Saracens’ Alex Goode knows value of life and beating Munster

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jan/16/saracens-alex-goode-munster

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The other day a lady of 85 turned up to address the rugby players of Saracens. She spent two hours in their company and none of her audience will ever forget her. Her name was Renee Salt, a survivor of Auschwitz and Belsen whose immediate family all died in the Holocaust. It will be years before anyone at Saracens needs reminding there is more to life than sport.

For Alex Goode, Saracens’ England full-back, whose stepfather is Jewish, the emotional impact of the club’s recent guest speaker was especially powerful. He has always sought to occupy his time constructively away from the training field but he is now more determined than ever to seize whatever moment is at hand. “It puts everything in perspective. I’m a big believer in knowing about your history and how lucky we are to have the freedom we have now. I think everyone should be made plainly aware of the sacrifices people made.

“The Holocaust is perhaps something we don’t all know enough about. To hear exactly what it was like … you can’t comprehend it. It was very moving and powerful – and she was speaking to us the day before the Paris shootings. If this brave lady can help us to understand there is more to life than hating people then she’s helping us. So many people in the world, in my view, die unnecessarily.”

It would be crudely inappropriate to say that Munster, as a direct result, will find it harder to win their crucial Pool One game at Allianz Park on Saturday, an encounter which will effectively end the European Champions Cup aspirations of one of the clubs involved. Goode, nevertheless, freely admits to being inspired by the extreme resilience of those who endured Nazi persecution. “As a group there will be times when we have to fight hard and get something from each day. In rugby it’s clearly not life or death but a player’s career is a short span and you’ve got to make the most of it. You’ve got to appreciate every moment and want to get better. Yes it’s cold and wet sometimes but you know what drives you.”

This constant desire for improvement is re-energising him now, even with Mike Brown established as England’s first choice at 15. Goode’s versatility should ensure a World Cup squad place but he hates the lazy perception that, somehow, he is less competitive than the more visibly feisty Brown. “Perceptions are everything, aren’t they? There’s a perception that maybe I’m not that quick or strong. But everything I do in the gym, as well as my speed times, is constantly improving. I’m constantly developing as an athlete. The conditioners know I’m doing well and so do I. I think some people may think: ‘He’s too relaxed, we like Mike’s competitiveness and bite.’ But anyone who knows me well knows I’m probably the most competitive person you’ll ever meet. Just because I don’t outwardly show it doesn’t mean I’m not fiercely disappointed and annoyed if we don’t win. Luckily I haven’t got any cats … it’s the sofa that takes the kicking.”

Which is why, along with Richard Wigglesworth, Chris Ashton and Owen Farrell, he is so desperate to give Stuart Lancaster a timely nudge this weekend. At his best Goode is a glider in a world full of cargo planes, flitting into space no one else has identified. He kicks for goal as if wearing carpet slippers and never seems rushed, the sign of true class. His rugby intelligence shines bright. “I love the tactical battle. I always see it as a game of cat and mouse between me, their fly-half and maybe their No9. It’s about not letting the ball bounce, never letting them find space.

“That’s my game. Conor Murray’s one of the best exponents of the box kick in the world, if not the best. You have to be very ready for that.”

If England ever want more guile they know who to call. Goode, 26, would have been an absolute star in the amateur era when languid natural sportsmen – he played for Ipswich Town’s academy, played county tennis and is the nephew of the Olympic badminton medallist Jo Goode – had a bit more space in which to operate. “I think a lot of professional players say: ‘It would be great to have played in the amateur era.’ On the video everyone looks so slow and no one can pass. But you’re a product of your time. The fact is we’re professional athletes and they weren’t.

“ We should be better than those guys 10 years ago because of the science and everything else. I don’t think you can have regrets. I’m very lucky to be a professional player at a time when rugby is bigger than it has ever been.”

He also argues that England could do with players like him in 2015. “I’m very lucky to be blessed with a good rugby brain which gets me out of situations. Rugby’s all about decision-making, whether you’re a front-row forward or an outside back. It’s a big strength of mine, if not my biggest positive. I consider myself to be quite a composed character and I also back myself as a ball player. For me it’s just about staying calm for the team. I’m not about the individual glory.”

This, self-evidently, is a thoughtful athlete who, after 16 caps, has not yet given up on his dreams. His mother, Sarah, and her husband, David Aarons, set up an educational charity which has helped to build a number of schools in Malawi. Goode has a degree in marketing and is currently reading Boris Johnson’s book on Winston Churchill, which seems to be stoking the fires of defiance within him still further. “To say we were listless against Gloucester last week is people trying to make something out of nothing.

“It’s more a case that others have come to expect us to dominate every game because we only lost two Premiership games last year. We’re right up there in one of the hardest groups in Europe and we’re still in the top three in the Premiership.”

So, what will 2015 bring? “Obviously there’s a big carrot in terms of the World Cup but if we look past Munster they’ll crucify us.” As he and Saracens have been reminded, nothing in life can be guaranteed.