Barkley was better than his bite

Olly Barkley has told the England coaches exactly what he thought of their decision to drop him from the starting team for Saturday's second Test against New Zealand.

Olly Barkley has told the England coaches exactly what he thought of their decision to drop him from the starting team for Saturday's second Test against New Zealand.

He did not mince his words to the media either.

Barkley has been replaced at inside centre by Jamie Noon as England attempt to bolster their midfield defence following the 37-20 defeat last weekend.

Charlie Hodgson, who was singled out for much of the post-match criticism, also lost his place at fly-half as England made a total of five changes to the back division.

“I was very annoyed,” said Barkley.

“It wasn't an easy day for anyone. They have have gone for a different approach in midfield and that means I miss out along with Charlie.

“I am not particularly happy and I have not taken it particularly well, to be honest.

“There were obviously various problems with a few gain-line breaks in midfield.

“I chatted to the coaches and, shall we say, we had a decent talk about what went wrong. I aired my views as well.

“They have made the decision and I have to live with it. But because I have to live with it, doesn't mean I am particularly happy about it.”

Barkley is frustrated at once again being bounced out of the team having only just reclaimed the twelve jersey after missing the Six Nations.

Despite playing the best rugby of his career, Barkley was omitted from the England squad back at the start of the year while he dealt with charges of assault.

The case was dropped in April and Barkley was looking forward to making a new start. He spent just 50 minutes at inside centre last week before moving to fly-half when Hodgson went off.

And Barkley believes England should have shown the same kind of faith in the midfield that they did with the pack, where Tim Payne replaced the injured Andrew Sheridan as the only change.

“I never want to stand up and cry about things,” he said.

“It is frustrating to have lost out during the Six Nations and then to come on a tough tour where we haven't had very long to prepare.

“I don't want anything to fall into my lap. I am not asking for any favours.

“For a midfield to function well – and you see it in the Premiership – the tens, twelves and thirteens that play best are the guys that people stick with regardless of a couple of bad games.

“I am not saying you have to keep me in. I am saying that midfields need time to function, they need time to be together.

“If you don't give them that then they don't have the understanding and often don't have the cohesion.

“But I honestly do understand the coaches don't have the time to have that security to stick with a team. Their job is hard as well.

“In short, I am not happy – but I appreciate the coaches only have a short period of time to mould a side together.”

Barkley also noted he was surprised that, not have done any training at fly-half last week, he was the only player in the squad to fill in when Hodgson went off.

“I didn't step in at ten at all in training last week. Saturday night was the first time I stood at ten,” he explained.

The All Blacks enjoyed significant success attacking the channel between Hodgson and Barkley, but he insists the blame should not rest solely on their shoulders.

“There were various question marks over the way Charlie and I defended in that 10-12 channel. The coaches were keen to get a unit in there that know each other – i.e. Flood and Noon,” said Barkley.

“When things go wrong defensively it is a collective effort, particularly from phase play when you are all involved.”