Both the players will join their team-mates at the WRU National Centre of Excellence on Monday, May 21 for the start of the full training schedule.

The French Rugby Union has formally told the WRU of the players’ May 21 release and informed the two relevant clubs in France.

Wales caretaker head coach Rob Howley has praised the decision as an example of northern hemisphere co-operation during international preparations.

The May 21 date falls outside the formal IRB date of release for players involved in international duty and release is either contracted by individual Unions or discretionary.

Howley said: “This is fantastic news for us as it means Mike and James will be fully involved in the complete preparation programme we have in place.

“They are both experienced international players but it is still a huge advantage to have them working within our environment from day one.

“We are extremely grateful to the French Rugby Union and the individual clubs involved for taking this step.

“It is a gesture which will undoubtedly benefit the players and I know they will want to thank their individual clubs for helping them fulfil their international commitments with Wales.

“It is an example of northern hemisphere rugby working in unity for the benefit of our players and the game in general.

“We are all aware of the difficulties we can encounter when Welsh qualified players are based outside Wales, but this decision shows there are opportunities for us to realise mutual benefits.”

Both the former Ospreys players left Wales for France this year with Phillips joining Bayonne and Hook linking up with Perpignan.

Yesterday (MONDAY) they were both named in the 38-man training squad to prepare to face the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, June 2 before embarking for Australia.

Clermont Auvergne full back Lee Byrne was not selected as he is still likely to be involved in domestic competition in France until the date the tour party departs.

James HOOK (PERPIGNAN – Cap No 1,047)
DoB: 27.06.85. 6’0” / 1.83m. 15st 2lbs / 96kgs
International record: 62 caps (W 28, L 32, D 2; 326 pts – 12T, 40C, 58PG, 4DG)

Mike PHILLIPS (BAYONNE – Cap No 1,022)
DoB: 29.08.82. 6’3” / 1.91m. 15st 10lb / 101kgs
International record: 65 caps (W 33, L 30, D 2; 40 pts – 8T)

New Zealand have retained their HSBC Sevens World Series title, ending the season with a third place finish at the Marriott London Sevens to finish on 167 Series points, six ahead of closest rivals Fiji.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

"It’s pretty special, we worked extremely hard to get this one and I think everyone knows how competitive the Sevens Series is now. We came here with an 11-point lead but still with an opportunity of blowing it," said NZ captain, DJ Forbes.

"The quarter final win (36-0 win against South Africa) was probably our only complete game of rugby this weekend, but there was a lot of passion, a lot behind it to make sure we wrapped up the Series.

"At the end of the day it comes down to consistency and that’s where we were probably a little bit ahead, but taking nothing away from Fiji, they’ve done extremely well to win here.

"I guess for us you could see that we’re used to playing under pressure, regardless of where we’re playing. If you’re wearing a black jersey everyone expects you to do well."

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Once again New Zealand have proved that, over the course of an entire season, they are the finest Sevens side in the world and our congratulations go to them.

"And yet even on this, their day of triumph, they were denied in the Cup semi-finals by their closest challengers Fiji, which again underlines just how competitive our global Game of Rugby Sevens has become.

"In the women’s event too we have seen a wonderful tournament from the Netherlands in reaching a first Cup title and congratulations to England on winning their second title of the season.

"Twickenham has provided a wonderful and fitting stage for the finale of another superb season, capped off by another record crowd for a two-day event. We can look forward to a bright future as we gear towards the 2016 Olympic Games."

Australia took the Plate in London, beating England, who finished the season in third place ahead of Samoa in fourth and South Africa in fifth.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

Sixth placed Australia won the Plate, Wales lifted the Bowl, France were triumphant in the Shield whilst England won their second IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup.

Australia pip hosts England to Plate

England narrowly missed out on the consolation of a Plate trophy when Dan Bibby missed a conversion and a penalty drop goal in the second half of the Plate final, allowing impressive Australia to hang on to a 14-12 victory and collect 13 Series points.

However, Mat Turner’s try in the final did put him one ahead of teammate Dan Norton as the season’s leading try scorer.

England reached the Plate final after a Turner try and Tom Mitchell conversion clinched a late 17-15 victory against South Africa. Australia reached the final after the Tokyo Sevens winners overturned a 12-5 half time deficit to beat Spain 17-12 in the semi.

Wales beat Scotland in Bowl

Twelve points from Alex Walker hands Wales a 27-5 victory against Scotland in the Bowl, as the reigning RWC Sevens champions collect eight points for the Series.

Two second half tries, one after the final buzzer had sounded, from Dan Fish booked Wales’ place in the Bowl final after a 28-26 victory against Portugal. They met Scotland following Graham Shiel’s side recorded a 31-19 victory against Zimbabwe in the second semi final thanks to two tries from Michael Fedo.

Earlier, 11 points from Alex Walker helped Wales beat USA 28-19 in the second Bowl quarter, entering this competition having lost to Spain and Fiji on day one.

Carl Murray scored twice for Portugal in the day’s opening match against RWC Sevens 2013 hosts Russia. The sides last met in the core team qualifying quarter final in Hong Kong, with Portugal narrowly winning 17-10 on their way to claiming one of the three places for next season’s Series, and recorded a 24-17 victory in London.

In the third match Scotland beat crowd favourites Kenya 21-5 before Dubai Sevens runners-up France suffered a 19-17 defeat to Zimbabwe with Jacques Leitao scoring the winning try for the Cheetahs.

England claim London women’s crown

England’s women produced a superb performance to win their home IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup event, beating Netherlands 34-7 in the final.

England’s greater power and precision proved too much for first time Cup finalists the Netherlands as the hosts eased to a 34-7 victory in the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup at Twickenham.

England have now won two of the three IRB-sanctioned Challenge Cup events this season, having defeated Australia in the previous final in Hong Kong. They lost out to Canada in the first event, in Dubai.

The Netherlands’ Anne Hielckert had opened the scoring in this Twickenham final to momentarily quieten the crowd. But England’s Hong Kong heroine Joanne Watmore combined power and balance to pierce the Netherlands’ defence twice before Alice Richardson produced a step and hand off to put England 17-7 up at the break.

Watmore completed her hat trick with the first play of the second half to dash any hopes of a Netherlands comeback before Kat Merchant touched down twice late on to complete an impressive victory.

"We came out in the semi final and had a really tough game (against Canada)," said England captain Michaela Staniford. “We made it hard work for ourselves and we didn’t perform, so coming out for the final and putting to bed some of those wrongs and hopefully putting on a show for the crowd was what we really wanted to do.”

For Netherlands coach Gareth Gilbert, whose players are full-time athletes funded by the Dutch Olympic Committee, the final was a promising step forward.

"You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far with regards to the (Dutch) programme. The progress we’ve seen in the last year with these players has been unbelievable. A lot of these ladies have stopped their jobs and their family lives in order to train and play rugby. They train 20 hours a week, which they need to if we are going to compete with the big nations." Gilbert said.

Dramatic route to Cup final

Earlier on day two, England defeated Russia 19-10 and Netherlands triumphed 19-0 over France in the Cup quarter finals.

The Cup semi finals produced two dramatic matches. England Sevens debutant Emily Scarratt scored the decisive try in extra time to edge the hosts to a 19-12 win over Canada. Then the Netherlands produced arguably the shock of the competition, edging RWC Sevens 2009 champions Australia 14-12.

Canada claimed third place with a 19-14 victory over Australia. USA won the Plate, defeating Russia 22-7. South Africa, for whom Zenay Jordaan was the tournament’s highest points scorer with 43, edged past France 14-7 to end up seventh. China defeated Portugal 43-5 to win the Bowl and Kazakhstan prevailed 19-17 over Brazil in the battle for 11th place.

Norton is the leading global try-getter going into the final leg at the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham Stadium this weekend. No Englishman – in a list including Ugo Monye and David Strettle – has scored more heavily in a single season.

The 24 year-old from Bristol has touched down 35 times on big stages everywhere from Hong Kong to Las Vegas on a world tour in which the eight tournament titles have been shared by five different teams so far.

Former England wing Robinson – their try scorer in the 2003 World Cup final victory – admits he wants to see ‘speed, good feet and skills’ more than scrums and lineouts these days.

And the likes of England’s Norton and Mat Turner, and New Zealand’s Lomu-like wing Frank Halai, have provided exactly that since the series kicked off on the Gold Coast in Queensland six months ago.

The single snapshot highlight? Norton’s astonishing try in Hong Kong against Australia, starting from behind his own line before he beat three opponents to go the length of the field and snatch victory on the final play, might just be the best of the lot.

“When you’re playing 15s you are aware of sevens because everyone loves playing it but what I’ve seen this season has been amazing,” said Robinson, an HSBC Ambassador.

“I’ve been astonished going to the different legs as to how much interest has been generated. For guys like Norton, who’s just re-signed for England, it’s fantastic. The best players love big stages and the HSBC Sevens World Series gives them that worldwide.

“I’m a big Dan Norton fan. He’s England’s go-to man. If you want a try you get the ball to him and he’s proved he is a match winner. He’s got great feet and blistering pace.

“In Hong Kong, against Australia, England were down and he got them a try from behind his own line. Not many people can do that. It was like watching a great sprinter. Dan’s England’s most potent weapon.

“These guys are some of the fastest around. I was quick over 40 metres but these guys are sprinters. As Dan showed against Australia, you might have to go 115 metres from behind your own goal line. People expect him to score every time.”

England, third in the series rankings, have enjoyed a rollercoaster season, winning the Dubai title, beaten in several semis and reaching the final in Glasgow last weekend with an evolving all-court style of play that has seen them consistently defeating second-placed Fiji but only able to unseat leaders New Zealand once.

The Marriott London Sevens offers them the chance to finish on a high in front of 100,000 fans over the two days full of the sort of action Robinson relishes.

“London is a party event, lots of tries and a great way of getting people involved in the game,” he said.

“The emphasis is on ball-in-hand rugby, using your feet, using your speed. I’ve got a lot of respect for scrums and lineouts but I want to be entertained. What I want to see is speed, good feet and skills.”

Dan Bibby is set to win his first cap after being named in the England squad for this weekend’s penultimate leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Glasgow.

The UWIC playmaker heads for his first tournament with former England Under 20 wing Mark Odejobi in the squad for the first time this season and Chris Cracknell returning from injury.

The three changes from the last leg in Tokyo see them take over from Harlequins wing Charlie Walker, injured playmaker Christian Lewis-Pratt and former captain Greg Barden, who has retired.

England Students full back Bibby, 21, has trained with the squad all season and the former Fylde player impressed for Sale Sharks last summer when named Player of the Tournament at the Edgeley Park leg of the JP Morgan Premiership Sevens.

Odejobi ruptured an Achilles tendon last year and spent six months in rehab before re-joining the group in January while Cracknell had been ever-present in the squad this season before sitting out the last leg of the series in Tokyo with a shoulder injury.

“Dan Bibby’s an exciting talent who’s definitely one for the future and he’s trained with us throughout the season, including appearing in our warm-up tournament in Spain on the eve of the series,” said head coach Ben Ryan.

“It’s been a long road back for Mark Odejobi who played for us last season. He’s worked very hard to get fit and he’s trained well to keep out two very experienced sevens players in [former captain] Andy Vilk and Simon Hunt. It’s great to have Chris Cracknell back after missing him in Tokyo too.”

England are fourth in the series going into the final two legs at Scotstoun in Glasgow – a new venue – and the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham (May 12-13).

They face Kenya, the USA and Australia on Saturday in the pool stages with Ryan eager for his fourth-placed side to finish on a high in a competitive series in which New Zealand, Fiji, England, Samoa and Australia have all won individual tournaments.

“We’re pretty excited about the next two legs, the squad has trained well and we want to finish well and start building towards next season,” said Ryan

“It’s always good to come to a new venue – the latest great world city to be added to the series. It’ll be well organised by Scotland, and we’re expecting a great atmosphere and energetic support.”

England Sevens: Dan Bibby (UWIC), John Brake, Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Rosslyn Park), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University), Dan Norton, Mark Odejobi (Brunel University), Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman.

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top six): 1 New Zealand 128 pts, 2 Fiji 122, 3 South Africa 105, 4 England 104, 5 Samoa 101, 6 Australia 84

You can buy tickets for the Marriott London Sevens via RFU.com, with weekend tickets from £30, with single day tickets from £18 and kids tickets from £5 each day

Howley will have full control of all aspects of team preparation and selection as he takes charge of the existing management and coaching staff with immediate effect.

Gatland has declared his full approval of the decision which was taken during discussions with WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis about his prognosis for recuperation and recovery over the weeks ahead.

Lewis says the decision will offer certainty to players, coaches and supporters as the preparations and planning for the matches now enter an important preliminary phase.

The decision was taken after medical advice given to Gatland and his family in New Zealand was set against the huge scale and importance of the summer series of games in 2012.

Wales will play the Barbarians on June 2 (kick off 2.00pm) in a full international before the start of the biggest ever one-nation tour in the history of the Welsh Rugby Union outside a Rugby World Cup campaign.

Wales play an unprecedented three Test matches against Australia plus a midweek fixture against the Brumbies between the first and second Test.

Doctors have ruled out a return to Wales for Gatland in time for the Barbarians international and the latest medical advice is that he is unlikely to have recuperated sufficiently to take charge of Wales in Australia before the first Test match in Brisbane on June 9.

If Gatland recovers in time to join the squad for the final two June Test matches Howley will remain as caretaker with the Head Coach playing a supportive role.

Howley will continue to liaise directly with Warren Gatland throughout his current phase of recuperation, but the pair have agreed that the caretaker coach will make the final decisions required.

Roger Lewis said: “Our priorities are clear and we have acted decisively to ensure absolute clarity in the weeks ahead.

“Warren has taken the appropriate medical advice and agrees that appointing Rob as Caretaker Coach in his absence is the best way forward for our Grand Slam winning squad.

“Rob, Warren and I have talked this through thoroughly and it makes absolute sense to ensure the chain of command and authority levels are recognised.

“Warren can now concentrate on getting back to robust health before taking back full control of Wales to continue the great work he has already achieved and Rob can take this opportunity to develop as a coach at the highest level.

“The appointment of Rob Howley as caretaker coach is deeply significant for our long term succession planning.  Rob has the total support of all of us at the WRU.  This is an opportunity for us all in these unforeseen circumstances.

“We have an outstanding team of coaches and management all of whom are critically important to the success of the national team.”

Gatland will not undergo immediate surgery as his injuries are given time to heal before any further decisions are taken on the need for intervention.

He was injured at home in a fall from the railings around decking at his Waihi beach house  and suffered multiple fractures to the calcaneus or heel bone in his right foot and a fracture to the same bone in his left.

He has been advised that the injury to his right foot is severe and it is unlikely he would be able to bear weight on the limb by early June.

Howley said: “I will give one hundred per cent of my effort to ensuring we are fully prepared to meet the challenges and take the great opportunities which lie ahead in this summer series.

“We will be working to secure victory against the Barbarians after the defeat we suffered last year and the Tests in Australia are an opportunity for us to deliver a win in the southern hemisphere.

“Along with the rest of the coaching team I am immensely proud to have been offered this opportunity and we will give our all until Warren is ready to take full control again.

“The players know all about the roles and responsibilities we perform and what we all have to deliver for the national cause over the months ahead.”

Warren Gatland said: “Although I am devastated to be away from the action I am delighted that we have someone of Rob’s calibre to take charge in my absence.

“I have talked through all the potential scenarios with Rob Howley and Roger Lewis, but the medical advice is clear and cannot be ignored.

“I will not be ready to take charge of Wales for the international against the Barbarians and if I recover enough to get to Australia during June I am still unlikely to be mobile enough to play a full coaching role.

“It has been difficult to accept that advice, but it just makes me more determined than ever to get back into the driving seat with Wales later on this summer as we prepare for an Autumn series which includes games against New Zealand and Australia.

“During my time in Wales we’ve put in some young coaches who have developed significantly over the past few years and I believe they are capable of stepping up to the job.

“As coaches we debate selections and strategies vigorously and we don’t always agree, but once a decision is made we all support it totally. I know the Welsh people won’t always agree with some of those selection decisions and they have a right to their views, but I would ask them to offer the same kind of support to the coaches once those decisions have been made.

“I know Rob will be his own man as caretaker coach, but he and I share a similar vision about the international game so the players and coaches will know what is expected of them.”

The Board of the WRU has decided unanimously that full caps will be awarded for the Wales team to play the Barbarians at the Millennium Stadium to kick-off the summer action.

Some of the players not selected for the Barbarians game will fly to Australia before the Barbarians encounter to start their acclimatisation and preparation programme.

After the Baa Baas game the full squad will gather in Brisbane to take part in the training schedule from the Tuesday onwards.

As caretaker coach Howley will remain with the squad in Wales for the Barbarians international before heading out with them to Australia.

Howley, a former scrum-half who made 59 appearances for his country, won his first cap  against the Barbarians  in October 2001, in a game which also saw Wales’ most capped forward Martyn Williams (99) and fellow flanker Kingsley Jones (10) make their respective debuts.

Wales have awarded caps for fixtures against the Barbarians on three previous occasions, the loss last November, the occasion of Williams’ and Jones’ debuts in 2001 and in the Baa-Baas centenary year of 1990.

Before I discuss which players should, should not, might and will go, I think I should set down how the Lions should play in my book. With so many players, it’s virtually a case of pick a style, so it’s more about the enemy and the coach – and to my mind, Australia immediately set out some very pressing opportunities and problems.

Everybody knows what Australia will throw at us and it starts and ends with the backline, just about the only one in rugby to defy the mantra that ‘forwards win matches’. Australia’s ability to cut a defence in two off of poor ball or even no ball is unequalled and it is largely due the superb handling, footwork and pace present in every Aussie back. On hard ground those advantages are amplified. They might be short of a few bruisers, but that doesn’t seem so relevant in their case. The first thought anyone facing Australia must surely be ‘How do I stop that backline?’ And the second thought, given the seeming futility of the task is ‘How do I keep up with their score rate?’

The flipside of Australia’s ability to regularly win matches without forwards dominance though is that they regularly don’t achieve forwards dominance, or even parity. It’s not wise to overtalk this advantage as Australia have some great players there, particularly David Pocock, but there is a potential soft underbelly. That goes double in the scrum and the pack has to be attacked, as to give Australia forward parity to sign your own death warrant. Equally, not figuring out what to do about David Pocock is a rash move that can lead to death by turnover.

It seems almost definite that the man who will be taking the Lions south is Gatland; poor campaigns for Kidney and Robinson almost sealed it before the Kiwi delivered a rather neat looking Welsh grand slam. That means Gatland ball in attack, probably Edwards running the defence – and a gambler’s streak in selection. Gatland’s never been shy about advancing youngsters who impress him in training and I don’t see that changing with the Lions. On the contrary, the current Lions set up is a gambler’s paradise. He can easily select a few bolters and hide them in the dirt-trackers if it goes wrong and push them for the test team if it goes right.

If we look at the players available, it becomes clear that the Lions can play almost as they wish. It seems equally clear that Gatland will have a number of tough selection decisions. In every position there seems to be a number of talented players, or at least equally flawed. As such, there is relatively little pressure to fit the team around this player or that. The only position in which I feel there is a stand-out, one hundred per cent nailed on player is 12 – where Jamie Roberts towers far above the contenders, many of whom are barely fit to be called test standard. Barring a bolter, the Lions will be playing with a crash centre at 12. That should be a given, and it is one of the first facts the strategy is constructed around.

Therefore I’d construct my offensive tactics about targeting the fringes and the 9-10-12 channels. The Lions have the players to constantly break the gainline there, starting with Roberts, and they have the players to get on shoulders and turn half-breaks into the full thing. England’s Sydney success showed that you can have real joy out of attacking Australia there and ideally Pocock can be taken out of things by forcing him to babysit his backs and burying him at the bottom of rucks. The ball only really goes wide as a coup de grace or to change the point of attack – which means the back three should be expecting to get their hands dirty coming into the line close to the ruck. Elusive runners will lose out in selection, players with raw power and good hands will win.

Defensively, there will be a big requirement on the forwards having the pace to make their tackles, and on players slowing the ball down. I wouldn’t be surprised if the choke tackle sees a high level of usage. Players with high levels of pace are likely to be favoured here, particularly in positions that do a lot of chasing back. Tree choppers aren’t really required, although players who can put in disruptive hits and push the opposition back are. Finally, the set-piece will be important, but probably not pivotal in selection as most of the players up for selection can either point to victories over Australia in that area, or victories over players who have.

All in all, I think the pieces are in place to really challenge Australia. When the Lions went to South Africa I watched with hope, when they go to Australia I will watch in expectation. There are no guarantees, not playing the likes of Australia with a cobbled together team, but I believe that the chinks in the armour and the players to exploit them are there; I’ll start looking at them in the next article.

They looked out on their feet when Rebecca Tavo levelled the scores three minutes from time but clung on until Watmore struck from long range with the final play of the game.

The Worcester centre had opened the scoring after Alice Richardson created the chance in a non-stop opening period before Bristol wing Kay Wilson struck from 75 metres just after the break.

They spent long spells on the back foot defending –Worcester forward Heather Fisher’s power at the breakdown disrupting the world champions – before Watmore was roared home by the 40,000 So Kon Po crowd.

England had been beaten in the Dubai Sevens final by Canada and by Australia at the 2009 World Cup Sevens. But they overwhelmed Canada 22-12 in the Hong Kong semi and completing the job in the final was a landmark moment according to co-captain Michaela Staniford.

“We have been thinking about it for a long time and it has been a long awaited tournament,” said Staniford. “To come away and take the cup is amazing, it feels great, absolutely brilliant.

“It was about talent and a few old cool heads, who know the game, how to play in finals and how to play under pressure. Those split decisions that are key in sevens and they were the difference between Dubai and now. Having those younger players as well, we are only going to learn from that and move on as a team.

“To come and play a final like that, in front of this many people, that is televised, changes peoples’ thoughts on the women’s game, and will hopefully increase the number of followers we have.”

Fisher only returned to action on Friday after a long lay-off recovering from two fractured vertebrae that put her in a cast for three months last year.

She said: “We lost to Australia in 2009 and we wanted to go out and go ‘Right, we’re back and we’re going to do some damage’.

“They put up a great fight but we kept going and kept going and didn’t give up. It’s a massive step forward as a team and something to go forward from. It’s fantastic.

“This is one of the occasions you work for. Behind the scenes, when nobody’s watching, you’ve got the hard sessions, get up early and do a session, come back from work and do another session. Then you get to play in front of all these thousands of people.”

Watmore added: “The first eight minutes it was just non-stop rugby, no stoppage in play, and it was tiring but it was our belief inside.

“We’re quite strong-minded as a team to bring it in and even though we were knackered we were able to dig that little bit deeper because we wanted to improve on Dubai, take it to the next level and put ourselves up there on the world stage. It’s our first major trophy and hopefully we can take that forward.”

Earlier Staniford’s two first-half tries and further scores from Richmond centre Rachael Burford and fly half Richardson saw them home against Canada.

England Results:
England 31 China 7
Tries: Fisher, Burford, Richardson, Green, Noel-Smith. Conversions: Richardson (3)
England 38 Japan 0
Tries: Wilson (2), Staniford, Chamberlain, Riley, Richardson. Conversions: Richardson (4)
England 22 Canada 12
Tries: Staniford (2), Burford, Richardson. Conversion: Richardson
England 15 Australia 10
Tries: Watmore (2), Wilson

SAM TOMKINS is the latest addition to the Barbarians’ squad for the Killik Cup match against Australia at Twickenham on Saturday 26 November.

The impressive Wigan full-back will complete a unique double by playing against the pride of Australian rugby from both codes on successive weekends. Last Saturday the 22-year-old featured for England against the Australian Kangaroos in the Four Nations’ Final at Elland Road, Leeds; seven days later he dons the famous black-and-white shirt of the Barbarians against Australia’s Wallabies in front of a 50,000-plus crowd at Twickenham.

Confirming the invitation, Barbarians’ commercial director Mike Burton said: “We are delighted that Sam, with the support of the coaches and management at Wigan, has accepted this opportunity to play in such a high-profile union match. The Barbarian club has a tradition of thinking outside the circle when inviting players with league backgrounds, and usually to everyone’s benefit.”

He added: “In recent years the likes of Mat Rogers, Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and, a few months ago,Willie Mason, have all made a mark when playing for us on the big stage. We are confident that Sam will be equal to the challenge this week.”

Ian Lenagan, chairman and owner of Wigan said: “The Wigan club and Sam are very pleased to accept the Barbarians’ invitation. Sam is an exceptional player in either code of rugby and his selection shows the growing mutual respect between the codes of rugby league and rugby union in England.  It’s a great opportunity for Sam to experience the Twickenham atmosphere and showcase his talents on another major stage.”

The Barbarians will be coached by Graham Henry and Steve Hansen who will select their starting line-up from a 22-man squad which promises to be one of the most experienced representative sides ever assembled. The players, drawn from 10 different countries, share an astonishing 1000-plus test caps between them.

The latest additions to the multi-national party include Italy’s Mauro Bergomasco (88 caps), Salvatore Perugini (83) and Marco Bortolami (88), France’s Sylvain Marconnet (84), Scotland’s Jason White (77) and Ireland’s Peter Stringer (98).

They join a squad that already had Springbok lock legend Victor Matfield, with 110 international matches under his belt, before making his final big-match appearance against the Wallabies. Two years ago Matfield captained the Barbarians to victory over the All Blacks.

Sonny Bill Williams has withdrawn because of a hamstring injury and is replaced by another of New Zealand’s Rugby World Cup squad, Richard Kahui, while further additions are Fiji’s Seru Rabeni and Nemia Kenatale.

Stephen Jones has been withdrawn from the squad as he is required by the Scarlets for their match against Newport Gwent Dragons on Friday evening.

Barbarians’ secretary Alan Evans explained: “We had very positive talks with the coaching staff at the Scarlets. They fully appreciated the honour it would have been for Stephen to play for us at this stage of his distinguished career but unfortunately their fixture commitments next weekend must take precedence.”

Mr Evans also confirmed that other Welsh players previously announced would not be available for the Barbarians as they will be in training camp ahead of Wales’ own match against Australia seven days later.

He said: “Obviously we are disappointed that they can’t play for us on this occasion but we also realise that the Welsh regions and the Welsh Rugby Union’s hierarchy have been incredibly supportive of us for similar matches in recent years. We look forward to inviting these players, and others, again in the near future.”

Barbarians squad:

Sam Tomkins (England RL), Bryan Habana (South Africa), Isaia Toeava (New Zealand), Robbie Fruean (Crusaders), Stirling Mortlock (Australia), Richard Kahui (New Zealand), Seru Rabeni (Fiji),  Danny Cipriani (England), Peter Stringer (Ireland), Nemia Kenatale (Fiji), Keven Mealamu (New Zealand), Adriaan Strauss (South Africa), Salvatore Perugini (Italy), Sylvain Marconnet (France), Eusebio Guinazu (Argentina), Victor Matfield (South Africa), Simon Shaw (England), Marco Bortolami (Italy), Jason White (Scotland), Jerome Kaino (New Zealand), Adam Thomson (New Zealand), Mauro Bergamasco (Italy).

The captain will be announced when the squad assembles in London on 22 November.

The 26-man playing group is composed almost entirely of players who recently competed in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where Australia beat Wales 21-18 to win the Bronze Final.  The injured pair of full back Kurtley Beale and fly half Quade Cooper are the only players from that starting XV not to be making the trip.

With the Barbarians, coached by All Black pairing Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, containing a star-studded list including five of the victorious World Cup New Zealanders (Sonny Bill Williams, Keven Mealamu, Jerome Kaino, Piri Weepu and Adam Thomson), Australia’s visit to Twickenham has all the ingredients of the toughest of Test matches.

The Baabaas have beaten New Zealand and South Africa in the last two years and will be determined to complete a hat-trick against the SANZAR nations, while avenging the 11-18 defeat suffered against a young Wallabies outfit at Wembley Stadium during the two teams’ last meeting in London four seasons ago.

Seven days after their fixture at the Home of England Rugby, the Wallabies move to Cardiff for their 14th and final outing of the year when they take on Wales for the James Bevan Trophy.  In a re-match of the Rugby World Cup Bronze Final, Australia will hope to make it three on the bounce,  having won their previous two encounters at the Millennium Stadium.

It might be a three week assembly, with just two games, but Qantas Wallabies Head Coach Robbie Deans is anticipating a difficult tour, and the squad has been selected accordingly, with the number of international appearances averaging 24 per player.

“While this is a relatively brief visit by current standards, both fixtures promise to be exceedingly demanding,” said Deans.

“Wales were arguably the most improved side at the Rugby World Cup, and their expectations will have risen on the back of that performance.”

Coming into the Wallabies squad is Western Force prop Pekahou Cowan and three of the next generation of internationals: the Queensland Reds pair, centre Ben Tapuai and full back Ben Lucas, and the NSW Waratahs loose forward Dave Dennis.

The World Cup squad members not able to be considered for the tour were full back Kurtley Beale (hamstring), winger Drew Mitchell (hamstring), inside centre Pat McCabe (shoulder), fly half Quade Cooper (knee), No 8 Wycliff Palu (hamstring), flanker Rocky Elsom (hamstring), lock Dan Vickerman (shoulder), Kepu (eye) and half back Luke Burgess, who has left Australia to continue his career with leading French club Toulouse.

Winger Lachie Turner and flanker Matt Hodgson, who both joined the Wallabies in New Zealand as the replacements for Mitchell and Palu respectively, have been retained in the touring group.

Quantas Wallabies Tour Schedule/Key Dates

• Tuesday 15 November: Squad assembles in Sydney (Coogee)
• Saturday 19 November: Squad departs for London
• Saturday 26 November: Qantas Wallabies v Barbarians, Killik & Co Cup, Twickenham Stadium, London, 2.35pm.
• Saturday 3 December: Qantas Wallabies v Wales, James Bevan Trophy, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 2.30pm.
• Sunday 4 December: Squad returns to Australia (arrives Tuesday 6 December)

The Qantas Wallabies Spring Tour Squad

Ben Alexander
Adam Ashley-Cooper
Berrick Barnes
Pekahou Cowan
Dave Dennis
Anthony Faingaa
Will Genia
Scott Higginbotham
Matt Hodgson
Rob Horne
James Horwill (captain)
Digby Ioane
Ben Lucas
Salesi Ma’afu
Ben McCalman
Stephen Moore
James O’Connor
Nick Phipps
David Pocock
Tatafu Polota Nau
Radike Samo
Nathan Sharpe
Rob Simmons
James Slipper
Ben Tapuai
Lachie Turner

Dusautoir is the second Frenchman to win the Award, following in the footsteps of former national team captain, Fabien Galthié, who claimed the accolade in 2002.

New Zealand were named IRB Team of the Year and Graham Henry IRB Coach of the Year, to add to the Rugby World Cup crown they claimed at Eden Park with a hard-fought 8-7 victory over the French on 23 October.

Dusautoir was outstanding all season for France, including in the World Cup and particularly the final where his defensive effort and ball-carrying inspired the French against the hosts. He was picked ahead of five other nominees – New Zealand scrum half Piri Weepu, flanker Jerome Kaino and centre Ma’a Nonu and Australia flanker David Pocock and scrum half Will Genia.

The winners were selected by the Awards’ independent panel of judges, chaired by Rugby World Cup-winner John Eales and made up of former internationals with more than 500 caps between them. The panel deliberated on every major Test match played this year, starting with the first Six Nations match and finishing with the Rugby World Cup 2011 Final.

The glittering event, which also celebrated 125 years of the International Rugby Board, was a fitting finale to what IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset described as an “exceptional” Rugby World Cup and was attended by all four semi-final teams, royalty and stars from sport and entertainment.

Earlier in the day, an estimated 240,000 fans turned up to catch a glimpse of the All Blacks who were last to arrive at the Vector Arena with the Webb Ellis Cup.

IRB Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Cecil Afrika, South Africa

Cecil Afrika was the outstanding player from the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series and finished as the top try and point scorer. South Africa’s inspirational playmaker and sweeper, Afrika scored 40 tries and 385 points across seven events, returning from injury in double quick time to inspire the Blitzbokke to Cup success in Las Vegas, and was also key in their victories in London and Scotland.

IRB Junior Player of the Year – George Ford, England

George Ford becomes England’s first recipient of this Award after playing a key role in his country’s run to the IRB Junior World Championship 2011 final in Italy, where they ultimately lost 33-22 to New Zealand. The youngest player in the tournament at only 18 years and three months, Ford’s skills and vision belie his tender age, his maturity on the pitch giving the impression he always has options, more often than not taking the right one.

IRB Development Award – USA Rugby’s Rookie Rugby programme

Rookie Rugby was designed by USA Rugby, the sport’s governing body in the US, to give young players between six and 12 years old a fun, safe and enjoyable sporting experience. It introduced a whole new raft of fans and athletes to the sport through programmes administered through schools, community-based and state-based rugby organizations and USA Rugby national events. The initial aim was to introduce 100,000 new children to rugby but the reality has far outstripped that and continues to gather momentum.

Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Jock Hobbs

Jock Hobbs was elected Chairman of the NZRU in 2002 and served with distinction, overseeing considerable success on and off the pitch while also securing New Zealand the right to host Rugby World Cup 2011. In December 2010 Hobbs stepped down from his position as Chairman of both the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) and Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 Limited due to ill health but continues to be an inspirational presence in the country.

IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service in association with Emirates Airline – Keith Lawrence

Keith Lawrence refereed 14 international matches between 1985 and 1991 and went on to become an outstanding rugby administrator in the match official sphere. Lawrence worked as a Referee Manager both within his native New Zealand and for the International Rugby Board as Sevens Referee Manager, a role from which he retired earlier this year.

IRB Women’s Personality of the Year – Ruth Mitchell

Hailing originally from Liverpool in England, Ruth Mitchell played rugby in Hong Kong before becoming an administrator and ultimately reaching the post of Director of Development for the HKRFU. A driving force behind youth rugby, Mitchell has also been instrumental in growing the women’s Game.

Spirit of Rugby Award – Wooden Spoon

The IRB recognised the work of the Wooden Spoon and its volunteers for more than 25 years of work with underprivileged children across the UK by awarding them with the IRB Spirit of Rugby Award The prestigious award recognises the incredible feats that can be achieved through Rugby both on and off the field and recognises those who, through selfless action, influence the lives of others, make significant contribution to their communities and demonstrate the force for good that sport can be in all areas of the world. Wooden Spoon is the first charity to receive such an accolade.

IRPA Try of the Year – Radike Samo, Australia v New Zealand

The final Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cup match of 2011 between New Zealand and Australia in Brisbane was a breathless encounter won by the Wallabies, inspired on the day by Radike Samo. The Fijian-born 35-year-old forward received the ball on his own 10-metre line and shrugged off a couple of All Black defenders before outsprinting the cover defence to score a remarkable individual try.

IRPA Special Merit Award

Former captain George Smith is one of the greatest flankers ever to play for Australia and a veteran of 110 Tests for his country. Smith made his international debut against France in 2000 and played his final Test for the Wallabies against Wales nine years later. The 31-year-old has played for the Barbarians four times since, including earlier this year against England and Wales.

IRB Hall of Fame

Nineteen founders, pioneers and legends of Rugby World Cup have been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame, including four men who made a major contribution to the creation of the tournament, the winning coach and captain of every edition from 1987 to 2007 and four players who have left an indelible mark for their moments of magic, inspiration or feats.

Full list of IRB Awards winners

IRB Player of the Year – Thierry Dusautoir
IRB Team of the Year – New Zealand
IRB Coach of the Year – Graham Henry
IRB Junior Player of the Year – George Ford, England
IRB Sevens Player of the Year in association with HSBC – Cecil Afrika, South Africa
IRB Women’s Personality of the Year – Ruth Mitchell
IRB Referee Award for Distinguished Service – Keith Lawrence
Vernon Pugh Award for Distinguished Service – Jock Hobbs
IRB Development Award – Rookie Rugby
IRB Spirit of Rugby Award – Wooden Spoon
IRPA Special Merit Award – George Smith, Australia
IRPA Try of the Year – Radike Samo, Australia v New Zealand

IRB Hall of Fame inductees – Dr Roger Vanderfield, Richard Littlejohn, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, John Kendall-Carpenter, David Kirk, Sir Brian Lochore, Nick Farr-Jones, Bob Dwyer, Francois Pienaar, Kitch Christie, Rod Macqueen, Martin Johnson CBE, Sir Clive Woodward OBE, John Smit, Jake White, Gareth Rees, Agustín Pichot, Brian Lima and Jonah Lomu.

Note: John Eales, the 1999-winning captain, was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2007.