The Wallabies are playing the Baa-baas in London this weekend, and I am pretty excited.
Part 1 explained the rules and backline for my dream Barbarians team, and today I am picking the forward pack. It’s not as easy picking entertaining forwards but I reckon I’ve given it a good crack. Here goes:
The back row
8. Sergio Parisse
The team’s first and only Italian, and he can do it all. Have a look at the video below- we’ve got flick passes, chip and chases, droppies, big hits, bullocking runs and tries galore. He’s one of the few Northern Hemisphere players who would slot seamlessly into a Wallaby team, and for that I always respected him. He’ll be the perfect link man between the pack and the backline.
7. George Smith
I must admit I didn’t have to think too hard about this one. The highlight video below brought a big smile to my face- what a player. The mobility, the speed, the defence, the handling. The. Whole. Package. The perfect Barbarians openside, I look forward to seeing him pop up in support after BOD makes a break, or throwing a sneaky offload to Christian Cullen at full tilt.
6. Mamuka Gorgodze
We’ve got an American, a Samoan, a Fijian and an Italian, so why not have a Georgian as well? We’ve got deft skills aplenty in this Barbarians side, but what we don’t have is brute force. Mamuka brings that in spades, and will be hurting blokes all day, providing a solid platform to unleash our slick backs. Another one who I would love to see in a Wallabies shirt (or a Tahs jersey…), he has single-handedly lifted the profile of Georgian rugby through his work in the Top 14 for Montpellier and now Toulon.
