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Ex-All Black Jack Goodhue names his most difficult Top 14 opponent

Castres' Jack Goodhue, the ex-All Blacks midfielder (Photo by Levan Verdzeuli/Getty Images)

Former All Blacks midfielder Jack Goodhue has revealed what struck him most outside rugby during his first few months in France. He also outlined the differences he feels exist between the Top 14 and Super Rugby, while he also named the opposition player who has most impressed him while playing for Castres.  

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Capped on 19 occasions by New Zealand but just five times in the Ian Foster era, the 29-year-old last year decided to quit the Crusaders in Canterbury for an overseas experience in Europe. He has now reflected on his maiden season in the Top 14 with Castres, who narrowly missed out on the end-of-season play-offs with their seventh-place finish.  

Having debuted in January following recovery from an ankle operation, Goodhue is now preparing for a second season that will begin on September 7 at home to Racing 92, the team that pipped them in the play-off qualification race. 

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Interviewed by rugbyrama.fr, the centre provided some excellent insight into his time so far in France, including what has caught his eye most away from rugby. “Food,” he told the French rugby website. “Every time I go to the supermarket, it’s a little spectacle.  

“I have discovered desserts, creams and of course cheeses that I didn’t know. It’s quite funny but it’s nice to discover new ingredients. If I had to keep one thing, I would keep duck hearts. We don’t eat that in New Zealand, but it’s excellent!” 

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Reverting to rugby, Goodhue weighed up the merits of the Top 14 against Super Rugby. “You have internationals everywhere in the Top 14. It’s something quite crazy when you look at the squads of all the teams.  

“In terms of the game, it’s quite different here than in Super Rugby. Let’s say that the matches are a little less exciting in France, but I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. It’s simply two ways of playing. In the southern hemisphere, you have a little more action with 10, even 15 phases of play.” 

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Goodhue also named his most difficult Top 14 opponent. “It’s difficult to keep just one but I would say Nicolas Depoortere, the Bordeaux-Begles centre. He is a young guy full of talent who has good years ahead of him. He is quite physical, he defends well… I think he’ll go far.” 

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Well a) poor French results doesn’t seem to effect the situation much. In fact one of the reasons given for this selection policy is that the French don’t tune in for foreign rugby content on the other side of the world, at a time when theyre not having their vino. So who would know the results? And b) this is the crux of the matter, they are legally abided to play them as part of WRs tier 1 reciprocal tours programme. The only real choice for the SH team is to treat it the same, which is fine when teams are happy to do that, but the AB’s have a totally anthesis policy/mentality so would never use the games in the same way.


So alligned with b) the only real option is to complain to those in control. I suspect that’s why weve seen France reneging on the practice, and you can only be left to think that if they hadn’t reneged, WR would have done something more drastic about it. Which of course would mean not just telling them to bugger off when they want to tour, it’s no one playing them (from t1 at least) at all (assuming they have no interest in scheduling match’s outside the windows, like Ireland and NZ are doing).


Then of course that means no involvement of France in the Nations Championship. Which means they are automatically the last ranked team in 6N to qualify, so the actual worst team in 6N gets to compete in it, making a mockery of the promotion and relegation WR wanted to happen between T1 and T2 for qualifying purposes. Yup, b) is just something nobody wants to happen. Well done FFR and LNR for making the tour work instead (how well is yet to be seen).

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