Preview: SA BaaBaas v England

Despite being the underdogs, Barbarians Southern region coach Jimmy Stonehouse is upbeat about his side's encounter against England on Wednesday in Kimberley.

The English weekday side, which only arrives in Kimberley on the day of the match, were billed as favourites with many of their players vying for Test spots.

The BaaBaas, drawn from players representing Boland, Eastern Province, SWD Eagles and Border, had only spent a few days training together.

"Nobody gives us a chance to win this game, but that just adds to our motivation to do well," Stonehouse said on Tuesday.

"We had three days to practise in Durban, where we talked about our game plan and the patterns we wanted to implement.

"Luckily, the guys playing for the BaaBaas are professional players and know what is expected.

"I feel that the game plan is set and everything is going according to plan - we just have to go and set it in motion."

England have included the burly loose trio of Thomas Waldrom, Carl Fearns and James Haskell and look to dominate at the breakdown.

They pose a huge threat to Jacques Engelbrecht, Shaun Raubenheimer and Mpho Mbiyozo and the latter will hope to secure possession before thinking about competing on the ground.

"If you look at the team that England have chosen, their eighth man, Waldrom, and flanker, Haskell, are very physical and they will definitely take the fight to us," said Stonehouse.

"It's going to be a very physical battle all around and we know we have to stop those guys in their tracks otherwise they'll be a huge problem."

Stonehouse said he expected more of what the visitors dished out in the first Test, with a dash of running rugby added in the mix.

"I don't think they will differ much from what they did against the Springboks," he said.

"It is the same squad that is training and the mentality will be the same.

"They could play a little bit more high-risk rugby because they don't rate the Barbarians very highly and they will think there will be more places to run the ball from.

"And that's where they can make mistakes.

"It won't be easy coming here to run the ball the whole time. We hope the altitude will play in our favour."

Away from the harsh conditions in the UK, Stonehouse believed the local ground would encourage running rugby.

"We want to run the ball from everywhere possible and make the game as fast as possible," he said.

"Because of the weather conditions abroad it will be very different for England to do what they are used to.

"We play a lot more running rugby, while they are more physical and kick the ball a whole lot more.

"The tempo is the same as the Super Rugby competition and we expect that on the day."

Prediction: The English have trained together and are some of the best players from the Premiership and should be far too strong for the SA BaaBaas. Stonehouse's team are some talented players, but have been thrown together and should struggle to play at a high intensity for 80 minutes. England by about 15.

Teams:

England: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Anthony Allen, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 James Haskell, 5 George Robson (captain), 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Rupert Harden, 18 Tom Palmer, 19 Jamie Gibson, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 George Lowe, 22 Nick Abendanon.

SA Barbarians (South): 15 Jacquin Jansen, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Kempie Rautenbach, 12 Wayne Stevens (captain), 11 Norman Nelson, 10 Elgar Watts, 9 Boela Abrahams, 8 Jacques Engelbrecht, 7 Shaun Raubenheimer, 6 Mpho Mbiyozo, 5 David Bulbring, 4 Nolan Clark, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 Corné Fourie.

Replacements: 16 Clemen Lewis, 17 Dean Hopp, 18 Samora Fihlani, 19 Zandré Jordaan, 20 Ntando Kebe, 21 Ricardo Croy, 22 Ntabeni Dukisa.

Date: Wednesday, June 13

Venue: GWK Park, Kimberley

Kick-off: 15.00 (13.00 GMT)

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Assistant referees: Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Lesego Legoete Lesego (South Africa)

TMO: Gerrie Coetzee (South Africa)

SAPA and rugby365.com