Goode set for 400th Saracens appearance

Alex Goode has been at Saracens for almost 20 years

Alex Goode believes his competitive nature has been a key factor in his longevity.

The full-back, 37, is set to make his 400th appearance for Saracens in Saturday's Premiership match against Newcastle (15:00 BST).

Goode, who has played 21 times for England, joined Sarries' academy in 2006 and has been at the club for his entire career, aside from a season on loan at Japanese side NEC Green Rockets.

"I think the love of the game plays a big part," Goode told BBC Radio London.

"I love rugby. I love being out there. I love competition. The want to win and finding a way to win - I love to win and be part of that competition. That's really helped me.

"I do look after myself well. I do prepare well and always try improve and make sure I don't stand still.

"I constantly keep working at my kicking, my balls, my speed, my strength, my passing, offloading, short kicking - never sit still, because otherwise you just get found out.

"Constantly evolving and having different layers to my game has probably helped me stay in it as long as possible.

"That competitiveness, want to win and love for the game have probably been the keys."

Goode has enjoyed huge success at the London club, winning six Premiership titles and three European Champions Cups.

In 2019 he was named European Player of the Year.

But there have been low points as well - not least when Saracens were relegated from the top flight in 2020, having been deducted 35 points following persistent salary cap breaches.

That led to Goode's move to Japan and he returned after Sarries were promoted back to the Premiership.

Goode scored a try in England's 58-15 win against Fiji at Twickenham in November 2016 - but was not selected for his country again

All his silverware, starting with a 2011 Premiership triumph, has come under head of rugby Mark McCall, who took over from Brendan Venter halfway through that season.

McCall has presided over unprecedented success for the club, including their promotion from the Championship in 2021, but Venter has been widely credited with laying the foundations.

"I'm very lucky. I'm one of the few who saw the darker days of Saracens when it wasn't a very good club - we were underachievers and had a very poor culture," added Goode.

"While I didn't know that at at the time, looking back I can really see how apparent that was. Then the change was drastic.

"We found a wonderful way - and I now see how important that is and see other clubs who perhaps don't have that as much or who struggle to have that continually.

"It's such a special thing to put what Brendan has in place. And it is hard to replicate that day in and day out. You do need time with players and cohesion."

'An amazing achievement'

Goode has been hampered by injury problems this season - he suffered a quadricep tear in November and had surgery before returning to action in February.

But he has remained an important presence in the dressing room, helping Saracens' younger players.

He explained: "I don't go out of my way to tell people how it should be or what it was like in my day.

"But when they come to me and ask about this or that, or 'what do you do in this situation?' or 'how do you get past that?', then I try and give the experiences we went through as a group before we had success."

McCall, whose side are sixth in the table, said: "We're all very privileged to share this week with Goody.

"It's not just that he's played, it's the influence that he's had, the level that he's played at throughout his career.

"It's an amazing achievement. He's been an exceptional person and player for such a long time and we're very lucky to have shared his journey with him."