IAN MADIGAN HAS been named at out-half for Vern Cotter’s Babarians side as they get set to take on England this Sunday in their Old Mutual Wealth Cup clash.
Madigan is the only Irish player in the side, made up of 11 different nationalities, and led by France’s Thierry Dusautoir.
All told, the starting XV have 599 international appearances between them and a back-line that sees Alex Goode line up at full-back.
Fiji’s Timoci Nagusa and Australia’s 2015 World Cup finalist Adam Ashley-Cooper are the wings while it’s a French/South African centre-partnership of Yann David and Frans Steyn.
Madigan is joined in the half-backs by Bath’s Kahn Fotuali’i .
Mikheil Nariashvili, Richard Hibbard and Census Johnston make up the experienced front row with Argentina’s Patricio Albacete and All Black Jeremy Thrush scrumming down behind them.
Dusautoir, Steffon Armitage and Facundo Isa form an impressive back row.
World Cup winners Ben Franks and Ruan Pienaar are on the bench along with Scotland prop WP Nel, on the comeback trail after recovering from the neck injury that ruled him out of this season’s Six Nations.
BARBARIANS XV (v England)
15. Alex Goode (Saracens & England)
14. Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier & Fiji)
13. Yann David (Toulouse & France)
12. Frans Steyn (Montpellier & South Africa)
11. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Bordeaux-Begles & Australia)
10. Ian Madigan (Bordeaux-Begles & Ireland)
9. Kahn Fotuali’i (Bath Rugby & Samoa)
1. Mikheil Nariashvili (Montpellier & Georgia)
2. Richard Hibbard (Gloucester & Wales
3. Census Johnston (Toulouse & Samoa)
4. Patricio Albacete (Toulouse & Argentina)
5. Jeremy Thrush (Gloucester & New Zealand)
6. Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse & France, captain)
7. Steffon Armitage (Pau & England)
8. Facundo Isa (Lyon & Argentina)
Replacements
16. Schalk Brits (Saracens & South Africa) 10
17. Ben Franks (London Irish & New Zealand) 47
18. WP Nel (Edinburgh & Scotland) 15
19. Joe Tekori (Toulouse & Samoa) 34
20. Gillian Galan (Toulouse)
21. Ruan Pienaar (Ulster & South Africa) 88
22. Robbie Fruean (Bath Rugby)
23. Horacio Agulla (Castres & Argentina) 63
