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Here's to you Mr Robinson

Miles Harrison Posted 29th November 2007 view comments

The Guinness Premiership takes a break this week but we still have some top drawer live rugby for you as the Barbarians take on South Africa at Twickenham.

The Baa-baas have assembled the usual star-studded line-up, which will include England's World Cup winner Jason Robinson, playing what is likely to be his final game.

Miles Harrison is Sky's commentator at HQ on Saturday and here on skysports.com, he looks ahead to an historic occasion...

Jason Robinson: A fond farewell?

Jason Robinson: A fond farewell?

This looks like it might be Jason Robinson's final game at Twickenham. For that reason alone, does this then become a very special occasion?

MILES: I think this probably will be his final game.

I would put Jason Robinson right up there with the best that I have seen at what he does in the game of rugby. The fact he has done it in both codes carries a lot of weight too, being one of rugby league's major stars who made the transition to become one of union's major stars.

I would put Jason Robinson right up there with the best that I have seen. Remember those wonderfully fast feet, his unique way of running at a man, and right up until the end of his career, the way he put would-be tacklers on their backsides.

Miles Harrison
Quotes of the week

Barbarians v South Africa
Live on Sky Sports 2 & HD2
2.30pm, Saturday

He is a very modest guy and so I would imagine that he would say it was always going to be easier for him to make the transition from league to union because of the position he plays. And sure, there is greater proximity in union and league for wing and full back play than any other position, but he took to the transition in a very professional way.

I think back to the end of the 2001 Lions tour of Australia and the way he came back and worked on his kicking game and got on top of that aspect of our sport. He is the ultimate professional but you don't want to forget the other, more natural bits too. When he has finished playing remember those wonderfully fast feet, his unique way of running at a man, and right up until the end of his career, the way he put would-be tacklers on their backsides.

He is a truly great player and it will be exciting to see him. I am sure that a chance for the fans to say goodbye to Jason is one of the reasons why the last few tickets have been sold and a reduced capacity will be filled.

The same happened for Jason Leonard a few years ago and I am sure there will be special send-off for Robinson. He is the playing headline this week.

Also in the news in the build-up to the game is Mark Regan, who is set to captain the Barbarians but against the wishes of his club, Bristol, and Premier Rugby. What are your thoughts on this?

MILES: Robinson is the playing headline and this is the news headline of the game and, in all honesty, I understand both sides of the argument.

From Regan's point of view, I think that he would probably pay the Baa-Baas to captain them at Twickenham. Unlike Robinson, he is not playing his final game but he is in the winter of his career. He is a proud man; proud of what he has achieved on the field and the places and situations where the game has taken him, but he has never led the Barbarians in front of a 'capacity' crowd at Twickenham. Anyone who thinks he is doing this for a Baa-baas match fee is way off key. It is to do with the pride of putting on the shirt and leading the team out at Twickenham. The tradition of the Barbarians club means an awful lot to the players still.

The other side of the coin is that rugby operates in a professional world now. The fixture list is very congested and the clubs pay a lot of money to players, some of whom they lose to international fixtures on a regular basis already.

It is not for me to be judge or jury in this matter but I can see both sides of the argument.

Another player who has courted a little controversy this year and who we will see on Saturday, is Ben Cohen. What do you make of his decision to sever all ties from Northampton?

MILES: He didn't just sever ties with the club, he paid off his contract too; a sizeable sum of money to release himself from that binding agreement with Northampton.

Here is a guy desperate to play the game and his ultimate aim is to win a contract and play professional rugby. He has taken a strong step to buy himself out to play the game he loves. This is a great shop window for him and if he gets on, which I am sure he will, it becomes a chance for Cohen to show the world what he still has a lot to offer.

It is an important day for him, an opportunity he will be looking to seize with both hands. He will believe he could be an asset to any club and still has some international mileage in him too. As a player, he poses a different threat, being the big winger, as opposed to the small and nippy one. I am sure there will be clubs watching to see how he plays.

Who else are you looking forward to seeing in this star-studded Barbarians team?

MILES: If I had to pick one, I would go with Matt Giteau. I love watching him play; he has developed in to one of the most watchable players on the planet. They way he can orchestrate a game is to admire. He has the full range of talent and I am sure there are many who would pay just to watch him play.

And then of course there is the small matter of the world champions on show, who played like world champions last week...

MILES: I think they sort of played like world champions last week. They didn't really hit the heights of the World Cup but won comfortably. What you have to admire in this South African team is their ability to absorb pressure brilliantly and then hit sides in such a clinical way - either on the break with Bryana Habana or when they get into the opposition 22.

There are two buzz words in rugby at the moment - precision and clinical. South are very precise and clinical in the way they take their chances. Defence are so organised these days and so it is very important to seize potential try-scoring moments and South Africa are very good at doing that. We saw it against Wales with a lot of talent in the back line, such as François Steyn and Jacques Fourie and now JP Pietersen has really matured and grown into a genuine threat on the other wing from Habana.

No South African team ever takes a game lightly - they are up for it whenever they pull on the Springbok jersey - but there will be a more relaxed manner about this team than last week. They have the win under their belts from the capped international game and will want to enjoy themselves now in the game that looks like it will be the last one for Jake White as coach.

I watched them training this week at Mill Hill School and the players certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, putting on a show for the kids that came to watch them. It is a very relaxed atmosphere around the squad and that could spell danger for the Baa-baas - teams can be more dangerous when enjoying themselves.

For all the fun though, they have a winning mentality and will want to end a great year on a high and with another win.

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