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Australian Barbarians Rugby
Logo of the Australian Barbarians
UnionRugby Australia
NicknameBaa-Baas
EmblemAustralian Merino
Founded1957; 69 years ago (1957)
Team kit

The Australian Barbarians, nicknamed the Baa-Baas,[1] is an Australian invitational rugby union team that has been a major part of Australian rugby since the team was founded in 1957. The club is based in Australia.[2] The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. formed in Great Britain in 1890.[3]

History

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Founded in 1957, the Australian Barbarians was envisioned as an invitational side built off the original concept of the Barbarian F.C. side, adding opportunity for players to play against international touring sides, similar to other corresponding sides in other nations like the New Zealand Barbarians, South African Barbarians and French Barbarians, with all programs continuing into the era of professionalism. Following their inception, the Australian Barbarians featured in several tours, with fixtures against the All Blacks, Western Samoa, France, Scotland and Fiji, plus fixtures against development sides from England and Canada.

In 1999 the The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) reached an agreement with the Barbarians in 1997 to establish the team as Australia's "second XV",[4] positioned immediately below the Wallabies and, in effect, assuming the representative role of the Australia A side.[4] The decision was approved by the ARU Board and recorded in the Board minutes under the agenda item "Australian Barbarians".[4] Throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, the Australian Barbarians featured more Test players in the team for their fixtures than previous iterations of the team, including eight Test players in a match against Fiji in 1999.[1]

In 2010, the Australian Barbarians team was nominated by the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) as the second national team to play two matches against England during their 2010 tour of Australia.[5] They also played a pre-Rugby World Cup warm-up match against a Canada XV side in 2011.[6]

Several junior Barbarians sides have also been produced for both domestic and international fixtures. An Australian Barbarians U20s side has also been produced, with their most recent clash taking place in 2015 defeating Tonga U20s 40–36. The program was revived in 2015 following the completion of the second season of the National Rugby Championship, with players from the competition who were not contracted for Super Rugby embarking on a two-match tour of New Zealand against a side chosen from the Heartland Championship, named the New Zealand Heartland XV. The Barbarians won both fixtures.

After several years playing domestic fixtures, 2022 marked the first ever female Australian Barbarians clash, with the side playing an international fixture against Japan as part of their tour against the Australia women's national rugby union team. Japan won the fixture, 10–24. [7]

The team was revived again in 2025 to play their first-ever fixture against a Japan Development XV, the secondary feeder team to the Japan national rugby union team as part of the Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.[8]

International results

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Matches against international teams only.[a] The listing may be incomplete.

Date Venue Opponent Score Competition Refs
17 June 1957 North Sydney Oval, Sydney  New Zealand 6–23 1957 New Zealand tour of Australia
4 June 1958 Sydney Sports Ground, Sydney New Zealand Māori 8–38 1958 New Zealand Māori tour of Australia [11]
25 July 1991 Manly Oval, Sydney  Western Samoa 24–36 1991 Western Samoa tour of Australia [12]
25 June 1997 Topper Stadium, Newcastle  France 26–24 1997 France tour of Australia [13]
9 June 1998 Penrith Stadium, Penrith  Scotland 39–34 1998 Scotland tour of Oceania
10 July 1999 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne  New Zealand A 33–24 1999 New Zealand A tour of Australia [14]
28 August 1999 North Sydney Oval, Sydney  Fiji 31–25 1999 Fiji tour of Australia [15]
8 June 2010 Subiaco Oval, Perth  England XV 28–28 2010 England tour of Australasia [16]
19 June 2010 Central Coast Stadium, Gosford 9–15 [17]
26 August 2011 Robina Stadium, Gold Coast  Canada XV 38–14 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up match
10 November 2015 Levin Domain, Levin New Zealand Heartland XV 38–32 2015 Australian Barbarians tour of New Zealand [b]
13 November 2015 Cooks Gardens, Wanganui 40–24
5 April 2025 Coffs Harbour International Stadium, Coffs Harbour  Japan Development XV 31–43 Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby [18]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ↑ Trial matches against the Australian U20 side,[9] and other age-group teams, to assist in their preparation for international tournaments have also been played by the Australian Barbarians Rugby Club,[10] but these results are not listed here.
  2. ↑ Players from the National Rugby Championship (NRC) that were not contracted for Super Rugby were selected to play against a New Zealand side chosen from the Heartland Championship.

References

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  1. 1 2 Wilkins, Phil (6 August 1999). "Brother John to shepherd Baa-Baas in rep return". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Brumbies 20s dominate Australian Barbarians selections – Brumbies Rugby". brumbies.com.au. Brumbies Rugby. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  3. ↑ McCormack, Ian (21 August 1969). "RU Barbarians to re-form next year". The Canberra Times. p. 28. Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. 1 2 3 Zavos, Spiro (6 July 1999). "Beware, the Celtic body-snatchers are looking south for talent". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "England to play Australian Barbarians". ABC News. 18 March 2010. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  6. ↑ "Wallabies power Barbarians' victory". ESPN. 26 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Japan hold on for victory over Barbarians". rugby.com.au. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  8. ↑ "Coffs Coast Festival of Rugby to Showcase a Spectacular Celebration of the Game". nsw.rugby. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "Australia U20s vs Australian Barbarians: Highlights, result". The Roar. 24 May 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  10. ↑ "Australian U20s defeat Australian Barbarians in pre World Championship hit out". aru.com.au. Australian Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Baxter, Stan (5 June 1958). "Maori R. Union Team Too Good For Barbarians". The Sydney Morning Herald – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Sport results and detail". The Canberra Times. 27 July 1991. p. 44. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Warner sticking with Wicks". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 June 1997. p. 32. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Growden, Greg (11 July 1999). "Burke's back". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 100 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Larkham and Eales eager to play for Bledisloe Cup". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 August 1999. p. 49. Retrieved 16 August 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Hewett, Chris (9 June 2010). "Australians are quick to ridicule 'boring' England after tourists salvage a draw". The Independent – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Banahan cited as England kick way to 'ugly' victory". Irish Independent. 16 June 2010. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Japan U23 Cap Off Memorable Tour Down Under". en.rugby-japan.jp. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
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