The English clubs are doing their usual refusal to release their
players for the December 1 match at Twickenham that wraps up a
monumental year of international rugby.
That means the Barbarians, to be coached by Ireland\'s Eddie O\'Sullivan, will be forced to look elsewhere for their talent.
They will find plenty of idle players in New Zealand although there could be a question mark over their match fitness.
The All Blacks players are on leave after their shock World Cup
quarterfinal exit. They are not expected to hook up with Super 14
franchises until January 7.
Workaholic loose forward Collins has been keeping himself fit by playing minor club rugby in England.
The All Blacks pair of Collins and wing Sivivatu are set to be
joined by Wallabies Rocky Elsom, Chris Latham and Matt Giteau in the
Barbarians side.
France\'s Sebastien Chabal has also been used in prematch
publicity in Britain along with the talented Argentina pair of Juan
Martin Hernandez and Mario Ledesmo.
England players Jason Robinson and Andrew Sheridan have also
been mentioned although Sheridan\'s place will now be in doubt following
the latest stance by the English clubs.
Premier Rugby, which represents the 12 Premiership clubs, has
ruled that players cannot be released as the weekend has already been
allocated for EDF Energy Cup fixtures, something they claim was
communicated to the Baa-Baas.
\"Playing one-off fixtures like that in the season isn\'t feasible,\" Premier Rugby chief Mark McCafferty told the BBC.
\"They have to understand that during the season it is not possible these days. We have no stake or interest in that game.
\"Our message to the Barbarians has been for some time that we are very
willing to work with them on post-season games during the summer, but
it\'s very difficult, if not impossible, for us to release players
during the season for those sort of representative fixtures
\"It\'s an EDF Energy weekend, one they are committed to. As far as the
clubs are concerned the communication to the Barbarians has been that
we cannot and won\'t release players for that game.
\"We\'ve had a number of discussions with the clubs over the last few
weeks and are not expecting any of the English players to be released.
They have enough pressures in terms of their club commitments.
\"We do recognise the great cause of the Barbarians, the brand and the
charitable causes they support. And we are prepared to work with them
on the end-of-season games they traditionally have and on some of the
tours they do - but they have to understand that during the season it\'s
not possible.\"
The Barbarians-Springboks fixture promises to be an entertaining an
emotional end to the World Cup year, marking Jake White\'s last match in
charge of South Africa.
But he could be returning to Twickenham in different colours in
the not-too-distant future with White the hot tip to take charge of the
English national team.
The Springboks play Wales in Cardiff the week before.
It will be interesting to see if Waikato coach Warren Gatland,
about to take over the Welsh side, has any involvement in a match that
will be a useful hitout ahead of next year\'s Six Nations.