Mike Brown leads support for regular Barbarians fixtures
Former England and Harlequins fullback Mike Brown has voiced support for permanent Barbarians games in the English calendar following their 73-28 loss to Harlequins.
Harlequins faced the Barbarians for the very first time on Thursday night, a chaotic final quarter seeing the home side cross for seven tries in the closing stages.
But despite the score line Brown, who captained the BaaBaas on his return to the Twickenham Stoop, was keen to see these games making more of an appearance.
“One hundred per cent. It would be amazing to see more games like this, especially now there’s fewer teams in the league,” Brown said.
“It’s not a great thing that’s happened but things like this off the back of it I think it’s amazing and you can see how good it was, a great spectacle. The more often we can have games like this, the better for rugby.”
Gallagher Premiership teams including Bath and Northampton Saints are also playing against the Barbarians this Autumn to fill gaps left in the schedule from the departure of Wasps and Worcester Warriors.
Given that such fixtures are being played during the Autumn Nations Series when many players are away on international duty, it begs the question of whether similar fixtures could become a permanent part of the calendar.
Cadan Murley, who scored twice in a stunning 28-minute performance for Quins, voiced a similar enthusiasm for a repeat of the fixture.
He said: “I’d love to see it. It’s part of the Quins DNA to chuck the ball around and have a bit of fun. I’d love to see it as a fixture every year.”
Behind all the fireworks both on and off of the pitch as Quins emphatically won against the BaaBaas, rugby was also taken back to its purest roots.
Former Wasps player Elliott Stooke has been left without a job following the club going into administration.
For Stooke and many others, the chance to play for the BaaBaas has not only provided the opportunity to don the infamous black and white stripes, but also a chance to simply enjoy rugby again.
He said: “For a lot of the boys, we haven’t got a job at the moment realistically so a lot of us are trying to find a love for the game again and I think we did that today in abundance.
“The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves, it shows what it means to play rugby, I absolutely loved it.”
Brown also echoed the words of teammate Stooke about the importance of the Barbarians squad for those who are currently without clubs.
He said: “We spoke briefly in the week about making memories in a BaaBaas shirt but also a lot of guys can put themselves on show so it’s about us trying to give them the platform.
“For me, it would be amazing to see those guys off the back of this picking up jobs, next week someone else getting a job, for me that would be amazing and make this week really special.”
Josh Bassett, a former Wasps player himself who recently signed for Harlequins, reinforced the thoughts of his opposition.
“It’s been a challenging year for everyone involved with Wasps and Worcester.
“For those lads here tonight who got the opportunity to put the BaaBaas jersey on, they deserve it for themselves, they deserve it for the clubs.”
