FAQs

The club has a committee of 12, six of whom comprise the management board: Micky Steele-Bodger(President), Geoffrey Windsor-Lewis (Secretary), Gordon Brown (Treasurer), Alan Evans (Registrar), John Spencer and Mike Burton; plus six committee members, John Jeffrey, Zinzan Brooke, David Humphreys, Ian Metcalfe, Phil Orr and Derek Quinnell.

The costs incurred by the Barbarians in assembling a squad for each game or tour are paid out of the gate receipts from the match, or matches, played.

Many of the best rugby players in the world have represented the Barbarians at one time and selecting the most famous would be a matter of opinion. In terms of appearances Tony O'Reilly of Old Belvedere & Ireland made 30 appearances for the club 1955-62 and scored 38 tries, the most by any Barbarian. Other notable players who have played more than 20 matches include Budge Rogers, Ron Jacobs, John Spencer and Phil Bennett

Many would claim that the 1973 match when the Barbarians beat the All Blacks at Cardiff Arms Park is the best display of rugby ever seen. The match included the try by Gareth Edwards which took play from inside the Barbarians 25 through 7 pairs of hands to score by the comer post. John Bevan, Fergus Slaffery and JPR Williams scored the other Barbarian tries in a 23 - 11 victory. An equally acclaimed victory at the time was achieved in 1961 when the Barbarians played the South African Springboks captained by Avril Malan. The Springboks were unbeaten on their tour of Great Britain and Ireland. In their last match of the tour the Barbarians held on to a 6 - 0 lead thanks to some fierce tackling and carried off the Springbok head - a trophy traditionally presented by the South African tourists to the first side to beat them when on tour.

The date most people will recall is 1948 when the club first played an International touring side. The Home Unions Tours Committee invited the Barbarians to play a match to raise funds for the tourist's journey home via Canada. The 45,000 crowd at Cardiff Arms Park saw the Barbarians win by 9 - 6 and the Home Unions Tours Committee has since then included such a match whenever possible in the itinerary of touring teams.

Only limited invitations are accepted but the club are the only European team to win the Hong Kong Sevens and on the three occasions an invitation to the Middlesex Sevens has been accepted the club remain unbeaten, winning the tournament in 1934, 1997 and 1998.

The Barbarians are a rugby club which brings together players from different clubs to play a few matches each year to enjoy the camaraderie of the game and play attacking, adventurous rugby without the pressure of having to win.

The Barbarians have no home ground or clubhouse. They are a touring club that plays at the invitation of clubs or unions and have visited all parts of the home unions. Overseas the club has played in 25 countries, most recently Tunisia, Spain, Georgia and Portugal, thus spreading the Barbarian tradition.

The only criteria a player must fulfil to recieve an invitation from The Barbarians are: that the player's rugby is of a good standard and that they behave themselves on and off the field. There is no discrimination on the basis of a player's race, colour or creed and since 1890, players from over 25 different countries have worn the famous black and white hoop jersey. Once invited a player becomes a life member of the club.

The club was formed in 1890 by a player from Blackheath, London, W P Carpmael. At that time the rugby season finished in March so he decided to invite a group of players to join him on an end-of-season tour to the North of England. This he saw as an opportunity to play with friends from various clubs who were normally opponents. It was such a success that he formed the Barbarian Football Club to continue touring on an informal basis and the first tour took place in December of that year playing Huddersfield and Bradford.