Olly Barkley: 'Sam's the man to fill Butch's boots'

Barkley returned for Bath Rugby against London Irish at the weekend – and gave England attack coach Brian Smith a glimpse of what the national side are missing with a distinguished all-round performance.

The inside centre, who missed the season's opener with a bruised thumb, says there is more to come – and is optimistic he can forge an understanding with fly-half Vesty that is every bit as potent as his partnership with James.

Barkley linked up with summer signing Vesty for the first time in Saturday's 20-13 win. And while Bath's back line took a little while to warm up, Barkley is relishing more game time with his new midfield partner.

"Sam has come in and had a great start," he said. "He's instantly won respect from the boys and we're going to get behind him.

"Relationships between 10s and 12s take time but Sam is very calm on the field and has a great understanding of the game – what you would expect from a Leicester guy.

"Hopefully, if we play more together we'll look better and better."

Barkley, who was dropped from the England EPS and Saxons squads following the summer tour of Australasia, was accurate with five out of seven shots on goal against the Exiles as he collected 15 points.

When he was dropped by England in July, team manager Martin Johnson told Barkley he needed to tighten up his defence

And there was no sign of Barkley shirking any defensive duties on Saturday.

"Defensively we are more focused than we have been for the last three or four years, especially with Lewis Moody coming in and him being so strong on that," explained Barkley.

"I've worked on it a lot but you can't beat game time. I've been doing drills with Brad [Davis, defence coach] and the boys. It was nice to get out there and put my shoulder in."

Elsewhere, Barkley showed his trademark guile in attack, using a fine turn of pace and a nifty step to burst out of his own 22 for a 45-metre run in the second half.

Team-mate and England captain Lewis Moody, who made his home debut for Bath, was impressed.

"Barks is a quality player – he proved that last season," said the flanker.

"He was frustrated to miss out last week against Leeds and you could see that in him on Saturday. He took his opportunities on goal which is all you can ask for in a tight game."