WARRIORS wing Rico Gear played 50 minutes as Australia celebrated the centenary of their 1908 Olympic gold medal with an 18-11 victory over the Barbarians at Wembley Stadium.
The Barbarians may have been at Wembley to represent Britain, but the starting XV had a strong South African flavour with seven players from the World Cup-winning side, including captain John Smit and winger Bryan Habana plus All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw. Kiwi flanker Jerry Collins profited from a dazzling Shane Williams run to score the Barbarians’ second-half try that drew the scores back to 13-11 and set up a dramatic late finish.
But Australia, who had opened a 13-0 lead during the first-half with a try from Lote Tuqiri, ensured their six-match tour ended on a victorious note when replacement winger Lachlan Turner scored another try two minutes from time.
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