The Maori All Blacks team to play the New Zealand Barbarians in Auckland on Saturday features 5 new caps.
The new caps include Taranaki’s Sean Wainui in the starting line-up along with Marcel Renata, Joe Edwards, Brad Weber and Codey Rei in the replacements.
Charlie Ngatai will again captain the side after the team’s win over Fiji in Suva last week.
Coach Colin Cooper said he was pleased with how the team had recovered from their trip to Fiji and is confident of another committed performance.
“The team showed true determination and resolve in a challenging contest in Fiji and I am sure they will take that commitment into the match against a strong BaaBaas side,” Cooper said.
“I would love to think we can finish our campaign on a high note and continue the team’s incredible record in a rare performance on home soil, however, we won’t take anything for granted as we are up against a very strong team.
“I am confident it will be a great encounter for the fans with a lot of stake and a number of players on both teams looking to make a case for All Blacks selection.”
The Barbarians were once a regular feature in 1st-class fixtures at Eden Park, but their last big match was in 1985 – losing 31 / 10 to Auckland.
The Maori All Blacks have not played on Eden Park since a 9 / 22 loss to the great Auckland side of 1990.
A 1981 Maori Invitation XV did draw 20 / 20 with the Barbarians at Eden Park.
In 2014 the Barbarians played non-1st class matches against the Blues and the Highlanders.
It is part of the club’s strategic plan to seek more meaningful, high profile games to augment their long-time goal of fostering grassroots and, in particular, schoolboy rugby.
They sponsor the annual Top Four national schools tournament and the New Zealand Area Schools side, along with the NZ Barbarians Schools side, as part of the NZ Schools programme.
Established in 1937, the Barbarians’ club membership is by invitation only.
Current All Blacks who are Barbarians include Richie McCaw, Keven Mealamu and Kieran Read.
Teams:
Maori All Blacks: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Rieko Ioane, 13 Sean Wainui, 12 Charlie Ngatai (Captain), 11 Matt Proctor, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Mitchell Crosswell, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Brendon Edmonds, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Joe Royal Bay, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Joe Edwards, , 21 Brad Weber, 22 Otere Black, 23 Codey Rei.
New Zealand Barbarians: 15 Andrew Horrell, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 George Moala, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Brad Shields (Captain), 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Mitchell Graham
Replacements: 16 James Parsons, 17 Reggie Goodes, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Richard Buckman.
Date: Saturday 18 July
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland
Kick-Off: 09:35 SA Time (19:35 NZ Time, 17:35 AEST, 07:35 GMT)
Referee: Kane McBride
Assistant Referees: Brendon Pickerill, Angus Mabey
TMO: Shaun Elliott
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