Bath centre Olly Barkley wants to prove his worth to England

Bath centre Olly Barkley says every England squad player on the tour of Australia has an excellent opportunity to impress ahead of the 2011 World Cup.

Barkley has been selected for the opening match against the Australian Barbarians in Perth on Tuesday.

"To be in the 44 now, knowing that it gets cut down to 32, means you're on the radar," he told BBC Sport.

Barkley is joined in the side by Bath team-mates Matt Banahan, Lee Mears, David Wilson and David Flatman.

He added: "It's such a huge thing and, when it's 12 months away, you can almost touch it.

"There's a lot of work to be done and a lot of rugby to be played between now and then so everyone's got to put their hand up and keep it up."

Barkley dismissed suggestions that players who are picked for the first match have no chance of playing in Saturday's first Test.

"You have the first opportunity to stake a claim. It's a huge privilege and we are now in a position to put pressure on the people playing in front of us in the weeks to come," Barkley added.

"We're going out to play some rugby and have a good time."

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