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.
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.
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.
You may also like: The Rugby Pod discuss whether ringfencing should be introduced into the Gallagher Premiership.
Comments on RugbyPass
No doubt this will be a fantastic occasion and I plan to be there, but I think the bean counters have won out over the rugby brains. In my opinion, it is foolhardy to give the Black Ferns the experience of playing in front of 60,000+ at Twickenham a year before they might be playing there in a World Cup Final. Better to play France at Twickenham and Black Ferns at Kingsholm. The difference in takings would be miniscule.
1 Go to commentsDom kant
191 Go to commentsBen is a little incel desperately trying to stir the pot and stay relevant. We used to get mad at his articles. Now we just feel sorry for him
191 Go to commentsPerhaps we may need to put an asterisk on NZ’s ‘87 WC win since the Boks weren’t there. You know, just as a reminder. Poor Ben Smith. Go cry somewhere else.
191 Go to commentsNz should have won. I didn't watch the game, but the ref was at fault and the bounce of the ball and the Bokke used the Bomb squad and the Bokke slow the game down and the Bokke scrum. They should remove the scrum. The Bokke are to strong. Not fair. Nz should have won
2 Go to commentsThanks for a much more balanced piece Ned and not that BS that Bin Smuth just posted a short while ago. read this article and then Bin Smuth’s and tell me there isn’t a huge difference🙄
2 Go to commentsWere the Baby Boks part of this game or did the Baby Blacks play themselves?🤔 That man Bin Smuth once again does a little write-up on the game and it is like 95% about the Baby Blacks🤣 Glad he ends off with the Baby Blacks were actually in cruise control for most of the game and weren’t actually playing for the win WTF🤣🤣 Maybe he was expecting the Baby Blacks to run rampant….
1 Go to commentsOne does not expect anything more from Ben Smith who epitomises the worst of New Zealand media arrogance and an inability to balance what he has to say about any team that beats the All Blacks. His reference to context is pathetically thin. He does not comment that Frizell deserved a red card given his blatant manipulation of his body to ensure that he could drop his body weight onto Mbonambi’s lower leg. No mention of the ball lost forward before the All Black’s try (lost in-field of the 5 metre line and gathered beyond). The All Black commitment and effort was superb and there was little in it. Given the Springbok passage to the final and the loss of their hooker in the first three minutes, their resolve and capacity to win their fourth final out of eight attempts (not three out of ten) deserves the praise that has been forthcoming from media around the world, worth reading and listening to. Ben should join his “pundit” friends on TV - he would fit in well. This sort of article reduces any credibility Rugby Pass has ever had. Why persist with this sort of nonsense? The man does his country and a rugby blog a disservice.
191 Go to commentsEtzebeth went on to say: “I would never dream of saying that systems stay in place following a change in captain. To say that would be deeply, deeply, disrespectful of Siya. A while back an Irish person told me they would be fine without Sexton, so I’m just responding to that.”
3 Go to commentsClose games are what we want to see…. What a match it was…. I am sure that everyone was drained by the end of it. The reality of it all there has to be a winner and a loser. The fact that we still talking about it is almost 6 months to the day Rugby is the winner.. Asante sana… Here is to 2027 and what it will bring out.
191 Go to commentsIt’s going to be a good game. COYQ
1 Go to comments“Shock”, the guy was casually saying he was just slightly surprised. Nowadays if you say anything it gets taken completely out of context. Calm down everyone.
156 Go to commentsAll I can say after reading this bitter, sour, sad piece is… Thank you very much! This will be read in the change room just before kick off on 31 August…
191 Go to commentsLook, we know contradicting opinions and wacky comments bring readers and clicks, so well done to RP for allowing always-wrong-Ben to say something here. However RP needs to put a disclaimer next to his comments for their own credibility. NZ was and is incapable of acknowledging their opp beating them. They refused so with Ire and with Arg in 2022 and also the Boks in 2023 x 2. Nothing Ben says here holds water, NZ attacked backwards, except when Kolisi and Kolbe was off And cyncialy took out Bongi, we played without lineouts for 75mins. Kolisi and Kurt-Lee almost scored twice. Thats 3 vs 2 for Boks, but the Boks opportunities was legal. Boks should have been 16-3 up by half time. Tacticaly the Boks attacked better defended better scrummed better (without a hooker) kicked better and crossed the whitewash more times. Boks beat Fr Eng Nz to win in 23, comeon give some credit at least. Even Federer Verstappen NY Mets, Mamoa, was able to see a great human sport achievement by the Boks and their DNA Boks #RWC27 !🏉
191 Go to commentsForget the 85kg bit, that can become something else. However I do like the one off test on ANZAC day idea. SR plays Fri/ Sat, test players travel Sunday and the squads have the full week together before playing Saturday. Rest of SR has a week off. Either involve women's teams in same location or in the other country and rotate annually. Herbert is right in that change is needed.
3 Go to commentsI’ve read loads of nonsense before but this article takes the cake. Or perhaps someone changed the date for April Fool's Day.
3 Go to commentsReally Rugbypass? Ben Smith I think you forgot what the Springboks did to the All Blacks at Twickenham 8 weeks earlier? Springboks 35 All Blacks 7. There is alot of ifs and buts in your article. The All Blacks threw the sink at the Springboks and unfortunately they were not good enough regardless if they played with 14 men or not. It was the Springboks who forced the All Blacks to make mistakes! Sorry but not Sorry the Springboks is the best ever Rugby World Cup Nation in the world. 4 Cups baby!
191 Go to commentsYou just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
191 Go to commentsBen Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
191 Go to commentsWow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the desperation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
191 Go to comments