Ireland To Play Barbarians In May
The Barbarians confirmed on Wednesday that they will play a match against Ireland in May this year. The match will be part of Ireland’s build-up to the summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.
The Barbarians have confirmed they will play Ireland in May in Gloucester. The game is part of a three-match Barbarians tour which also sees them tackling Belgium in Brussels three days earlier and England at Twickenham on June 1.
The Ireland fixture will take place on Tuesday, May 27 at Kingsholm, home to Guinness Premiership side Gloucester. The match will serve as a warm-up for the Irish squad prior to their summer tour of New Zealand and Australia.
Barbarians president Micky Steele-Bodger said: “This is a new departure for us, but a very interesting one. Ireland were keen to add a fixture in Europe to their own summer tour before travelling on to New Zealand and Australia.
“With Lansdowne Road and Thomond Park still under redevelopment, we are playing at one of the traditional hotbeds of rugby union in the west of England. Kingsholm was an obvious choice, and one that we are sure will prove to be a great success for both players and fans.”
Ireland last played the Barbarians at Lansdowne Road in May 2000. The Baa Baas ran out 31-30 winners. The Ireland team that played that day featured several current internationals including Girvan Dempsey, Shane Horgan, Brian O’Driscoll and Malcolm O’Kelly.
Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan was in charge of the Barbarians back in November when they played reigning World Cup champions South Africa.