Robbie Deans To Coach Baabaas vs Springboks in June 2025 – Squad to Include JRLO Players

rugbyasia247 Posted On May 2, 2025

4 Views

Robbie Deans To Coach Baabaas in Springbok Test in June 2025 - Squad to Include JRLO Players

The Barbarians (Baabaas) will face the Springboks to kickstart the Rugby World Cup-winning teams’ 2025 season at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, 28 June. This will be the first time the international invitational side will be in action on South African soil, and the team will be coached by Saitama Wild Knights Head Coach Robbie Deans.

Photo Credit – SA Rugby

SA Rugby confirmed that the match is being organised and promoted by Pitch International, a London-based sports marketing agency, which agreed to bring the game to South Africa in preparation for the Castle Lager Incoming Series opener against Italy in Pretoria a week later.

The Springboks face Italy (5 and 12 July) and Georgia (19 July) in the Castle Lager Incoming Series.

The Barbarians squad will consist of players from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship, French Top 14, English Premiership, Super Rugby, and the Japanese Rugby League One confirmed in the press release. Deans has previously coached the Wallabies and the Crusaders in a coaching career spanning almost three decades.

Barbarians side vs Springboks will be coached by Saitama Wild Knights Head Coach Robbie Deans.

Photo Credit – Barbarians RFC – The side vs Springboks will be coached by Saitama Wild Knights Head Coach Robbie Deans.

Robbie Deans will be assisted by Patrice Collazo (Racing 92, France), Atsushi Kanazawa (Saitama Wild Knights & Japan) and former All Black lock Sam Whitelock.

Robbie Deans said: “It is exciting news to have the iconic Barbarians announced to play against the World Champion Springboks in Cape Town in late June – these are two of the biggest brands in the game. We are hopeful of putting together a combination that will provide the sort of spectacle that the occasion deserves.”

This will be the ninth clash between Boks and the Baabas and the first since 5 November 2016, when the teams played to a 31-31 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. Since they first played each other in 1952, the Barbarians have won four games and the Springboks three, and the one draw. The last time the Boks beat the Barbarians was on 10 December 2000 in Cardiff, by 41-31.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said, “It’s always exciting to face the BaaBaas, and this match will be particularly special as it marks the first time that we will face them in South Africa. For us, this will be the perfect opportunity to get the players match-ready for the official international season, which starts a week later.

With a big squad, one can simulate a match situation, but there is nothing like a proper international with the full build-up and the pressure to get the players battle-ready, so this is a great occasion for us.

With the Barbarians team featuring players from across the world, they are tough to analyse, so the key for us will be to focus on our structures and what we want to achieve on the field,” added Erasmus.