Springboks coach Nick Mallett’s most famous Barbarians victories

Former Springboks coach Nick Mallett’s most famous Barbarians victories are wins against the Springboks and All Blacks, both at Twickenham, writes Mark Keohane.

Mallett, at the helm of the Springboks from 1997 to 2000, when they equalled the then world record of 17 successive Test wins, was asked to tame the might of the Springboks and All Blacks. He added his trusted mate, former Stormers and Ulster coach Alan Solomons to the mix, and selected so wisely.

Much of the Barbarians invites also depend on who is available, but the key is to understand who the Barbarians are playing.

Mallett, in beating the Springboks, relied mostly on Australian and New Zealand players, who had an understanding of the Springboks and had experience of beating them.

When he was tasked with playing the All Blacks, he leaned heavily on the champion Springboks, who had beaten the All Blacks.

The Barbarians traditionally have four days to prepare for a ‘Test’ against one of the best teams but those four days only include one on-field session.

This is an exercise in trusting natural talent and pedigree against settled Test combinations. Mallett recognised that it was a lot easier to put together combinations, used to each other, to display their natural talents in the context of a ‘no pressure’ Test match.

In the Barbarians famous 25-18 win against the All Blacks, he relied on the likes of Bok legends and Test centurions Victor Mayfield and Bryan Habana to inspire only the second Barbarians win against the All Blacks in 11 encounters.

Matfield controlled the lineouts and flying winger Habana did the rest with three tries.

It remains among Mallett’s most cherished memories, and this is a coach that won the Tri Nations with the Boks, won a bronze World Cup medal with the Boks in 1999, having won with the Boks at Twickenham, in Paris, in Australia and in New Zealand. He also led Italy to a famous win against France.

 

 

To celebrate their partnership with @MacronSports, the Keo & Zels show will be giving away a @Barbarian_FC jersey! pic.twitter.com/gcXS7gGNHF

— SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) June 17, 2025

 

Barbarians coach Nick Mallett relished the victory over the nation he led between 1997 and 2000.

“It’s a strange feeling when you hear the national anthem of the team you’ve coached but I take my hat off to these guys,” said Mallett, who is now the national coach of Italy.

“The first 30 minutes was some of the best rugby I’ve seen in the November Tests. We cut South Africa to pieces in the first half-hour and left a couple more tries out there. We got some great ball in the first half but then South Africa put us under pressure in the second.”

MOM: Former Stormers and Stade Francais lock Anton van Zyl.

Barbarians 26 Springboks 20

Barbarians: O’Connor, Rokocoko, Ashley-Cooper, Nonu, Mitchell, Giteau, Genia, Perugini, Moore, Tialata, van Zyl, Jack, So’oialo, Williams, Bourke.

Replacements: Rabeni for Rokocoko (65), Donald for Nonu (64), Ellis for Genia (49), Mealamu for Moore (41), Yapp for Tialata (64), Geldenhuys for So’oialo (49), Braid for Bourke (22).

South Africa: Lambie, Ndungane, Jacobs, A. Strauss, Mvovo, Jantjies, Hougaard, Oosthuizen, A. Strauss, van der Linde, Botha, Hargreaves, Alberts, Smith, Kankowski.

Replacements: McLeod for A. Strauss (64), Aplon for Jantjies (68), Mtawarira for Oosthuizen (46), Maku for A. Strauss (60), van der Merwe for Hargreaves (41), Daniel for Kankowski (55).

Barbarians beat the All Blacks at Twickenham

Bryan Habana and Schalk Burger on the famous win

Watch: Habana scores three tries as Mallett’s Barbarians beat the All Blacks

Barbarians wing Bryan Habana: “It is right up there with my best moments. It was a fantastic side with an unbelievably talented group of players.

“To beat an All Blacks side who haven’t lost on this tour is pretty special. We understand the Barbarians ethos and rugby is all about friendship. It has been an amazing week.”

Barbarians centre Jamie Roberts: “It is unbelievable. To come together last Sunday, have a couple of training sessions and then produce a performance like that…it is one of the best weeks of my life. I am hugely grateful to the Blues for releasing me.”

Barbarians coach Nick Mallett: “Bryan Habana is exceptional, a fantastic player to coach because you don’t have to coach him. He understands defensive systems so well, it is no coincidence he scores so many intercept tries, and he has such great pace.

“Jamie Roberts was absolutely fantastic like he was for the Lions in South Africa, so was Matt Giteau. All the guys did a great job.

“Everyone remembers the 1973 match and the great try [by Gareth Edwards]. Hopefully this will also go down in history as a great performance.”

New Zealand assistant coach Wayne Smith: “It is disappointing, although the Barbarians are a great team and it was a joy to play in that match.

Barbarians: Drew Mitchell (Australia); Joe Rokocoko (New Zealand), Jaque Fourie (South Africa), Jamie Roberts (Wales), Bryan Habana (South Africa); Matt Giteau (Australia), Fourie du Preez (South Africa); Salvatore Perugini (Italy), Bismarck du Plessis (South Africa), W P Nel (uncapped), Carlo del Fava (Italy), Victor Matfield (South Africa, captain), Rocky Elsom (Australia), Schalk Burger (South Africa), George Smith (Australia).
Replacements: Stephen Moore (Australia), Tendai Mtawarira (South Africa), Quintin Geldenhuys (Italy), Andy Powell (Wales), Will Genia (Australia), Morne Steyn (South Africa), Leigh Halfpenny (Wales).

New Zealand: Cory Jane, Ben Smith, Tamati Ellison, Luke McAlister, Zac Guildford, Stephen Donald, Brendon Leonard; Wyatt Crockett, Corey Flynn, John Afoa, Jason Eaton, Anthony Boric, Liam Messam, Richie McCaw, Rodney So’oialo.

Replacements: Andrew Hore, Neemia Tialata, Adam Thomson, Tanerau Latimer, Jimmy Cowan, Mike Delany, Sitiveni Sivivatu.

Attendance: 63,554

*The Springboks play the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday, 28th June in a historic first ever showdown in South Africa.