Nick Lloyd and Cobus Visagie will put sentiment aside for 80 minutes this afternoon when the props face off against one another as England take on the Barbarians at Twickenham (3pm).

Lloyd, the loosehead, is set to earn his first international honours in an experimental England side for the Gartmore Challenge clash and will battle it out for scrum supremacy with Sarries' celebrated tighthead Visagie, who is one of three Sarries players named in the Barbarians starting line-up.

Kris Chesney, who scored the Baa Baas' opening try in their 84-10 victory over a Belgium XV last weekend, partners Bath-bound Aussie lock Justin Harrison in the second row while Glen Jackson will start at fly-half if former Wallabie Steve Larkham fails to shake off a knee injury.

But it is the contest between Lloyd and South African powerhouse Visagie which has caught the eye. The parallels could not be more different as Visagie, capped 29 times by the Springboks, is taking his first steps into coaching at Saracens while Lloyd, three years younger at 31, has waited years for international recognition.

The former Rotherham Titan has been on the verge of Scotland honours but, after enjoying his best season for the Men in Black England, he caught the eye of England scrummaging coach Graham Rowntree and the rest, as they say, is history. He was named in England's Churchill Cup squad earlier this month and has just signed a new two year deal with Sarries.

Lloyd is one of six uncapped players in the England team for today's match and one person delighted for him is Saracens director of rugby Eddie Jones.

"It's a great story," said the Aussie. "Nick epitomises what we are trying to do at Saracens. He has worked really hard and has gone from being a bench player to playing for England. I said that if you play well you will get picked and that is exactly what has happened to Nick. There is no reason why Nick can't play his best rugby in the next few seasons."

However, Jones has told Lloyd not to rest on his morals with shirt rival Matias Aguero aiming for a starting place next season.

"Nick has to keep it going now as he has got Matias Aguero on his tail, who is also a very good prop," added Jones. "Aguero wasn't really productive last season but I've spoken to him and he is out to show what he can do."

Lloyd and Visagie are not the only Sarries stars pitting their wits against one another - Fijian duo Moses Rauluni and Kameli Ratuvou will take on Cencus Johnston's Samoa in the opening game of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup on June 7.