Southern Hemisphere’s Rugby Championship + The Barbarians
The Northern Hemisphere teams may be taking a break but the 4 Tier 1 teams down south are about to start their annual feast of international rugby, The Rugby Championship.
Played over the next 7 weeks, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa will play 2 matches against each other to determine the 2024 Champion. For the last 4 tournaments, New Zealand’s All Blacks have taken home the trophy but South Africa, back-to-back World Cup winners and with their pride slightly dented by a tied series at home against Ireland in July, will be fired up to repeat their win of 2019, the same year they won the Webb Ellis trophy in Japan.
Starting on August 10, Australia play South Africa and New Zealand take on Argentina. These fixtures repeat on August 17. Round 2 on August 31 sees South Africa vs. New Zealand and Argentina vs. Australia; repeated on September 7. Round 3 on September 21 has Australia vs. NZ and Argentina vs. SA; repeated on September 28 with the home teams now playing away.
Flo Rugby are scheduled to livestream the games - please note that the Round 1 games between Australia and South Africa can be seen on Friday evening on the West coast as long as you don’t mind a late night.
In June of 2024 the Barbarians FC played a game for the Killik Cup against the Flying Fijians at Twickenham in London. Tied 17-17 at the half, the BaaBaas (as they are affectionately known) scored a total of 7 tries in the game to run out winners 45-32. The existence of the club is a testament to the power of rugby’s “community” in several ways; started in 1890, the club has never had a home ground or a clubhouse. It is invited to play by clubs and unions and in turn, invites players to join its ranks for single games; for example, when a touring side is playing in the UK, and tradition requires a game against the Barbarians, often a team stacked with top quality players. The criteria for being invited are simply this: the player must be of a good standard and be of good behavior both on and off the field. The Selection Committee cast their net far and wide and pick players from all over the world to “enjoy the camaraderie of the game and play attacking, adventurous rugby without the pressure of having to win.” In the game against Fiji, players from 11 clubs representing 5 countries (NZ, France, England, Australia and Japan) played a match notable for the Fijians ability to break tackles, plenty of tries, few kicks and great handoffs - 30-man rugby and a treat to watch.
Available on FloRugby (June 22) and check out their website - barbarianfc.co.uk