All Blacks back-row Shannon Frizell and experienced Ireland front-row Cian Healy are the latest international stars who have been added to the Barbarians squad to take on the Springboks in Cape Town later this month.
The current world champions will go head-to-head with the famous invitational side for the first time on South African soil at the DHL Stadium on Saturday, June 28.
The Barbarians will be coached by former Wallabies boss Robbie Deans along with former All Blacks second-row Sam Whitelock.
Plenty of international experience
Frizell and Healy have 170 Test caps between them and will join the likes of former New Zealand skipper and loose forward Sam Cane and Ireland veterans Peter O’Mahony (flanker) and Conor Murray (scrum-half), who like Healy, retired from international rugby after this year’s Six Nations, in Deans’ squad.
Healy, who is 37 years old, holds the distinction of being the most capped player for both Ireland and United Rugby Championship club Leinster.
He made his international debut debut in 2009 and had amassed 137 caps in emerald green upon his retirement earlier this year.
Comfortable on either side of the front-row, Healy he has been a regular in Leinster squads for more than 15 years and is currently on course to make another URC final.
A British & Irish Lions tourist in 2013
He was part of the British & Irish Lions squad on their victorious tour to Australia in 2013.
Meanwhile, Frizell, who is 31 years old, is no stranger to South African rugby fans as he has already made 33 Test appearances for New Zealand and was in the All Blacks’ starting line-up when they faced the Boks in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final in Paris.
He moved to Japan last year where plies his trade with the Toshiba Brave Lupus, who were crowned back-to-back Japan Rugby League One champions on Sunday when they beat the Kubota Spears in the final.
Deans is delighted that Healy and Frizell have agreed to represent the Baa Baas in this historic match.
“When putting a squad together, we always look for players who have a number of attributes – versatility, experience, skill set, flair, combinations and know each other’s games at club or international level, but most importantly respect and value the privilege of playing for the Barbarians,” said the 65-year-old.
“Cian is hugely experienced both at club and country level, can play tighthead and loosehead and will know well the two other Irish players announced last week. And Shannon is an explosive and dynamic back-row and has played alongside Sam Cane for the All Blacks.”
The Boks held their second alignment camp recently and with the URC play-offs now in full swing, the national training squad will convene for their first training camp in the coming weeks.
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/all-blacks-star-and-ireland-veteran-the-latest-internationals-added-to-barbarians-squad-to-face-springboks
