Smit leads all-star Baa-Baas

McCaw to play for Barbarians for first time

Last updated: 1st December 2008  

Smit leads all-star Baa-Baas

Smit: World Cup winner

Barbarians v Australia, Wednesday 7.30pm, live on Sky Sports 2 and HD2

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South Africa captain John Smit will skipper a star-studded Barbarians including six of his fellow Springboks against Australia on Wednesday.

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw, fresh from Saturday's 32-6 victory over England, will make his first appearance for the Barbarians.

World Cup-winning winger Bryan Habana also starts, while Welsh flyer and world player of the year Shane Williams has been included on the bench, alongside former Australia scrum-half George Gregan.

South Africa's World Cup-winning coach Jake White has kept with tradition by selecting Western Province loose-forward Nick Koster as the uncapped player.

White, who will be assisted by Sacarens chief Eddie Jones, said: "This is one of the better Barbarians side there has been for a while and Eddie and I are really chuffed to get this group of players together.

"It has been nice for me to be with the (players I coached at the World Cup) but it has also been nice to coach players like Richie and Joe Rokocoko.

Unique

"Usually when I see them they are on the other side of the field! It is nice to see the players who usually smash into each other having an opportunity to play as a team and that is something unique in rugby.

"The important thing is that a number of these players haven't played for the Baa-Baas - players like Richie, Bakkies Botha, Jean de Villiers and John Smit - and I think it is wonderful they get the opportunity to play alongside such wonderful players.

"A guy like Sean Fitzpatrick was a great captain of New Zealand but never got the chance to play for the Barbarians and I am sure he would have loved to play in a team like this."

The match has been organised as part of the British Olympic Association's celebrations of the first London Olympics in 1908, when the Wallabies won the gold medal.

Barbarians: P Montgomery; J Rokocoko, R Gear, J de Villiers, B Habana; F Steyn, F du Preez; F Pucciariello, J Smit, C Johnson, B Botha, J Muller, R McCaw, J Collins, S Burger.
Replacements: M Regan, R Blake, C Jack, N Koster, G Gregan, O Smith, S Williams.