Having earlier appeared for the Barbarians, a team that had done precious little in the way of defending, Danny Cipriani came out in defence of England's drinkers at the World Cup.

"You can't say drinking is part and parcel of the game, because it isn't," he said after the thrashing meted out by Australia. "But when you're working so intensively, and you're waking up at 6am, and you've got to do this protein shake, and you've got to have that breakfast. You're so focused, you're far away from your family and suffering the pressures of being involved in a camp.

"Sometimes, truly the best way to bond is to go out together. Not necessarily to get wasted or to drink excessively, but it is a pastime, and it is a part of rugby. That's a tradition that I don't think should ever fail."

It was perhaps unfortunate, as he acknowledged himself, to be talking about this at the end of a week with the famously hedonistic Baa-Baas but Cipriani also defended the decision to let the players go out in the first place.

"I don't think it was irresponsible for it to happen at the World Cup," he said. "It was just blown out of proportion. If you look at the facts of the thing, it wasn't as bad as it was [made out to be].

"You've got to have some sympathy for the guys. They didn't get quite as far as they had wanted, so people are going to try to find some sort of excuse. If they'd won the World Cup, would anyone have spoken about it? No."

Dressed in spats and a pair of shoes you could see your face in, Cipriani was looking a million dollars – better, at any rate, than he or any of his team-mates had looked that afternoon on the Twickenham turf. Ugly was the only word for that, waving through Australian after Australian during a second-half capitulation in which the Barbarians conceded six tries, to go with the two they had conceded in the first half.

There was mitigation in the shape of a week that no doubt had seen them sample a bit of grog themselves. The Barbarians continue to fight for their little corner in a crowded calendar, and they should, but this particular fixture, at so awkward a time and place for most of the players, was not a wise move. Presumably it made sense from a financial point of view but at what cost? Credibility was severely damaged all round.

Graham Henry's stock is so high that he could afford to be associated with a few such ignominies before anyone would question his credentials. But the vicissitudes of a coach's lot brought him out in defence of the English, too.

"It makes me sad to see some of those things aired in the press," he said. "I've been there myself. There are a lot of good people. I've got a lot of time for Martin Johnson, and I'm sure he's finding it very difficult."

And, no, he was not about to step in and turn things round. He had just endured an afternoon of acute discomfort at Twickenham. Why would he want to volunteer for a few years of it?

Barbarians Toeava (Kahui h-t); Tomkins, Fruean (Rabeni h-t), Mortlock, Habana; Cipriani, Stringer (Kenatale h-t); Guinazu (Perugini h-t), Mealamu (Strauss h-t), Marconnet (Guinazu 73), Shaw (Bortolami h-t), Matfield (capt), Kaino, Bergamasco, Thomson (White h-t).

Try Tomkins. Pens Cipriani 2.

Australia Ashley-Cooper; Turner, Horne, Barnes (Tapuai 37), Ioane; O'Connor, Genia (Phipps 59); Slipper, Polota-Nau (Moore 50), Ma'afu (Alexander 50), Simmons, Sharpe (Horwill 50), Higginbotham, Pocock (capt; Hodgson 56), Dennis (Samo 50).

Tries Ioane 2, Turner 2, Horwill 2, Horne, Samo. Cons O'Connor 7. Pen O'Connor. Drop goal O'Connor.

Referee Romain Poite (France). Attendance 51,212.