WARATAHS playmaker and incumbent Wallabies No.12 Berrick Barnes has admitted his position in the national side is no longer a given and that he needs to find form in coming weeks for NSW or risk missing out on Robbie Deans's starting 15.
Barnes's season has been rocked by a series of head injuries, restricting his time on the field to seven matches this year. He admitted serious fears of long-term effects from the concussions but said he would enter the final phases of the Super Rugby season with renewed confidence after the latest tests revealed his circumstances were nowhere near as dire as his original diagnosis.
"I'm pretty confident since the diagnosis that it's not as serious at they first thought and it's more of a case of footballer's migraine," Barnes told The Sun-Herald. "The docs have been great. It's a case of footballer's migraine and is something that's brought on through knocks late in the game, under fatigue. It's not as bad as what we thought it was and that's great. I won't turn into a vegetable when I'm older.
"It's still an ongoing issue and I'm not just forgetting about it. Last week I had to miss the next game because I still wasn't feeling right after the knock against the Lions. And that's something I'll have to monitor if I get more knocks - just how long it takes to recover. But the positive thing that eases my mind is that it appears there are no long-term effects out of it, which is good. Hopefully I can get back to some form, avoid the head knocks and play some consistent footy for a while."
He said ongoing discussion with coach Robbie Deans assured him he was still in Wallabies contention despite a lack of game time and further lack of consistency, and that he was focused on rediscovering his attacking flare and shaking fears about being concussed for a fourth time. "I've been staying in touch with Robbie, as a case of seeing how the health is," Barnes said.
"It's good that he's taken an interest in me and all the boys because it obviously affects him and his side and who he wants to pick … It's important to be fully fit going in to that Test season to give yourself an opportunity to be selected.
"Apart from trying not to get hit, I obviously want to try and be a bit more of a threat in attack and I'm working on that. Playing at 12 simplifies my game and will allow me to get wider and do a few more things. I need to take that opportunity and run with it and run the ball. And in terms of the Wallabies, well, you need to be able to cover a couple of positions these days. You need to diversify. Quade [Cooper] plays 10 but attacks a lot from 15. It's part of the game now and you have to adapt, the coaches need it - especially with injuries and squad numbers. There's not much else I can do now other than try to improve because all that selection stuff is out of my hands.''
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