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Classic England v Barbarians matches

Barbarians Chris Ashton scores a second try  27/5/2018
England will face the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday in the latest edition of their historic rivalry.

England will face the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday in the latest edition of their historic rivalry.

The two sides have clashed 18 times since their first meeting back in 1990.

Some of those matches have been non-cap fixtures but that hasn’t stopped either side from putting on games for the ages, with physicality and skill aplenty almost every time they face.

Matches between England and the Baa-Baas are guaranteed to be tightly contested, with England picking up ten wins and the famous invitational side picking up eight since 1990.

Here are some of the best clashes between the two sides.

England 51-43 Barbarians (June 2019)

It may have been an uncapped contest but England’s last match against the Barbarians was one of Twickenham’s best games of the 2010s.

England’s side that day included only one starter, Northampton’s Teimana Harrison, who had played a full international.

But that did not stop them from putting on an attacking clinic.

Future international stars Marcus Smith and Alex Dombrandt scored three tries between them, while Josh Bassett, Simon Hammersley, and Johnny Williams also crossed the whitewash.

The Barbarians launched a comeback with tries from Taqele Naiyaravoro, Rhodri Williams and David Heffernan, as well as a Mark Atkinson double.

They came after James Horwill and Francois Louw touched down for the side in black and white.

It was an incredible game at Twickenham and a sign of what was to come, with many of England’s stars that day going on to cement their place in Eddie Jones’ side.

England 45-63 Barbarians (May 2018)

The Barbarians’ most recent win against England came in 2018 and they secured the victory in style.

Chris Ashton scored a hat-trick as the Barbarians beat England for the first time in the fixture since 2014, with the winger going on to re-launch his international career off the back of it.

It was an England side that featured many of its big names but that wouldn’t stop Victor Vito from scoring two tries of his own.

Finn Russell, Semi Radradra, Sitaleki Timani and Scotland legend Greig Laidlaw also crossed as England conceded a record number of points at Twickenham.

The try scorers that afternoon were a testament to the quality of that Baa-Baas squad.

England 32-38 Barbarians (May 2011)

A superb last-minute try secured victory for the Barbarians against youthful England side in another thrilling non-cap international at Twickenham.

Henry Trinder, Ugo Monye and James Simpson-Daniel scored as England went into a 24-7 lead after 26 minutes.

First-half finishes from Benoit Baby and Frederic Michalak kept the Barbarians in the game.

And two scores from Tim Visser as well as tries from George Smith and Joe van Niekerk wrapped up the win despite a late try from England’s Tom Johnson.

England 39-52 Barbarians (May 2005)

Another of the great Barbarian performances saw the invitational side go 52-20 up before England rallied late on to make them sweat.

The free-scoring Baa-Baas ran in eight tries, with Bruce Reihana, Wendell Sailor and Brent Russell each crossing the whitewash twice.

Carlos Spencer and Trevor Halstead also touched down while England’s points came courtesy of a Paul Sackey brace and tries from Ayoola Erinle, James Forrester and Pat Sanderson.

It was a day to forget for England but it was comfortably one of the Barbarians’ best wins of recent times.

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