Healy Set For Swansong Appearance With Barbarians In Cape Town
Cian Healy made three appearances off the bench during his final Guinness Men's Six Nations, including a try-scoring cameo against France ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan
Cian Healy, Ireland’s most-capped player of all-time, will become a Barbarian before he retires from professional rugby. He has been added to the Barbarians squad to play South Africa in Cape Town on Saturday, June 28.
The Barbarians will face the World Champions in South Africa for the first time, in a historic Qatar Airways Cup clash, and tickets are available exclusively from Ticketmaster.co.za.
The latest additions to Robbie Deans’ travelling party are Healy and New Zealand’s Shannon Frizell, who have 170 Test caps between them.
Clontarf man Healy’s inclusion makes it an Irish trio with fellow centurions, Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray, already announced for the Baa Baas fixture. Frizell’s former New Zealand team-mate and captain, Sam Cane, is also set to be involved.
The 37-year-old Healy is not only Ireland’s record caps holder but Leinster’s too. He made his Test debut in 2009 and played in his final international tournament in this year’s Guinness Men’s Six Nations, ending his Ireland career with 137 caps and 13 tries.
The 2013 British & Irish Lion, who can pack down at either loosehead or tighthead prop, has been central to Leinster’s success, and they are just 80 minutes of qualifying for the upcoming BKT United Rugby Championship final.
Frizell (31) has represented New Zealand in 33 Tests, including the Rugby World Cup final in Paris in 2023, after which he moved to Japan where he plays for Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo.
He played at blindside flanker as the Fuchu-based side were crowned back-to-back Japan Rugby League One champions last Sunday when they defeated Kubota Spears 18-13 in the final.
Deans, the Barbarians head coach, said he was delighted that Healy and Frizell have agreed to play in this much-anticipated encounter with the Springboks at the DHL Stadium.
“When putting a squad together, we always look for players who have a number of attributes – versatility, experience, skill-set, flair, combinations, and know each other’s games at club or international level, but most importantly respect and value the privilege of playing for the Barbarians,” said Deans.
“Cian is hugely experienced both at club and international level, can play tighthead and loosehead, and will know well the two other Irish players (Peter and Conor) announced last week.
“While Shannon is an explosive and dynamic back row, and has played alongside Sam Cane for the All Blacks.”