Rucked clash of the week
Leicester v Bath
3pm k/o, Saturday 22nd September
Last season: Leicester 29 Bath 25
The player preview
Leicester points machine Andy Goode looks ahead to a clash with the old enemy Bath
One game, one win: not a bad start?
Yeah, the boys stuck to the gameplan pretty well and with so many guys away it was good to get a win. Especially as it was at Bristol where we’ve not won for seven years.
How are the signings getting on?
Leicester is a very different environment to any other club, there’s a really strong work ethic here, and the guys have settled in really well. Boris Stankovich has fitted in nicely with the front-row clique! Guys like Ayoola Erinle are looking sharp and a lot of boys appear to be stepping up to the mark.
Now you’ve played a game, what are your targets for the season?
I think with the players we’ve got, we should be in the top four by the time the World Cup is over – that’s very possible. You’ve to bear in mind a lot of these guys play a huge chunk of season anyway during the usual autumn internationals and Six Nations. Players like Brett Deacon and Luke Abraham have a got a lot of experience because of the rotation system we do thanks to the size of our squad. We have a lot of quality here and I think Ben Kayser, for instance, is going to be one of the hookers of the season.
Having been part of the England set-up fairly recently is it hard to watch the World Cup?
We just focus on Leicester, if we start looking at the World Cup then we’re going to do ourselves an injustice. It is hard to watch because you want to be out there but I’m also supporting my mates who are out there. It’s good to see George Chuter and other boys from the club get their chances and I’m also good mates with other England players such as Paul Sackey and Pete Richards.
Do you think your chance has passed?
I don’t think so at all. If I play well for Leicester and firmly believe in own ability, I think I’m good enough to play there. If I can become one of the top two fly-halves in the Premiership then I’ll get an opportunity. I’m only 26, I’m not an old knacker and I’ve got a lot of rugby left in me.
26? Seems like you’ve been around for ages?
When you make your debut at 18, it does seem like you’ve been around for a long time, but I feel fresh in myself. Our conditioning coach Craig White has a massive impact on my career in the last 18 months, I feel like I’ve come on leaps and bounds.
Marcelo Loffreda arrives after the World Cup…
Yeah, apart from watching Argentina, we don’t know a great deal about him. He’s done extremely well in helping Argentina climb rankings and turn them from a side that you expect to beat comfortably to a side that nobody wants to play. He’s also going to be backs coach, so coupled with the arrival of Aaron Mauger, we’ve got a lot to look forward to in the backline.
Bath this weekend, does fixture still mean the same as in the old days?
To a lot of guys like myself who’ve been here long time and those such as Brett and Louis Deacon who are Leicester born and bred, it does mean a lot. But also, even for the guys from all over the place, when you pull on the Leicester shirt and find out about the history of the club you do start to feel that rivalry against Bath. You only had to be at the game last year during the Six Nations to see what it means. We were down to 13 men and held them up right at the end – Cockers (Richard Cockerill) ran onto the pitch at the end and had to be restrained! It means a lot to the fans as well, and it’s the same for Bath. I remember reading an interview a few years ago with Olly Barkley and he said the one side he wouldn’t play for was Leicester – that’s because he’s a local Bath boy. There’s always that extra bit of spice against Bath.
What’s the worse game you’ve played in against Bath?
Last year when we went down to the Rec and they scored four tries against us and beat us by 30 odd points. It’s not often sides get four tries against us and that hurt us quite a bit. We didn’t respect them as much as we should’ve and got a bit of a shock.
And the best?
I can’t remember what year it was, but I was 19 at the time – so it must have been quite a few years ago – and I hit a drop-goal that put us three points ahead and helped us win a scrappy game. I remember Darren Garforth being over the room – thinking about it gives me good memories of the ABC club…
Will there ever be anything like the famed ABC club again?
I don’t think there will. Cockers, Garf and [Graham] Rowntree were great stalwarts and a different breed of players. Along with Johnno (Martin Johnson) they instilled a lot of the old school mentality and core values that make Leicester what it is.
Finally, a prediction for the weekend?
I think it’ll be close but we’ll hopefully win by about seven.
Rucked prediction: Leicester by ten.
