The Daily Telegraph's Brendan Gallagher previews Willie Mason's rugby union bow for the Barbarians against England.

"It could be that union is about to be hit by another Sonny Bill Williams - we will know soon enough.

Mason, New Zealand born but with Tongan ancestry and a little Samoan for that matter, is guaranteed some game-time off the bench on Sunday, when we will get a taste of what might lie ahead for the man Toulon have signed to galvanise their midfield next season.

"I haven't been this excited about a game for a while," says Mason who, starred for Tonga in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup before switching to Australia and winning 24 Test caps, scoring seven tries in the process.

"I'm way out of my comfort zone. I have thrown myself in at the deep end and I just can't wait to get out there and do it. I've played in plenty of big games before, it's not like I'm someone who doesn't know how to catch a ball, run, or tackle, which are the basics of rugby."

Does a relatively low crowd for the game against the Springboks suggest the end is near for the Barbarians? © Getty Images

Writing in the Irish Independent, Peter Bills believes a disappointing crowd at Twickenham last weekend suggests we should call time on the Barbarians.

"The Barbarians' concept might remain OK for the crusty colonels who still limp along in their wake, their ageing hip bones slowing them to the extent that they have become a mere appendage to a once great club.

"But you know a concept -- an ideal -- is in trouble when the public no longer buys into it. And, in the words of one commentator, the "sparse crowd" at Twickenham last weekend to see the last rites of the South Africans' tour heightened my sense that this whole Barbarians thing is an outdated idea, past its sell-by date.

"You can dredge any memory from the long years of fun this club has had and the pleasures it gave to untold numbers. Those Barbarians tours of Wales over the four days of Easter attracted many of the game's finest players and served to underline the sense of fun that was rugby football."

Peter Bills is disappointed by the Barbarians' waning mojo in the world of professional rugby in The Irish Independent.

"So where now for the Barbarians, Ireland's conquerors in Limerick last weekend but a tribe looking increasingly threatened by the passage of time?

"Once, they played in a style so spectacular that untold numbers took to their game, lured by the sheer joie de vivre, the style and elan of their approach, the bliss of their philosophy founded as it was on pleasure for both participants and those watching.

"But 1973 is an awful long way back in anyone's life, and especially the Barbarians'. Life and sports have changed; values espoused decades back have declined. This month's games against England and Ireland have rather underlined the point. And one of this unique, invitation rugby club's most esteemed sons shook his head in sadness."

Mick Cleary salutes the Barbarians' spirit following their victory over New Zealand in The Daily Telegraph.

“It was, Barbarians centre Jamie Roberts said, one of the best weeks of his life. And the reason? A couple of training sessions, a few beers, a lot of banter, some fun and games topped off with a high-quality match at the week's end. Cue more beers. Even Eskimo Nell might have been carded for an appearance.

"Sound familiar? Yes, it's how rugby used to be, a throwback to another time. A couple of midweek sessions, (work permitting), often conducted under carbon-conscious, low-energy, barely-worthwhile floodlights, with plenty of player input prior to the Saturday kick-off to cover all the things not dealt with during the week. After that, you made it up as you went along, reacting and responding as instinct dictated. No wonder it was more enjoyable.

"It was revealing last week to hear Dylan Hartley, the Northampton hooker, speak of the "fear of failure" he felt when in England camp during the autumn. That comment ought to be music to the ears of Martin Johnson. There's something here he needs to get his teeth into. And that doesn't mean Hartley. There has been an overriding sense this autumn that England players appear stifled, crippled by worry, fretful and fearful of making a mistake."