Life's a beach for Goode
Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:53
Andy Goode - Father and match-winner
Life could not be more different for England flyhalf Andy Goode after his off-season move from Leicester Tigers to French club side Brive. There's a new language to learn, new teammates to befriend, different schedules to contend with, but, most importantly, the luxury of the beach not too far away...
Who said being a rugby player was hard work?
"I'm actually sitting on the beach right now," brags the nine-times capped England flyhalf in conversation with rugby365.com, "life is good!"
Despite having played a game at the weekend, Goode explains: "The beach is just two hours away and the nippper (his daughter, Ella-Grace) loves a frolic on the beach on a Sunday afternoon.
"Of course I miss Leicester and you never know, I could even end up back there again one day, but for now I'm loving the change in lifestyle and so is the family."
Goode is on his second stint away from Leicester, having played at Saracens in 2002 and 2003, but he is determined to make this move count. "I guess the easy choice would've been to stay (at Leicester), but as a family we wanted to experience something different and this is about as different as it comes," he says.
Initially things were tough for the 28-year-old after making the sudden, rushed move, but with his family finally joining him at Brive, things are really looking up for the former Leicester Tigers points-machine.
He adds: "My wife and kid were still at home for about five weeks after I got here as they had to wrap things up, but it's been great having them here and we've already had my folks and the in-laws coming to stay.
"[My daughter] Ella-Grace has French lessons every day, I've been picking up a few words here and there and the missus is quite busy with her own business, so it's been great."
Despite also having the 'luxury' of being able to call upon two former England teammates at Brive, hooker Steve Thompson and wing Ben Cohen, Goode is determined to embrace the French lifestyle.
"Learning the language earns you some extra respect," he explains, "plus it helps when it comes to learning backline calls too!
"But in all honesty, it's not just a club full of Frenchmen and three Englishmen, we've actually got guys from all over the world here; South Africa, Georgia, Wales - there's something like 12 different nationalities at the club."
Now all they need is for their results to hit an upward curve at Brive... So far this season, the Limousin region club has played six Top 14 matches, losing three, drawing two and winning just one.
"I've been around too long to suddenly start panicking or to start packing my bags," chuckles Goode, who up until the start of the 2008/09 season had scored more points than anybody else in the Guinness Premiership.
"We've had some pretty tough away games so far, playing against the likes of Perpignan, Toulon, Biarritz and Stade Français - a nightmare fixture list for any club. The only tough away ones we've got left this season are against Toulouse and Clermont Auvergne.
"We were back at home last weekend and we bounced back nicely with a big win over Dax, this week we've got Mont-de-Marsan at home - a game we should win and that could see us move up to a more comfortable mid-table position."
However, the big thing for Goode to get used to right now is the structure of the club season in France, especially when compared to England's top-flight.
"For starters," he says, "there's no cup competition, so we get some time off during November, over Christmas and during the Six Nations, too.
"[But] it's a long old season over here, we play 26 games in the league and there's also the European Challenge Cup. We're in the same pool as Newcastle, Parma and El Salvador, so if we win our home game against the Falcons, we could easily challenge for a home quarterfinal."
The presence of Newcastle in their pool aside, Goode admits to keeping an eye on Leicester's progress back in his homeland, whilst there is also the small matter of him being named in the England Saxons squad, with Jonny Wilkinson, Olly Barkley, Toby Flood and Shane Geraghty the flyhalf options in the 32-man Elite Player Squad named by new manager Martin Johnson earlier this year.
"I spoke to Geordie (Geordan Murphy) the other day and he said they've won some close ones, which is something we weren't able to do for some reason last season," says Goode.
"It's great to see the guys winning, and I guess a bit of luck always helps, but it's also good to see Wasps losing a few!"
And on his England future, Goode adds: "I spoke to Johnno (Martin Johnson) before I made the move and his advice was simple, 'If you and your family want to experience something new, go for it'.
"I know where I stand in the pecking order and if the guys ahead of me don't play well then Johnno will have a look at me. All I can ask for at this stage is honesty, and with Johnno you certainly get bucketloads of that (honesty)!"
By Howard Kahn
