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Search forVive la France! So far, so Goode for Andy's new life
Friday, November 21, 2008, 09:30
Andy Goode left Welford Road after 10 seasons in the summer for the small and tranquil, yet rugby-mad town of Brive in the Limousin region of western France.
The fly-half signed a two-year deal with the option of another season if both parties were happy.
So far, both parties are more than happy.
Goode and his family, wife Sonja and daughter Ella-Grace, have embraced the new culture with open arms and are having fun.
Brive, meanwhile, see the 28-year-old as a vital cog in their desire to make the top six in the French league this season and secure Heineken Cup rugby next year after going within a hair's breadth of relegation last season.
They currently sit ninth but, having played six of their opening nine games away from home, Goode is expecting an improvement.
That began last weekend when he kicked all six of his side's penalty goals to beat Clermont Auvergne 18-16 on home soil.
"We have already played Perpignan, Stade Francais and Toulouse and we are hoping to improve our position with a few home games," said Goode.
"It was good to beat Clermont and we were winning 12-11 at half-time in Toulouse before losing 21-15.
"We are desperate to get into the top six and have two goals this season – qualify for Europe and win the Challenge Cup. Both are going to require a lot of hard work."
After being at the forefront of several of Leicester's successful Heineken Cup campaigns, Goode admitted it was a strange feeling stepping out to play in the Challenge Cup at his new club.
"It struck home that we were in the Challenge Cup when we went to Overmach Parma (in Italy) for our first game," he said.
"Myself and scrum-half Arnaud Pic were warming up and only 200 people were watching.
"He said to me that he was playing for Clermont in the finals of the French championship last season and I was doing the same for Leicester – both in front of 80,000 people. It was a bit different in Parma.
"At Leicester, you are in the Heineken Cup every year and you get used to playing against the top sides."
With a year still left on his contract when Brive and Leicester came to deal, Goode could have easily been preparing to face Dan Carter and Perpignan in two weeks' time at Welford Road.
But it is one of only a few things Goode says he would like to change about his new life in Brive.
"Up until a month ago, the weather was beautiful," he said. "It felt like a holiday with a bit of rugby thrown in.
"We run a similar way to Leicester but on a smaller scale. The backs do a bit here and there and the forwards get flogged!
"Everyone here has been really good to us since we arrived. They have a little chant going at home and there is a banner saying 'Very Goode Andy'.
"The first thing that I wanted to do was to earn the respect of the French players and the fans. I have two lessons a week and am really getting to grips with the language.
"Being able to speak the language is a big thing for me and throwing myself into their culture is important if you are going to make a move like this.
"We train from 10am to 12 noon and from 3pm to 5pm.
"At Leicester, I was there from 8.30am to 5.30pm, so the days are different.
"Brive is quite a peaceful town and I live five minutes from the club in a little village. I am home by 12.05pm most days and am able to spend some good time there with my family. We also have Wednesdays off.
"Ella-Grace is at school now and is loving it. It is a more relaxed lifestyle and is very family-orientated whereas Leicester was always a very high-pressure environment.
"The main difference on the pitch is a lot more flair and a lot less structure.
"We have a full-back called Alexis Pallison, for example. He is a great talent and can make 60-metre breaks from nowhere, but he can also give tries away with a terrible mistake.
"He can do the sort of things that Geordan Murphy does in attack.
"But the other week, he got tackled near our line, threw the ball away, they scored seven points and we lost by six.
"Hopefully, having been at Leicester, I was at the top club in England and there is a lot of stuff that I can pass on to the guys here.
"It's about playing smart rugby and boxing clever. We are trying to play pragmatically without losing the French flair."
Andy Goode and daughter Ella-Grace
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