Barbarians have ‘strong team’ for the Big Game

The International Select XV will feature some top international rugby stars as they take on one of the top Premiership rugby teams in the Saracens.

Known as the Bermuda Barbarians, the International Select XV is highlighted by several big names coming together for a chance against one of the top teams in Europe.  

Harlequins forward Nick Easter, Sale Shark Mark Cueto, Wales international star Ian Gough and others lead what is an impressive squad coming together for what has been dubbed ‘The Big Game’.

“We’ll be competitive. We’ve got a strong team on paper,” Cueto told the Bermuda Sun as the team prepared for the game. “I’ve played with or against most of these guys over the years so it’s nice to play together.”

The test for the Barbarians will be bringing their talent together in order to challenge one of the top Premiership teams, who have been playing together for quite some time.  

After a comfortable win for the Saracens last year, the Barbarians look to be up to the challenge.

“The Barbarians team is very strong,” event organizer and chairman of Bermuda Rugby Football Union Gareth Nokes told the Bermuda Sun. “There’s players there who have had a number of caps for their national team, teams like Wales or England. These guys are very good rugby players.

Mistakes

“I think it will be tight; in terms of expectation, Saracens clearly have the knowledge of each other, they’ve played with each other all season so they’re certainly going to have a bit more structure to them while the Barbarians team will certainly play looser, more expansive, more open rugby, and as a result they’ll probably be more susceptible to mistakes. 

“If they can hurry Saracens and knock them off their structure, the game can go either way, I really do believe it can.”