Just three weeks after their quarter-final disappointment at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Wales will return to action this weekend when they face the Barbarians at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon.
The most recent encounter between these sides took place in 2019, resulting in a 43-33 victory for Wales at this venue, while in their overall history, the two have faced each other 10 times, with an equal record of five wins apiece.
Match preview
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This marks Wales' first gathering since their World Cup quarter-final loss to Argentina in Marseille, which was a match they were heavily fancied to win after finishing at the top of their pool during the group stages.
The match at the Principality Stadium this weekend will also be staged as a tribute to Alun Wyn Jones, Wales' all-time cap holder, who retired from Test rugby in May after amassing 158 Test match appearances for the Dragons.
It will also serve as an occasion to honour the careers of Leigh Halfpenny and Justin Tipuric, with the latter, who announced his retirement from international rugby in May, joining the Barbarians, while Halfpenny makes a farewell appearance for Wales after his participation in Gatland's squad in France.
Aside from the sentimental undercurrents, it is the scheduling of this match that has faced criticism due to all four Welsh regions participating in United Rugby Championship matches this weekend, including the Welsh derby between Scarlets and Cardiff.
Warren Gatland's side beat Fiji, Portugal, Australia, and Georgia during the group stages of the World Cup, and as the Dragons boss mentioned in the week, they will see this as an opportunity to start the rebuild for the 2027 RWC.
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Meanwhile, just days after announcing his retirement as the Australian team's head coach, Eddie Jones is set to face Wales once again, this time in the Barbarians camp that is filled with several former Wallabies stars.
Among these are Michael Hooper, who was unexpectedly left out of the squad for the tournament in France, along with Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou, Rob Valetini, Andrew Kellaway, and Ben Donaldson, all of whom were part of the Jones's World Cup squad.
Joining Jones on the sidelines will be Scott Robertson, who will be taking over from Ian Foster as the All Blacks head coach, and his assistants include former England and Wales centres Jamie Roberts and Will Greenwood.
In January, Jones began his second stint as the head coach of Australia but became the first to fail to progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup, with their campaign featuring a notable 40-6 defeat against Gatland's Wales side in Lyon.
The Baa-Baas won their last match 50-21 against the Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop at the start of last month, which followed defeats to Munster and Scarlets in September.
Wales form (all competitions):
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
Barbarians form (all competitions):
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
- W
Team News
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Gatland has announced his lineup for the upcoming clash against the Barbarians in Cardiff, and it includes Dragons prop Lloyd Fairbrother, who will make his debut for Wales at the age of 31 in this match.
Fairbrother is joined by Dewi Lake and Corey Domachowski in the front row ahead of Adam Beard and Ben Carter, who will pack down in the second row.
The half-back pairing of Tomos Williams and Sam Costelow could be the one that guides Wales to the next Rugby World Cup, especially with Dan Biggar's retirement from Test rugby and Gareth Anscombe heading to Japan.
The Barbarians will line up with four Fijians and five Wallabies players who played at the RWC and were beaten by Wales in the group stages.
For the Pacific Islanders, Ilasia Droasese and Selestino Ravutaumada will play at full-back and right-wing, respectively, while Simione Kuruvoli will wear the number nine jersey, and Tevita Ikanivere will join the front row.
Six Wallabies feature in the Barbarians staring 15, with Rob Leota moving up to the second row alongside Jones and Hooper, while Tupou will join the front three with Valetini at the back of the pack.
Wales starting lineup: 15. Leigh Halfpenny, 14. Tom Rogers, 13. George North, 12. Johnny Williams, 11. Rio Dyer, 10. Sam Costelow, 9. Tomos Williams, 8. Aaron Wainwright, 7. Jac Morgan, 6. Dan Lydiate, 5. Adam Beard, 4. Ben Carter, 3. Lloyd Fairbrother, 2. Dewi Lake, 1. Corey Domachowski
Replacements: 16. Elliot Dee, 17. Nicky Smith, 18. Harri O'Connor, 19. Teddy Williams, 20. Taine Plumtree, 21. Kieran Hardy, 22. Cai Evans, 23. Mason Grady
Barbarians starting lineup: 15 Ilasia Droasese, 14. Shaun Stevenson, 13. Len Ikitau, 12. Izaia Perese, 11. Selestino Ravutaumada, 10. Nicolas Sanchez, 9. Simione Kuruvoli, 8. Rob Valetini, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Justin Tipuric, 5. Alun Wyn Jones, 4. Rob Leota, 3. Taniela Tupou, 2. Tevita Ikanivere, 1. Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Angus Bell, 17. Asafo Aumua, 18. Peni Ravai, 19. Api Ratuniyarawa, 20. Tom Hooper, 21. Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22. Ben Donaldson, 23. Andrew Kellaway
We say: Wales 38-41 Barbarians
Wales will commence their rebuild for the next World Cup starting in this match, which features a host of exciting younger players that will be trying to impress the Dragons boss. The Barbarians, on the other hand, have gone with loads of experience, and we feel they could win this match, albeit by a slender margin.
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Devesh Jaganath
