London Irish hold no hard feelings towards Andy Goode

London Irish insist there are no hard feelings towards Andy Goode following his switch to Newcastle Falcons on December 28.

Goode had been contracted to Irish earlier in the Premiership season after moving from Wasps, but announced his retirement from the game in September.

The fly-half cited persistent injuries as the reason for quitting, only to agree a short-term deal with league rivals Newcastle three months later.

Irish host Newcastle this weekend with both sides battling to stay in the top flight, but coach Glenn Delaney has claimed Goode's presence will not distract his side's preparations.

"Andy's motivation for joining Newcastle is certainly his own," Delaney told BBC Sport.

"Andy has explained his position pretty clearly in that Dean Richards [Newcastle's director of rugby] is the only coach he would come out of retirement for.

"They've got a great affinity to each other that goes back a long time. I think Dean has probably leant on that relationship to get him to come [to Newcastle].

"It's not something we're particularly concerning ourselves with. All we can worry about is what we're doing."