Barbarians Announce First Names for Summer Tour

The Barbarians have named the first batch of players for what promises to be a world-class squad to take on England and the British and Irish Lions this summer.

Sergio Parisse, who led the Barbarians to victory over Wales and England two years ago, returns to Baa-Baas' colours while fellow Azzurri star Martin Castrogiovanni is set to make his Barbarians' debut.

Other debutants for the famous touring club include Samoan scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i and France number 8, Imanol Harinordoquy. Springbok Jaque Fourie, who helped the Barbarians to beat New Zealand in 2009, will play at centre.

“This year's summer tour is a very important one for our club. It is a great honour to play the Lions as well as England and we are very conscious of the need to invite the strongest possible squad to do justice to two great fixtures, said Barbarians' team manager Derek Quinnell. “As the weeks go by and national squads are selected and domestic cup and league competitions reach their final stages, we are monitoring who will be available to us. We then decide on the best balance of our squad in all positions and will make further announcements in due course.”

The Barbarians will be coached by London Wasps' director of rugby David Young.

The tour kicks off with the annual match against England at Twickenham on Sunday, 26 May 2013 before the squad fly to Hong Kong for the spectacular climax against the British and Irish Lions on Saturday, 1 June 2013.

As there are so many Pictures of The British and Irish Lions v The Barbarians in Hong Kong we have cut them up into different pages for your viewing pleasure. Other pages include: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5, Page 6, Page 7 and Page 8.