No South Africans featured in a huge victory for the Barbarians over England on Sunday, but a legendary Springbok has been recognised as one of the invitational side’s all-time best players.
According to Ruck.co.uk, 2007 World Cup hero and Springbok loose-forward wrecking ball Schalk Burger cracks the nod in an illustrious BaaBaas lineup that includes three All Blacks icons and several British & Irish Lions greats.
WATCH: 14-man BaaBaas humiliate England
Greatest Barbarians XV:
15 Andy Irvine (Scotland)
“Irvine was one of the great Barbarian servants of the 1970s, scoring 121 points, including 13 tries, in his 16 appearances.”
14 Tony O’Reilly (Ireland)
“O’Reilly played more games and scored more tries for the Barbarians than anyone else in its history. His 38 tries puts him 11 ahead of the second-highest try-scorer.”
13 Jeremy Guscott (England)
“Guscott’s nine appearances included two trips to the Hong Kong Sevens in 1990 and 1991 when the Barbarians reached the semi-finals on both occasions. He scored four tries in his seven full matches for the Barbarians.”
12 Phillipe Sella (France)
“Sella made his debut for the BaaBaas against Leicester in December 1991 and accepted his second invitation to play in the Peace International against Ireland at Lansdowne Road in 1996 when he scored a try in the Barbarians’ 70-38 victory.”
11 Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)
“A global star after his exploits in Rugby World Cup 1995, Lomu accepted invitations to play for the Barbarians on the three summer tours between 2000 and 2002. His five tries in four appearances included four in one match against Scotland at Murrayfield in 2001.”
10 Phil Bennett (Wales)
“Bennett’s Barbarians career will forever be associated with his ‘rabbit in a headlight’ twinkle-toed break from the shadow of his own posts that eventually led to Gareth Edwards’ famous try against the All Blacks in 1973. His 20 appearances places him as the second-highest ‘Welsh Barbarian’.”
9 Gareth Edwards (Wales)
“Edwards will always be linked with his breathtaking opening try for the Barbarians against New Zealand in 1973. His 11 appearances included three games against New Zealand plus matches against Fiji, the British Isles, Scotland, Australia, and in 1970 as captain against South Africa at Twickenham.”
8 Sergio Parisse (Italy)
“The powerhouse No 8 led the invitational side against the British & Irish Lions in 2013. The Lions were convincing winners but it was great to see one of the world’s best in black-and-white hoops.”
7 Jerry Collins (New Zealand)
“Between 2001 and 2007 he played in 50 matches in the back row for New Zealand, including 48 Tests, three of them as captain, and the Rugby World Cups of 2003 and 2007. In June 2015, while playing in France, Jerry was killed in a car crash at the age of 34.”
6 Schalk Burger (South Africa)
“First capped by South Africa in 2003, by 2011 he had played in 63 Tests and scored 13 tries. He played four times for the BaaBaas and never let the team down.”
5 RH Williams (Wales)
“One of the most distinguished Barbarians, Williams played 22 games for the club between 1954 and 1959, a record for a Welshman.”
4 Bill Beaumont (England)
“Beaumont captained both the England Grand Slam side of 1980 and the Lions in South Africa the same year. In an equally distinguished career for the Barbarians, he led the club in five of his 15 appearances between 1975 and 1981.”
3 Carl Hayman (New Zealand)
“Widely regarded as one of the world’s best tightheads, Hayman became the 1,000th All Black when he made his debut against Samoa in 2001. At 6’4”, Hayman is not a classical prop, but his immense power in the loose and scrummaging prowess soon saw him rise to the top of the world game.”
2 Ronnie Dawson (Ireland)
“A born leader, the Dublin-born hooker captained the Lions on their tour of Australasia in 1959 and also skippered his country 11 times. So it’s no surprise to find he wore the armband on seven occasions during his 22 appearances for the Barbarians, including the historic win over South Africa in 1961.”
1 Jason Leonard (England)
“England’s most capped player with 114 Tests, Leonard made his Barbarians’ debut on the 1996 summer tour to Japan when the club aided the Kobe Earthquake Appeal. He went on to play a total of six times and along the way achieved the rare feat of playing against all four home nations in the black-and-white shirt.”
