Sergio Parisse to Captain Baa Baas against Lions

The Barbarians have announced a strong line up to face the British & Irish Lions in their opening tour match in Hong Kong on Saturday.

Italy captain Sergio Parisse captains the side, with a strong selection of internationals including former All Blacks Joe Rokocoko and Nick Evans, as well as current France international Dimitri Yachvilli.

Wales’ Paul James was widely tipped to tour with the Lions this summer, but instead finds himself packing down against the tourists.

As is customary for the Barbarians, there are starts for uncapped players Elliot Daly and Sam Jones.

Barbarians coach Dai Young has said that he felt that his side let themselves down against England at the weekend when they went down 40-12 at Twickenham.  He said “We are not going to shy away from the fact that we all felt let down afterwards.  We didn’t play anything like we expected and we know we are going to have to be a lot better.

“The players realised themselves that they have to step things up this week, and preparation and training has been spot on.  We have been concentrating on getting the basics right and earning the right to play rather than just going out there to chuck the ball around.”

The team to face the Lions is as follows:

15: Jared Payne
14: Joe Rokocoko
13: Elliot Daly
12: Casey Laulala
11: Takudzwa Ngwenya
10: Nick Evans
9: Dimitri Yachvili
1: Paul James
2: Schalk Brits
3: Martin Castrogiovanni
4: Marco Wentzel
5: Dean Mumm
6: Samu Manoa
7: Sam Jones
8: Sergio Parisse (captain)

Replacements:
16: Leonardo Ghiraldini
17: Duncan Jones
18: Andrea Lo Cicero
19: Jim Hamilton
20: Imanol Harinordoquy
21: Kahn Fotuali’i
22: James Hook
23: Mike Tindall