The Fiji Water Flying Fijians will meet the Barbarians in a much-anticipated match at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday 22 June 2024.
The Fijians have had two successful outings against the Club that is made up of some of the world’s best rugby players brought under one banner, to contest the Killik Cup that will take place in Twickenham.
The two teams have faced each other four times and Fiji have won twice to date.
The first time was in 1970 when the Fijians ran riot in the second half at a packed Gosforth stadium, where the visiting team entertained with some dazzling running rugby winning 29-9.
Their recent encounter was in 2019, when Fiji made up of a mix of young and experienced players challenged the Baa-baas, packed with senior players from national teams, who had just come off the Rugby World Cup.
The Fijians lifted the Killik Cup after winning at the final whistle 33-31 in Twickenham.
Fiji Rugby Union Interim Administrator Simione Valenitabua shared that playing the Barbarians is a wonderful opportunity for the Flying Fijians.
He said they come with a great reputation of fantastic running rugby, very similar the Fijian philosophy for how we like to play the game.
“Fiji is grateful for the chance to play against the Barbarians at Twickenham, an iconic rugby venue. The Club has a rich 130-year history with many of the greats of rugby representing them in that time.”
He added that games like these are invaluable to Fiji Rugby, alongside World Rugby’s continued support to our game with the Fijian Drua Super Rugby team.
Newly appointed General Manager of the High-Performance Unit at Fiji Rugby, BJ Mather said these matches play an important role in the development of our player international stage.
“Our 2019 fixture against the Barbarians provided a brilliant building block, which culminated in a successful Rugby World Cup campaign in 2023,” said Mather.
“This match will start that four-year process again and we look forward to an action-packed day full of tries and entertaining rugby for the fans at Twickenham.”
This will be the first time the Fijians assemble after a gallant performance at the 2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC) in France and another outing at the same venue where they defeated England for the first time ever as they prepared for the recent RWC.
The Flying Fijians will be laced with a formidable combination of players from Europe and a growing confident group players plying their trade for the Fijian Drua in the Super Rugby competition.
The match is scheduled to kick off at 3pm.
