Robbie Deans urges Barbarians to ‘have a crack’ at Springboks in Cape Town

Coach Robbie Deans wants his Barbarians to play with flair while giving the Springboks as tough an outing as they can before their Test season starts in July.

For the first time, the invitational side will play a match in South Africa, and according to Deans, his players should have no fear and “have a crack” at the world champions when they lock horns in the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (5.10pm start).

“I hope it’s a close contest, for our sake,” Deans said with his team announcement on Thursday.

The New Zealander selected seven All Blacks, four Frenchmen, two Irishmen and two South Africans in his match-day 23 that will look to maintain their winning record over the South Africans.

In their eight matches, the Baabaas have won four, with three wins for their hosts and one ending in a tie.

With plenty of flair players in the side, led by Irish legend Peter O’Mahony, the Barbarians possess the quality of players to give the Boks a run for their money.

O’Mahony will play in his final match after a stellar international career for Ireland alongside front-rower Cian Healy, who was selected as the starting loosehead prop.

All Blacks Sam Cane and Shannon Frizell will form the loose trio with their captain, while South Africans Ruben van Heerden and David Ribbans, who played for England, pair up in the locks.

At the back, Kiwi winger Mark Tele’a and French fullback Melvyn Jaminet will look to stretch their legs with the ball in hand.

“I’ve been trying to get Peter to play for the Barbarians for a while, it worked out for him now,” Deans said.

“He has this last opportunity before retiring from international rugby. He has a huge amount of respect globally.

“He seemed like the obvious appointment (as captain) and was the first bloke I spoke to once I was offered the gig, and he was keen.

“These guys have plenty of international experience, guys like Sam Cane, Cian Healy.

“When they strap up their boots, they strap it up to compete and we want the experience to be good for them.

“We’ve trained and prepared ourselves in a way that we can be competitive.

“When these guys get the opportunity to play and with the history of the club, we want to add to it. We want to bring that courage and flair, the things the club stands for.

“South Africa is taking it seriously as they are preparing for an international season.

“Both teams will be positive (with their approach) and provide a spectacle for the public who are turning out in their numbers regardless of the weather.”

Barbarians Team

15 Melvyn Jaminet 14 Mark Tele’a 13 Leicester Fainga’anuku 12 Peter Umaga-Jensen 11 Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkins 10 Josh Jacomb 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow 8 Shannon Frizell 7 Sam Cane 6 Peter O’Mahony (captain) 5 David Ribbans 4 Ruben van Heerden 3 Paul Alo-Emile 2 Camille Chat 1 Cian Healy.

Bench: 16 Ricky Riccitelli 17 Hassane Kolingar 18 Will Collier 19 Josh Beehre 20 Hoskins Sotutu 21 Santiago Arata 22 Joe Marchant 23 Lachlan Boshier.