Two Welsh favourites in Aaron Wainwright and Rhys Webb will line-up alongside recent Heineken Champions Cup winners Brice Dulin and James Kerr-Barlow. 

Flanker Wainwright is currently starring for Dragons in the United Rugby Championship – most recently in a decisive 47-7 win over Zebre at Rodney Parade for their second bonus-point home win in under a week. Wainwright also has 29 caps for Wales, including playing alongside fellow Barbarian debut Rhys Webb.

Webb, currently playing back in Wales for the Ospreys after stints at Toulon and Bath, has been a standout for Wales over his 33 appearances, earning him a call-up to the British & Irish Lions for whom he has made two appearances. A Barbarians shirt completed the trio of top international honours against England at Twickenham in 2019. 

Stade Rochelais teammates Brice Dulin and returning Barbarian Tawera Kerr-Barlow are the next additions to a fierce-looking Barbarians squad. Fullback Dulin has ten years’ of French representation under his belt, while Kerr-Barlow will be a familiar face to the All Blacks XV squad. The scum-half has 29 appearances over five years for the All Blacks, but recently announced he was willing to take advantage of World Rugby’s new eligibility rules and switch allegiance to Australia and play for his country of birth. 

Both Dulin and Kerr-Barlow were part of the 2021/22 squad that resulted in a first-ever Heineken Champions Cup win for Les Maritimes – under Head Coach Ronan O’Gara, who is joining forces with former Crusaders colleague Scott Robertson to take charge of the Barbarians this November. 

With the full squad set to be announced in the coming days, a number of well-known international names have already been confirmed for the famous invitational side.

Barbarian favourite Joe Marler will return to the Barbarians squad alongside Harlequins teammate Joe Marchant.  

France will again be well-represented, with Camille Chat, Wenceslas Lauret and Teddy Thomas also lining up in the Black and White, while Munster prop John Ryan is waving the flag for Ireland. 

Montpellier star Zach Mercer, who last season won a Top 14 title with the French side, will be returning to England for the Killik Cup. New Zealand’s George Bridge – who will soon be heading to Mercer’s club Montpellier in France – already has a Barbarians appearance alongside his 18 caps for the All Blacks, turning out against England in 2019. 

The Barbarians’ first fixture – the Killik Cup – will be against a very strong All Blacks XV team, with Auckland and Blues lock Patrick Tuipulotu to captaining the side alongside a host of well-known names. The visiting side also includes eight players with Test experience including Tuipulotu, Aidan Ross, Angus Ta’avao, Asafo Aumua, Luke Jacobson, TJ Perenara, Brad Weber, and Damian McKenzie.

Bryn Gatland, the son of previous Barbarians Head Coach Warren Gatland, is also included alongside the nephew of Barbarians legend Pat Lam, AJ Lam.

The All Blacks XV follows in the footsteps of similar teams which have assembled throughout New Zealand rugby's history, and adds a new element to the New Zealand Rugby set-up, representing a development opportunity for future All Blacks - as well as a chance for current players to make their case for All Blacks selection or recall.

The Barbarians are also set to play a number of domestic fixtures – against Harlequins (Thursday 17 November), Bath Rugby (Sunday 20 November) and Northampton Saints (Saturday 26 November) – following the disruption to the Gallagher Premiership calendar.