‘He’s having a Phil Godman’
Pope and Swift, as of today, would like to suggest a new turn of phrase to the existing canon of sporting figures of speech. We propose that ‘Phil Godman’, from this point forth, may be used in the place of ‘nightmare’, ’shocker’ or similar noun. Thus, the phrase ‘having a Phil Godman’ implies that a sportsman is performing truly awfully.
The phrase derives from last Saturday’s rugby union Six Nations match between Scotland and Wales. To provide an element of context, the Scottish fly-half entered the field with his side in the lead and with just seven minutes to play. The pitful Godman’s first involvement in the game was to become involved in a clash of heads, leaving him with a bloodied brow and a Humpty Dumpty-esque white bandage. He then excelled himself by tripping Welsh back Lee Byrne as he raced towards the try line. Godman was immediately sin-binned, leaving Scotland with 13 men and battling to regain a lead that looked a winning one for so long. Wales equalised from the resulting penalty and scored with their final attack. Scotland lost by seven points.
Pope and Swift really do hope that the ‘having a Phil Godman’ finds favour with fan across a range of sports and that it provides a lasting memory of what was a truly horrendous cameo appearance. No thanks necessary Phil.
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