Ireland centurion Cian Healy and Shannon Frizell from New Zealand have been confirmed as the latest names to join up with the Barbarians when they lock horns against the Springboks in the historic Qatar Airways Cup in Cape Town at the end of the month.
The Boks will face the famous black-and-white of the Barbarians for the first time in South Africa. Tickets are selling fast and are available exclusively from ticketmaster.co.za.
Healy and Frizell, who have 170 test caps between them, will join Sam Cane, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray in Robbie Deans’ squad for the match on Saturday, 28 June at the DHL Stadium in the Mother City.
The 37-year-old Healy is not only Ireland’s most capped player but Leinster’s too. He made his test debut in 2009 and retired from international rugby after the Six Nations earlier this year, having amassed 137 caps in emerald green.
The versatile prop who can pack down on either side of the front row has been central to Leinster’s success and currently on course to make another Vodacom URC final. He was also a member of the British & Irish Lions squad on their victorious tour of Australia in 2013.
Frizell, 31, is well-known to South African rugby fans, having represented New Zealand in 33 tests, including the Rugby World Cup final in Paris in 2023. Last year, he moved to Japan where he plays for the Toshiba Brave Lupus, who were crowned back-to-back Japan Rugby League One champions on Sunday when they defeated the Kubota Spears in the final.
Robbie Deans, the Barbarians head coach, said he was delighted that Healy and Frizell have agreed to play in this historic match.
“When putting a squad together, we always look for players who have a number of attributes – versatility, experience, skill set, flair, combinations and know each other’s games at club or international level, but most importantly respect and value the privilege of playing for the Barbarians,” said Deans.
“Cian is hugely experienced both at club and country level, can play tighthead and loosehead and will know well the two other Irish players announced last week. And Shannon is an explosive and dynamic backrow and has played alongside Sam Cane for the All Blacks.”
The Springboks had their second alignment camp recently and with the Vodacom URC playoffs now in full swing, the national training squad will convene for their first camp in the coming weeks.