Pau’s Antoine Hastoy’s penalty kick just out of the box. Updated on 15.03 BST
Start of the first half!
Marcus Smith starts for England. We are in progress. A nice touch: The Barbarians form a No. 10, with nine or 10 players in a straight line and the rest standing in a circle next to them, to pay tribute to the late Phil Bennett. Updated at 14.58 BST Watch out for the Australian Will Skelton, a terrifying presence in the second row of the Barbarians, and of course Charles Ollivon, the second in the row of France … the teams are coming out on the field now, all hand in hand with young mascots. Updated at 14.55 BST A camera shot in the dressing room shows the team of Barbarians walking like tigers in cages as they prepare to leave the field. They are looking for this. Another England player to watch out for is Tommy Freeman, the full-back, who had a good season for Northampton. From Eddie Jones’ point of view, it is safe to assume that he is telling his players not to show any mercy to a team of Barbarians who, in their view, have done more socializing than training to prepare for this match. But will the BaaBaas break the shackles and play some rugby? Let’s hope. Updated at 14.49 BST “Everything is a step, you want to take a step in the right direction … it is a great opportunity for our players to show their skills … there will be a big gap between this game and their regular club. It will be good to see who can adapt to this. “Danny Care is very happy and he was great in the camp, he came back in a very good mood and he is in good physical condition, so we will see where the game takes him. “They [the Barbarians] they may or may not throw the ball, they may kick or not, we just have to adjust. “ Updated at 14.36 BST Shaun Edwards (Barbarians defense coach) reveals Galthié’s approach for the week with the Barbarians: “Fabien said: ‘When we train, we train … and when we do not train, we do not train. ” “We had two pretty decent ones [training] sessions, one in Monaco and one in London, and then a team running in Hyde Park yesterday. It was different, I will say. “We have prepared a bit as if it were a test match; when we have trained, we have trained very hard.” Updated at 14.29 BST Fabien Galthié was asked about his experience with the Barbarians: “So eccentric, so funny; the Barbarians have a French accent.” Will we see a French feel today? “It depends on George Kruis, he is the boss of the French players.” He is joking, of course. It all has to do with pranks today.
Team’s
The headline about the team’s news is that Alex Dombrandt was about to start for England at No. 8, but was ruled out with a late knee injury. Newcastle’s Callum Chick enters the starting line-up, as he was not initially at 22. England: Freeman, Cokanasiga, Marchant, Atkinson, May, Smith, Randall, Rodd, Walker, Collier, Ewels, J. Hill, Curry, Underhill, Chick. Substitutes: Singleton, Goodrick-Clark, Sickerling, Lowe, Willis, Career, Bailey, Nowell. Βάρβαροι: Spring, Penaud, Vakatawa, Botia, Niniashvili, Hastoy, Couilloud, Gros, Bourgarit, Gigashvili, Kruis, Skelton, Cretin, Ollivon, Tanga. Substitutes: Priso, Tolofua, Falatea, Lavo, Le Garek, Carbonell, Makalu, Vili. Updated at 14.24 BST Scrambler Danny Care talks in a pre-recorded interview: “I felt like the new kid again [being back in camp at Pennyhill Park] … I liked every second. It’s intense, you work hard, but that’s needed to play in England. “I had to work very hard to fight and get back into the mix; going back to camp was a surreal experience, but I really enjoyed it.” “We will try to have fun with the ball, but make sure we play in the right areas. “‘Stavros’ [George Kruis, who is retiring after this match] he is one of my good companions, I have played a lot with him … he told us, today it concerns me … No, I’m joking … to play with Cruise in his last match, we hope we can make it an unforgettable memory.” Updated on 14.12 BST
Preamble
The home rugby season ended yesterday, and in a dramatic way, with Freddie Burns’s last-minute falling goal over Leicester from the Saracens at Twickenham. However, the idea of resting the players is obviously ridiculous, so England start their summer program against a French-occupied Barbarians in south-west London this afternoon. The Barbarians’ idea may be old-fashioned and today’s match has no test status, but there is still a lot to play for: especially for the Harlequins scrum-midfielder Danny Care, ready to play for England for the first time in four years from a clean cafe with gaffer Eddie Jones. Jonny May is also returning to the wing after a long absence from injury, hoping to be reinstated before next year ‘s World Cup. It will also be exciting to see how Orlando Bailey (Bath) and Patrick Schickerling (Exeter) do when they are brought in from the substitutes’ bench. The Barbarians are full of world-class Frenchmen such as Damien Penaud and Charles Ollivon, while former England and Saracens padlock George Kruis will shed the curtain on his career at the age of 32 after two seasons at Japan. Will Skelton, so outstanding for La Rochelle in its Champions League final victory over Leinster, works with Kruis in the second row. This can be fun. Start: 3pm
