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Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981 in Hammersmith) is an English rugby union footballer who plays at fly-half or centre for Bath.
Barkley has the unique distinction of playing for his country before making his full senior club debut. Barkley was born in London but raised in Wadebridge, Cornwall. Educated at Colston's Collegiate School, Bristol where under the guidance of Alan Martinovic he captained the team to a Daily Mail Cup success in 2000.
Career
1999 to 2002
Barkley was spotted by Andy Robinson and Brian Ashton while playing for Colston's in 1999/2000. He made his debut for England during the summer tour to North America in 2001 in a game against the United States on June 16 in San Francisco, coming on in the second half as a replacement in the 48-19 win. He was only 19 years old at the time, and was even before he had made a senior appearance for his club. He made his Heineken Cup debut for Bath on October 6, 2001, coming on as a reserve against Swansea. He scored his first Heineken Cup try in a game against Italian club Gran Rugby whilst playing at fullback on October 11, 2002 in Parma.
2004 to 2005
He returned to the England side in 2004, as a reserve in the opening game of the 2004 Six Nations against Italy in Rome. He held his position for the subsequent match against Ireland at Twickenham. He made a breakthrough in 2004 when Sir Clive Woodward handed him England's number 10 jersey for RBS Six Nations clashes against Wales when he replaced an injured Paul Grayson at fly half and France, scoring 27 points over the two games. It is thought that from his promotion in the 2004 Six Nations that he became a regular member of the squad. Later on in 2004 during the mid-year tests against the southern hemisphere nations, Barkley was a reserve for the matches against the All Blacks in Auckland, coming on to replace injured centre Mike Tindall and the Wallabies in Brisbane.
He started off the 2005 Six Nations as a reserve in the opening match against Wales in Cardiff. He started the next match against France at Twickenham where he scored a try in the 17 to 18 loss. He subsequently started the remaining matches against Ireland, Italy and Scotland. He was a reserve in two other matches in 2005, against the Wallabies and in a game against Samoa. Barkley dislocated his thumb in a club match against Leinster Rugby, the injury ruled him out of the opening game of the 2006 Six Nations Championship, which was against Wales on February 4. After further investigation, it was decided that Barkley would need an operation to fix the injury to his thumb. The operation on the dislocation would likely rule him out of competition for six weeks.
2006 to present
He re-signed with Bath in May, though Sale had expressed interest in the England international. Although Barkley missed the Six Nations due to injury, England coach Andy Robinson named him in his touring party which heads to Australia in June. Barkley was also one of the 18 players of the touring squad that was named in a 24-man England squad to take on the Barbarian F.C. at Twickenham on May 28. Barkley inspired the first English win over the Barbarian F.C. since 2002, as he accumulated 21 points in the match, including one try. He was the starting fly-half for the first of two tests against the Wallabies. England lost 34 to 3, with Barkley getting England's only points of the match, in the form of a penalty goal. Barkley came off the bench in the second test in Melbourne, which was England's last match on the short tour. He has since been included in the 2006/07 Elite Player Squad.
In August 1st 2006 Barkley was arrested in Newquay by police using CS spray after a fight in which a man suffered a broken jaw, but later released without charge. Barkley dislocated a finger in a game against the Saracens, and will likely miss the game against the All Blacks for England.
He was also selected for the England Saxons for the 2007 Churchill Cup.
External links
| England squad – 2007 Rugby World Cup runners-up | |
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| Forwards | |
| Backs | |
| Head coach: Ashton | |