Oliver John Barkley (born 28 November 1981)[2] is a former English rugby union player who played for Bath, Gloucester, Racing Metro, Grenoble, Scarlets and London Welsh at fly-half between 2001 and 2016.

He scored his first Heineken Cup try in a game against Italian club Gran Rugby, whilst playing at fullback on 11 October 2002 in Parma.

He made his début for England during the summer tour to North America in 2001 in a game against the United States on 16 June in San Francisco, coming on in the second half as a replacement in the 48–19 win.

He made a breakthrough in 2004 when Sir Clive Woodward handed him England's number 10 jersey for the Six Nations Championship matches against Wales when he replaced an injured Paul Grayson at fly half and France, scoring 27 points over the two games.

Later on in 2004, during the mid-year tests against the southern hemisphere nations, Barkley was a reserve for the matches against the All Blacks in Auckland and Wallabies in Brisbane.

Barkley dislocated his thumb in a club match against Leinster, the injury ruling him out of the opening game of the 2006 Six Nations Championship against Wales.

In search of a new challenge, Barkley joined Gloucester Rugby in July 2008 on a two-year contract after 6 years at Bath.

[7] After only four games back for Bath (one as a replacement and three starting at inside centre), Barkley was already receiving praise for his outstanding performances, with coach Steve Meehan claiming that he should be pressing for a place in Martin Johnson's 44-man squad to tour Australia in the summer.

[9] His season was cut short during Bath's away fixture against Gloucester in the premiership after a collision with teammate Butch James saw him break his leg in two places.