Inspired Barbarians inflict heavy loss on England

England’s preparations for their tour of South Africa suffered a setback as they lost 63-45 to the Barbarians in a non-cap match at Twickenham yesterday, their fourth defeat in a row.The hosts fielded a mixture of regular internationals and young players, but the inexperienced lineup was no match for the power of the Barbarians who ran in nine tries in an entertaining game full of running rugby.Winger Chris Ashton, who has 39 caps for England, grabbed a hat-trick of tries for the Barbarians inside 25 minutes as they crossed the line five times in the first half.Danny Cipriani made his return to the England side for the first time since 2015 when coming on as a 29th-minute substitute, but he could not inspire an England fightback, leaving coach Eddie Jones with much to ponder ahead of the first test in South Africa on June 9.“We weren’t good enough by a long way,” England flyhalf George Ford said after the match. “We’ll have to have a look at it because we can’t be performing like that.”England were beaten 9-6 on the try count despite fielding seven regular starters, all of whom were involved in the Six Nations.One of those regulars, Ford, actually denied Ashton a hat-trick inside ten minutes after catching his former team mate, but England still suffered early on.The Baa-Baas scored three unanswered tries inside 12 minutes, with additional conversations from Scotland’s Finn Russell, before Elliot Daly and Piers Francis scored quick-fire tries for England.Francis scored another before the break, as did Bath youngster Zach Mercer, but the Barbarians stayed well on top.England slowed the Barbarians’ scoring down in the second half, but scored just two more tries through Ben Launchbury and Jonny May, both converted by Ford, as they slumped to another defeat.Hansen defends timing of All Blacks’ campsAll Blacks coach Steve Hansen has hit back at critics of the timing of his training camps as the world champions reassembled for their second within a week in Christchurch yesterday.New Zealand have had at least two ‘foundation days’ around the country and organised two three-day training camps before next month’s three-match series with France, which starts on June 9.All of the camps, however, conflicted with preparations for the players’ Super Rugby teams, with the Waikato Chiefs having several of their All Blacks leave South Africa early to attend last week’s camp in Auckland.Some local rugby pundits have criticised the timing of the camps, while Wellington Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd said at the start of the season they would cause unnecessary disruption.The Hurricanes, who had eight players at the Auckland camp, only trained properly once this week before Friday’s top-of-the table clash with the Canterbury Crusaders.Only four of the Crusaders at the All Blacks’ camp played in their 24-13 victory. Seven of the Hurricanes’ All Blacks played.Hansen and New Zealand Rugby, however, have defended the camps several times this season and they did so again yesterday.“Is it ideal for everybody? No,” Hansen told reporters in Christchurch. “But it is what it is and we have had plenty of time to plan for it, and plenty of time to understand.“Everyone has to make a sacrifice. We have to be flexible and adaptable to the world that we live in.“We can get all Sulky Sally about it or we can get on with it, you know? It is just the way it is.”