Former French player Jean Pierre Rives yesterday revealed the intention of The French Barbarians to make their first visit to Ireland on October 15th to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Lansdowne RFC.

In his capacity as the French Barbarians vice-president, Rives gave little away as to the personnel that will be travelling. "A list of 40 names has been drawn up and I can say that the captain will be Denis Charvet," said Rives. "Most of the players will be either French internationals or former internationals. Since the professional system, it has been more difficult to bring players together, but, the Barbarians team will be very strong," said Rives.

This announcement is something of a coup for Lansdowne as the French Barbarians tend to be very sparing in their appearances. They humbled the mighty Springboks on their only outing last year and are due to reacquaint themselves with South Africa on November 2nd.

The game with Lansdowne will go ahead under floodlights (6 p.m.) and it will give patrons a chance to experience the benefits of the major redevelopment and refurbishment work which is due to be finished well before the night of the game.