Bundee Aki To Captain Barbarians Against England

Ireland's Bundee Aki will lead the Barbarians in their showdown with England at Twickenham later this month.

Head coach Pat Lam has handed the captaincy to the Connacht centre who 'epitomises what we need to do'.

The famous invitation side prepares to face Eddie Jones's team on Sunday, May 27.

Bundee Aki, the newly-appointed Baa Baas captain, is a Grand Slam winner with Ireland with seven victories from seven starts since making his international debut against South Africa at the Aviva Stadium last November.

"I'd like to thank Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt for making Bundee available to us as he'll be a big asset for the Barbarians," said Bristol head coach Pat Lam, who brought Aki to Connacht from the Chiefs in 2014.

"The big thing about Bundee is that he's an unbelievable competitor. A lot of the Pacific Island boys have that X-factor but he loves putting his head in the dark places and thriving in turnover and contact work. 

"He's a huge leader on the field and he has a great understanding and passion for the way I like the team to play. England is a game we're going to have to work hard in and he epitomises what we need to do. We need the courage to play and move the ball and also to know when we have to tighten things up, and he'll be at the centre of that."

Charles Piutau, former Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw and more players will be added to the squad later today.