Victor Matfield's Barbarians took their place alongside the fabled class of 1973 by inflicting the solitary defeat of New Zealand's autumn tour with a 25-18 triumph at Twickenham.

As a spectacle the match failed to rescale the heights of Cardiff Arms Park 36 years ago but Bryan Habana's hat-trick in the 10th meeting between the sides gave the occasion a sprinkling of stardust.

Roberts revealed the Barbarians were inspired by meeting some of their famed predecessors who prevailed 23-11 against the All Blacks.

And Wales centre hopes yesterday's result will offer some consolation to his father Norman, who was forced to miss the 1973 showdown.

"May Dad told me before I joined up with the Barbarians that he had a ticket for the 1973 game but couldn't go it because of work commitments," he said.

"It's his greatest regret in rugby not going to a match that has been labelled the best ever game. Hopefully I've done him some justice with this win.

"He wished me well before the match and I'm really chuffed to be part of this.

"We watched the 1973 match and had a meeting with a couple of old Barbarians on Friday night - Derek Quinnell was one of those there.

"He was involved in that try by Gareth Edwards so it was a privilege to meet him.

"There were some pretty special tries in that match and we've now added to that collection."

Roberts was the only British player in a starting line-up that included six Springboks and 925 caps.

The 23-year-old insists Cardiff Blues will benefit from releasing himself, Andy Powell and Leigh Halfpenny to play.

"It's been one of the best weeks of my life. It's been amazing,” he said.

"Playing with guys who are that skilful is only going to improve my game individually. Hopefully it will improve my range of skills.

"You pick things up from other players and I'll go back to Cardiff a better player with more confidence - you can only achieve so much in training.

"It was a bit surreal and strange playing with the Springboks after what happened with the Lions, but rugby's a game where you can do that."