Alexander David Goode (born 7 May 1988) is an English professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player playing for

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

Premiership Rugby Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby ...

Biography

All-rounder Goode appeared at the national schools athletics finals, played county tennis and was part of the Ipswich Town football academy before joining Saracens. He is the nephew of Jo Goode, who won an Olympic bronze in Badminton in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. A fly half by trade, he moved to full back and has played the majority of his games for Saracens in these positions. He was educated at

St Faith's School St Faith's School is a private preparatory day school on Trumpington Road, Cambridge, England, for girls and boys aged four to thirteen. The headmaster is Crispin Hyde-Dunn. The school has more than five hundred children. St Faith's is part of ...

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...

and

Oakham School Oakham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Oakham, Rutland, England. The school was founded in 1584 by Archdeacon Robert Johnson, along with Uppingham School, a few miles away. They share a common b ...

, and at the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a Universities in the United Kingdom, university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield ...

Club career

He joined the academy structure at

ahead of the 2006–2007 season, and made his club debut against

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. He has since signed several contract extensions. He was awarded the 2019 European Player of the Year award. During his time at Saracens he has won six Premiership titles in 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2023, with Goode featuring in all six finals and scoring a try in the 2016 final. He also helped Saracens win the European Champions Cup in 2016, 2017 and 2019, scoring a try in the 2017 final. He spent a season on loan to Japanese side NEC Green Rockets while Saracens competed in the 2020–21 RFU Championship. After Saracens' quick return he returned to them for the following season. He has since become the most capped Saracens player in their history - with 398 appearances for the London club, and became the first Saracens player in history to make 400 senior in season club appearances on 10th May 2025 against Newcastle Falcons.

International career

Goode represented England at Under 16A and Under 18 level. Goode played at the 2007 Under 19 Rugby World Championship. In 2008 Goode was a member of the England under-20 team that won the grand slam and reached the final of the

2008 IRB Junior World Championship The 2008 IRB Junior World Championship was the first annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. All players who were twenty years of age or under on 1 January 2008 were eligible for selection. This competition repl ...

. In January 2009 Goode made his debut for the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emerg ...

, against . On 16 June 2012 Goode made his test debut for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, coming off the bench on 16 June 2012 in a 36–27 loss. Goode was part of the squad selected for the 2012 Autumn internationals, because of injuries to Ben Foden he started all four of the games at full back. He played well enough to earn himself QBE Man of the Match in England's 54–12 win over Fiji. Goode also featured in the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

, playing all five games including the Grand Slam decider at Cardiff's

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

. Unfortunately a shoulder injury and subsequent reconstructive surgery sidelined him for England's summer tour to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

International tries

References

External links

Saracens profileEngland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goode, Alex 1988 births Living people Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire Cambridge R.U.F.C. players English rugby union players Rugby union players from Cambridge People educated at Oakham School People educated at The Leys School Saracens F.C. players England international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves 2015 Rugby World Cup players Green Rockets Tokatsu players English expatriate rugby union players in Japan