With England’s sweet chariot hurtling on in no discernible direction, there will hardly have been a wave of relief on Monday when Andy Robinson turned to Andy Goode and handed him the reins. Charlie Hodgson’s knee injury is one of many incidentals that have conspired to push Goode to the front of the queue at No 10 and an early impression is that those happiest to see him there will belong to the opposition. That, at least, is one view.
The other comes from Dusty Hare, the former Leicester and England points-accumulator who is now on the Leicester coaching staff. “If he hasn’t had a chance to show himself at international level,” Hare said, “then how can people say he’s not international class?” Which is a reasonable point — and one that Hare is as well positioned as any to deliver. When Goode was talking about his elevation to the starting role this week, he referred to Hare and how he had helped to guide him there. Hare himself plays down any plaudits, though the fact is that at Leicester they incorporate an old-style mentor system and Hare’s friendship and influence as a sounding board for Goode seem to have worked.
So Hare has some understanding of what it must be like to be Goode, to know that you are not only rated below Hodgson and — lest we forget — Jonny Wilkinson, but suddenly, a fortnight ago, to see that Toby Flood, 21 years of age and 30 club starts to his name, had edged ahead of you, too. “No disrespect to Toby Flood,” Hare said, “but to have Flood in front of him — that hurts. Flood hasn’t proved himself yet with his peers.”
But this, of course, was not a unique situation for Goode. He has got used to being shuffled down the pecking order — Austin Healey went past him at Leicester, only recently Paul Burke was picked ahead of him, too. Some players might start to question themselves. “And there are other sorts,” Hare said, “who see these opportunities as a great challenge. It’s not quite sticking two fingers up to those who have been critical, but it’s at least showing you can do it.”
But while tomorrow does indeed give a chance to silence all those who fear that Captain Average has been given the job of guiding England all the way to the World Cup, Goode appears unswayed by opinion. As Hare said: “For Andy, it might hurt, but it doesn’t faze him. Mentally he’s very strong.”
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Or in Goode’s own words: “As a player, you’re always going to back yourself. You couldn’t get anywhere in rugby if you didn’t think that way. So, you’ve just got to get on with it, take the disappointments if you are not picked and then get back out there.”
This is what Goode has done on successive occasions. When Healey took his starting spot at Leicester, he moved to Saracens; when Saracens did not work out, he swallowed his pride and fought for his Leicester place back. “When Austin was playing ahead of him, that was a big blow,” Jamie Hamilton, who served him at scrum half, said. “But it is always good to be in a position to prove people wrong.”
And the Saracens experience, Kyran Bracken, who played inside him there, insisted, “wasn’t necessarily Andy’s fault. Sarries were chopping and changing too much at that point. He came from an elite environment and a pack going forwards to a club that had neither of those. But I can tell you: he may not tick all the boxes for your archetypal fly half, but his effectiveness is really good.”
Bracken also suggests that, while it was not a success, Goode’s 18 months at Saracens may have had a positive influence in developing the product that England field tomorrow.
Disappointment breeds determination and in many ways this would appear exactly what England need right now, a man at No 10 who is steeled on the disappointments of the past and can come back stronger, a player who might not have the flashy touches but who has safe hands and can handle the pressure exactly the way that he did against South Africa six days ago.
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Some believe that Goode is simply keeping the No 10 shirt warm for when one of its more traditional occupants return. For the above reasons, Hare is not one of those. “Charlie Hodgson?” he said. “Lovely fly half for Sale, but at international level, he hasn’t really proved a point. This is Andy’s chance to do just that and hopefully he can take it.”
Judgment day