Stuart Barnes

Stuart Barnes (born 22 November 1962 in Grays, Thurrock in the county of Essex) is a former English rugby union footballer, and now sports commentator for Sky Sports. Barnes played Fly-half for Newport RFC, Bristol, Bath; and represented England and the British Lions at international level.

Biography

Born in Essex, Barnes was educated at Bassaleg School in Newport and Wellington College, Berkshire [http://sport.independent.co.uk/rugby_union/article3321344.ece] , captaining Berkshire Schools and Wales Schools at both Intermediate and Senior age groups. He studied at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford where he won three rugby Blues, captained the team and played against Cambridge University's Rob Andrew in the Varsity match. [http://www.varsity.co.uk/archive/629.pdf#search=%22%22stuart%20barnes%22%20wife%20children%22]

During University, Barnes played club rugby for Newport RFC. He graduated in 1981, [ [http://www.seh.ox.ac.uk/index.cfm?do=famous St Edmund Hall - Oxford ] ] before transferring to Bristol as a result of his decision to play internationally for England, appearing in two of Bristol’s Cup Final matches and winning one. He also joined the Bristol and West building society, as these were the days of amateur rugby — eventually rising to be manager of the Brislington branch.

He left Bristol RFC — amid much local controversy — for their bitter west country rivals Bath. He arrived 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." [http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s105/st74420.htm BathRugbyEre.co.uk - ERE Met Stuart Barnes In January 1994 ] ] . His first Bath game was on the 7 September 1985 versus Plymouth Albion on the Rec. He would later captain Bath to an English teams first League/Cup double.

International career

While at Bristol, his England debut was against Australia in November 1984, and also represented the British Lions on international level. He gained only ten caps, after being eclipsed by the overall play of Rob Andrew, and played his last international match in 1993. Barnes played for the Barbarians on eleven occasions, including the Hong Kong 7’s in 1982 and 1989. He scored two tries, 19 conversions and eight penalties (70 points) in Barbarians colours.

Life after playing

Barnes last game was the Bath versus Leicester Pilkington Cup Final on 7 May 1994, when Bath won 21–9. He resigned from the Bristol and West building society shortly afterwards. Barnes became a freelance writer/reporter with both the Telegraph and the Bristol Mercury, and wrote his autobiography "Smelling of Roses". He edited the short-lived rugby magazine First XV in the mid 90s.

As the professional era commenced, Barnes became a more familiar face as a summariser and pundit on both television and radio for the BBC, before securing a permanent position on Sky Sports's coverage of the Guinness Premiership. He eventually gained status as the network's main Rugby co-commentator, offering analysis alongside Miles Harrison. The pair were also been loaned out to ITV for their World Cup 2007 coverage.

Personal life

Nicknamed "The Barrel", [http://www.scrum.com/students/varsity99/alumni.asp] or "The Bath Barrel", [ [http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s105/st64557.php BathRugbyEre.co.uk - Leinster Snatch Victory From Bath ] ] he admits to disliking training, and as a reason why he would never be credible as a coach/why he prefers writing. He prides himself on his devotion to Bacchus and Bob Dylan, and counts amongst his friends wine expert Keith Floyd. The beer 'Barnstormer' (4.5%) brewed by Bath Ales is named after him. He is an ardent Arsenal F.C. fan.

References

External links

* [http://www.bathrugby.co.uk/26_4549.php Profile at Bath Rugby "Hall of Fame"]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=715 Sporting heroes]
* [http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=716 Sporting heroes]
* [http://statistics.scrum.com/rugby_stats_05.asp?ID=EBA8 Statistics at Scrum.com]
* [http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s105/st74420.htm 1994 Interview post his retirement]