North Vancouver's Jason Marshall joined some exclusive company Tuesday when he suited up for the famous Barbarians RFC, an invitational rugby squad that has been touring the world since 1890.
Marshall and fellow Canadian national team player Sean Duke of Vancouver were both added to the reserves list for the Barbarians in their matchup against the Leicester Tigers of the English Premiership.
The Barbarians' lineup included world-class players from Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Samoa, Scotland and South Africa. In their 125 years of existence the Barbarians have welcomed players from more than 25 countries, including former Canadian rugby captains Gareth Rees, Al Charron and Mark Wyatt.
The team, nicknamed the Baa Baas, is known for its attractive style of play as well as its famous black and white hooped jerseys. To add to the all-star feel, players wear the socks of their home clubs along with the Barbarians jersey.
On Tuesday the Barbarians started strongly, racing to a 21-0 lead early in the first half but the Tigers, last season's Premiership champions, stormed back to make it 21-19 at the break. The all-stars ran away again the second half, however, piling on the points to finish with a 59-26 win. Marshall and Duke did not hit the field during the win but they will forever be Barbarians - players invited to join the team for a match become life members of the club.
Marshall, 29, played quarterback for Carson Graham secondary and Simon Fraser University before switching to fulltime rugby. The Capilano Rugby Club member is now a staple at tighthead prop for the national side and plays professionally for New Zealand's Hawke's Bay.
Marshall and Duke are currently on tour with the Canadian national team and will rejoin the side for a test match against Namibia in Wales on Friday.
