The historic rivalry between South Africa and the Barbarians remains one of the most evenly contested fixtures in international rugby. The two sides have four victories each across their nine previous meetings, with the Springboks holding a slight advantage in total points scored.
The historic rivalry between South Africa and the Barbarians remains one of the most evenly contested fixtures in international rugby. The historic rivalry between South Africa and the Barbarians remains one of the most evenly contested fixtures in international rugby.
The two sides have four victories across their nine previous meetings. Since their first encounter in 1952, the Springboks and the famous invitational side have produced memorable contests across Europe and, more recently, South Africa. The Barbarians responded with a 6-0 triumph in Cardiff in 1961, before the Springboks won the next meeting, defeating the Barbarians 21-12 at Twickenham in 1970.
It was then the turn of the Barbarians to level the head-to-head battle at two apiece with a 23-15 victory in Dublin in 1994. South Africa recorded one of their biggest wins in the fixture when they beat the Barbarians 41-31 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in 2000, but the invitational side bounced back with victories at Twickenham in 2007 (22-5) and 2010 (26-20).
One of the most memorable matches between the teams came in November 2016 when they played to a thrilling 31-31 draw at Wembley Stadium in London. The most recent encounter took place on South African soil for the first time when the teams met at Cape Town Stadium on 28 June 2025. That emphatic victory also marked South Africa's largest winning margin in the history of the fixture. After nine matches, the rivalry remains perfectly balanced.
South Africa and the Barbarians have each won four matches, while one contest ended in a draw. The Springboks hold a slight advantage in total points scored, having accumulated 204 points compared to the Barbarians' 161. Interestingly, South Africa have never lost to the Barbarians on home soil. Their only match in the Mzansi resulted in the comprehensive victory in Cape Town, while the majority of previous encounters were played at neutral venues across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
With both teams level on victories, the next meeting later this month will determine who takes the lead in one of rugby's most unique rivalries
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