George North may not have had a fairytale ending for Wales but he hopes to go out on a high against his country on Saturday.
The Wales and British & Irish Lions legend will lace up for the very last time when he lines up on the replacements bench for the famous invitational club at Allianz Stadium.
It will be a fitting finale for the 34-year-old, who scored 47 tries in 121 internationals for his country and still holds the record for the youngest player to reach a century of Test caps.
And he hopes he will be able to walk away on his own terms after a ruptured Achilles brought a painful end to his final game for Wales in 2024.
Speaking from Kensington this week, North said: “It’s always been a dream of mine to play for the Barbarians, so to be invited now, for a game at Twickenham against Wales, is incredible.
“What an amazing opportunity, to have the honour of playing for the Baa-Baas, but to play against Wales, for one more dance, is amazing. If you wrote it perfectly, it would be in Cardiff, but I think Take That are there this week so I’ll take this!
“My last game for Wales was a tough one to swallow and I reckon I’m still processing that somewhere deep inside.
“It had been a long journey that I loved every second of. The opportunity to do it at home in front of a home crowd was important to me, and having my family and friends there.
“Then inevitably, bam, my Achilles goes, what are the chances?
“That was tough. To finish like I did wasnot the fairytale ending I wanted, but that is the business we work in with injuries.
“So get this opportunity now to properly walk away, as my final bow so to speak, is special.”
North will be following in the footsteps of fellow Wales internationals and good friends Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric, who bid farewell to the game playing for the Barbarians against their homeland.
It will undoubtedly be a strange feeling for the man who helped Wales win four Six Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, and reach two World Cup semi-finals, but even harder to grasp for his two young sons Jac and Tomi.
He added: “It was funny having a conversation with my two boys trying to explain that daddy’s going to play rugby again.
“They were ‘that’s good’ but then I was saying it was against Wales. They were like ‘no daddy, that’s not what do you do, you play for Wales’.
“I said I played for Wales, and I was lucky to do that, but now I am playing against them. I’m just hoping we can get a couple of small Barbarians jerseys quickly for them.
“I thought I was finished and then this Barbarians opportunity came along. It is so special.”
Tickets for Barbarians v Wales Double Header – Allianz Stadium – Twickenham 27 June are available via Ticketmaster.co.uk and Eng
