Cardiff Blues flanker Martyn Williams will be facing a number of familiar faces on June 4 © Getty Images

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Cardiff Blues flanker Martyn Williams has confirmed that he will be a part of the Barbarians side which tackles Wales at the Millennium Stadium on June 4.

The 35-year-old openside, who has been capped 98 times by his country, expects that lining out against his homeland will be an unusual yet exciting experience.

"It sounds strange to be playing against Wales for once but I'm really looking forward to it," Williams said. "It's a huge honour to be asked to play for the Barbarians, any player will tell you that, and it's something special to be playing for them against your home country."

The inclusion of Williams in the Baa-Baas side rather than the Wales squad could be construed as evidence that he is not a part of Wales head coach Warren Gatland's plans for this year's Rugby World Cup. However, according to the New Zealander, that is simply not the case.

"Playing for the Barbarians does not exclude Martyn from the opportunity of still being selected for our world cup squad," Gatland said. "With Martyn in the opposition line-up, it's a great chance for us to see how our young back-row will cope in an international match against such an experienced and world class player."

Indeed, Williams is hoping to prove his worth to Gatland by turning in a typically dynamic display against his principal rivals for place in the Welsh World Cup squad.

"Hopefully, if I can put in a good performance, I can get back into Warren's plans for the World Cup," he said. "Having spoken to Warren, I know it's a case of the more Welsh players on the field the better. The coaches know what I can and can't do, but it will be a fantastic occasion and I can't wait to run out at the Millennium Stadium against boys I've played with there so many times.

"I would love to go New Zealand, the Rugby World Cup is the pinnacle of anyone's international career, along with the British Lions. If I was asked to go, I would grab the opportunity with both hands but there is a lot of rugby to be played before then with the end of the Magners League and the summer internationals. And the one place we have a lot of strength in depth is in the back-row. I will just keep going for the Blues and see what happens."

The Barbarians have also confirmed a post-World Cup game against Australia at Twickenham in November. The fixture, on November 26, will take place five weeks after the World Cup final in Auckland.