Danny Cipriani's brillaint response to Eddie Jones being appointed Barbarians boss

The Killik Cup will be on the line on Sunday 28 May (kick-off 3pm), as Jones goes head-to-head with former New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen – who leads a World XV in what is set to be an unmissable clash in London.

General admission tickets go on sale on Tuesday 13^th December – 10:00 AM  from www.ticketmaster.co.uk/barbarians, with a special early-bird offer from  £25* for Adults and £15* for Under-16s. 

Former England star Danny Cipriani reacted to the news, saying that his chances of selection were over.

After being overlooked by Jones years, it was fantastic to see the playmaker recalled in 2018.

The strangest thing about this call-up is that the number 10 was made to play fullback and never looked comfortable. It was if the England boss wanted Cipriani to fail

Jones wrote his autobiography: "When a player consistently does stupid things, you don't expect him to change much. Players make choices and they have to live with the consequences.

“I was willing to see what Cipriani could do – despite often feeling frustrated because even the rugby reporters wanted to talk about him more than any other player.

“From Danny’s perspective his cause was done more damage when he played for Gloucester against Saracens. It was billed as a showdown between Farrell and Cipriani, but it was no contest. Saracens and Farrell were dominant. It was very disappointing.”

Jones is named head coach of the Barbarians for the second time, with his side edged out 33-31 by Fiji in what was a rollercoaster Killik Cup clash at Twickenham in November 2019. 

The 62-year-old has coached a raft of the world’s best players in an illustrious 28-year career, which has seen Jones take Australia and England to the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 and 2019 respectively, help South Africa win the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007 as part of Jake White’s coaching staff, and lead England to three Six Nations titles (including a 2016 Grand Slam).

“It’s an incredible honour to be asked to coach the Barbarians for a second time,” said Jones. 

“The club showed during the autumn that the values and traditions which make the Barbarians so special are still very much alive. Fans can expect to see two top-quality teams, packed full of international players, going all out to catch the eye ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

“I am very much looking forward to returning to Twickenham Stadium – a venue I have so many fond memories of – as head coach of the Barbarians, and I’m more motivated than ever to put on a show.

“Going up against Steve rekindles a great rivalry which first started in our days competing in Super Rugby and progressed into the international arena. It’ll be a great challenge and one I’m sure we’re both relishing.” 

The fixture against Hansen’s World XV marks the first return to HQ for the Barbarians since a stunning 52-21 victory over England in June. 

It follows a busy autumn campaign which saw Baa-baas sides coached by Scott Robertson, Ronan O’Gara, John Mulvihill and Geordan Murphy play four fixtures in November.

After retaining the Killik Cup courtesy of a 35-31 win over an All Blacks XV in front of 35,000 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a last-gasp Barbarians triumph over Bath Rugby was sandwiched by two defeats to Northampton Saints and Harlequins – with the club springing to the aid of Premiership clubs looking to fill gaps in their schedules following the cancellation of all league fixtures involving Wasps and Worcester Warriors.

Meanwhile, this will be the first convening of a World XV for five years, and Hansen – a Rugby World Cup winner during his seven-year stint at the helm of the All Blacks – is relishing the prospect. 

Hansen said: “2023 is set to be an incredible year for rugby and I’m really excited to be returning to Twickenham.

“I’ve coached both for and against the Barbarians during my career, and while you always have to expect the unexpected where they are concerned, you can be certain that come Sunday 28 May we’ll have a hugely entertaining match played in a festival atmosphere.

“The Rugby World Cup will be firmly on the horizon when this match comes around, and we hope we can showcase many of the players who will go on to be stars of the tournament in France during this Killik Cup clash.”

General admission tickets go on sale from Tuesday 13^th December 10:00 AM. Visit  www.ticketmaster.co.uk/barbarians – early-bird offer from  £25* for Adults and £15* for Under-16s.

For a 10% discount on groups of 10 or more visit www.eticketing.co.uk/rfu/events

Hospitality packages are available to purchase from £299 per person via www.twickenhamstadium.com

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