The team that will be led by former All Black scrumhalf TJ Perenara against the Springboks on Saturday is certainly not the strongest Barbarians combination ever selected and there are several unknown players but it is stacked with players with the needed X-factor.
Sometimes certain nations dominate Barbarians teams and the familiarity makes them competitive, as was the case with the Barbarians team featuring several Boks that beat Argentina in London a few years ago.
That won’t be the case this time, with four New Zealanders, three Argentinians, two Scots, one Englishman, one Welsh player, one Australian, one Frenchman from Fijian extraction, and one South African making up the starting team.
GELANT IS ARCHETYPICAL BARBARIAN
That South African is a player who typifies the Barbarians spirit. Warrick Gelant has played 10 times for his country in test matches and scored three tries and might well have played more were it not for his insatiable appetite for counter-attack and chancing his arm.
The element of risk that brings might not always be appreciated by teams that go in with a win at all costs attitude but the Barbarians team is different and this could just be a chance for the Stormers player to shine by showing his full array of tricks.
Most of the well-known players are lining up at the back and include Wallaby Andrew Kellaway, New Zealander Alex Nankivelli, who plays his provincial/club rugby in Ireland, the South African born and educated Scot and British and Irish Lion Duhan van der Merwe, Argentina flyhalf Tomos Albornoz and the New Zealand-born Fijian former French international centre Virmi Vakatawa, who is currently playing for the Fiji Drua team in Super Rugby.
Guidi Petti, the Pumas flanker, is arguably the best known player in a forward pack that will have it’s work cut out against the Boks to create the kind of platform that the backline players will need to strut their stuff. There are some interesting players to watch out for, however, among them the apparently aptly named Samoan No 8 Miracle Fai’ilagi.
Western Force and Pumas lock Franco Molina partner’s Bayonne’s Alex Moon, the English representative in the team, in the second row, while Welshman Elliot Dee anchors a scrum that includes Argentina’s Mayko Vivas on one side and the Scotland international D’Archy Rae on the other.
In all there are 19 international players from 11 different countries included in the Barbarians’ match day 23 for the Gqeberha game, with the 89-cap skipper Perenara the most experienced of the international players in the ground.
There’s a strong South American flavour to the bench, which includes Uruguay’s exciting scrumhalf Santiago Carera, with the players not from South America being the Scotland capped Stormers loosehead prop Oli Kebble, New Zealander Harry Plummer and Fijian Tuidraki Samusamuvodre. When you have Fijians in your ranks you can bank on X-factor and an element of unpredictability.
EXCITED TO FACE WORLD CHAMPIONS
Barbarians head coach Scott Robertson, the former All Black coach, said his team are really excited about the opportunity they will get to face the Boks in Gqeberha.
Touched down in South Africa 🛬
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) June 15, 2026
Let’s get to work 💪 #Baabaas pic.twitter.com/J4uXZlE9AC
“To play against the world champions in South Africa is an awesome opportunity,” said Robertson.
“We have embraced the Barbarians tradition and spirit this week, coming together as a group and enjoying each other’s company in Cape Town. It’s a team packed with talent, guys who have come from all over the world and have a great chance to showcase their ability in Port Elizabeth. We just want to express ourselves and do the famous black and white jersey proud.”
Barbarians team: Warrick Gelant (SA), Andrew Kellaway (Australia), Virimi Vakatawa (France/Fiji), Alex Nankivell (New Zealand), Duhan van der Merwe (Scotland), Tomos Albornoz (Argentina), TJ Perenara (New Zealand), Miracle Fai’ilagi (Samoa), Lachlan Boshier (New Zealand), Guido Petti (Argentina), Alex Moon (England), Franco Molina (Argentina), D’Arcy Rae (Scotland), Elliot Dee (Wales), Mayko Vivas (Argentina). Replacements: Leonel Oviedo (Argentina), Oli Kebble (Scotland/SA), Pedro Delgado (Argentina), Izak Rodder, Liam McConnell (Scotland), Santiago Arata (Uruguay), Harry Plummer (New Zealand), Tuidraki Samusamuvodre (Fiji).