Barbarians 16

South Africa 13

Ask most rugby players and they will probably admit that they are not of this earth.

I'm not being derogatory but there's just something inherently different about them. After all who but a rugby player given the chance of a holiday to a sun-kissed Isle such as this would want to spend it getting kicked, punched and generally torn limb from limb for the sake of a crystal trophy.

Surely you would have to be mad or else utterly committed - and you could probably use both interpretations of the latter.

Those who took in yesterday's World Rugby Classic Final at the National Sports Centre will have been left in no doubt as to what the match meant to the Barbarians and the Springboks.

To paraphrase a saying from legendary Liverpool soccer boss Bill Shankly: "it isn't a matter of life and death - it's more important than that."

Sinews stretched, blood was spilt and after 70 gruelling, gripping minutes the Barbarians had clung on to retain trophy they won against the same opposition last year.

"You could see how badly we wanted to win it," said breathless skipper Colin Deans afterwards. "We were walking wounded out there."

Despite their champion status the side from the home nations had to be underdogs going into the match.

Such was the physical beating that they took against New Zealand in the semi-final that at least four of their number were unable to take part in the final.

South Africa, by contrast, came through the opening rounds relatively unscathed and were able to field the same squad in all three matches.

They looked mean and hungry and if pitchside betting had been allowed I would have comfortably wagered a few of my hard-earned on the men in green.

Derek McAleese set about proving that assertion wrong though as early as the ninth minute, slotting a penalty to give the Barbarians a 3-0 advantage.

Competitive spirit boiled over into out and out aggression a minute later when the strapping Joe Beukes planted a pearler on the nose of the diminutive but nonetheless feisty Welshman Jeremy Pugh.

The South African had obviously seen something he did not like in a ruck, raced in and landed one on the Barbarian. A bemused Pugh said: "He just ran in and punched me," but his look of innocence was lost on the referee who sin-binned both players in what would prove to be a busy afternoon for the officials.

Play ebbed this way and that between the understrength sides before McAleese was called in to send over another penalty in the 20th minute.

Just as it looked as if the Barbarians might be about to get a stranglehold on the match South Africa reasserted themselves.

Johann Kapp fended off a couple of challenges down the right before going over for the score.

Eric Herbert missed the conversion and it looked costly when the sure-footed McAleese was given another penalty opportunity in first-half injury time.

However, on this occasion his judgement was marginally off, the ball striking the upright before coming down into South African hands.

Returning to the fray after a half-time teamtalk the Springboks were rocked back on their heels when that man McAleese used his boots for sprinting rather than kicking and cut through first the midfield, then the defence like knife through butter before diving over.

Having done that he got up, dusted himself down and kicked the conversion to make the score 13-5 with 40 minutes gone.

The referee was called into action twice within the space of a few minutes shortly after. First sinbinning Johan Le Roux for a bit of fisticuffs and then telling compatriot Mark Wood to join him after another altercation.

As is so often the case the numerical disadvantage had the reverse effect and, stung, the South Africans raised their game, reducing the arrears with a Herbert penalty.

But just as it looked as there might be a way back into the game for the Springboks they gave away a needless penalty for obstruction and McAleese exacted the punishment to make the score 16-8.

The Barbarians' weeklong exertions were taking their toll though and they began to visibly tire as the clock ran down.

Sensing this, their opponents stepped up a gear and won another penalty. It was adventurous to say the least, but with the wind behind him Herbert tried his luck from distance. The effort missed and the Barbarians' bench roared.

Refusing to throw in the towel, the South Africans mounted another attack and this one bore fruit. Winning a lineout, they fed the ball from right to left and when it reached the hands of Andre Pawson he ran it in for the score.

Down by three points, the Springboks needed the conversion to give them a realistic chance of salvaging the match at the death. It missed, the whistle blew seconds later and the Barbarians' exhaled a collective sigh of relief.

Battered and bruised they had kept the title and they headed off victorious to nurse their wounds, bypassing the medics' tent, in favour of an altogether more satisfying medicine.

"I thought the South Africans played good rugby, probably better than us in the first half," said Deans. "We struggled to pass but the boys showed their character in the second-half."

South African coach Charles Kleinboi congratulated the victors but felt the better side had lost.

"We thought we were going to win it, we came all out for it," he said. "We were a better team than them. Our guys played more open ball but we didn't convert our chances into points."