The Baa Baas always conjure up romantic auld rugby images, with fly-halves ghosting defenders, props looping passes to wingers and penalty kicks declined to keep the ball in play for the benefit of a raucous crowd. To be honest though, half the time nowadays they are games where an opposition coach will try out his newbies against a hobbled-together team that has been on the piss all week. The Baa Baas is also a useful team to send off legends of the game: Jason Robinson, Katy Daley-Mclean and Chris Robshaw are all excellent examples of this. No one cares about the result really, even when Finn has ‘one of those days’ and beats England. It’s fun, it’s rugby values, it’s a good distraction when no other international rugby is on.
England
With Saracens and Leicester playing the Prem final, Eddie has gone for youth and I have to say it’s an exciting team:
Freeman; Cokanasiga, Marchant, Atkinson, May; Smith, Randall; Rodd, Walker, Collier, Ewels, Hill, Curry (c), Underhill, Dombrandt.
Replacements: Singleton, Goodrick-Clarke, Schickerling, Lawes, Willis, Care, Bailey, Nowell.
The best thing for me is the back row. Young, fast, powerful and actually able to jackal. Still feels a bit weird to be able to say that about an English back row, but I’ll take it.
Elsewhere, we have centres in the centre, wingers on the wing, and in-form scrum halves. Madness. Here’s hoping that Danny Care is coming back for real too.
Eddie even came up with this gem in the build up:
“We are looking forward to playing against an unusually French Barbarians side – which you normally only get when you play the French Barbarians.”
No shit. And no insults either.
Baa Baas
Spring; Penaud, Vakatawa, Botia, Niniashvili; Hastoy, Couilloud; Gros, Bourgarit, Gigashvili, Kruis, Skelton, Cretin, Ollivon (c), Tanga
Replacements: Priso, Tolofua, Falatea, Lavault, Le Garrec, Carbonel, Macalou, Vili
Kruis gets his send off! Probably by buggering up a conversion from the touch line too. But as Eddie sagely stated it’s a France heavy team coached by a French coach with a sprinkling of Fijian, Aussie and Georgian muscle. It’ll be interesting given the French have a newfound habit of winning stuff.
Prediction
It’ll depend who wants it more. I think the new and returning England players will want to lay down a marker and hopefully the Baa Baas will still be drunk etc. It’ll be fun but ultimately I think England should win it*.
35-20
*Bloody jinxed it now though.
Onna telly today
Sunday 19rd June
| England v Barbarians | 15:00 | Amazon Prime |
As barbered by Craigsman
Ovally Balls 
Guess I’m signing up for Amazon again.
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Yeah, that’s super-annoying.
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As I sit quietly at Doha airport, waiting for my flight at 8pm, when I should be home already, I would kill to be able to watch the Baabaas match. Or any rugby. Dead or Alive. I’d even settle for watching Pete Burns singing You Spin Me Right Round at the moment. This is a fundamentally boring airport. Not even the £350k McClaren sports car up for grabs makes it exciting.
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Is it not on Yoochoob anywhere?
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I appear to have pissed off Hermes recently – my Nigeria flight was delayed by 6 hours, spewing me into Lagos at 4am and a first meeting at 9am, and this flight, due to Qatar delays, has been pushed back by 13 hours, burping me into Joburg at, yip, 4am.
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Thanks for the new ATL, Thauma. Mumble, travelogue, mumble something etc.
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Good work, Craigs.
Apparently no channel could be bothered to show the game here, so I’ll just have to imagine it. Too bad. After the dredge served by the T14 SFs, it’d’ve been a relief .
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Baa-baas winning English line-outs and scrums. This could be fun!
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And then a Baa-baas line-out goes the other way. And get up to the 22.
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Johnny May with a deliberate knock-on, and a penalty try for the Baa-baas!
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Ollivaunt scores!
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Good lord, what a gallop.
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It’s 3-14, for those of you sitting in bars in Jo’burg!
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Baa-baas should have scored again off some Pennaud magic, but a player was not where he should have been, so it all fell apart.
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Your wish, Deebee:
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Adam Jones watching on!
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Nice England try thanks to some Smith wizardry, but was there a forward pass?
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Oh, but that’s not what they’re checking. That’s a red for BBs’ 5, no question.
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Try for England and a red card for Skelton?
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Smith misses the conversion, then Pennaud nicks the ball and scores!
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It’s 3-14, for those of you sitting in bars in Jo’burg!
Cruel. Just, cruel. Still 11 hours from touching down in Joburg.
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11-19 at HT.
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Oops, sorry, mis-read your post, Deebee!
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Skelton a red card, I see………………………….how pleasing
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Fuck, Amazon have the autumn internationals as well.
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whaaat?
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Baa-baas score again! Under the posts!
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England with a good team try.
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Pennaud may have scored again….
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Yep, try!
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Smith goes over….
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Baa-baas score again through a cheeky chip right into the in-goal area!
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Sounds like an entertaining game. Wish I could watch it.
FWIW, Midol says that all 19 French players from the BaaBaas (+ a few like Jalibert or Haddad) will travel to Japan this summer as the core of the France XV will be rested this summer.
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That was certainly a…kick… by Kruis.
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WHAT A TRY!!! (Baa-baas)
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Refit – nice conversion, though. :-)
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I always want England to win* but somehow I am enjoying EJ experience a f##k up
* so long as it doesn’t impact on the players’ futures – I’m sure they are doing their best
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Another brilliant Baa-baas try from end to end! Yashvili actually does a somersault without losing possession.
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George Kruis back-heeling the conversion? – bless him!
I expect there might have been a bit of feeling in that gesture
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That last conversion for Kruis was a little special.
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George displaying all his deft touches with the boot I believe? That’s Kruis, not Ford.
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That was a great match to watch.
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Kruis made more conversions than either fly-half, I think!
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FT: 21 – 52
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52/21 for the 14 BaaBaas?
The Barbarians ain’t at your gates, they’re in the dining room!
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Fucking hell I really did jinx that didn’t I?
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… having emptied the pantry and the wine cellar!
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Well done Baa-Baas – great stuff!!
I wonder what EJ’s reaction will be? – somehow I doubt it will be thoughtful….
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Ah, there we are: “A young referee allowed them to stay on the ball.”
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Reading back, I managed to mis-spell nearly every Baa-baas player’s name. Got Smith right, though.
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