Barkley answers England kicker call

ENGLAND boss Clive Woodward handed Olly Barkley his first Test match start, and declared: “I have no fears about him”.

Bath fly-half Barkley will line up in today's RBS 6 Nations Championship appointment with Wales at Twickenham as replacement for injured goalkicker Paul Grayson.

And England's coaching think-tank of Woodward, Andy Robinson and Phil Larder immediately got behind the 22-year-old, whose first three caps were all won as a replacement against the USA, then Italy and Ireland this term.