One more time, with feeling.
If you watched Rory Best leave the field at Tokyo Stadium, earlier this month, as the All Blacks ran rampant and thought, ‘It can’t end this way’, then you were right.
The former Ulster and Ireland captain will lace up his boots one more time, next month, and line out for the Barbarians against Fiji.
The Baa Baas announcement came on Tuesday morning and it means Best will get an opportunity to say farewell to his supporters, and professional rugby, on November 16 at Twickenham.
PLAYER NEWS 📰
Simply. The. Best. ☘️🤩☘️
There's one more big dance for @IrishRugby legend Rory Best 🔥💪
He'll run out one final time, at Twickenham, when we face @FijiRugby 👏💯@RoryBest2 #Baabaas #rugby #rugbyunited 🏉 pic.twitter.com/12BGKNr08b
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) October 29, 2019
Best led Ireland to a World Cup quarter final, but no more, in Japan and retired from international duty with 123 Test caps.
The two-time Grand Slam winner will be joined by a host of other international stars, with France centre Mathieu Bastareaud, South Africans Tendai “The Beast” Mtawarira and Herschel Jantijies, and Argentinian prop Ramiro Herrera already confirmed.
The Baa Baas will face the flying Fijians and they will be coached by Eddie Jones, who may be a World Cup-winning coach by then.
The fixture against Fiji is the first of three games in the Barbarians’ Autumn tour, in which the Baa-Baas also face Brazil in Sao Paulo and Wales in Cardiff.
For the game against the Welsh, on November 30, Warren Gatland and Robbie Deans will take charge of the Barbarians. It remains to be seen if Rory Best will be tempted to play the two extra tour games, against Brazil (in Sao Paulo) and Wales.
If the rugby is fun and the craic mighty, he could extend his rugby career a couple of games further.
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The latest episode sees Andrew Trimble and Jerry Flannery look back on the GOOD vs. EVIL World Cup semi finals and this weekend’s final.
