England will unleash their secret weapon on the world in Vancouver on Tuesday - and even the coaches do not quite know how he will react.

Bath's Olly Barkley is set to be pitched into battle for England A in their outing against British Columbia hoping to justify a reputation which is growing despite few chances to actually see him play.

Barkley was the shock selection when England manager Clive Woodward named his touring party for the three-Test trip to North America.

And though it is unlikely he will actually figure in a full international, such are the figures willing to add their names to the 19-year-old's glowing CV, nothing it appears is impossible.

Having initially worked under England and Lions coach Andy Robinson at Colston's Collegiate, he moved to Bath where he also came under Brian Ashton's gaze.

And it was wily Ashton's influential voice which convinced Woodward he should take Barkley on tour, even though he had never personally seen him play and - at the time of the announcement - was unsure of his precise whereabouts.

In fact, Barkley was ready to head home, having taken himself off to New Zealand in mid-season when it became apparent that a first-team place at the Recreation Ground was just beyond his present reach.

He headed home after a stint in Christchurch with Maorist and is now ready to justify Ashton's faith.

``I have to admit, I don't know that much about him,'' said Ashton, who has taken on the mantel of head coach on this trip. I saw Olly two or three times at Bath, early on in the season.

``I was coaching the backs and he was alongside the likes of Mike Catt and Iain Balshaw and didn't look out of place at all. He is very composed and comfortable and has the same potential the senior guys have got. He is definitely an exciting prospect.''

Not another Jonny Wilkinson surely - yet Ashton cannot help but make comparisons.

``It's quite startling really,'' said the Lancastrian, who is now based in the west country. He has the same mental strength and focus as Jonny.

``Two or three years ago Jonny was a pretty serious young man and Olly is exactly the same. He is left-footed as Jonny is and the comparison in physical build is quite remarkable.

``Maybe the top half of the body is not quite as developed but he is very powerful and has an excellent mental approach. We have yet to see him play in a game but if he can translate what he does in training onto the playing field, who knows what might happen on the rest of the trip.''

With Robinson and Phil Larder also on Lions duty, the onus is on Ashton to ensure England's stars of tomorrow quickly adapt to the rigours of international combat and eradicate some of the crass mistakes young players are liable to make.

He winces when he recalls the first 20 minutes against the Barbarians last week, decrying the likes of Dave Walder for booting the ball aimlessly down field when nothing else seemed on.

``You have to try and ensure they don't do anything daft - that is the danger with young players, you can't hide away from it,'' he said.

``But if a direct result of kicking the ball away is to have Jonah Lomu or Joe Vidiri pounding at you, it is a pretty good lesson not to do it again.''

But, outweighing Ashton's disappointment of Sunday's opening, was the
remarkable way England fought back, to the extent that they finished stronger with a late Adrian Garvey try giving the Barbarians a 14-point winning margin they barely merited.

``One of the big faults with England sides in the past has been that when the pressure is on, they have fallen back into a stereotype, looked for people to lead them and relied on set moves,'' said Ashton.

``These guys didn't do that. They were taking the opposition on and that is pretty exciting for the future. It is very difficult to defend against pace. Eventually defences succumb.

``We have players who can change positions within a game. It doesn't happen by accident, we train like that. They have responsibilities but they also have the freedom to make the decisions they feel are appropriate.

``We stress this `freedom with responsibility' aspect all the time. The more freedom you have, the more responsibility you must take on board. Anything else is total chaos.''