Current Loughborough Students’ Rugby Union players, Alex Davis and James Freeman, have been selected to play for the legendary Barbarians team.

The pair will play for the Barbarians, and wear the club’s iconic back and white jersey, in the annual Remembrance Day rugby match against a Combined Services XV in Plymouth on 12th November.

The players will also be joined by the Students’ backs coach Scott Bemand, who will be part of the Barbarians coaching team for the match.

Back row forward James Freeman is the current Loughborough Students’ captain, who leads from the front as an ever present in the team this season.

Speaking of this selection for the Barbarians, James said:

“It’s such a huge honour to be selected, especially while being part of this environment at Loughborough that looks to achieve excellence.

“It’s a great shirt to put on, and there are not many in their playing careers who can say they have done so.  So I am ecstatic about the call up.”

Alex Davis is a winger and full back who has scored four tries in his six appearances for the Students this season.

Alex believes he has developed as a player since coming to Loughborough, stating:

“The selection has come about due to the improvement that I’ve been able to make while being a part of the Loughborough rugby programme.

“The professional environment and the standard of coaching here that push you to strive for excellence shows how this type of reward can come from putting that effort in.”

The Barbarians call up for the Loughborough trio is the latest accolade for the club, which is currently sitting in a respectable fifth place in only their second season in National League One, the third tier of English rugby.

Dave Morris, Director of Rugby at Loughborough Students’ Rugby Union, said:

“Every single year we look to raise the bar and continue this upward trend.  That’s an absolute credit to the players, coaches, staff and volunteers involved in the rugby programme that we keep going forward.

“So I’m very proud of Alex and James for receiving this honour. But I’m also proud for the club, and those who have made a contribution to help the players claim a Barbarians shirt.

“As for Scott, he is a young talented coach, with a huge work ethic and really deserves this opportunity. Since coming to Loughborough he has found this is the perfect place to learn and develop his coaching skills.”

The match will be played at Brickfields, the home of Plymouth Albion, on 12th November. Kick off 7:30pm.

Ticket details can be found on the Barbarians website: http://www.barbarianfc.co.uk/

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