Goodman prepares for challenge of facing man who changed his life

Over the course of more than a decade coaching in the northern hemisphere, Joe Schmidt had a profound impact on a huge number of players and coaches but there are few whose life has been transformed more than Andrew Goodman.

The New Zealander was 30 years old, playing domestic rugby as a semi-pro while also working as a rugby development officer, when Schmidt got in touch to ask if he fancied joining Leinster.

There was no hesitation, and that call is a big part of how he has risen to the point that Andy Farrell has named Goodman as one of his assistant coaches for The British & Irish Lions Tour of Australia this summer, alongside Simon Easterby, John Fogarty, John Dalziel and Richard Wigglesworth.

From playing under Schmidt, with the likes of Gordon D’Arcy, Brian O’Driscoll and Johnny Sexton, to then coaching Leinster and Ireland, as well as a stint with the Crusaders back in New Zealand, it has been quite the ride for Goodman.

And he knows that none of it would have happened without Schmidt, who will be marshalling the opposition when the Lions take on the Wallabies this summer.

He said: “I often think about that phone call and how much it changed my life and career. It’s been amazing, I loved coming over and playing under Joe, as a coach he is definitely someone who has shaped the way I coach now.

“That's through way he looked at the game and the opportunities he looked to create through attack but also the detail he put into the game. He’s someone I have connected with over the years in between times so it will be great to go to battle with him now.

“He drove the basics, he was really clear with his language, he made me really clear on what he wanted from me in my role as a player. You went out on the field and had his little voice running through your mind as you were doing things that you knew he would be looking for.

“I used to get some of the excitement of the plays he would come up with, as a player trying to go out and put those on the field was always exciting.”

From playing under Schmidt, Goodman has now had the chance to coach under Farrell, joining the Ireland coaching set-up last summer on their tour to South Africa.

With Goodman running the attack, Ireland won the Triple Crown during the recent Six Nations, and he is already looking forward to working under Farrell once more in the red of the Lions.

He added: “We’ve had a good 24 hours to start connecting over how we want the game to look which is exciting.

“I was lucky enough to go on the tour to South Africa and had the November series with Faz coaching. I love the way he works, making sure we are connected as a group is really important.

“He really drives that and makes sure we are aligned and clear and our language is similar so the boys are coming in and hearing the same thing.

“You want them to go out and focus on the game in front of them. There are some amazing athletes who will be coming in so we want to make it as simple as possible for them.

“Connecting with John and Wiggy from Scotland and England, it’s amazing how we all came in, there was no trying to walk around everything, we were all sharing how things work, what worked well for them and what they felt they could have done better. It’s a great thing to come into an environment like that where it is so open.”

It has now been 13 years since the phone call that changed Goodman’s life. Fate and the Lions will give him the chance to reunite with Schmidt once more this summer.