The carnage in injury terms that bedevilled Ireland understandably overshadowed this Anglo-Irish Bank international. It was a terrible pity because the abiding memory should have been of a marvellous encounter.
Brian O'Driscoll (torn hamstring), Girvan Dempsey (damaged jaw) and Jeremy Davidson (arm and shoulder) were taken to the dressingroom on stretchers while Shane Horgan (damaged medial ligaments in his knee) and Geordan Murphy (ankle ligaments) hobbled off. This combined with the late withdrawals prior to the match of Denis Hickie (back) and Rob Henderson (groin) offered coach Warren Gatland a king size headache 24 hours before the Irish squad leave for a three Test summer tour.
For the second time in 24 hours an Ireland team had to give second best by the narrowest of margins. Just as Munster had been pipped in the European Cup Final, so too Ireland and on the balance of play that seemed a little harsh.
The home side had two great opportunities to win the match, the first when Brian O'Meara was bundled into touch by Matt Perry at the corner flag following good work by Jeremy Staunton and the second when Ireland were awarded a penalty in injury time. Unfortunately captain, David Humphreys saw his effort shave the wrong side of the near upright.
It was a very impressive Irish performance particularly in light of the plethora of enforced changes culminating in Eric Miller playing the last 15 minutes at fullback: an undertaking he accomplished with considerable elan. In a fine team effort there were several outstanding performances but none eclipsed the tour de force offered by Bath centre Kevin Maggs.
He enjoyed a superb match, hunting down the opposition - on a couple of occasions Jonah Lomu - in the tackle and running sublime angles on the cut back.
The Easterbys, Simon and Guy, also excelled, the former's work rate, support play and tackle count prodigious while Guy capped a fine performance with a try from a quick tap penalty.
Behind the scrum, O'Driscoll initially and Staunton when he came on as a replacement, demonstrated an unerring facility to beat the first up tackler. Several Barbarians enjoyed storming games, notably number eight Dan Lyle, scrumhalf Agustin Pichot and fullback/wing Stefan Terblanche.
Those who come to enjoy Jonah Lomu couldn't have been disappointed. Despite being well shackled for the most part, he still managed to bounce a few victims.
It appeared a little ominous for Ireland initially, when South Africa's James Dalton scored from a ruck on the line. Ireland though responded in kind, sweeping down the pitch with impressive continuity and recycling. Humphreys looped around O'Driscoll, Dempsey and Horgan set up rucks before the Barbarians strayed off side. Guy Easterby, took a quick tap and ducked under a tackle for a try. Humphreys converted.
Eight minutes and 40 seconds had elapsed before Lomu received his first pass, Horgan tackling impressively and hanging on with the grip of a drowning man. Logan grabbed a try for the visitors, Justin Bishop responded for Ireland, after a Humphreys halfbreak and the outhalf then added a penalty to put Ireland 15-10 ahead.
Guy Easterby and Murphy combined to put Horgan over for a try on 32 minutes and Ireland took a 10 point advantage to the interval. The second half was 40 seconds old when Pichot grabbed a fine individual try, Logan converting. Maggs scored under the posts, Terblanche replied three minutes later both tries converted by Humphreys and Le Roux respectively.
Humphreys clipped over a penalty before Terblanche's second try and a Neil Jenkins conversion edged the Barbarians 31-30 ahead. Cue a resounding finale in which Ireland twice came within a whisker of scoring.
Scoring sequence. 2 mins: Dalton try, 0-5; 5 mins: G Easterby try, Humphreys conversion, 7-5; 11 mins: Logan try, 7-10; 15 mins: Bishop try, 1210; 24 mins: Humphreys penalty, 15-10; 32 mins: Horgan try, 20-10. 41 mins: Pichot try, Logan conversion, 20-17; 62 mins: Maggs try, Humphreys conversion, 27-17; 65 mins: Terblanche try, Le Roux conversion, 27-24; 67 mins: Humphreys penalty, 30-24; 71 mins: Terblanche try, Jenkins conversi on, 30-31.
Ireland: G Dempsey (Terenure College); S Horgan (Lansdowne), B O'Driscoll (Blackrock College), K Maggs (Bath), J Bishop (London Irish); D Humphreys (Dungannon, capt), G Easterby (Ebbw Vale); J Fitzpatrick (Dungannon), S Byrne (Blackrock College), P Wal- lace (Saracens); M O'Kelly (St Mary's College), J Davidson (Castres); S Easterby (Llanelli), E Miller (Terenure College), A Ward (Ballynahinch). Replacements: G Murphy (Leicester) for Dempsey 22 mins; J Staunton (Garryowen) for O'Driscoll 28 mins; B O'Meara (Cork Constitution) for Murphy half-time; R Casey (Blackrock College) for Davidson half-time; M Horan (Shannon) for Fitzpatrick 58 mins; F Sheahan (Cork Constitution) for Byrne 58 mins; T Brennan (St Mary's College) for Horgan 64 mins.
Barbarians: S Terblanche (South Africa); K Logan (Scotland), P Muller (South Africa), W Little (New Zealand), J Lomu (New Zealand); H le Roux (South Africa), A Pichot (Argentina); K Yates (England), J Dalton (South Africa), C Dowd (New Zealand); I Jones (New Zealand, capt), G Morgan (Australia); C Charvis (Wales), D Lyle (USA), K Jones (Wales). Replacements: M Perry (England) for Logan 58 mins; R Kruger (South Africa) for Jones 58 mins; J Leonard (England) for Yates 58 mins; R Cockerill (England) for Dalton 61 mins; N Jenkins (Wales) for Muller 67 mins.
Referee: R Dickson (Scotland).
