Alan Jones’ Barbarians all business as they prepare to take down the Wallabies in Sydney

BARBARIANS coach Alan Jones has ​informed his ​squad they’ll be bending the back - not the elbow - when the famous invitational team gathers to play the Wallabies.

Barbarians players Taqele Naiyaravo (left) and Sam Ward.

BARBARIANS coach Alan Jones has ​informed his ​squad they’ll be bending the back — not the elbow — when the famous invitational team gathers next weekend to play the Wallabies.

Jones, ​making​​ his return to ​i​nternational coaching after a 30 year absence, named a partial Barbarians squad on Friday for the team’s two-game tour.

Former Waratahs cult hero Jacques Potgieter and All Black George Moala headline a small international contingent which is expected to grow next week once Currie Cup and Mitre Ten Cup finalists are ​clearer.

Alan Jones holds court with Barbarians winger Taqele Naiyaravaro and Wallabies head coach Michael Cheika.

Otherwise, the Barbarians will have a very Australian flavour, with Quade Cooper captaining a squad containing eight ex-Force players, seven capped Wallabies and ​a handful ​emerging fringe Test players.

Enthusiastically embracing a “fake war” with Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, Jones needled his rival for pinching back several fringe Wallabies squad members he’d already invited to play for the BaaBaas.

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Cheika is set to use the Barbarians game, too, to give non-regular starters a chance in his​ run-on team​ ahead of the Spring Tour​.

Barbarians matches are usually carnival affairs ​with lots of high-risk attacking play ​but Jones, the 1984 Grand Slam winning mentor, ​isn’t hiding from the fact he will be aiming to beat the Wallabies on October 28​ at Allianz Stadium​.

“We will be playing to win, there is no mistake about that,” Jones said.

“Whether we are capable of winning or can execute that, that’s another thing but the boys know we are playing to win.”

Contrary to t​ime-honoured Barbarians traditions, which involve​s​ beers and bonhomie, Jones ​wrote to players selected ​and told them ​they wouldn’t be boozing all week. The team plays the Classic Wallabies in Lismore on Tuesday 24 October before meeting the Wallabies four days later.

“We have an obligations to the players when we bring them from all over the world to make sure we understand they’re fair dinkum,” Jones said.

Barbarians players Taqele Naiyaravo (left) and Sam Ward.

“I have written to all of them and they know that. There has been a bit of a tradition in the past that the Barbarians is a bit of a holiday … and there’s plenty to drink and so on.

“But I think that would be a disservice to the tradition of the Barbarians and the people coming through the turnstiles.

“We don’t want any Nick Kyrgioses playing for us here. The public expect us to be there, to be fit and to be ready to go for 80 minutes.”

Cheika, who has coached the Barbarians previously, said he was expecting a competitive encounter.

“We will be picking a pretty strong side because we want to make every post a winner in this game as well,” he said.

Alan Jones and Michael Cheika have a mutual respect for each other.

Jones and Cheika, who are good friends, hammed up the rivalry.

Jones said it was “unAustralian” that Cheika had taken back Barbarians-selected players such as Billy Meakes.

“One of the great weakness of the match from Michael’s point of view is that there will be several players playing for him who want to play for us,” Jones said. “That’s likely to affect their performance don’t you think?

Cheika replied: “Posssession is nine tenths of the law isn’t it? If they are playing on our contracts we will keep as many as awe can.”

Asked if he planned to engage in mind games with Jones, like he does with All Blacks Steve Hansen, Cheika said: “I will see if I have any mind games left after next week (playing New Zealand) and if we have, I am sure I will get smashed by Alan anyway. He has a national platform to mindgame from, on a daily basis. I will never win that battle.”

Originally published as Alan Jones’ Barbarians all business as they prepare to take down the Wallabies in Sydney