For only the second time, the Barbarians beat the All Blacks. The last match in which that happened, in Cardiff in 1973, is part of rugby folklore. This result will not live nearly so long in the memory. For New Zealand, the match was an afterthought, a postscript to an autumn tour in which they won five Tests and conceded one try.
The game had a lot of the ingredients required for a classic. The lead was swapped three times; Bryan Habana scored a hat-trick; and the result was not settled until the final minute, when Schalk Burger cut short New Zealand's final attack with a thunderous tackle and turnover. But for much of the match it was impossible to tell which team was the scratch side even though, as the Barbarians coach, Nick Mallet, said afterwards, his team had only two training sessions. "If you could even call them training sessions. They were more walkabouts."
The Barbarians' starting XV, surely one of the finest ever assembled, had 810 caps between them. The All Blacks, as Graham Henry said, treated the fixture as "a chance to give guys who haven't featured much on this tour an opportunity to play at the highest level".
"That," Henry said, "was the major objective." In that light, he felt the match had been "a worthwhile exercise". Valuable as it may have been in helping Henry prepare his squad for the 2011 World Cup, "a worthwhile exercise" was not what 63,551 fans had paid to watch. At least Richie McCaw was aware of that – the captain and world player of the year insisted on starting, even though the management suggested he should sit this one out.New Zealand were not helped by the number of players who came down injured. They lost Zac Guildford and Tamati Ellison to hamstring injuries and Brendon Leonard to a broken nose. Guildford, a winger, could only be replaced by the flanker Adam Thomson and Leonard, a scrum-half who had a brilliant game, reappeared on the wing in the final minutes.
Still, the Barbarians were delighted with their win and the second half was entertaining enough to ensure that the crowd did not have to resort to Mexican waves to pass the time, which they had done for much of the first 40 minutes.
Habana said he "could not take credit for the tries" as they were all simple finishes. One came from a turnover, another from an interception and the third was made off the back of a lineout after a deft offload from Matt Giteau.
"It's a real privilege and honour," said Habana. "The Barbarians take us back to what rugby is really about: the friendship, the camaraderie and being able to enjoy playing in a game that is a fantastic spectacle."
Barbarians Mitchell (Australia; Steyn, South Africa, 57); Rokocoko (New Zealand), Fourie (South Africa), Roberts (Wales), Habana (South Africa; Halfpenny, Wales, 70); Giteau (Australia), Du Preez (South Africa; Genia, Australia, 62); Perugini (Italy; Mtawarira, South Africa, ht), Du Plessis (South Africa; Moore, Australia, ht), Nel (South Africa), Del Fava (Italy; Geldenhuys, Italy, 52), Matfield (capt; South Africa), Burger (South Africa), Smith (Australia), Elsom (Australia; Powell, Wales, 57).
Tries Habana 3 Cons Giteau 2 Pens Giteau, Steyn.
New Zealand Jane (Wellington); Smith (Otago), Ellison (Wellington; Sivivatu, Waikato, ht), McAlister (Auckland), Guildford (Hawke's Bay; Thomson, Otago, 63); Donald (Canterbury; Delany, Bay of Plenty, ht), Leonard (Waikato; Cowan, Canterbury, 70); Crockett (Canterbury; Tialata, Wellington, 67), Flynn (Canterbury), Afoa (Auckland), Eaton (Wellington), Boric (Auckland), Messam (Waikato), McCaw (Canterbury; Latimer; Bay of Plenty, 40), So'oialo (Wellington).
Tries Smith, Boric Cons Donald Pens Donald, Delany.
Referee C Berdos (France). Attendance 63,551.
