BST (NZT: 3.00AM, Sunday 19 November, NZT) 5. vs. WALES, Saturday 25 November, Millennium Stadium, CARDIFF Kick-off: 5.15PM BST (NZT: 5.15AM, Sunday 26 November, NZT)