'He's a nightmare to try to defend' - Sonny shines for Saints against Tigers

The 18-year-old produced a stunning performance after coming off the bench in the 28th minute as he replaced injured skipper Jonny Weimann, who was already having a huge impact of his own.

Hugh Shields provided a perfect foil for both players as he caught the eye at fly-half, showing just what an array of talent Saints continue to have coming through their Academy.

Goode, who, like Shields, was named in the England Under-20s EPS squad at the start of this season, delivered several highlight-reel moments, introducing himself with a try-saving tackle before playing a key role at the other end of the pitch.

And after the 39-19 PREM Rugby Cup win against Tigers at DPD Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens, Saints defence coach Henry said: “He (Goode) is a keen footballer.

"He’s played everywhere across the backline and he's starting to settle in at scrum-half now.

"He's a very talented lad.

"He loves the five-a-side football as well in the warm-up.

"He's a very good footballer, a real handful.

"He gets us going forward, bouncing around the breakdown and he's a nightmare to try to defend.”

Despite his heroics, Goode was not named TNT Sports player of the match as that went to Amena Caqusau.

Caqusau arrived at Saints from Glasgow Warriors in the summer of 2025 and the 22-year-old wing scored twice against Tigers.

"Again, another handful, he bounces around and he's hard to get hold of,” Henry said.

"You think you've got him and he's gone.

"He'll beat you, he can offload from two hands and he keeps the ball alive.”

There were so many strong Saints performances against Tigers as Academy products galore showed their ability on the Gardens stage.

"The boys looked like they were having fun out there: plenty of tries and you saw hopefully a bit of a theme that you get from us when we're on the front foot and moving the ball around,” Henry said.

"It runs right through the Academy. (Head of Academy) Mark Hopley has those guys in from a young age and we try to get them in before they turn 18. They spend a bit of time with us in the holidays if they can and we've found that helps those boys transition into the senior group.

"Then when they're in, they're training with the full senior squad out there on the back pitches and that's why you see a bit of a theme with the way we play.

"A lot of these lads go out on loan to loan clubs and we want to see them impose themselves on whatever game they're playing in.

"Obviously we want to challenge teams whenever we're in possession and make good decisions with our offloads.

"Whenever they get the chance to put the shirt on they're so excited for it and you've got to hold them back until the kick-off.”

Saints didn’t just impress in attack against Tigers, they also looked extremely strong defensively as they collected their first cup win of the campaign.

"We want to have the ball, we want to be in possession and that's why we want to defend aggressively and get the ball back,” Henry said.

"Ultimately, I get excited about it when we haven't got the ball and we want to get the ball back as quickly as possible.”