IT TAKES A strong offer to entice a coach from one side of the world to the other, particularly when said coach is currently part of one of the most successful and celebrated clubs in the game.
Andrew Goodman was doing just fine as part of Scott Robertson’s coaching team at the Crusaders, but this summer he packed his bags and jumped on a long haul flight with two young kids and his pregnant wife – destination Dublin.
“It was one I had to think over for a long time,” Goodman says of his decision to swap Christchurch for Clonskeagh.
“Leo (Cullen) was pretty persistent on the phone, but I let the Crusaders know straight away on the first phone call, and they were very supportive and kind of understood the reasons why I would seriously consider coming back to here.
“I think Stu (Lancaster) has done fantastic things for the club so I was really interested to see the way he operates and runs the Leinster programme. I got on well with Leo when I was here and was excited to see that Seanie (O’Brien) was coming back as well, so there was lots of positives. I see this as enhancing me as a coach going forward.”
Goodman’s two seasons in Dublin clearly left a lasting impression. Leinster’s new attack coach was a Joe Schmidt signing back in 2012, playing 17 times across two injury-disrupted campaigns. Goodman left Dublin in 2014, playing a handful of games with Toyota Industries Shuttles before embarking on a new life in coaching.
“Six years with Tasman, five years going Tasman and Crusaders together,” he explains.
“To be down in the Crusaders environment with the coaches down there and the players doing there, an amazing experience really. Working with the likes of Razor (Scott Robertson) and Scott Hanson and ROG (Ronan O’Gara) and these guys. It’s been a good education for me as a coach and grateful to be back here now. As I said, (seeing the) things that are done on this side of the world in a team that is leading the world in a number of areas is really exciting.”
The Crusaders and Leinster have developed an interesting relationship over the last couple of years, sharing ideas during lockdown before the province took things one step further, signing Crusaders tighthead Michael Ala’alatoa last year before snapping up Goodman as Felipe Contepomi’s replacement.
“The last couple of years we (Crusaders) actually had a very close relationship with Leinster during Covid,” Goodman continues.
We had catch-ups over a few weeks over scouting each other and how we would play against each other and sharing information, and we watch a lot of Leinster rugby so we were always watching the way that they were playing. So we were backing up different things, as we would do when showing different clips of Ross Molony at the line with his skillset or different little things in the way that Leinster were playing.
“Razor was very open to that and other things to growing our game. It’s been shown in the way that he has employed coaches from this side of the world, whether it was Ronan or Mark Jones. That’s around trying to get different voices in our environment and trying to grow the way we played as well.”
Goodman left the Crusaders shortly after they captured a sixth straight Super Rugby title under Robertson, a coach many New Zealanders would like to see take the top job with the All Blacks. During his time with the club, Robertson also worked with Ronan O’Gara, who spent two years with the Crusaders before leaving for La Rochelle.
“Yeah I had a great time with ROG, he was a good friend and I’ve stayed in touch with him.
“He has an amazing perspective on the game with all that experience at such a high level. He saw the game differently; there were different little bits of gold he picked up and the players really respected and loved ROG, and the connections he built with players and the little bits of gold he could give them, especially Richie Mo’unga and those boys. He had a great impact in the couple of years he was there.”
While O’Gara was a hit in New Zealand, it did take the former Munster out-half time to adapt to his new surroundings. Goodman faces a similar challenge now but hopes his previous experience in Dublin will help him settle in smoothly.
“There’s definitely a little bit of that first few weeks, having to step back and learning and observing what’s going on, how they do things, how they operate, getting to know the players well away from rugby and building those relationships.
I suppose it’s being confident in myself as well if I do have ideas. Part of the reason Leo approached me was to get some IP on what the Crusaders do well and add that into the Leinster flavour as well. So those conversations are always happening and as I said, I’m learning lots and hopefully I can keep adding stuff as the two years go on.”
While Goodman can call the likes of Cullen, O’Brien and Johnny Sexton former teammates, he can even call one member of the current squad a former pupil. During his days as a PE teacher back in New Zealand, Goodman found a young James Lowe in one of his classes. Goodman coached Lowe in rugby and cricket, with the pair eventually playing for Tasman Mako together.
“Yeah, he was pretty similar to where he is now actually,” Goodman remembers.
“A confident young lad, very talented. I had him in my first class when I went back as a teacher, he was in my Year 9 class so first year in college over there. He was a very talented all-round athlete and probably got on the wrong side of some of the teachers, but I was teaching PE, so he was really good for me. He just loved running around and as you know, he is full of noise and energy, so he was good.
“I played a little bit with him at Tasman as well. I coached him there as well so I’ve known him for a long time.
“He went through some tough times at school with his arthritis. He was very talented, you could tell. Basketball, cricket, volleyball, every sport he put his hand in he was pretty capable in. He went through a rough stage there with his illness, but came back with the New Zealand Schools team and you could tell he would have a pretty good career with the special things he could do.”
Leinster spent plenty of last season doing special things but ultimately came up short when it mattered most, losing to La Rochelle in the Champions Cup final before a shock URC semi-final defeat to the Bulls.
And while they got their new season off to a winning start against Zebre on Saturday, the province turned in a strangely shaky performance. The squad should have a more familiar look to it for Friday’s meeting with Benetton at the RDS, with a number of Ireland internationals expected to come back into the side.
As the province’s new attack coach, Goodman is tasked with giving those players something new, and adding to and improving Leinster’s attacking system.
“We have had a good chat around this as a coaching group, and there are different little things to make sure we stay a step ahead. Because looking across the squads, especially in the URC and seeing the South Africans coming in and getting stronger from what they were last year, they are a different beast in the way they defend and the way they apply pressure.
“Just growing our game to be able to… We play an amazing high-tempo rugby game but if we, for whatever reason on the day, because of the way teams are defending, just adapting our game to play different styles is going to be a big one for us.
“So being the master of styles of rugby really, and growing a few little things around that.”
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