'I am staggered that he only has that number of England caps'

Saracens boss Mark McCall has claimed he is staggered that the long-serving Alex Goode has only won 21 England caps during his stellar career. The 34-year-old will break the London club’s appearance record in this Sunday’s Gallagher Premiership match with Sale, eight days after he celebrated equalling Kris Chesney’s benchmark of 338 with an 81st-minute match-winning penalty at Exeter.

Goode has been a multiple title winner at Saracens, being crowned a Premiership winner on five occasions and also conquering Europe three times. However, that excellence wasn’t allowed to flourish much at Test level and it was November 2016 when the versatile full-back was last capped.

It’s a lack of selection that has bewildered McCall. “Hugely, especially in view of his record for us in the very biggest matches,” he explained. “You look at all of our finals, all of our semi-finals, there are not too many people who play better than Alex Goode in those games. He is a man for the big occasion and I am staggered by the fact that he has only got that number of England caps.”

England coaches might never have warmed to the consistency that Goode has in his game, but he has been a treasured presence at Saracens even since making a club debut in 2008. “He is an incredibly special player,” enthused McCall.

“He is one of these players that rugby seems to come easy to. He seems to have more time than most, sees things quicker than most, and has got the skillset and the athletic ability to take advantage of all those things.

“But first and foremost, it is that ability to see things before anyone else can which stands out for me, and just to be as consistent as he had been for the period of time. We have celebrated a lot of milestones at the club in the time I have been here, 100, 200, 300 but we have never had to celebrate one like this where someone actually plays more than anyone has ever done in the history of the club.

“There have been a lot of great players at this club and to be the person who is now going to break that record, it tells you a lot and we hope he is going to be around for a while still and he could head up towards that 400 mark.”

Describing the influence that Goode wields around him at Saracens, McCall added: “He is pretty good on and off the pitch. He is hugely respected by staff and players at the club. We get to see him operate on a daily basis and see how competitive he is and every season, even though he is getting a bit older now, that competitive streak is still there.

“You see how helpful he is to our younger players who have benefited from his wisdom and his guidance, he has time for all of those players and gives his time freely. A great player and a great bloke.”

One who McCall had every faith in last weekend when Goode stepped up at Sandy Park to secure Saracens their last-gasp win off the kicking tee. “He is one of the few players on our team who you would be comfortable with taking that kick, he’s definitely one of them. The fact that he wanted it said everything. He shouldered the responsibility, is a very calm person who can cope with high stress, and we saw that experience at the end.”