THE JUMP FROM club to international rugby is one most coaches dream of making, but one which also poses great challenges.
While the pressure and scrutiny rises, the time working with your players takes a serious dip. At club level you get to be hands-on with the squad day-in, day-out with the focus of a game every weekend. At Test level a coach is working with his players across short, intense blocks together.
It’s a challenge Andrew Goodman has had to get used to since becoming Ireland backs coach. The New Zealander spent two years on the Leinster staff before succeeding Mike Catt on the Ireland coaching ticket last year. He got a taste for the demands of the job when he shadowed Catt on Ireland’s summer tour to South Africa before taking on full responsibility ahead of the November Tests.
And the former Crusaders man admits it took him some time to adjust to a different way of working.
“It was tough at the start actually, not being around people in the office all day and not being out on the grass all day,” Goodman says.
“I came in that first time in November and I’d been off the field for a while. There were a few different adjustments to make to general life outside of rugby, and your work-flow and different bits like that.
I’m used to it now, used to the flow of it. You fill your battery up when you’re out of campaign because it gets empty in the campaign, as you can imagine, with Test weeks, (it’s like) the intensity of a European final if not more every week, takes it out of you.
“You’re up late and up early and your head’s in a computer. You’re away from the family when you’re in camp compared to Leinster, when you get to see the kids every night. There are a few differences like that.”
It’s just as well Goodman has been able to make that adjustment as his workload has increased for this Six Nations campaign. Andy Farrell generally has a major say in the running of Ireland’s attack, but with the Ireland boss stepping back ahead of his summer with the Lions, Goodman has taken on more responsibility around that area.
“It’s been great, to have the couple of campaigns working alongside Faz, firstly over in South Africa and then in November. I had a really good understanding of what was important for him as an attack coach and the big picture stuff around the attack but also the skill sets he’s been going over, so yes, it was nice to sit down with him post-November and discuss how we can keep evolving as a team.
“There’s a bit more responsibility (for me) in terms of team meetings etc but it’s been good fun and the boys have been great.”
It’s an interesting challenge, with Goodman looking to build on what Farrell has installed while also adding his own touch.
So far, it’s been a highly encouraging Six Nations for Ireland’s attack. Easterby’s squad have collected bonus points in their two opening wins with the attack looking sharper than it did across the somewhat flat November performances, with players like James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park hitting top form.
The performances are trending positively for Goodman, who has been running the phase-play attack having previously focused on the set-piece launch plays alongside specific backline work.
“We’ve got to be continually growing our way of attacking because I think if we do our way really well it’s hard to defend,” Goodman explains.
“But we’ve also got to find different little tweaks we can do, whether it’s off set-piece or whether it’s in phase, to give different little pictures to defence and to keep growing the way we attack as well.
“I think we have managed to put some good phases of attack together to score some tries but the exciting thing from the whole squad, led from the players, is that we are excited about where we can go and keep growing,” he adds.
We are constantly looking to get better. We’ve looked at a few areas, staying in it for 80 minutes, being a threat on both sides of the ball and then execution under pressure is still something we are honing in on everyday.”
It no doubt helps Goodman came to the Ireland job armed with a detailed knowledge of so many of the players. With Leinster bulk suppliers to the Ireland squad, most of the key men wearing green are now in their third season working with Goodman.
Centre Garry Ringrose falls into that category.
“He was great at Leinster,” Ringrose says. “Got on with all the players there and he’s made a really good effort to be that same guy in the environment, and I think everyone loves him and gets on with him really well away from the work, and then I guess what he demands of us, similar to Si (Easterby) in defence, he’d be demanding us to be at our best at every aspect of attack.
“I know when he came on the tour to South Africa he was more of an observer trying to pick up on what Mike Catt had done and what was working really well, and say Faz’s philosophy as well, so he would have said he didn’t want to change anything but with the foundation that was there it was to see how we could evolve and get better – small little areas and challenge us off set-piece attack, challenge us on phase attack to improve… He’s trying to get as much as he can out of us.
“He’d have some ideas from his experiences as a coach, some of the set-piece starters, but equally he might see something a club has done and see if we can implement it to try and help us break a team down.
“So he’d always be open-minded and any opportunity where we think we can expose a team, that’s what he’s going after.”
So far, so good. Goodman – and Ireland – will hope the best is yet to come.
Wonder if the change in attack style to wider passes and earlier kicks is him or faz?