Then, the uncapped All Black Eric Rush in his original position as a flanker, scored a try and the former Bassaleg and Wales Schools outside half Stuart Barnes converted, with England centre Jerry Guscott adding a further try. Statisticians noted that Thorburn’s 21 points was a Wales record and that eight Neath players began the match and a ninth – replacement Adrian Davies – came on in a side selected by coach Ron Waldron, also of Neath.
Davies replaced Mark Ring, later his clubmate at Cardiff, and won his first cap, while Fred Howard was the referee for the third successive time in a Wales international match. This was a strong Barbarian side with David Campese at full back and his fellow countryman Nick Farr-Jones leading the team from scrum half.
Barbarians Line-Up: D Campese; JB Lafond, J Stanley, J Guscott, D Charvet; S Barnes, N Farr-Jones (capt); P Rendall, S Smith, R Loe, S Cutler, I Jones, M Teague, D Erbani, E Rush
Barbarians Tries: J Stanley, N Farr-Jones, E Rush, J Guscott
Barbarians Conversions: S Barnes (3)
Barbarians Penalties: Barnes (3)
