Olly Barkley has won an England call-up before he has even played a senior game
at club level.

The 19-year-old Bath fly-half will start for Clive Woodward's second string against British Columbia at the University sports ground almost a month since he last appeared in a match of any description.

Frustrated at his lack of first-team chances at Bath, Barkley opted to pursue a lifelong dream to play in New Zealand last autumn, joining the Marist club in Christchurch.

It was from there Barkley received the news that he had been chosen in
England's squad to tour North America and having received rave reviews in
training over the last fortnight, now has a chance to put himself in line for a most unlikely Test call.

``It was entirely my decision to go to New Zealand,'' admitted the
Cornwall-born player.``Bath weren't too happy about it because they were losing a player but they were quite understanding and helped me out a lot.

``It was something I really wanted to do and fortunately things went quite
well.I knew if I carried on with my rugby career, I might not get the chance to travel again but it helped me reaffirm my desire for the game.''

Barkley will return to a full-time contract with Bath when the present tour ends in two weeks' time.

He also intends to commit himself to a business and marketing degree at the
local university, another example of a professional sportsman finding a positive outlet for the spare time at his disposal.

By then, Barkley could be an international. Having excelled enough at soccer to earn trials with Arsenal and Plymouth, Barkley took up the 15-man code when he was 13, making an almost instant impact.

He was awarded a three-year scholarship at the highly-regarded Colston's
College, Barkley quickly came to the attention of England coaches Andy Robinson and Brian Ashton and brought immediate comparisons with Jonny Wilkinson at a similar age.

``They have the same mental approach, are both left-footed and the physical
similarities are quite remarkable,'' said Ashton.``People will make comparisons but we are looking for his to develop in his own way.

``The last thing we want to do is produce clones.''

Barkley will partner Leeds' Scott Benton at half-back, with another Headingley man, lock Tom Palmer, also included despite not having played a Premiership game.

Woodward highlighted skipper Alex Sanderson, former Sale team-mate David Rees and Gloucester prop Trevor Woodman, who have most to gain from an impressive performance when he comes to select his team for the second Test against Canada in Burnaby on Saturday.

He has kept the same bench as the one he used in Markham last weekend, hinting that all his squad will see some meaningful action before the end of the tour.

But it is the inclusion of Barkley which will cause most interest, with
Woodward claiming he has no problems pitching him in against what is likely to be an experienced home side and has no interest in easing him through the early stages of his career.

"We threw Jonny Wilkinson in at the deep end and I have no qualms about what we are asking Olly to do,'' he said.

"If I was his age, I would want to play. If they are good enough, you should give them a game and I have no doubts about his ability.

"He came to a couple of England training sessions last year and I told him then he would be involved on this tour.

"There is no more pressure on him than anyone else and we are all looking
forward to seeing him play."

England XV v British Columbia, Vancouver, Tuesday 5 June, 1930 local (0330 Wednesday, BST):

Tom Voyce (Bath); David Rees (Bristol), Fraser Waters (Wasps), Joe Ewens (Gloucester), Paul Sackey (London Irish); Olly Barkley (Bath), Scott Benton (Leeds); Trevor Woodman (Gloucester), Chris Fortey (Gloucester), Ricky Nebbett (Leicester), Alex Brown (Bristol), Tom Palmer (Leeds), Steve White-Cooper (Harlequins), Andy Hazell (Gloucester), Alex Sanderson (Sale, capt)

Replacements: Andy Long (Bath), David Flatman (Saracens), Simon Shaw (Wasps), Pat Sanderson (Harlequins), Martyn Wood (Wasps), Alex King (Wasps), Tim Stimpson (Leicester)

British Columbia's squad for the match at Thunderbird Stadium includes 15 players with Test experience, among them an all international front row of Garth Cooke, Harry Toews and Kevin Tkachuk. England lost a non-cap match 15-14 to Canada in Vancouver in 1993.

British Columbia squad:

Backs: Pat Fleck, Chris Lonsdale, Mike Danskin, John Graf*, Bob Bremner, Kolby Brezden, Colin Robertson*, Rob Card*, Fred Asselin*, Jeremy Cordle*, Chris Lekakis, Jeff Williams*

Forwards: Garth Cooke*, Chad Plater*, Mark Reid, Kevin Tkachuk*, Mark Lawson, Harry Toews*, Mike Burak, Jamie Cudmore, Ron Johnstone*, Mike Andrew, Mike Langley, Paul White, Jason Callioux*, Brad Major, Ben Travena*, Colin McKenzie*, Adam Van Staveren*

* denotes Canadian International