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Fans mystified by Goode's continued England absence
In a weekend of tight Champions Cup quarter finals, Saracens bucked the trend with a resounding 56-27 demolition of Glasgow.
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The two-time champions did not have the best preparation for the game, with Owen Farrell pulling out for the birth of his child before kick-off. This meant Alex Goode had to shift from fullback to fly-half.
The fears that this reshuffle would affect Saracens’ performance were allayed with less than five minutes on the clock, as a deft kick from Goode put Liam Williams in for their first score. The 21-cap England international continued to control the game from there and put Glasgow to the sword.
This performance once again raised the question as to why he has been given so little recognition with England, with many fans are mystified on Twitter in light of his performance.
https://twitter.com/Mr_AGD/status/1112452152440561666
Watching the @Saracens v @GlasgowWarriors highlights and still cannot understand how #alexgoode does not make the @EnglandRugby squad, strong in the air, good boot, reads the game, strong defence and we all know about his attack #worldclass #testquality #saracens #england #rugby
— View From The Scrum (@viewfromthescr1) March 31, 2019
Eddie @EnglandRugby .., you were there yesterday. Any spaces for Alex Goode @Saracens … (you know, you want to ?????) #rugbyunited https://t.co/UcdQzZ8JQB
— Veronique Landew (@veroniquelandew) March 31, 2019
Why oh why is Alex Goode not in the England squad? It's obscene how class players are just ignored by Jones in favour of PI crash ball lumps with no brain. Scandalous
— Clever Trevor (@Cl3ver_Tr3vor) March 30, 2019
https://twitter.com/mikeydrummer/status/1112215760921919488
It’s the prat Called Eddie Jones always been better than mike Brown by miles
— maurice blakeway (@maurice1941) March 31, 2019
Whoever you support, most would agree this guy is consistently outstanding. The fact that the likes of him and Cips are constantly ignored is ridiculous. #eddiegetsitwrongconstantly
— Larry Cummins (@LarryCummins8) March 31, 2019
Alex Goode continues to play brilliantly almost every game. He must have snogged EJ’s wife or something to not get back into the England squad!? ????
— Nigel Clarkson (@NigelPClarkson) March 30, 2019
Watching Saracens. I don't understand Alex Goode not being a starter for England. Do we want to win meaningful things or not?
— Nick Lincoln (@HatTipNick) March 30, 2019
Surely Eddie can’t ignore Alex Goode for England now? Better than ford at 10 and daly at 15?
— Dave Copeland (@dcstretch) March 30, 2019
Absolutely agree….either Goode or Cipriani att least in the bench has to be a better option than Ford
— StevieP (@StevePenin) March 31, 2019
Despite being a consistently high performer for Saracens in a 10 or 15 shirt, Goode has only won two England caps under Eddie Jones. The Australian has opted for Mike Brown and Elliot Daly primarily during his tenure, despite these fans thinking Goode is a better player than either. Furthermore, some fans feel that Goode is actually a better fly-half than either Farrell or George Ford based on his performance against Glasgow.
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Goode has one of the best rugby brains in England, and this allows him to operate as a superb playmaker, as he has great vision. Some believe this makes him a cut above his teammate Farrell in that department, although the incumbent England 10 also brings a lot of qualities.
But it is the lack of game time for England that Goode has received that has irritated fans the most. Like Danny Cipriani, Goode has been one of the Premiership’s best players this season, and fans just cannot understand what the players need to do to work their way into Jones’ reckoning.
Many would think that Goode’s versatility makes him a great asset to England, but with every squad announcement the fans are left stumped as he has been overlooked time and time again. All he can do is continue putting in performances that he has for Saracens, and hope Jones has a change of heart.
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Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments