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Olly Barkley

Birth name	Oliver John Berkley
Date of birth	(1980-11-28) 28 November 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Hammersmith, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	92 kg (14 st 7 lb; 203 lb)
School	Colston's Collegiate School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half, Centre Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2001–2008 2008–2009 2009–2012 2012–2013 2013–2014 2014 2014–16 Bath Gloucester Bath Racing Metro Grenoble Scarlets London Welsh 182 29 57 16 5 8 39 (1781) (188) (483) (52) (3) (17) (119) International career Years Team Apps (Points) England (82)

Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1980) is a former English rugby union player who played fly-half for Bath, Gloucester, Racing Metro, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at fly-half between 2001 and 2016.

Early career

Barkley was born in Hammersmith, London but raised in Wadebridge, Cornwall. He was educated at Wadebridge School, and later at Colston's Collegiate School, Bristol where, under the guidance of Peter Mallorie and Alan Martinovic, he captained the team to a Daily Mail Cup success in 2000.

Professional career

Barkley was spotted by Andy Robinson and Brian Ashton while playing for Colston's in 1999–2000. He made his Heineken Cup 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 returned to the England side as a reserve in the opening game of the 2004 RBS 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 the Six Nations Championship matches against Wales when he replaced an injured Paul Grayson at fly half and France. 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.

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. He was the starting fly-half for the first of two tests against Australia, England losing 34–3. 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.

In 2007, Barkley hit the news yet again when he allegedly assaulted a fellow guest at the wedding of England Rugby legend Matt Perry. News reports suggested the guest suffered a broken nose and lacerated eye when confronting Barkley for harassing a female guest. Reports also state the fracas occurred in front of Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall and other notable sports stars. Charges were dropped due to lack of evidence as witnesses declined to support the accuser.

In search of a new club, Barkley joined Gloucester Rugby in July 2008 on a two-year contract after struggling for form 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. Despite solid performances for Bath, Barkley was not included in the England squad under Martin Johnson, which led many to suspect poor attitude, reputation and character issues were to blame.

Barkley was still playing for Bath in the 2010–11 premiership season, playing a part in 14 matches. His season was predictably cut short during Bath's away fixture against Gloucester in the premiership after a collision with teammate Butch James saw him break his leg in two places. Barkley garnered a reputation as being injury prone and was let go by Bath Rugby for the second time.

On 20 September 2012 it was announced that Barkley had signed a contract with Racing Metro under the Medical Joker rule. He scored 2 points in his last Bath game, at the Rec against Sale.

On 13 May 2013, Barkley would leave Racing Metro to join Grenoble in the French Top 14 on a two-year contract for the 2013/14 season. However, on 29 January 2014, it was announced Barkley would leave Grenoble with immediate effect due to poor form. On 3 February 2014, Barkley signed for Welsh region Scarlets in the Pro12 on a four-month contract until the end of the season.

On 9 June 2014 it was announced that unsettled Barkley had signed for yet another club, London Welsh, at the conclusion of his four-month contract at Scarlets.

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

Journalism

Barkley began contributing to online men's lifestyle magazine Blokely in 2011.

The National Association for Children of Alcoholics (NACOA)

Berkley is a Patron for NACOA – a charity that provides information, advice and support for anyone affected by drinking.A charity he likely felt close to due to his alleged violent and aggressive tendencies while under the influence of alcohol.

Barkley says "Nacoa is 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

1. "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Bath Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
2. "Olly Barkley ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
3. "Elektrik 3: Are you up to the challenge? | Rugby Spectator". rugbyspectator.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
4. "Barkley Assault Charges Dropped". The Independent.
5. "BARKLEY JOINS GLOUCESTER". Sportinglife. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
6. "BARKLEY SWITCH SURPRISES MEEHAN". Sportinglife. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
7. Mairs, Gavin (15 April 2009). "Olly Barkley to make surprise return to Bath". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
8. "Leg break ends Barkley's season". BBC News. 7 March 2011.
9. "BARKLEY JOINS RACING METRO". Bath Rugby. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
10. "Grenoble sign Olly Barkley from Racing Metro". Sky Sports. 13 May 2013.
11. "Olly Barkley leaves Grenoble with immediate effect". Sky Sports. 29 January 2014.
12. "Olly Barkley joins Scarlets". BBC Sport. 3 February 2014.
13. "London Welsh sign former England fly-half Olly Barkley from the Scarlets". Sky Sports. 9 June 2014.
14. "A whole new world: former England international Olly Barkley joins Kowloon coaching staff for start of Hong Kong Premiership campaign". South China Morning Post. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
15. Richardson, Anna (17 February 2011). "Reviews: Site-insections: Blokely". New Media Age. Centaur Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2011. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
16. "Men's Lifestyle". blokely.com magazine. blokely.com. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
17. ^ . Bristol. 15 April 2009 http://www.nacoa.org.uk/. Retrieved 2 November 2011. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

• Grenoble profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2013-12-02)

• Use dmy dates from June 2011
• 1981 births
• Living people
• People from Hammersmith
• People from Wadebridge
• People educated at Colston's School
• Rugby union fly-halves
• Rugby union centres
• England international rugby union players
• English rugby union players
• Cornish rugby union players
• Bath Rugby players
• Gloucester Rugby players
• Racing 92 players
• Sportspeople from Gloucestershire