Goode has been in stellar form for Saracens this season as his club remained joint top of Gallagher Premiership Rugby in October. By the end of Round 6, Goode has beaten 28 defenders, gained 438 metres in 74 carries and was the club’s leading off-loader as Saracens made an unbeaten start to the season.
And his director of rugby, Mark McCall, said: “Alex is a key player in our squad and is in the form of his life. As a club we are thrilled that his outstanding performances have been recognised in this way.”
Goode was presented with his award by Matt Stevens, principal of the newly-opened Saracens High School and a Gallagher Community Hero for Saracens.
At the start of its first season as the new title partner of Premiership Rugby, Gallagher asked each Premiership club to nominate two people who they feel best demonstrates the values and community commitment within their rugby family. The search resulted in 24 Gallagher Community Heroes, such as Stevens, who embody the values and spirit of rugby.
Throughout the season, Gallagher will embark on a series of CSR initiatives as part of its ongoing commitment to rugby, working with Premiership Rugby to shine a light on the positive work that is being done around the game, both at scale and within the local communities.
And the first of these is to award Goode – as part of his prize for being named Gallagher Premiership Rugby Player of the Month – with 25 tickets to a Saracens match to be gifted to a local club, school or community group of his choice.
Michael Rea, Chief Executive of Gallagher’s retail broking business in the UK, said: “As the new title partner of Premiership Rugby we wanted to bring something different to the Player of the Month award that also reflected our role as a community broker. So we decided to give each Player of the Month 25 tickets to a Premiership game that they can then gift to a grassroots club, school or youth group of their choice. It’s a great way to bring together this monthly celebration of top-class performance on the pitch with the opportunity for those players to give something back to their local communities off the pitch.”
Goode was judged by a panel of experts as the player who made the biggest impact in Gallagher Premiership Rugby over the month October.
He was involved in a four-way battle to win the award, eventually beating Worcester Warriors’ outside-half Ryan Mills, Newcastle Falcons’ Mark Wilson and George Ford from Leicester Tigers.
Goode was voted for by a panel of media professionals based on his performances in October, alongside a public poll which drew more than 2,000 votes on the Premiership Rugby app. The judges were: Nick Mullins (BT Sport), Alastair Eykyn (BT Sport), Mick Cleary (The Daily Telegraph), Sarah Mockford (Rugby World), Jonny Fordham (The Sun), Robert Kitson (The Guardian), Chris Jones (BBC 5 Live), David Rogers (Getty Images) and Tom Hamilton (ESPN). The panel was chaired by Paul Morgan, Premiership Rugby’s Communications Director.
Goode wins a trophy and 25 tickets to a future Saracens Gallagher Premiership Rugby match which he can donate to a local rugby club, school or community group.
Winners in the 2018-19 season
October – Alex Goode (Saracens)
September – Danny Cipriani (Gloucester Rugby)
Winners in the 2017-18 season
April – Vereniki Goneva (Newcastle Falcons)
March – Joe Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs)
February – Jack Willis (Wasps)
December – Josh Adams (Worcester Warriors)
November – Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester Rugby)
October – Jonny May (Leicester Tigers)
September – Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)
Winners in the 2016-17 season
April – Taulupe Faletau (Bath Rugby)
March – Christian Wade (Wasps)
February – James Short (Exeter Chiefs)
December – Tom Varndell (Bristol Rugby)
November – Freddie Burns (Leicester Tigers)
October – Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
September – Jimmy Gopperth (Wasps)
Winners in the 2015-16 season
October – Nick Evans (Harlequins)
November – Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
December – Maro Itoje (Saracens)
January – Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs)
February – George Smith (Wasps)
March – Francois Hougaard (Worcester Warriors)
April – Teimana Harrison (Northampton Saints)
Winners in the 2014-15 season
September – Kyle Eastmond (Bath Rugby)
October – Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby)
November – Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs)
December – Samu Manoa (Northampton Saints)
January – Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby)
February – Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs)
March – Elliot Daly (Wasps)
April – Joe Simpson (Wasps)
Winners in the 2013-14 season
September – Jacques Burger (Saracens)
October – Samu Manoa (Northampton Saints)
November – George Ford (Bath Rugby)
December – Nick Easter (Harlequins)
January – Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints)
February – Vereniki Goneva (Leicester Tigers)
March – Danny Cipriani (Sale Sharks)
April – Chris Ashton (Saracens)
