The three players will be part of a star-studded Barbarians outfit which will include international players from nine different countries for the game at Infinity Park, Glendale.
Fly-half or full-back Snowsill, flying wing Joyce and forward Butchers have been selected in the first batch of 19 names announced for the Barbarians side.
Alisha Butchers, who won her 25th Wales cap in the 24-5 win over Ireland ten days ago said, “I’m so excited to get the opportunity to play for the Barbarians. My family are over the moon and to be able to play alongside Jazz and Elinor too is amazing, we’re all super excited.
“I’ve grown up watching the men’s Barbarians’ matches and never even thought I would get this chance, it just shows the direction the sport is going in.
“I watched the Women’s Barbarians against Munster last year online and have spoken to Tails (Rachel Taylor) and Elen Evans, along with Meg Goddard at Worcester and they’ve said what a brilliant experience it is.
“The whole Wales Women team produced an outstanding performance to end the Six Nations on a high against Ireland – from that performance I think any one of the team could have been asked but luckily enough I got the call and it’s definitely something I couldn’t say no to. I’m very grateful to my employers Cardiff Blues Community Foundation for enabling me to go and be part of this.”
Alisha is a Girls’ Engagement Hub Officer based at Y Pant and Bryn Celynnog Schools near Pontypridd. She has noticed an increased interest in the women and girls’ rugby since the Six Nations.
“Since the Ireland game, girls and boys have been coming up to me to talk about the Women’s Six Nations and we’ve got more girls coming to training and keen to join the Bridgers, our local female hub outside school.
Elinor Snowsill said, “These are the kind of experiences you treasure as players, along with playing for your country. The only other times I’ve trained and played with players from other countries is when I play invitational sevens so I can’t wait to learn from the other players, as well as make new friendships.
“It’s also great to play USA who are a brilliant all-round team. They reached the semi-finals of the last world cup, they’re athletic and skilful and have benefitted from being on the sevens circuit. It will be a different experience altogether which I’m looking forward to.”
Jasmine Joyce added, “To be part of the Barbarians’ tradition is something special. I’ve experienced the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Rugby World Cup and Six Nations and now I get to be a Barbarian too which is another huge achievement.
“Four of the squad were part of New Zealand’s world cup winning squad so it’s going to be an amazing experience. Hopefully our performances as Welsh players will kick on from the Six Nations where we improved during the tournament.”
Barbarian FC Chairman John Spencer said, “The Barbarians launched their women’s team in 2017 to bring together talented players to play with the spirit of enjoyment and entertainment for which the club is famous,” said “Taking on international opponents for the first time will be a landmark moment for the team and facing a side ranked No.5 in the world in the USA Women’s Eagles will be a marvellous challenge.
“It is wonderful to see the Barbarians return to the USA for the first time since 1976, when we played club sides on both the East and West coasts.
“That summer tour saw some of rugby’s greatest names — Phil Bennett and JJ Williams among them — involved and next month’s team will include women’s players of a similar standing from around the globe.”
The Barbarians will face a USA side who are ranked fifth in the world and the match will be broadcast live on FloRugby.com.
Snowsill, Joyce and Butchers all played key roles for Wales in their 2019 Six Nations campaign where they finished fourth with two wins and a draw, a significant improvement on recent campaigns.
Joyce scored a stunning individual try against Ireland in the final round for what was her first Six Nations score.
Snowsill was also a reliable figure whether she played at 10 or 15 while Butchers was an all-action figure in the back-row after returning from injury, winning Player of the Match against Ireland.
