Roberts revels in Baa-Baas win

Roberts: Repeating the class of 1973

Jamie Roberts hopes his role in the Barbarians' second ever victory over New Zealand will help his Dad come to terms with missing a match billed as the greatest of all time.

Victor Matfield's Barbarians took their place alongside the fabled class of 1973 by inflicting the solitary defeat of New Zealand's autumn tour with a 25-18 triumph at Twickenham.

As a spectacle the match failed to rescale the heights of Cardiff Arms Park 36 years ago but Bryan Habana's hat-trick in the 10th meeting between the sides gave the occasion a sprinkling of stardust.

Roberts revealed the Barbarians were inspired by meeting some of their famed predecessors who prevailed 23-11 against the All Blacks.

And Wales centre hopes yesterday's result will offer some consolation to his father Norman, who was forced to miss the 1973 showdown.

"May Dad told me before I joined up with the Barbarians that he had a ticket for the 1973 game but couldn't go it because of work commitments," he said.

"It's his greatest regret in rugby not going to a match that has been labelled the best ever game. Hopefully I've done him some justice with this win.

"He wished me well before the match and I'm really chuffed to be part of this.

"We watched the 1973 match and had a meeting with a couple of old Barbarians on Friday night - Derek Quinnell was one of those there.

"He was involved in that try by Gareth Edwards so it was a privilege to meet him.

"There were some pretty special tries in that match and we've now added to that collection."

Roberts was the only British player in a starting line-up that included six Springboks and 925 caps.

In an era when clubs are loathe to allow their players to spend any longer on the international front than necessary, Cardiff Blues' decision to enable Roberts, Andy Powell and Leigh Halfpenny to represent the Barbarians is to be applauded.

The 23-year-old Roberts, who was named the Lions' player of the Test series against South Africa in the summer, insists the Blues will ultimately benefit.

"The Blues released the three of us and I'm sure not many clubs in Britain would do that - especially with the Heineken Cup coming up," he said.

"It's been one of the best weeks of my life. It's been amazing.

"Playing with guys who are that skilful is only going to improve my game individually. Hopefully it will improve my range of skills.

"You pick things up from other players and I'll go back to Cardiff a better player with more confidence - you can only achieve so much in training.

"It was a bit surreal and strange playing with the Springboks after what happened with the Lions, but rugby's a game where you can do that."

Habana's dazzling hat-trick stole the show against a second string New Zealand side led by their newly-crowned world player of the year Richie McCaw.

Particularly impressive was the Barbarians' cohesion considering their lack of time together, putting England's turgid displays this autumn into perspective.

Martin Johnson has enjoyed unparalleled access to his players yet disjointed England have toiled on the pitch, while Barbarians coach Nick Mallett produced a winning side in seven days.

"What was really pleasing for me was to see a Barbarians side that came together on Sunday, which had two training sessions if you could call them that, yet didn't look different to a Test team," said Mallett.

"It's interesting to see that this group of players looked like a Test side that had been together for a couple of months when they put their mind to it. It was incredible."