In May–June 1979, the SA Barbarians played against the Middlesex RFC County Centenary touring team, captained by 1974 B&I Lion Chris Rawlston, with a 28–28 draw being recorded.

Attempts were made from the start to integrate the squad's three ethnic groups, with six of the eight white Barbarians rooming with black or coloured teammates on the first overnight stay.

Seven of the touring side went on to gain full Springbok status: Martiens Le Roux, Ewoud Malan, Rob Louw and Divan Serfontein all featured against Bill Beaumont's 1980 Lions.

During the 1987 rebel South Sea Barbarians' 13 match tour (a team made up of representatives from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and one Canadian(!

No official test matches took place between the teams, however, in contrast to the 1985 and 1986 sides, the 1987 SA Barbarians lineup had a far more distinct Springbok XV feel to it despite some senior players questioning the quality of the opposition.

Earlier in March of the same year, a fixture to commemorate the centenary of the Crusaders club of Port Elizabeth had seen the Barbarians record a 16–10 victory.

In 1988 a multiracial side (the SA Barbarians in all but name - they toured as the Nampak Pioneers) eventually undertook a six match visit to Chile and Paraguay after a series of postponements and reschedulings.

Many well-known international players from other countries have represented the club including Hugo Porta, Jean-Pierre Rives, Tom Grace and Fergus Slattery.