Barbarians 19 All Blacks XV 33

Report

All Blacks XV battled back to clinch a hard-fought 33-19 victory over Barbarian FC on Saturday.

The Barbarians cruised into a 19-0 lead at the Gtech Community Stadium with tries through a trio of South Africans – Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Bongi Mbonambi and Evan Roos.

But the All Blacks XV demonstrated their quality against a squad containing 17 debutants and scored 33 unanswered points.

The scoreboard, in the end, did not reflect the competitiveness of the fixture with three of the All Blacks XV tries coming via interceptions and a charge down.

The Barbarians made the perfect start at the home of Premier League outfit Brentford FC, as they attacked out the back to release Max Malins. Deep into the All Blacks XV 22, they kept the ball tight and there was no stopping Lions powerhouse Asenathi Ntlabakanye.

Rob du Preez was unable to add the extras but the try had given the Baa-Baas a 5-0 lead after just two minutes.

The All Blacks threatened with some clever attacking kicks from fly-half Josh Jacomb but the Barbarians who scored next.

Again, it was not a try of flair and finesse typically associated with the famous invitational club but pure South African power. After winning a scrum penalty, Du Preez kicked to the corner and there was no stopping the Baa-Baas giant pack as Evan Roos rampaged over.

Du Preez added the extras to make it 12-0 after 19 minutes, and he was again on target just five minutes later, after two-time World Cup winner, Mbonambi burst off the back of a driving lineout.

All Blacks XV hit back through Caleb Tangitau shortly before half-time and Jacomb converted from the touchline. It momentarily appeared as though the try would be chalked off but after much deliberation referee Nic Berry awarded the try after deciding the wing just about retained downward pressure.

The All Blacks XV returned for the second-half with renewed vigour and after attacking out wide and kicking ahead, they pounced through Caleb Roe when the ball squirted out of the breakdown.

They almost crossed for a quick-fire second when Tangitau won the foot race to another kick through but he was unable to collect with the try-line at his mercy.

He did however make amends when he intercepted a loose pass to level the scores and they took the lead when Kyle Preston sniped over following another intercept. David Havili was next to cross following a charged down clearance.

Tries – Asenathi Ntlabakanye, Evan Roos, Bongi Mbonambi; Cons – Rob du Preez (2)

Barbarians: Max Malins; Werner Kok, Matias Moroni (Dan du Plessis 66), Benhard Janse van Rensburg, Leolin Zas (Rhyno Smith 64); Rob du Preez, Rhodri Williams (Brad Weber 62); Evan Roos, Fitz Harding(Batho Hlekani 71), Hanro Liebenberg (c), Ruben van Heerden (Cobus Wiese 55), Ernest van Ryhn, Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Jack Aungier 57), Bongi Mbonambi (Andre-Hugo Venter 55), Oli Kebble (Alistair Vermaak 45)

Tries – Caleb Tangitau (2), Caleb Roe, Kyle Preston, David Havili; Cons – Josh Jacomb (4)

All Blacks XV: Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens (Rivez Reihana 64), Caleb Tangitau, 13 Daniel Rona (Braydon Ennor 45), 12 David Havili, 11 Etene Nanai-Seturo, 10 Josh Jacomb, 9 Xavier Roe (Kyle Preston 57, 8 Devan Flanders, 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Kaylum Boshier (Sean Withy 48), 5 Caleb Delany (Jamie Hannah 48), 4 Josh Beehre, 3 George Dyer (Siale Lauaki 57), 2 Jack Taylor (Bradley Slater 57) , 1 Xavier Numia (Josh Fusitua 57)