{"id":296956,"date":"2023-12-15T21:39:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:39:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=296956"},"modified":"2023-12-15T21:39:22","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:39:22","slug":"barbarians-to-face-free-flowing-world-cup-quarter-finalists-fiji","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/rugby-union\/barbarians-to-face-free-flowing-world-cup-quarter-finalists-fiji\/","title":{"rendered":"Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji at Twickenham in 2024 &#8211; with former Australia head coach Robbie Deans in charge of the Baa-Baas for a sixth time\u00a0<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Fiji impressed but were beaten by Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England in the last-eight<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>It will be their first return to Twickenham after beating England there in August<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Head coach of Pacific Island nation Simon Raiwalui stepped down from his role\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Barbarians will face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji at Twickenham in 2024 in a contest which promises 80 minutes of constant attacking rugby.<\/p>\n<p>Fiji impressed at the global tournament in France earlier this year, reaching the last-eight stage where they were beaten by Steve Borthwick&#8217;s England.<\/p>\n<p>The head coach of the Pacific Island nation Simon Raiwalui stepped down from his role after the loss and Fiji remain on the lookout for his successor.<\/p>\n<p>It is likely there will be no shortage of possible candidates given the immense rugby talent available to the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Whoever takes on the role can look forward to facing historic side Barbarians at the home of English rugby on June 22 \u2013 a fixture which comes at the end of the domestic season.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/00\/78986077-0-image-a-70_1702601485011.jpg\" height=\"406\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Fiji were narrowly beaten by England in the World Cup earlier this year despite playing well<\/p>\n<p>England&#8217;s national team, led by Borthwick, will face a reunion with new Japan head coach and former Red Rose boss Eddie Jones in the Far East that day but rugby fans who don&#8217;t travel to the Far East will have Twickenham as an option. The Barbarians will be coached by Robbie Deans for the sixth time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m very excited to return to Twickenham,&#8217; Deans, the former Australia coach, said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s a place where you step out into that arena and you just want to lace up your boots and play. Obviously, you can&#8217;t do that forever, so I&#8217;m looking forward to making the most of this opportunity to get back there.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s a privilege to pull that Barbarians jersey on and we&#8217;ll certainly be motivated to put on a show and play with the classic, free-flowing style of the Barbarians.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;For me, the Barbarians are the gatekeepers of the soul of the game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Witnessing that unbelievable Barbarians try at Cardiff Arms Park in 1973 is what latched me on to the game and I&#8217;ve got no doubt it had the same impact on a lot of people.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The moment ignited the spirit of the Barbarians. The game was amateur at the time. Now, people are well-paid professional players, but the Barbarians remind us all that rugby is still a game at the end of the day. We have a responsibility to the generations that follow.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>For Fiji, it will be a first return to Twickenham since their stunning 30-22 victory over England in a World Cup warm-up match back in August.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Playing the Barbarians is a wonderful opportunity,&#8217; said Simi Valenitabua, interim administrator at Fiji Rugby Union.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/00\/78986125-0-image-a-72_1702601489376.jpg\" height=\"410\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The last time Fiji came to Twickenham they produced a remarkable victory over England<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;They come with a great reputation of fantastic running rugby. It&#8217;s very similar to the Fijian philosophy for how we like to play the game.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Fiji is grateful for the chance to play against the Barbarians at Twickenham, an iconic rugby venue.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;The club has a rich 130-year history with many of the greats of rugby representing them in that time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;Games like these are invaluable to Fiji Rugby, alongside World Rugby&#8217;s continued support to our game with the Fijian Drua Super Rugby team.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Jonathan Thomas has left Warren Gatland&#8217;s Wales coaching team &#8216;to pursue other opportunities in rugby&#8217;. The former forward joined the national side last year.<\/p>\n<p>Wales head coach Gatland said: &#8216;Jonathan has been an important member of the team.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;He is an excellent coach with a great future in the game and has made a valuable contribution to the side&#8217;s development, especially during the World Cup in France.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;We wish him well with his future plans and I know he will be an asset to any side in whatever capacity he chooses to pursue next.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/rugbyunion\/article-12866577\/Barbarians-face-free-flowing-World-Cup-quarter-finalists-Fiji-Twickenham-2024.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji at Twickenham in 2024 &#8211; with former Australia head coach Robbie Deans<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji - Sports Love Me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/rugby-union\/barbarians-to-face-free-flowing-world-cup-quarter-finalists-fiji\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji - Sports Love Me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barbarians to face free-flowing World Cup quarter-finalists Fiji at Twickenham in 2024 &#8211; 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