He returned to the England side as a reserve in the opening game of the 2004 RBS Six Nations against Italy in Rome. He held his position for the subsequent match against Ireland at Twickenham. 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. It is thought that from his promotion in the 2004 Six Nations he became a regular member of the squad. 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.