Don't be fooled by the pink shirts, the Barbarians mean business.

The All Blacks stand in the way of the men from the home nations tonight as the World Rugby Classic enters the semi-final stage at National Sports Centre (8.30 p.m.) and if previous encounters are anything to go by it should be a blood and thunder affair.

Certainly no team would want to be beaten by a squad wearing an outfit that it would not be impolite to say is less than manly. But defeating a team while wearing said colours, well that would make any post match celebrations doubly sweet.

The choice of kit is all down to Barbarians' manager Allan Martin.

"It's a Bermudian thing really," said the Welshman, presumably in reference to the many like-painted houses on the Island. "I just wanted to be different."

Unveiled during Sunday's 54-0 trouncing of Bermuda the many and varied comments the outfits drew were a surprise to Martin.

"I didn't think people would talk about it," he said. "I didn't tell the boys even. I gave them a bag of kit and they said `Ohh' but I think it looks quite attractive."

Asked if anyone had refused to get changed, Martin said: "There were one or two raised eyebrows but no dissension."

In a return to the early days of the Classic, the side consisting of players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales has reverted to the Barbarians name. However, this is more through necessity than out of choice.

"The home unions' solicitors stopped us using the Classic Lions name because it was infringing on the merchandising rights they had set up with other people," Martin explained. "We only come to Bermuda once a year and we didn't want to argue with them. We left it at that really and thought, well, we will revert back to the Barbarians."

Despite the gulf in class that was evident on Sunday, Martin said the match more than served its purpose for the defending champions. "Half the team did not know each other and there were ten or 15 of the boys that I had never met before," he said. "So the game against Bermuda was very useful for us.

"It started off very slowly but in the end it was very good with some of the best inter passing that I have seen from any side that I have brought over. I am just hoping it will continue."

Martin's men came through the match largely unscathed but one or two players picked up the odd niggle.

"We have had a few minor injuries," he said. "Eddie Saunders (centre) has got a little bit of fluid on his knee and Terry Garnett (prop) has got a little bit of neck trouble and Jerry Perrins (centre) has got a knock on his thigh. They are little things that happen but it's nothing that is going to stop anyone playing."

As for the task tonight, Martin knows his side will have to play well if they want to face the winners of Argentina and South Africa in Sunday's final. The All Blacks showed their class in the 45-10 defeat of Portugal/Spain and no quarter will be asked or given tonight.

"It will be very different," said Martin. "From the back of the scrum they will have a number eight running up the outside half, they will have the centres running direct to commit the back row and our midfield and they will try to create space out wide.

"We will see how it goes. We will play it fairly tight early on and every opportunity we get we will try to spread it.

"We have got some pace on the wings with Eddie Saunders and Nigel Heslop and Simon Irvine is a very good runner as well."

In the Plate competition, which kicks off at 7 p.m., Bermuda will get the chance to get their first points of the tournament on the board when they take on Portugal/Spain.

The outcome should be closer than it was against the Barbarians on Sunday, but the Iberians have proved themselves tricky customers in the past and the home side will have to be at their best to keep in the contest.