RUGBY union has taken a few ideas from league in recent years – sin bin, tactical substitutions and video refs – so I reckon it’s about time the 13-man code took one in return.

There is definitely a strong case for cadging the concept of the Barbarians from union.

The Barbarians have been a household name in sport for decades, surviving the many changes that have occurred in the 15-man code since going openly professional in1995.

As a sporting team the Barbarians have a rare appeal – maybe it’s the traditional black and white hooped jersey that invokes memories of all who have worn it, or simply that 1973 Gareth Edwards try.

Of course the end of match of every All Blacks and Wallabies tour to these isles was always against the Barbarians - and some of those were quite stirring affairs.

The Barbarians’ 125th anniversary match against Argentina at the weekend probably won’t join that list of classics, after producing a ridiculous 49-31 scoreline, but just when you thought that union fans were spent up on representative rugby 38,101 filed in to watch.

So what would be the attraction of the Barbarians for league? Well it is nothing to doing with trying to buy into some of their union tradition.

After all, league has plenty of its own that need restoring without the need to borrow traditions from others - Ashes, Great Britain, any number of obsolete knock out cups.

The very real purpose for this type of combined team would be to provide eye-catching but credible opposition to the England team away from Test matches and Four Nations.

Of course, if the concept caught on, they could also play warm-up games against the visiting Kiwis or Kangaroos, but the priority is to give England a fixture on top of the clash with France.

A few years ago rugby league launched The Exiles with a view to providing that opposition. At least that name was slightly more appealing than the Other Nationalities tag that preceded it.

It was probably not in the script that this team of expat Australians, Kiwis, Samoans and Tongans would win - but that is what happened in the 2011 opener.

The fixture was probably over-egged with two games in year two and in 2013, although England triumphed, the enthusiasm was on the wane.

The biggest fault in this concept was that it should have not limited itself to overseas players.

That is the beauty of a Barbarians type team is that all nationalities could play, not just the British-based Antipodeans.

This would mean a host of Frenchmen, playing in Super League, or the handful of Welshmen would all be eligible.

And to really add some crackle – what about the players who are overlooked for an England call?

Surely players like Mark Percival, Kyle Amor, Kevin Brown, Danny Brough, Rob Burrow and Danny McGuire would love to have a bash at the players in front of them.