Two late tries from Hosea Gear guided the Barbarians to a 39-29 win over an England XV at Twickenham.
The inexperienced English outfit acquitted themselves well and put in a spirited showing, but were ultimately undone by the class of the invitational team.
The English had led 18-14 at the break thanks to tries from Dave Ewers and Charlie Sharples, while the Barbarians had responded with scores from Benson Stanley and Juan Martin Hernandez.
Mamuka Gorgodze barged over early in the second to give the Barbarians the lead, before the English staged a fightback.
With just over 15 minutes to play they remained in the contest, trailing 27-26. It was not to be though as Hosea Gear stole the show with two superb tries to give the famed Barbarians club a much-needed win against premier opposition.
England XV – Tries: Dave Ewers, Charlie Sharples, Henry Slade. Conversion: Henry Slade. Penalties: Slade, Elliot Daly.
Barbarians – Tries: Benson Stanley, Juan Martin Hernandez, Mamuka Gorgodze, Hosea Gear (2). Conversions: Brock James (3), Francois Trinh-Duc. Penalties: James, Trinh-Duc.
England XV – 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Charlie Sharples, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Dave Ewers, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Fraser Balmain, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 James Gaskell, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ollie Devoto, 23 Rob Miller.
Barbarians – 15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Brock James, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Mamuka Gorgodze, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamon (c), 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Davit Kubriashvili, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Nahuel Lobo, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Roger Wilson, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Francois Trinh-Duc, 23 Anthony Tuitavake.
Photo: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
