Barbarians
Nickname(s)	Baa-Baas
Union	No union
Most appearances	Tony O'Reilly (30)
Top scorer	Tony O'Reilly (38 tries)
Team colours
First match
Hartlepool Rovers 4 - 9 Barbarians (27 December 1890)
Largest win
Scotland 31 - 74 Barbarians (24 May 2001)
Worst defeat
Scotland 66 - 19 Barbarians (31 May 2006)
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The original Barbarians

The Barbarian Football Club, typically referred to as Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team. The Barbarians play in traditional black and white hoops, though players retain the socks from their "home" club strip. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland_rugby. ... Sir Anthony Tony OReilly (born 7 May 1936) is a Dublin born billionaire who holds both British and Irish nationality. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ireland_rugby. ... Sir Anthony Tony OReilly (born 7 May 1936) is a Dublin born billionaire who holds both British and Irish nationality. ... Image File history File links Kit_left_arm_baa. ... Image File history File links Kit_body_baa. ... Image File history File links Kit_right_arm_baa. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Kit_socks_baa. ... Hartlepool Rovers are a Rugby union team who currently play in the North 2 East league. ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (362nd in leap years). ... Year 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ... First international (also the worlds first)  Scotland 4 - 1 England  (27 March 1871) Largest win  Scotland 100 - 8 Japan  (13 November 2004) Worst defeat  Scotland 10 - 68 South Africa  (6 December 1997) World Cup Appearances 6 (First in 1987) Best result Semi-finals, 1991 The Scotland national rugby union... is the 144th day of the year (145th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... First international (also the worlds first)  Scotland 4 - 1 England  (27 March 1871) Largest win  Scotland 100 - 8 Japan  (13 November 2004) Worst defeat  Scotland 10 - 68 South Africa  (6 December 1997) World Cup Appearances 6 (First in 1987) Best result Semi-finals, 1991 The Scotland national rugby union... is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... From 1890 and therefore This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... From 1890 and therefore This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... For other uses, see Rugby (disambiguation). ...

Membership is by invitation and the only qualifications considered when issuing an invitation are that the player's rugby is of a high enough standard and secondly that he should behave himself on and off the field. Being asked to become a Barbarian is an honour and not one restricted to British players. Traditionally one uncapped player is selected for each match. A cap is an appearance for a select team, such as a school, county or international team in sports. ...

As the name suggests the club philosophy is based on attack with flowing running rugby with lots of tries, particularly in contrast to early Home Nation sides dominated by forward play.

History

The club was inspired by one man, William Percy Carpmael. He loved the culture behind rugby tours and came up with the idea of regular short tours. At the time practically every club ceased playing in early March and there were no tours and players just 'packed up' until the following season. In 1890 he took the Southern Nomads—mainly composed of players from Blackheath—on a tour to the north. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ...

His scheme for collecting a touring side from all sources; to tackle a few leading clubs in the land, instantly received support from the best. On April 9th in Leuchters Restaurant at the Alexandra hotel in Bradford, the concept of the Barbarians was agreed upon. They beat Hartlepool Rovers 9-4 on 27th December in their first fixture. For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ...

The team was given the motto by W.J. Carey (former Bishop of Bloemfontein and an original member):

Rugby Football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but for no bad sportsman in any class

The concept took hold over the years and the nearest thing to a club home came to be the Esplanade Hotel, Penarth, where the Barbarians always stayed on their Easter tours of Wales.

After the Second World War in 1948 the Barbarians were asked by the Home Unions to raise a side to play the touring Australian side. This started the tradition of the Final Challenge – played as the last match in a tour of Britain and Ireland by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

However, to the regret of many fans the Barbarians tradition isn't as it used to be anymore in the professional era and many see the club as an anachronism.

That game, that try

The Barbarian Final Challenge match with the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park on January 27, 1973 is celebrated as one of the best games of rugby football ever played.^{[citation needed]} It was a game of attack and counter attack with rugby the winner. The All Blacks are the national rugby union representative team of New Zealand. ... Cardiff Arms Park is a stadium complex situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. ... is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the song by James Blunt, see 1973 (song). ...

Cliff Morgan described that try by Gareth Edwards: Cliff Morgan (born 7 April 1930 at Trebanog, Rhondda) is a former Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff RFC and earned 29 caps for Wales between 1951 and 1958. ...

Kirkpatrick to Williams. This is great stuff! Phil Bennett covering chased by Alistair Scown. Brilliant, oh, that's brilliant! John Williams. Pullin. John Dawes, great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score!!

Gareth Edwards said of the match: Ian Andrew Kirkpatrick (born 24 May 1946 in Gisborne) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who was captain of the All Blacks. ... Bryan Williams (born October 3, 1950 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and coach of the Samoan national rugby team. ... Phil Bennett (born October 24, 1948) was a Welsh Rugby Union fly half from 1969 to 1978. ... JPR John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949 in Cardiff, Wales), known universally as JPR Williams, played rugby union for Wales between 1969 and 1981. ... John Pullin is a former England international rugby union player. ... Benjaman John Dawes (born 29 June 1940 in Chapel of Ease), was a Welsh rugby union player, playing at centre, and later coach. ... Tom Tommy David is a former Welsh international rugby union player. ... Derek Leslie Quinnell (born 1949 in Llanelli), won 23 rugby union caps for Wales both as a lock-forward and as a No. ... Gareth Edwards, born 12 July 1947 in Pontardawe, Wales, is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who plays scrum-half, considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game. ...

People tend only to remember the first four minutes of the game because of the try, but what they forgot is the great deal of good rugby played afterwards, much of which came from the All Blacks.

For us after the success of the 1971 Lions tour, which captured the imagination of the whole country, it was an opportunity to bring a lot of that side together again.

For the Record: The All Blacks lost 23-11 to the Barbarians (this translates to 27-13 in today's scoring system), their only defeat of the tour. First match Otago 3 - 8 Great Britain (28 April 1888) Largest win Manawatu 6 - 109 British & Irish Lions (28 June 2005) Worst defeat New Zealand 38 - 6 Lions (16 July 1983) The British and Irish Lions (until 2001 known as the British Isles Rugby Union Team or more colloquially the...

Scorers:

Barbarians: Tries: G.O. Edwards, J.F. Slattery, J.C. Bevan, J.P.R. Williams; Conversions: P. Bennett (2); Penalty: P. Bennett

All Blacks: Tries: G.B. Batty (2); Penalty: J.F. Karam

Gareth Edwards, born 12 July 1947 in Pontardawe, Wales, is a former Welsh rugby union footballer who plays scrum-half, considered by many to be the greatest player in the history of the game. ... Fergus Slattery was born in Dublin on 12th February, 1949. ... For other persons of the same name, see John Bevan. ... JPR John Peter Rhys Williams (born 2 March 1949 in Cardiff, Wales), known universally as JPR Williams, played rugby union for Wales between 1969 and 1981. ... Phil Bennett (born October 24, 1948) was a Welsh Rugby Union fly half from 1969 to 1978. ... A diminutive but effective wing for the All Blacks, he now coaches Yamaha Jubilo, a team in Japans Top League. ... Joe Joseph Francis Karam (born 21 November 1951 in Taumarunui) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played 10 test matches for the national team, the All Blacks. ...

Traditional matches

The Barbarians traditionally play several matches, including:

• Boxing Day fixture against Leicester Tigers
• Easter Saturday fixture against Cardiff RFC/Cardiff Blues. Highlights of these famous matches can often be seen on ESPN Classic (UK) via the Sky TV satellite TV platform on channel 442.
• Mobbs Memorial match – held for Edgar Mobbs who was killed in The First World War
• The Final Challenge – played as the last match in a tour of the UK by Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Due to the changes in the game in recent years, long tours have effectively disappeared from the game and there is less scope for this challenge.

They typically compete against teams from the home nations (England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) as well as international sides. Boxing Day is a public holiday observed in many Commonwealth countries on 26 December. ... Official website www. ... Easter Saturday is the Saturday after the Christian festival of Easter, also called Saturday in Easter week. ... Cardiff Rugby Football Club was founded 1876. ... Official website www. ... The British version of ESPN Classic launched on March 14, 2006 [1] and is on Sky Digital Channel 442. ... British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB - formerly two companies, Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting, which merged) is a company that operates the most popular subscription television service in the UK and Ireland. ... Edgar Mobbs (1882 - 1917) was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and England. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Home Nations (often written as the common noun home nations) is a term used to refer to the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — collectively but as separate entities, distinct from the United Kingdom as a state. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... This article is about the country. ...

See also

• New Zealand Barbarians
• French Barbarians
• Australian Barbarians
• South African Barbarians

The New Zealand Barbarians, nicknamed the Little Baa-Baas, are an invitational rugby union team. ... The French Barbarians are an invitational rugby union team that is based in France. ... South African Barbarians is an invitational rugby union club formed in 1960 and styled along the lines of Barbarian F.C. The club is directly affiliated to the South African Rugby Union. ...

Sources

• Barbarians history from the BBC
• Barbarians history from scrum.com
• Video clip of "that try" on the Barbarian F.C. website

External links

• Official site
• http://www.scrum.com/features/barbarians.asp
• Barbarians rugby union news from Planet Rugby