HE HAD to wait eight weeks, but Alex Goode is finally a winner in Japan after the NEC Green Rockets advanced into the second round of the Top League elimination playoffs, edging out the Toyota Industry Shuttles in a dramatic finish, 25-24.
Despite the filthy conditions, with driving rain and a slippery surface more accustomed to Vicarage Road than the Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Osaka, the two teams contrived to produce a thriller, clinched by a Goode penalty in the 80th minute.
Even then, there was still time for his compatriot to steal the result back, with Freddie Burns missing with an am...