Andy Goode believes Northampton Saints have a realistic chance of ending the French ‘stranglehold’ on the Champions Cup title as they prepare to kick off their continental campaign.
The East Midlanders fell to fellow PREM side Bath in the quarter-finals last year, having made the final in the previous campaign, and open up against Cardiff this time around. Two-time reigning champions Bordeaux Begles made it six consecutive victories for French sides last season and former England fly-half Goode believes Saints’ entertaining style can help them challenge.
Goode praises Saints’ attacking brand
Goode, who will be at DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on Premier Sports duty on Sunday evening, said: “Whenever you start a competition, one of the first things that people look at is who are the favourites, who's going to win it or who's going to be in the mix to win it.
“Ultimately, Saints, from an English perspective, are a team that play an exciting brand of rugby. It's a real exciting team to watch. I've watched them for quite a few years as this team has developed, grown, and gained experience. This isn't an easy competition to win - anyone who has won it will tell you that. It is the ultimate test of any club rugby player in the world.”
Saints’ 71-48 victory against Bath last weekend was the second-highest scoring match in PREM history, drawing praise for outstanding attacking rugby, as well as criticism for seemingly leaky defences. But Goode, who is the second-highest points scorer in the league’s history, believes such entertainment is only good for the sport.
Bath and Saints best equipped
He said: “Northampton play the brand that they do with the exciting players they've got, like Henry Pollock, JJ Van der Mescht, Curtis Langdon and some of the forwards. They've got Alex Coles, who's on fire. The fact their mindset is ‘let's go out and attack and try and score whenever we've got possession’ is a testament to the coaches - and a testament to how the players want to play and the skill level that they drive in the week.
“I've been to watch Saints train a couple of times and over the last season or so and saw the skill level of what they put out last week and attacking at the line with the different options, the offloading, the ball out of contact. I don't think [their match against Bath] was down to bad defences, it was down to unbelievable attack. Defences weren't able to get set to try and offer team.”
Eight English teams are participating in the Champions Cup, which will again be shown exclusively live on Premier Sports, with Goode also part of the team heading to Kingsholm on Friday night as Gloucester host champions Bordeaux. Northampton share Pool Four with keen rivals Bath, as well as Montpellier, Stade Francais, Bulls, and Cardiff.
Goode said: “From an English perspective, Northampton and Bath are the two best equipped teams to try and break that French stranglehold.”
