Olly Barkley
Encyclopedia
Oliver John Barkley is an English
rugby union
player who plays at fly-half or centre for Bath
and England
. Uniquely, Barkley played for his country before making his full senior club début.
but raised in Wadebridge
, Cornwall
. He was educated at Wadebridge School
, and later 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.
début for Bath on 6 October 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 11 October 2002 in Parma
.
He made his début for England
during the summer tour to North America
in 2001 in a game against the United States
on 16 June in San Francisco, coming on in the second half as a replacement in the 48–19 win. He was 19 years old at the time, and had not yet made a senior appearance for his club.
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
matches 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 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
and Wallabies
in Brisbane
.
in Cardiff
, but started the next match against France at Twickenham, where he scored a try in the 17–18 defeat. He subsequently started the remaining matches against Ireland, Italy and Scotland
. He was a reserve in two other matches in 2005, against Australia and Samoa
. Barkley dislocated his thumb in a club match against Leinster
, the injury ruling him out of the opening game of the 2006 Six Nations Championship
against Wales.
England coach Andy Robinson named him in his touring party to Australia in June. Barkley was also one of the 18 players of the touring squad who were named in a 24-man England squad to take on the Barbarians
at Twickenham on 28 May. Barkley inspired the first English win over the Barbarians 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 Australia, England losing 34–3, with Barkley scoring 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.
On 1 August 2006 Barkley was arrested in Newquay by police using CS spray after a fight in which a man suffered a broken jaw, but was later released without charge. He was selected for the England Saxons
for the 2007 Churchill Cup
. He was a member of England's 2007 World Cup squad.
After only four games back for Bath (one as a replacement and three starting at inside centre), Barkley was already receiving praise for his outstanding performances, with coach Steve Meehan claiming that he should be pressing for a place in Martin Johnson's 44 man squad to tour Australia in the summer. He scored his first try back for Bath against Harlequins
saw him break his leg in two places.
in 2011.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who plays at fly-half or centre for Bath
Bath Rugby
Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league...
and England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. Uniquely, Barkley played for his country before making his full senior club début.
Early career
Barkley was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
but raised in Wadebridge
Wadebridge
Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. He was educated at Wadebridge School
Wadebridge School
Wadebridge School is a mixed comprehensive school in the town of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England. It has 1200 pupils. The headteacher of Wadebridge School is Miss Tina Yardley...
, and later at Colston's Collegiate School
Colston's Collegiate School
Colston's School is an independent school in Bristol, England and is a member of the The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference....
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
where, under the guidance of Alan Martinovic, he captained the team to a Daily Mail Cup
Daily Mail Cup
The Daily Mail RBS Cup is the annual English schools' rugby union cup competition. The semi-finals are now held at Broadstreet Rugby Club. The final is held at Twickenham Stadium. Competitions are held at the U18 and U15 age group levels...
success in 2000.
2000–04
Barkley was spotted by Andy Robinson and Brian Ashton while playing for Colston's in 1999–2000. He made his Heineken CupHeineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
début for Bath on 6 October 2001, coming on as a reserve against Swansea
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
. He scored his first Heineken Cup try in a game against Italian club Gran Rugby
Gran Rugby
-GranDucato Parma Rugby:Gran Ducato Parma Rugby was formed in June 2010 through the merger of Gran Parma Rugby, Rugby Colorno and Rugby Viadana. With the formation of Aironi to play in the Magners League the best players and sponsorship from the three participating clubs was concentrated in this...
, whilst playing at fullback on 11 October 2002 in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
.
He made his début for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
during the summer tour to North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 2001 in a game against the United States
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
on 16 June in San Francisco, coming on in the second half as a replacement in the 48–19 win. He was 19 years old at the time, and had not yet made a senior appearance for his club.
2004–05
He returned to the England side as a reserve in the opening game of the 2004 Six Nations against ItalyItaly national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. He held his position for the subsequent match against Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
. He made a breakthrough in 2004 when Sir Clive Woodward
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...
handed him England's number 10 jersey for RBS Six Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
matches against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
when he replaced an injured Paul Grayson at fly half and France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
, scoring 27 points over the two games. It is thought that from his promotion in the 2004 Six Nations 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
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
2005–08
He started off the 2005 Six Nations as a reserve in the opening match against WalesWales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, but started the next match against France at Twickenham, where he scored a try in the 17–18 defeat. He subsequently started the remaining matches against Ireland, Italy and Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
. He was a reserve in two other matches in 2005, against Australia and Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
. Barkley dislocated his thumb in a club match against Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
, the injury ruling him out of the opening game of the 2006 Six Nations Championship
2006 Six Nations Championship
The 2006 RBS 6 Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy...
against Wales.
England coach Andy Robinson named him in his touring party to Australia in June. Barkley was also one of the 18 players of the touring squad who were named in a 24-man England squad to take on the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
at Twickenham on 28 May. Barkley inspired the first English win over the Barbarians 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 Australia, England losing 34–3, with Barkley scoring 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.
On 1 August 2006 Barkley was arrested in Newquay by police using CS spray after a fight in which a man suffered a broken jaw, but was later released without charge. He was selected for the England Saxons
England Saxons
England Saxons is the current name of England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A...
for the 2007 Churchill Cup
2007 Churchill Cup
The 2007 Churchill Cup was held from May 18 to June 2, 2007. It was the fifth year of the Churchill Cup. Six rugby union teams took part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, New Zealand Māori, Scotland A, and the USA.-Format:...
. He was a member of England's 2007 World Cup squad.
2008–09
In search of a new challenge, Barkley joined Gloucester Rugby in July 2008 on a two year contract after 6 years at Bath.2009–10
In April 2009, it was announced that he would be returning to Bath after just one season at Gloucester because he felt that Bath was where his heart was and that the club could offer him better opportunities. However, Barkley's new stint at Bath did not start well, breaking his leg at a pre-season contact session. He has now recovered from the injury and is back playing.After only four games back for Bath (one as a replacement and three starting at inside centre), Barkley was already receiving praise for his outstanding performances, with coach Steve Meehan claiming that he should be pressing for a place in Martin Johnson's 44 man squad to tour Australia in the summer. He scored his first try back for Bath against Harlequins
2010-11
Barkley was a key player for Bath in the 2010-11 premiershp season, playing a part in 14 matches and scoring 142 points including a last-minute penalty against London Irish in a 24-25 away win. His season was cut short during Bath's away fixture against Gloucester in the premiership after a collision with team-mate Butch JamesButch James
Andrew David "Butch" James is a South African rugby union player. He has represented 40 times and was a member of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He also played for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership...
saw him break his leg in two places.
Journalism
Barkley began contributing to online men's lifestyle magazine BlokelyBlokely
Blokely is a men’s lifestyle pure play website based in the UK. An independent platform, it evolved from a blogging site, which focused mainly on grooming and style stories, to a web portal site with a constant run of in-depth features on entertainment, music, grooming, lifestyle and sport...
in 2011.