THE LAST WORD

IT WAS quite some turnout at Twickenham on Saturday, with 63,000 fans there to see the All Blacks pushed hard by a Barbarians team featuring an array of talented Kiwis who would have wished they were on the other side. The gallant efforts of the invitational club did much to reinforce the whole concept for the foreseeable future, while South African flanker ‘Kwagga’ Smith made his name with a dynamic performance which suggested that he has the game-breaking class to transfer from Sevens into the Test arena. Meanwhile, Bristol savoured the brilliance of their ex-All Black representing the Barbarians, Steven Luatua — and the prospect of the flanker and Charles Piutau joining forces next season will surely fast-forward the West Country club’s re-emergence as a domestic force.