Wales beat Barbarians as North signs off in style

June 27, 2026 No Comments

Wales beat Barbarians as North signs off in styleImage source, Huw Evans Picture AgencyImage caption, Wales fly-half Dan Edwards scored two triesByGareth GriffithsBBC Sport WalesPublished33 minutes agoBarbarians (5) 31Tries: Koch, North 2, Nankivell, Arata Cons: Plummer 2, NorthWales (14) 33Tries: Hardy, Edwards 2, Morgan-Williams, Mee Cons: Edwards 2, Costelow 2Wales warmed up for their Nations Championship campaign with a 33-31 victory against Barbarians at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.In sweltering sunshine with temperatures reaching 32C (90F), Wales fly-half Dan Edwards scored 14 points, including two tries, while there were further scores from scrum-halves Kieran Hardy and Reuben Morgan-Williams and wing Ellis Mee.But the day belonged to Wales great George North who bowed out in style in his final game before retirement with two Barbarians tries.

After coming on as a second-half replacement, North’s opening try came with his first touch and he also added a conversion with the final kick of the game.

Few could have imagined kicking a conversion against Wales would be his last contribution on the rugby field after such a glittering career.

South Africa prop Vincent Koch, Munster centre Alex Nankivell and Uruguay scrum-half Santiago Arata also scored for the invitational side.

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Wales had enjoyed a morale-boosting Six Nations win against Italy in March.

This – uncapped – victory represented successive wins for the the first time since the 2023 World Cup but Wales know there is a lot to improve before the start of the Nations Championship.

This fixture was staged outside World Rugby’s official window so Wales’ team was picked solely from the four domestic regions with Tandy missing 12 English and French based players.

Scrum-half Tomos Williams, lock Dafydd Jenkins, props Nicky Smith and Rhys Carre and Louis Rees-Zammit will come back into the equation for the Nations Championship start next week when Wales face Fiji at Cardiff City Stadium.

Tandy will name his squad for that tournament early next week which also includes away matches in Argentina and South Africa.

Empty seats but vital hit out for Wales

Empty seats at the Allianz Stadium — Image caption,

Allianz Stadium was only a quarter full on Saturday

Watching Wales play in front of so few fans at the home of English rugby was surreal.

The top two tiers were closed with a sparse crowd of under 20,000 in an 82,000-capacity stadium, and a first-half “Mexican Wave” indicated the supporters were not always fully engaged.

It was an uncapped international with the double-header alonsgide the women’s side being played in south-west London and not in Cardiff, where heavy metal group Metallica were playing at the Principality Stadium the following day.

As a rugby exercise it was worthwhile, with many Welsh players having not had a game for more than a month.

Tandy’s side needed this test before the Nations Championship and the Barbarians squad provided that challenge with the squad boasting 19 internationals from 11 different countries.

South African double World Cup winning scrum-half Faf de Klerk captained the side and described the Baa-Baas forward pack as one of the biggest he had ever played behind. A telling assessment from somebody used to playing with the Springboks.

Wales shade first half in London sunshine

Wales started strongly with powerful forward drives and Hardy sniped over.

Cardiff lock Teddy Williams, who made a welcome return from a dislocated right foot suffered in October, failed to gather the restart.

South African prop Koch forced Gareth Thomas to concede a scrum penalty and gained his reward by burrowing over for a try.

Hooker Elliot Dee, left out by Tandy this summer, was the one Welsh player starting for the Barbarians and was denied a try in the left corner,.

Dee’s opposite number Wales captain Dewi Lake, who kept the leadership despite the return of British and Irish Lions flanker Jac Morgan from injury, had a productive opening quarter with powerful carries and a penalty turnover.

Barbarians finally provided some typical flair with countless offloads following a de Klerk break but the move broke down to bring up the first water break.

Wales had lacked structure since their opening try but that cohesion briefly returned with a well-worked move, with bursts from centre Joe Hawkins and man of the match Aaron Wainwright, finished off by Edwards.

Scarlets back rower Taine Plumtree produced a searing break but could not claim his own kick to score while another Wales try went begging after a poor Lake pass to Wainwright.

Handling mistakes were rife from both sides as Wales led by nine points at half-time with the break extended to 20 minutes because of the warm weather.

North stars but Wales hold on

George North is congratulated by Barbarians teammates — Image caption,

George North won 121 caps for Wales

Wales changed their front-row trio at the start of the second half with replacement props Ben Warren and Rhys Barratt given their first Wales chance, later joined by Dragons forward duo Ryan Woodman and Harrison Keddie.

Hardy’s kick provided a simple second try for Edwards who sprinted away to score before the largest cheer of the day came when North came on as second-half replacement wing.

North had called time on his international career in 2024 having won 121 caps and scored 47 tries for his country, helping Wales win four Six Nations titles and two Grand Slams.

As well as his Wales exploits, he toured with the British and Irish Lions in 2013 and 2017, playing three Tests and scoring two brilliant tries in the series win against Australia.

North demonstrated he still had his world-class qualities when he burst over with his first touch, taking advantage of weak Wales defence.

After Wales centre Eddie James denied Nathan Hughes a try, Tandy’s side bounced back as Morgan-Williams glided over before Munster centre Nankivell hit back before the Barbarians.

A fine Blair Murray break appeared to have set up a try for Scarlets team-mate Mee but Mason Grady was penalised for obstruction.

Mee gained his reward before North fittingly had the final word when he strolled over for his second try and converted Arata’s last-gasp score.

How they lined up

Barbarians: Spring; Kellaway, Ward, Nankivell, Vakatawa; Plummer, de Klerk (capt); Kharaishvili, Dee, Koch, Rodda, Taofifenua, Salakaia-Loto, Boshier, Hughes.

Replacements: Thacker, Iscaro, Alo-Emile, Tanga, Joseph, Arata, North, McConnell.

Wales: Murray; Rogers, James, Hawkins, Mee; Edwards, Hardy; G Thomas, Lake (capt), Lewis, Carter, T Williams, Plumtree, Morgan, Wainwright.

Replacements: Elias, Barratt, Warren, Woodman, Keddie, Morgan-Williams, Costelow, Grady.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe (England)

Assistant referees: Alex Thomas, Jamie Parr (England)

TMO: Stuart Terheege (England).

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