Barkley: I'll be back
Bath and England's Olly Barkley says he will fight back bigger and better than ever before this season.
Barkley was left out of the latest England squad by head coach Martin Johnson. Barkley has made it no secret that he feels it was handled in the wrong manner and he says he will do whatever it takes to get back into the England set-up.
Barkley is fortunate to be at a very attractive rugby club like Bath. He is also fortunate that he is one of the few players at the club who will start in the back-row frequently in almost every game.
Barkley has a number of skills and qualities that he must prove early on this season if he wants to get back into the England team very quickly. However, the standard of English rugby is very high at the moment and he could face an uphill challenge to change Johnson's way of thinking.
Skills and qualities
Barkley is not that tall for a player that plays in the back row of a team. However, he makes up for this with stubborn determination and brute strength. This allows him to compete with physically larger players in order to win the ball and break down attacks.
Barkley has a very good mental game and this is an important issue for any player at any level. He has a clear aim and this will allow him to stay focused and zone in on what he is trying to achieve at Bath this season and with England.
He was one of the very few players in the Bath team during the opening day win over Leeds who managed to play some very creative and forward thinking passes. He will not score many points because of his position so he has to do whatever it takes to get noticed.
He said: "I felt I played well enough to warrant a chance, and I wasn't given that. That is the only thing I was disappointed about. I am never the type of guy to moan on the phone, I will just get my head down to work on it. He made his decision and I don't agree with him, but I have to live with it."
Moving on
This is not the first case of Johnson dropping a very good player but leaving them with the offer of an open door. However, it has so far proved very difficult for any player to transform Johnson's thinking after he has made his mind up.
The England side is changing in shape and appearance all the time and is currently going through another stage of transition. Johnson will have a particular plan in mind and it will be difficult for Barkley and anyone else to change this quickly.
He added: "I clearly don't figure in their plans, I am not even in the 64, and that was a bitter pill to swallow. But when I broke my leg last year, my prime focus was not to get back into the England side, it was to play as well as I possibly could. I felt I did myself justice by that and that is my mindset at the moment."
Betting advice
Barkley seems to be a very determined and passionate player. You can bet confidently that he will have a big role to play in the way Bath performs in the next few games of the club's season. If he is playing well then it will mean that Bath is a well organised team and difficult to score against. Back them confidently all the time Barkley is in the side.
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