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Berrick Barnes vital part of future: John O'Neill
Wayne Smith, London | December 02, 2008
FOR one scary moment, Australian Rugby Union CEO John O'Neill was given a glimpse of life for the Wallabies without Matt Giteau and it suddenly clarified how important Berrick Barnes has become to the side.
Even though there seems little likelihood of Giteau accepting a massive $9.6million offer to join French club Bayonne - he would have to quit the Wallabies and Test football to do so - O'Neill has a new sense of urgency about ensuring Australia has a fallback plan in case the brilliant playmaker does leave or is injured.
It always appeared to be coach Robbie Deans' plan on tour to give Barnes significant game time at five-eighth. He wanted to have a close look at whether the spluttering Australian backline would work better with the two players reverting to the positions they occupied in the World Cup last year - Barnes at five-eighth, Giteau at inside centre.
Unfortunately the plan came unstuck right from the start, with Barnes lasting only 12 minutes at five-eighth against Italy before succumbing to a knee injury that eventually forced him to return home early.
Nonetheless, there is little doubt Barnes, who switched to rugby and the Queensland Reds from the Brisbane Broncos in 2006 and comes off contract at the end of next year, is going to loom large as a critical figure for the Wallabies leading into the 2011 World Cup - if he, too, is not lured overseas.
Contacts in France have revealed Barnes has expressed a keen interest in playing in that country.
O'Neill, however, indicated this week that Barnes has become a priority retention for Australian rugby.
"Barnes is vital going forward," O'Neill said. "Technically he is very sound."
It was only as recently as the Tri-Nations series that the designated back-up to Giteau was captain Stirling Mortlock, whose unique skills don't exactly fit the standard job description for a Test five-eighth.
Injury might have robbed Barnes of the chance to re-submit his application for the 10 jersey, but this tour has unearthed a surprising and potentially spectacular new candidate for the job, fellow Reds playmaker Quade Cooper.
He could hardly have made a more dramatic entry into international football, single-handedly snatching a win for Australia in the Italy Test with a mesmerising, weaving 20m solo run to the line late in proceedings at Padua.
But there is a world of difference between a 10-minute cameo and the hard slog of a full Test match, and Cooper proved he could go the distance with an encouraging display when he came off the bench to replace Mortlock after only two minutes at Millennium Stadium.
While he took time to adjust to the speed of the game, having two kicks charged down, he also had some heady moments and clearly he has the ability to bring some real width to the Australian attack. Deans was delighted with what he saw from the 20-year-old.
"Exceptional," Deans said. "For a young man who is finding his feet at Super 14 level, he has shown in the opportunities he has had just how high his threshold can be.
"He needs to add to what he has got but he will do that. He's had a taste. He's liked it and he wants more and he will do what's required."
Cooper admitted that what he experienced at Millennium Stadium was like nothing else he had ever gone through in his life, especially his first 10 minutes on the field.
"Very brutal," Cooper said. "There were a few injuries in the first 10 minutes, boys getting winded, boys getting up off the ground with head knocks and stuff like that.
"The pace of the game and the intensity of the game were so much higher than anything I've played before.
"It was a dream come true. The whole tour Robbie has been telling us to take our opportunities when they come.
"I just went out there to try to play some football. There was a lot of help from all the rest of the guys. They made me feel at home out there."
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...-23217,00.html