Southern Districts first graders Jake Douglas, Conor Young and Matt and Alex Gibbon will play alongside Wallabies legends Radike Samo, Lote Tuqiri and Drew Mitchell this evening as part of the Classic Wallabies side taking on a Barbarians outfit preparing to play the Wallabies this weekend.

The Far North Coast juniors all headed to Southern Districts after finishing school and will return to Lismore and play together for the first time alongside some of rugby’s biggest names in an effort to raise funds for the region’s ongoing flood relief effort.

“It’s all happened pretty quickly, we got a call about a week ago because it was being played locally up in Lismore where we all grew up and they asked a few of us to come up and help the older boys put a team together,” Jake Douglas told Rugby News ahead of this evening’s match.

“It’s been a pretty busy few days. We arrived on Sunday and had a charity luncheon, then headed to Byron for a bit of a bonding session to get to know one another. We had a run around together yesterday and we’ve got another run through today, then play this evening.”

Douglas will pack down alongside former Rebel Radike Samo for the Classic Wallabies against an impressive Barbarians pack featuring Western Force locks Matt Phillip and Richard Arnold.

“Someone asked me if I was going to pack on the tighthead side or the loosehead side and I just said I’ll do whatever Radike wants me to do, he’s a pretty big bloke,” Douglas joked.

“I’ve played against a few of the other locks in the Shute Shield and a few of them have gone on and picked up Super Rugby contracts, so it’ll be good to get out there and see where I’m at with my rugby.”

Barbarians coach Alan Jones has rested some of his bigger names, including Quade Cooper, for the warm up clash, instead selecting a mix of Super Rugby and Shute Shield players to face the Classic Wallabies.

Warringah No.8 Sam Ward will play alongside teammates Tom Connor and Max Girdler, with Andrew Kellaway, Dave Horwitz and Jack Maddocks all named in the Barbarians backline.

Douglas said the match was a great opportunity for the younger players to learn from the more experienced guys on both sides.

“All the older Wallabies have been great, they’re terrific blokes. Morgan Turinui has been pretty vocal so he’ll probably lead us around the park and I think Drew Mitchell will have plenty of chat from the back. It’s pretty special to be able to play with some of the guys that you grew up watching.”

Douglas’ Southern Districts teammate and prop Conor Young played his way into the Rebels starting XV this season and has been rewarded with a trip home to Lismore.

“I haven’t played at home since I was 15 or 16, so it’ll be great to have a run around up here,” he said.

“It’s tough to know what to expect, but hopefully we can put on a good show for the locals. The Barbarians front row is pretty impressive, so Matt (Gibbon) and I might be in for a tough afternoon but it’ll be great to pack down against those guys.”

Young said he was more excited about getting the opportunity to help raise funds for the local Far North Coast community.

“There’s been a few major floods over the last five or six years and obviously earlier this year they had the biggest flood up here in over 100 years and it caused quite a bit of devastation, so it’ll be great to do our part and hopefully raise some money to help the community get back on track.”

The Classic Wallabies take on the Barbarians at Crozier Field in Lismore at 5:30pm today.

Those looking to support the ongoing Lismore flood relief effort are encouraged to contact Lismore City Council.