“Giddaaaay Mate!” This might seem a bit enthusiastic, as an introduction, for some – especially if you are meeting someone for the first time – but not for Berrick Barnes.
‘Barnsey’ is so exuberant in his welcome to anyone, friends or strangers, that it has become a feature of the pre-Test Wallaby jersey presentation ritual for a string of ‘G’day mates’ to echo around the room from his chuckling team-mates when Barnes is summoned to accept his guernsey.
But that’s the out-going, friendly and stress-free outlook on life of Berrick Barnes, perhaps reflecting his country upbringing in Kingaroy in inland Queensland.
Unless, that is, you are talking about his rugby.
For much of his playing career, Barnes has struggled to live up to the hype others have placed around him.
Possibly, fingers crossed, until now!
In sport, as in life, timing is everything.
Barnes might have got his just about perfect.
It’s not so much what he has done on the field for the Waratahs since his return from a hand injury, but the stress-free way in which he has done it, looking ahead to a Lions series he is going to be a key factor in.
Whether he plays flyhalf, inside centre or fullback; a confident, and relaxed, Barnes will offer a playmaking capacity, sure defence, safety under the high ball, as well as organisational skills to help some potentially more inexperienced players around him (think Israel Folau, Joe Tomane, Christian Leali’ifano).
After getting injured in his first game of the year, against the Cheetahs, Barnes resumed a few weeks ago after the Tahs got back from South Africa.
Such is the importance he has so quickly assumed since his resumption, it was not coincidental that the Tahs lost control last Friday night against the Rebels after he had been withdrawn from the contest.
In the absence of the authority he had been bringing, the Rebels sensed an opportunity, regained the initiative, and went on to make history with the Rebels’ maiden Super Rugby win over the Waratahs.
The assertiveness Barnes showed in Melbourne backed up three crucial try-scoring plays (one a score, the other two assists); which turned defeat into success when NSW had previously beaten the Stormers and Brumbies in consecutive weeks.
In each of those instances Barnes was instinctive; his decision making clear.
That might seem relatively straightforward but it’s not, especially in the case of Barnes.
Being a nice guy has weighed him down enormously: marketers jumped on him as the fresh-faced ‘pin up’ boy for their campaigns; the media doted on him as a friendly source of easy quotes, while the public expectation proved too tough for him to live up to.
The image this cultivated even saw Berrick become the object of a fan so devoted she appears at just about every team public appearance or training in which Barnsey features resplendent in her Berrick Barnes named and numbered jersey.
Although it’s not quite ‘Fatal Attraction’, such sustained attention would unnerve most, but not Berrick Barnes who is incredibly kind and understanding in the way he deals with the girl.
But that’s Barnsey; nothing’s a problem off the field and everything is a cup half full!
If you manage to have Barnsey say a bad word about you, it’s some achievement!
Unfortunately the desire to be everything to everyone has hurt him on the field: expectations, and especially those placed as high as they have been around Barnsey, can be hard to live up to.
Captaincy, at both the Reds and with the midweek Wallabies, didn’t suit.
Nor did being the lead backline focal point around which the whole team’s game was run, until last year’s Wallaby season.
He ended that at fullback, and did well, after excelling from flyhalf during the mid-year clean sweep of Wales, where the use of two playmakers, to take a lot of the decision making pressure off him, worked a treat.
Undoubtedly that contributed, both last year and potentially this one, to the best rugby of Barnsey’s career.
So too, I suspect, has a combination of 50-Tests of experience and a stable set up in his personal affairs.
Now comfortably married; the Barnsey ‘take’ on life changed subtly but significantly since the birth of his first son Archie last June.
The whole world heard about how the Sydney birth was followed by a dash back to Melbourne later that afternoon to steer the Wallabies to the series-clinching win over Wales that night.
But the impact of Archie’s arrival, and the change in the Berrick Barnes mind-set, has gone long beyond his first evening as a dad.
Suddenly the game isn’t the ‘be all’ in his world, and it is showing.
The new found freedom has been added to by the decision he and his wife Bec made to quit Australia for a stint in Japan at year’s end.
Rather than stressing in his game, which is easy to pick up: he kicks too much; Barnsey is playing like he is really enjoying himself, and making the most of the time he has left.
He knows what he wants to do when he has the ball and is organising the guys around him with clear and direct instructions.
Most importantly, he is being decisive on the field in clutch situations.
This is a great sign.
Richard
Guest
I can't wait for BB to take the Lions apart -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Stalker
Guest
Flankerlady - I would take it as a compliment. Without fans, these players are nothing but park footballers. Being a ABs fan myself, he is one of the most likeable Wallabies and I am sure he is happy to have a fan like you. Just no more peering over the fence and having your photo snapped mmkk... The Stalker.
Mike
Guest
Okay so maybe what I wrote needs some adjusting, but I still don't think that the simple opposite is true, i.e. that Deans chose Barnes simply because he thought Barnes was a better flyhalf than Cooper (and I appreciate you aren't necessarily saying that). What I would say is that rightly or wrongly, Deans thought that Cooper wasn't fully fit and that formed at least part of his reason for preferring Barnes in that first Bledisloe match of 2012.
GWS
Guest
And talent
James
Guest
Shame on the author for the disparaging comments made about Berricks fan - a young woman with Aspergers.
Pete
Guest
Barnes is a great player i agree... but he hasnt played a full game of rugby all year and came off after only 56 minutes limping... He is not ready to play and CL should be a certain pick as well as QC. Deans should have waited for the last six before he selected barnes and o'connor to see how their fitness goes... But we all know why he didnt...
Red Kev
Guest
No, but you are saying that Deans has never chosen anyone other than Cooper at flyhalf if Cooper was available. And that is simply not true.
Mike
Guest
That may well be the case - I am not saying that Deans' judgment was correct. Cooper is a top athlete like JOC and Barnes and all the rest of them. He would have been champing at the bit, and maybe he was right.
Red Kev
Guest
And yet they asked Quade Cooper on August 18 and he said he was 100% ready to go. The notion that 7 days and no additional rugby made any difference whatsoever after 9 months (or more than 270 days) to Quade's fitness is laughable. If Cooper wasn't ready on August 18 then he still wasn't on August 25. Moreover, Deans has proven that he has no issue at all playing unfit and not ready players (Mitchell, Horne, Barnes himself). It is simply wilful ignorance to spout the line that Deans overlooked Cooper for the August 18 Bledisloe for fitness reasons.
Mike
Guest
Deans was lying... thanks RK, very credible. Incidentally, there were plenty of media reports at the time that Quade himself felt his match fitness was not up to scratch. I can't find them all now, but this one headed: "Quade Cooper seeks match fitness for Wallabies, plays Premier Rugby for Souths Magpies" is an example: http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wallabies/like-old-times-for-quade-cooper-as-he-turns-out-for-souths/story-e6frf55l-1226441992665#.UaMmn6JgfZI Steve Kefu of Souths made the point after his second game with them that he thought Cooper had shown he was fit for test selection. He would hardly have bothered to say that unless there was an issue being discussed. O'Connor made a comment to the press a few days before the Sydney test that he thought Cooper would return to full fitness soon. In view of that, I don't think Deans' comment was that outrageous and in any case there are no grounds for accusing him of lying. What he said was: "'Berrick played very well through June,' Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said in a televised news conference. 'Quade isn’t at the top of his fitness yet, but he’s back in the game which is great. He’s working hard. He was obviously an option, but in the end it was pretty straightforward'.”
Red Kev
Guest
Cooper returned to top flight rugby on May 19. "Not ready" according to Robbie Deans on August 18. Started by Robbie Deans on August 25. Conclusion - Robbie Deans lied. I have no problem with Barnes being the preferred choice, I have a big problem with people (Robbie Deans included) trying to use the excuse that somehow Quade Cooper was not ready.
Well Ruck me.
Guest
Robbie Deans said that Cooper was not ready to return after his injury. That was the main reason given. In fact I think it was the only reason given at the time.
Red Kev
Guest
Cooper did his 6 months of rehab and had done all his running and kicking and contact training and was ready to play. He played 40 minutes against the Lions on May 19. Then he played 80 minutes the next week. Then came the June internationals when Cooper was in fact, not yet ready and so was not selected so Cooper did four more weeks of training. Then he played 41 minutes against the Rebels. Then 80 against the Highlanders then 80 against the Waratahs (July 14) and then missed the next match due to suspension. Bledisloe 1 was on August 18 - fully 3 months after Cooper returned to top flight rugby. Cooper was 100% fit and ready to play. Deans selected Barnes. Now Barnes quite probably deserved the first chance having performed well during the June internationals, maybe Deans thought he trained better, but the fact is that Deans selected Barnes over Cooper. Both were fit, both were available, Deans chose Barnes. That one occasion is all it takes for your assertions of "every time" and "always" to be wrong.
Red Kev
Guest
It is not a case of agreeing to disagree, it is simply fact and refusal to acknowledge it on your part.
Mike
Guest
We will have to agree to disagree on that one RK (as we have before). I think it's just a matter of where you draw the line as to when a player should be risked again after coming back from injury. As I recall, Deans didn't say at the time that Cooper wasn't fit, period, but he did say it was a question of match fitness which gave Barnes the edge. That implied what I think has been clear throughout 2011 and 2012 - a fully fit Cooper was the first choice flyhalf, with possible exception of JOC (whom Deans has had his eye on since RWC 2011) but since he wasn't fit either we will never know. It was not long before the first Bledisloe that Graham Henry published his book claiming that Cooper was "plainly the weakest link in the Australian side". Fox Sports reported a week before the first Bledisloe: "Wallabies Coach Robbie Deans was unimpressed with Henry's attack. 'I haven't read [Henry's] book,' he said. "Quade's in the squad, he's returning to the game, he's working hard at that. He's a bloke that's played fairly in the past and he will in the future'." That also implies that Deans had questions about whether Quade was fully fit. What special advantage did he miss out on by not playing the first Bledisloe? Sure, he might have been able to turn it into a victory. Then again, it might have gone the other way. You wrote "especially since Deans threw him to the wolves at Eden Park 7 days later with no more rugby played", but I just see that as Quade getting 7 days further rest for the knee before he played. How did that disadvantage him? He had to face Eden Park sooner or later, and yes the crowd were pretty nasty to him. But if he is going to play test, he has to be able to handle that. The whole team copped much the same thing in Pretoria a month later. Its what you have to face, without condoning it. And its not like Deans dropped him after the 22-0 hiding that we copped in the second Bledisloe. Quade stayed on as No 10 for the next two matches, which were wins against South Africa and Argentina, and then he was out because injured again. He was probably fortunate to miss out on the next match in Pretoria - despite his talent, I really can't see that he had much chance of changing the pounding that we copped there. As things stand, it is Kurtley Beale who has the 31-8 score against his name.
Red Kev
Guest
How many times do I have to post this before you guys stop quoting it. Bledisloe 1, 2012. Quade Cooper 100% fit and available and not selected by Deans, not even on the bench. Berrick Barnes was at 10. It could not be argued that Cooper was not yet back to full fitness, especially since Deans threw him to the wolves at Eden Park 7 days later with no more rugby played. Cooper had played 1 full and 1 half match (pre-June internationals) and 2 full and 1 half match post-June internationals and the only reason he didn't play another match was because he was suspended. Just for comparison, guess how many Super Rugby games Berrick Barnes or Wycliff Palu played before RWC 2011 when coming back from injury...
prh
Guest
Gee Insider, did you just find out that BB was a long lost son. Such ebullient praise. BB is a good footballer, not great. Lets all pray for a week of rain before the first test so BB can walk across the water while others flounder.
Well Ruck me.
Guest
Barnes was chosen over Quade at 10 for the first RC game in 2012. Quade was back from injury but it could be argued that not yet completely fit enough for a test.
Well Ruck me.
Guest
In 2012 Barnes ran more metres than his opposite number 9 times from 13 games.
Mike
Guest
I am happy to be corrected, but I don't think Barnes (or anyone else) has ever been chosen over Quade at No 10, when Quade has been fit. Until now, of course, but the final choice hasn't been made for the Lions anyway. Its still possible QC could end up wearing 10 for the first test. Barnes is a versatile player of course and isn't dependent on the 10 position being available.