The formidable backrower comes from the Quinnell dynasty who have dominated the headlines in west Wales for more than 30 years. Quinnell spent a short spell at Stradey Park before moving to Worcester. He now plays his rugby in Italy with Viadana.
Due to a re-scheduled Guinness Premiership fixture, Sale sharks coach Kingsley Jones is now unavailable, so former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan steps up to the plate.
Chief Executive Stuart Gallacher said: “This is a very special occasion for us as we celebrate the official opening of what is beyond doubt one of the finest bespoke rugby stadia in Europe. The new facility at Parc y Scarlets is a source of great pride to the rugby team, those who work here and all our partners and sponsors.
“This is a huge fixture for us and one we are very excited about as we welcome some great rugby names to Llanelli. We have a great line-up of players from New Zealand, Spain, Ireland, Samoa, Argentina, Scotland, England, Italy, Australia and Tonga all represented in this Barbarians squad. Put those names together and it’s a very exciting mix and it will be great game to watch.
“This is something that the whole of Welsh rugby should celebrate in and we want as many people as possible to be part of this historic and memorable event – just as we did at the closure of Stradey Park. We had fantastic support and a wonderful send-off event at Stradey and hope that we can welcome in the new era at Parc y Scarlets in a similar spirit.
To celebrate the official opening, the region has announced a radical new pricing policy for the game to mark the one-off showcase event. All adult seats for the Barbarians game will be priced at a fixed £15 – with the best seats selling on first come first served basis, with £10 for enclosure (standing), £5 for a junior ticket with under 8’s in the family stand going free.
Barbarians squad: Anton Oliver (Oxford and New Zealand), Dan Vickerman (Cambridge and Australia), Brian Carney, (Munster and Ireland), Ben Blair, (Cardiff Blues and New Zealand), Oriol Ripol (Sale Sharks and Spain), Tomas De Vedia (London Irish and Argentina), Gordon Ross (Saracens and Scotland), Michael Claassens (Bath and South Africa), Federico Pucciariello (Munster and Italy), Paul Tito (Cardiff Blues), Mosese Rauluni (Saracens & Fiji), Aaron Persico (Calvisano and Italy), Marty Holah (Ospreys and New Zealand), Maama Molitika (Cardiff Blues and Tonga), Mark Regan (Bristol and England) Gavin Quinnell (Viadana).
