Berrick Barnes
Flyhalf
|
Profile
|
|
|
Height:
|
183cm
|
|
Weight:
|
87kg
|
|
Date Of Birth:
|
28/05/1986
|
|
Place of Birth:
|
Brisbane QLD
|
|
Rugby Career
|
|
|
Senior Club:
|
Sydney University
|
|
Stats
|
|
|
Provincial Rugby Caps:
|
85 [Queensland 45, NSW 40]
|
|
Provincial Rugby Points:
|
280 (9t, 47c, 38p, 9d), [Queensland 105 (6t,18c,7p,6d), NSW 175 (3t,29c,31p,3d)]
|
|
Provincial Rugby Debut:
|
2006 v HSBC Waratahs [Queensland Reds]
|
|
Super Rugby Caps:
|
85 [Reds 45, HSBC Waratahs 40]
|
|
Super Rugby Points:
|
280 (9t, 47c, 38p, 9d), [Queensland 105 (6t,18c,7p,6d), NSW 175 (3t,29c,31p,3d)]
|
|
Super Rugby Debut:
|
2006 v HSBC Waratahs [Reds]
|
|
Test Rugby Caps:
|
50
|
|
Test Rugby Points:
|
200 (8t, 17c, 34p, 8d)
|
|
Test Rugby Debut:
|
2007 v Japan [RWC]
|
A star on the Super Rugby and international stages and a firm favourite with fans, Berrick Barnes became the 37th Australian to earn his 50th Test cap against Wales in the final match of the 2012 season.
The 2013 season will be Berrick Barnes’ fourth season in sky blue. An accomplished goal kicker, Barnes overtook Lote Tuquiri (148) to become the seventh highest points’ scorer in NSW Super Rugby history with 158 points in the 2012 round 17 loss to the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium. A former rugby league star, Barnes has long been a favourite with NSW and Australian rugby fans, his popularity as much down to his down to earth attitude and willingness to sign every last autograph, as his impressive on field skills.
Despite recording two straight man of the match performances in the Wallabies’ 2012 June Test series whitewash over Six Nations champions Wales, it was this character that Barnes was most applauded for. Having left the squad to return to Sydney the night before the second Test to be with wife Rebekah for the earlier than anticipated birth of his first son Archie, he made it back to Melbourne just before the team departed the hotel – and proceeded to perform with poise as the Wallabies snatched a last-gasp 25-23 win to secure the series.
A product of Kingaroy in country Queensland and a junior rugby league star, Barnes switched to rugby in 2006, leaving the Brisbane Broncos to join the Queensland Reds. So immediate was his influence, he earned his Test debut the following year at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. After 45 games and four years in Queensland, Barnes joined NSW in 2010 and played his first-ever Super Rugby semi-final that same year after helping his new side to the first of two back-to-back playoff appearances.
The following year ended similarly, with Barnes again involved in finals football. Despite picking up an injury whilst helping Australia to a record-breaking win over the Barbarians at Twickenham, he recovered to help steer the Wallabies to a 24-18 win over Wales at Cardiff the following week, before returning home in one piece to make his pre-Christmas wedding! His tour work had followed the role he had played in the Bronze Final against Wales at the Rugby World Cup where he helped to guide Australia astutely during the 21-18 success, one of five Rugby World Cup appearances that included the final 28 minutes of the quarter-final against South Africa, and the last 45 minutes of the semi-final against New Zealand. While Barnes could not turn the tide against the All Blacks, his mere presence on the field at the tournament represented a ‘victory’ after he endured an unsettled Super Rugby season plagued by a condition known as ‘footballer’s migraine.
Now a veteran of two Rugby World Cups, Barnes reasserted his status as a world-class Test player with a series of stand out performances in the June test window.
He is currently studying his Bachelor of Arts (English/Modern History) at Macquarie University via Open Universities Australia with the aim of persuing a career as a high school teacher in English/Modern History after rugby.
The 26-year-old lives with his wife Rebekah and young son Archie in Randwick.
Updated May 21, 2013