Hansen v Jones! All Blacks great returns to coaching

Former coaching rivals Eddie Jones and Sir Steve Hansen will square off once again when Jones returns to Twickenham months after being fired as England coach.

Jones has been revealed as the Barbarian F.C. coach for their May 28 fixures against a World XV - led by former All Blacks coach Hansen. The All Blacks won the 2015 Rugby Cup final at Twickenham with Hansen as coach but were beaten by Jones’ England side in the semifinals four years later in Japan.

Jones is named head coach of the Barbarians for the second time, with his side edged out 33-31 by Fiji in November 2019.

The 62-year-old has coached a raft of the world’s best players in an illustrious 28-year career, which has seen Jones take Australia and England to the Rugby World Cup final in 2003 and 2019 respectively, help South Africa win the Webb Ellis Cup in 2007 as part of Jake White’s coaching staff, and lead England to three Six Nations titles (including a 2016 Grand Slam).

“It’s an incredible honour to be asked to coach the Barbarians for a second time,” said Jones.

“The club showed during the autumn that the values and traditions which make the Barbarians so special are still very much alive. Fans can expect to see two top-quality teams, packed full of international players, going all out to catch the eye ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

“I am very much looking forward to returning to Twickenham Stadium – a venue I have so many fond memories of – as head coach of the Barbarians, and I’m more motivated than ever to put on a show.

“Going up against Steve rekindles a great rivalry which first started in our days competing in Super Rugby and progressed into the international arena. It’ll be a great challenge and one I’m sure we’re both relishing.”

The fixture against Hansen’s World XV marks the first return to HQ for the Barbarians since a stunning 52-21 victory over England in June.

It follows a busy autumn campaign which saw Baa-baas sides coached by Scott Robertson, Ronan O’Gara, John Mulvihill and Geordan Murphy play four fixtures in November.

After retaining the Killik Cup courtesy of a 35-31 win over an All Blacks XV in front of 35,000 people at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a last-gasp Barbarians triumph over Bath Rugby was sandwiched by two defeats to Northampton Saints and Harlequins – with the club springing to the aid of Premiership clubs looking to fill gaps in their schedules following the cancellation of all league fixtures involving Wasps and Worcester Warriors.

Meanwhile, this will be the first convening of a World XV for five years, and Hansen is relishing the prospect.

Hansen said: “2023 is set to be an incredible year for rugby and I’m really excited to be returning to Twickenham.

“I’ve coached both for and against the Barbarians during my career, and while you always have to expect the unexpected where they are concerned, you can be certain that come Sunday 28 May we’ll have a hugely entertaining match played in a festival atmosphere.

“The Rugby World Cup will be firmly on the horizon when this match comes around, and we hope we can showcase many of the players who will go on to be stars of the tournament in France during this Killik Cup clash.”