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Birth name | Oliver John Berkley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | (1981-11-28) 28 November 1981 (age 43) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981) is a former British rugby union player who played for Gloucester, Racing Metro, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at fly-half between 2001 and 2002.
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 Grenoble 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
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 saw him break his leg in two places.
On 20 September 2012 it was announced that Barkley had signed a contract with Racing Metro 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 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 the move to the French club not working out well for himself. 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 Barkley had signed for 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.
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
- "Aviva Premiership Rugby - Bath Rugby". web page. Premier Rugby. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- "Olly Barkley ESPN profile". ESPN. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- "Elektrik 3: Are you up to the challenge? | Rugby Spectator". rugbyspectator.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- "BARKLEY JOINS GLOUCESTER". Sportinglife. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- "BARKLEY SWITCH SURPRISES MEEHAN". Sportinglife. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 22 February 2008.
- Mairs, Gavin (15 April 2009). "Olly Barkley to make surprise return to Bath". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
- "Bath target return for Butch James and Olly Barkley". BBC Sport. 12 January 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
- "Meehan - Olly for England". Sky Sports. 27 March 2010.
- "London Irish 24-25 Bath". BBC News. 1 January 2011.
- "Leg break ends Barkley's season". BBC News. 7 March 2011.
- "BARKLEY JOINS RACING METRO". Bath Rugby. 20 September 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- "Grenoble sign Olly Barkley from Racing Metro". Sky Sports. 13 May 2013.
- "Olly Barkley leaves Grenoble with immediate effect". Sky Sports. 29 January 2014.
- "Olly Barkley joins Scarlets". BBC Sport. 3 February 2014.
- "London Welsh sign former England fly-half Olly Barkley from the Scarlets". Sky Sports. 9 June 2014.
- "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.
- Richardson, Anna (17 February 2011). "Reviews: Site-insections: Blokely". New Media Age. Centaur Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
- "Men's Lifestyle". blokely.com magazine. blokely.com. 14 April 2011.
- ^ "Nacoa". Bristol. 15 April 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
External links
- Grenoble profile at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 December 2013)
England squad – 2007 Rugby World Cup runners-up | |
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Forwards | |
Backs | |
Head coach: Ashton |
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Bath Rugby players
- Cornwall RFU 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
- People from Hammersmith
- Rugby union players from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
- 2007 Rugby World Cup players
- Expatriate rugby union players in France
- English expatriate rugby union players