Stuart Barnes

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For the English cricketer, see Stuart Barnes (cricketer). For the Australian poet, see Stuart Barnes (poet).

Stuart Barnes
Barnes in 2006
Date of birth (1962-11-22) 22 November 1962 (age 62)
Place of birthGrays, Essex, England
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight86 kg (13 st 8 lb)[1]
SchoolBassaleg School
UniversitySt Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
Occupation(s)Sports Commentator
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1980–1983 Newport RFC ()
1983–1985 Bristol ()
1985–1994 Bath ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1984–1993 England 10 (34)
1993 British & Irish Lions 0 (0)

Stuart Barnes (born 22 November 1962 in Grays, Essex)[2] is a former English rugby union footballer, and now rugby commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England at international level.

Biography

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Born in Essex, he played schoolboy international rugby for Wales national under-18 rugby union team.[3]

He moved from the U15s to the U19s after one season, and he did not miss a schools international for four years between 1976 and 1980. He captained the team on several occasions.[citation needed]

Barnes studied at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, matriculating in 1981. He won three rugby Blues. He played for Oxford against Cambridge University's Rob Andrew in the Varsity match.[4] He graduated from Oxford with a third-class honours degree in history.[5]

Club career

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While at university, Barnes played club rugby for Newport RFC.[6]

Barnes later played for Bristol Bears, including in the 1984 RFU final against Bath Rugby. After being on the losing side for Bristol in that final, he joined Bath.[7]

He arrived at Bath aged 22: "disaffected with England and, with my volatile character, I could easily have drifted out of the game altogether. At the time the big joke was that I'd had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus – Newport, Bristol and Bath by 22 and people doubted my character, they thought of me as being very fickle and at Bath I found what I wanted – a rugby home.".[8]

He was nicknamed The Bath Barrel.[9]

International career

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Barnes made his England debut against Australia in November 1984. He gained 10 caps for England and played his last international match in 1993 against Ireland.[2]

Barnes played for the Barbarians against Wales in October 1990, converting three tries in the Barbarians victory.[10]

Life after playing

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Barnes' last game was the Bath versus Leicester Pilkington Cup Final on 7 May 1994, which Bath won 21–9. He resigned from his job at the Bristol and West building society shortly afterwards. Barnes became a freelance writer and reporter for The Daily Telegraph, and wrote his autobiography Smelling of Roses.[8]

He later became involved in broadcasting, first with the BBC,[3] and then joined Sky Sports in 1994.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "History – the History of the British & Irish Lions".
  2. ^ a b "Stuart Barnes: England". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Stuart Barnes". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Varsity magazine 25 November 2005 (see page 19)" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2016.
  5. ^ Glover, Tim (7 November 2004). "Stuart Barnes: The voice of rugby says 'I've watched every minute of every match'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
  6. ^ "Notable Alumni – St Edmund Hall". seh.ox.ac.uk.
  7. ^ "The Eighties". History. Bath Rugby Official Site. Archived from the original on 21 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b "BathRugbyEre.co.uk – ERE Met Stuart Barnes In January 1994". Sportnetwork.net. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  9. ^ "BathRugbyEre.co.uk – Leinster Snatch Victory From Bath". Sportnetwork.net. 9 January 2005. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Wales v Barbarians: Full record". BBC. 12 July 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
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