Carlisle tipped to be future England star

Buy photos » Andy Goode believes Joe Carlisle, pictured, has what it takes to play for England in the near future. Picture by Ian Smith.

EXPERIENCED fly half Andy Goode has tipped his Worcester Warriors teammate Joe Carlisle to one day pull on the England number ten jersey.

Goode, 31, believes the talented 24-year-old has the ability to break into the England set-up in the near future as the national side rebuilds under interim head coach Stuart Lancaster.

Carlisle has scored over 400 points since coming through Warriors' academy in 2008 and has begun to establish himself as a top Aviva Premiership fly half.

Goode, who has played second fiddle to Carlisle for large parts of this campaign, thinks his good friend has come on leaps and bounds this season.

“He is an undoubted talent and his skills set as a fly half is absolutely fantastic – his kicking game, his passing game and running of the game are all very good," he said.

“But I think what has improved massively this year has been his game management, and that has come from playing more and learning a bit more about the game.”

With Charlie Hodgson, Toby Flood and Owen Farrell selected in England's RBS Six Nations squad, Goode feels Carlisle is among the next batch of talented fly halfs, which include Ryan Lamb and Freddy Burns.

He also thinks Richard Hill's decision to select Carlisle at inside centre in recent weeks will help his development.

“I can definitely can see him playing for England one day," Goode said. "He has got massive potential.

"Joe is one of the most talented ball players in the country and the more he can play at 10 and 12 in the Premiership the more chance he has got of that happening."

Goode looks to be back to his very best after steering Warriors to a crucial victory over Gloucester and scored all the points during the defeat to Stade Francais in Paris.

But he has indicated it is unlikely he will return to the England set up having made 17 caps for his country.

"I would love to play for England again," he added.

"I enjoyed my time with the national side but there is a bigger picture out there and they are looking at a lot of youth at the moment and that's fine."