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MARSEILLE - Berrick Barnes will get all the support he needs from the senior Wallabies but in the heat of Saturday's World Cup quarter-final battle against England it will be up to the youngster to call the shots.
Coach John Connolly says as the 21-year-old prodigy is playing in the pivotal fly-half position he must make instant decisions in his head-to-head duel with England's Jonny Wilkinson.
Matt Giteau and Stirling Mortlock have spoken about spreading the responsibility among the Wallabies' backs and easing the burden on Barnes, playing in just his fourth international as a replacement for injured Stephen Larkham.
But Connolly said that is all right in theory but from the kick-off it will be all down to Barnes' instinctive decision-making and the Wallaby coach has the confidence and faith that the tyro will come through.
"There's no doubt Stirling is a great talker on the outside, but the (number) ten has to make that decision on the spot, the decisions have to be immediate, so it's up to him," Connolly said.
"You can have things planned, have great talk, but at the end of the day he's got a split-second to make a decision of what to do.
"That comes down to having a temperament for the game, having the skills set to be able to know what to do and to follow that through. And he's got all those."
Barnes has been absorbing advice from Mortlock, Giteau, Lote Tuqiri and George Gregan to ease his way in what could be one of the defining individual performances of the clash with the defending champions.
"Berrick is a different number ten to Stephen Larkham. Berrick is great in that he does tend to source out knowledge from the senior players and they had a good chat," Connolly said.
"We've been fortunate because Berrick was probably one of the last players picked for the tournament.
"We thought he had the skills set and the mentality to be up to handle the pressure of the World Cup. We're quite confident with him."
Barnes was thrust into his full international debut against Wales at short notice when Larkham suffered knee trouble on the eve of the match in Cardiff, but the youngster came through with flying colours as the Australians won 32-20 to establish supremacy in Pool B.
England's decision to play the intimidating Andy Farrell at inside-centre, rather than the smaller Olly Barkley, will also put more pressure on Barnes.
"Andy Farrell is a very confrontational player. We saw him against South Africa, he took the ball forward very strongly and that's what we expect from him," Connolly said.
"He also has a great temperament for a big game as he's shown in rugby league."
Connolly is wary of England, but says he is comfortable at where his team is at this stage of the tournament.
"I think we are in a reasonable space. The goal is to get to the quarter-finals with some petrol left in the tank," he said.
"Saturday will be a massive test. You can feel the focus in any team, it's a totally different feeling than beforehand."
- AFP
