Ben Fenner braves the cold along with Anton van Zyl and Will Genia © Getty Images

Friday started with a team meeting at 9.15 with Nick Mallet going over video analysis and all the main threats posed by the Springboks. We then went over to the training ground for our last training session. All of the drills they'd run through in team meetings and in the sports hall over the week were put into practice in the snow. A lot of the guys have never trained in snow before so it was quite a novelty for them. They all took it in their stride though, with Aussie boys Drew Mitchell and captain Matt Giteau jogging out in just shorts and t-shirts.

After another superb lunch, the afternoon was leisure time for the boys to rest and prepare, and get a bit of cheeky shopping in before matchday. I sat down with some of the lads talking about tomorrow and how they were looking forward to their summer (southern hemisphere) break - especially having been on tour for over six weeks now.

The evening started at 18.30, meeting the prestigious Barbarians committee for informal chats with all the players. Then we moved on to watch a Barbarians video with the committee, followed by a great dinner upstairs. I've never seen such a focused group of athletes as the boys look now. I’m incredibly excited for matchday and all that it brings.

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Twenty-five-year-old teacher Ben Fenner is spending this week as a Barbarian, staying with the star – studded team in their five-star central London hotel in the run up to the MasterCard Trophy game against South Africa at Twickenham on December 4. He’s writing an exclusive diary for ESPNscrum, detailing his week with the team as No.23...

To get all the behind-the-scenes action and news from Ben’s week with the Barbarians go to www.benumber23.com/priceless. MasterCard card holders can also get 20% off tickets to the big game at the site.