Knowing they face an uphill battle against the Australian Barbarians at Skilled Park, Canada have picked an experienced team for Friday's rugby friendly.

Captain and hooker Pat Riordan will line up for his 40th cap for the Canadians, as will Australian-born fullback James Pritchard, while the squad's most capped player, Ed Fairhurst, will marshall the team from halfback.

And while acknowledging there will be a serious step up in difficulty compared to their previous encounter, a 27-7 win over the US, Canada's coach Kieran Crowley sees the match as the ideal build-up to next month's World Cup.

Crowley says his players are keen to compete against a star-studded lineup that includes the likes of Wallabies Drew Mitchell, Nathan Sharpe and Berrick Barnes.

"They're excited about it," he said.

"It's not a test match, but it's pretty close. It's going to be a really good measure for us.

"Obviously you want to win, but a good result will be if the stuff we trained on shows in the game and if we're able to construct some chances."

Canada team (15-1):

James Pritchard, Ciaran Hearn, DTH van der Merwe, Ryan Smith, Phil Mackenzie, Ander Monro, Ed Fairhurst, Aaron Carpenter, Chauncey O'Toole, Adam Kleeberger, Jamie Cudmore, Jebb Sinclair, Jason Marshall, Pat Riordan (capt), Hubert Buydens. Res: Ryan Hamilton, Scott Franklin, Tyler Hotson, Nanyak Dala, Sean White, Conor Trainor, Nathan Hirayama

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