Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981) is a former

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who played for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pl ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

Racing Metro Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name t ...

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

and

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

at fly-half between 2001 and 2016.

Early career

Barkley was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

but raised in

Wadebridge Wadebridge (; kw, Ponswad) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The permanent popul ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

. He was educated at

Wadebridge School Wadebridge School is a coeducational secondary school with academy status, located in the town of Wadebridge, Cornwall, England. It has 1,235 pupils. The headteacher is Tina Yardley. Facilities include gymnasium, tennis courts, football/rugby ...

, and later at

Colston's Collegiate School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

where, under the guidance of Peter Mallorie and Alan Martinovic, he captained the team to a

Daily Mail Cup The National Schools Cup are a set of annual English schools' rugby union cup competitions, with the U18 Cup being the main competition. The finals of the Cup and Vase competitions are held at Twickenham Stadium, whilst finals for the Plate and Bow ...

success in 2000.

Professional career

Barkley was spotted by

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Dec ...

and Brian Ashton while playing for Colston's in 1999–2000. He made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

début for Bath on 6 October 2001, coming on as a reserve against

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

. 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 Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...

. He made his début for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

during the summer tour to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

in 2001 in a game against the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

on 16 June in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, 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. He returned to the England side as a reserve in the opening game of the 2004

RBS Six Nations The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ...

against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He held his position for the subsequent match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boro ...

. He made a breakthrough in 2004 when Sir

Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) 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 also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lio ...

handed him England's number 10 jersey for the Six Nations Championship matches against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

when he replaced an injured Paul Grayson at fly half and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, 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 The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

and

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. He started off the

2005 Six Nations The 2005 Six Nations Championship was the sixth Six Nations Championship played since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the Home Nations and Five Nations Championships, this was the 111th season of the tournament. Wales ...

as a reserve in the opening match against

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

, 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 (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was a reserve in two other matches in 2005, against Australia and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. Barkley dislocated his thumb in a club match against

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

, the injury ruling him out of the opening game of the

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six 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. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this ...

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 A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

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 A is 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 Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of em ...

for the

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 national rugby union team, Canada, England Saxons, Ireland Wolfhounds, Ireland A, New Zealand Māori ru ...

. He was a member of England's 2007 World Cup squad. In search of a new challenge, Barkley joined Gloucester Rugby in July 2008 on a two-year contract after 6 years at Bath. 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 Barkley was a key player for Bath in the 2010–11 premiership 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 teammate

Butch James Andrew David "Butch" James (born 8 January 1979) is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented 40 times and was a member of the team that won the 2007 Rugby World Cup. His usual position was fly-half, though he also p ...

saw him break his leg in two places. On 20 September 2012 it was announced that Barkley had signed a contract with

under the Medical Joker rule. He scored 16 points in his last Bath game, at the Rec against Sale. On 13 May 2013, Barkley would leave

to join

in the French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

on a two-year contract for the 2013/14 season. However, on 29 January 2014, it was announced Barkley would leave

with immediate effect due to the move to the French club not working out well for himself. On 3 February 2014, Barkley signed for Welsh region

in the

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Af ...

on a four-month contract until the end of the season. On 9 June 2014 it was announced that Barkley had signed for

at the conclusion of his four-month contract at

. In 2016 after London Welsh were liquidated Barkley coached Kowloon in the Hong Kong Premiership.

Other ventures

Barkley began contributing to online men's lifestyle magazine '' Blokely'' in 2011. Barkley is a Patron for NACOA – a charity that provides information, advice and support for anyone affected by their parents drinking. Barkley described Nacoa as "a worthy cause and I intend to do the best I can to raise awareness of this hidden illness, an illness that’s close to home for me. Alcohol abuse is everywhere and it’s not only the drinkers who bear the brunt. More often than not, it’s the family or close friends that are affected both emotionally and physically. The unconditional support that Nacoa offers is crucial. To know there is somebody on the end of the phone can sometimes be the difference that person needs to help them through the day, month and sometimes a lifetime."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkley, Olly 1981 births Living people Bath Rugby players Cornish rugby union players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Gloucester Rugby players People educated at Colston's School Racing 92 players Rugby union centres Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Hammersmith