The Ruck

With the sport suspended during the worsening coronavirus situation, Owen Slot is joined at a safe distance by Stephen Jones and Lawrence Dallaglio to discuss what rugby should do to combat the crisis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ruck returns with Stephen Jones, Owen Slot, Stuart Barnes and Jonny Fordham.The panel discuss why Dylan Hartley's club form will not change Eddie Jones' thinking on starting him for England. Owen explains the book which led Jones to think this way and Jonny reveals the day to day relationship between captain and coach.Stephen and Stuart then disagree on the England coach's criteria and selection policy. There's also a full preview of all the big european action and Stuart explains why he thinks Jordan Larmour could be worth the hype. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie and Will welcome Mark Evans back onto The Ruck having returned from his time as the CEO of the Fijian Drua.They chat about the latest developments in Welsh rugby with Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, becoming the WRU's preferred bidder for Cardiff and ask whether there is a danger that rugby in Wales might become like cricket in the West Indies.Mark also gives his views on two of his former clubs Saracens and Harlequins, after it was announced Mark McCall would step away from his role with Sarries at the end of the season and fans at the stoop left early following another disappointing defeat.Plus, Steve Borthwick has named his England squad for the upcoming 6 Nations and was in a very confident mood when Will went to chat with him last week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the All Blacks sacking head coach Scott Robertson, Alfie, Will and Alex are joined by the New Zealand Herald's Liam Napier to explain why he's been given his marching orders just two years into his tenure. Was it down to losing the dressing room? Or was he not suited to the spotlight which comes with the role?They also look back on the final round of the pool stages in the Champions Cup and explain why the format, despite its issues, is here to stay. They breakdown the last-16 and route to the final which could serve up some cracking ties and also look ahead to Steve Borthwick naming his England 6 Nations squad on Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following another weekend of action in the Champions Cup Alfie, Elgan and Alex look back on all of the big stories.With only one round of matches to go until the knockout stages they explain why, despite some great games, the competition continues to have structural issues. They ask what is going wrong at Toulouse who have lost twice already in the pool stage and discuss which teams are in the running to go on to be crowned champions. Plus, Henry Pollock, as always, was in the headlines after an impressive performance despite Northampton losing to Bordeaux and Bristol produced an incredible result in beating the Bulls in South Africa.And, they round off the pod by chatting about the possibility of the 6 Nations going behind a paywall, the latest developments in Welsh rugby and Newcastle Red Bull's recruitment drive for next season. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry Pollock had a remarkable 2025!Breaking through with Northampton Saints, making his England debut, beating Leinster in Dublin, a Champions Cup final appearance and being named on the British & Irish Lions tour.So Will and Alex have made the trip up to the East Midlands to chat with Henry Pollock and his director of rugby Phil Dowson. How does the youngster reflect on the past 12 months? Does he enjoys ruffling feathers or care about people's perceptions of him? Plus, what are his aims for 2026? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the midway point in the Prem season Harlequins find themselves in a crisis. They're 8th in the table, having only won two of their nine games, including a 66-21 defeat to Northampton at the weekend.So, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are at The Stoop to chat with the Quins CEO Laurie Dalrymple. They discuss the coaching upheaval in the summer and the knock on impact to the clubs current struggles, player retention and why so many academy products have departed South-West London, as well as the importance of keeping Marcus Smith and the clubs financial situation in regards to an aim of breaking even. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the end of 2025 so in keeping with tradition The Ruck's end of year selection meeting is back as Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan name a world XV of the year.South Africa are the number 1 side in the world but how many springboks will make it into the team? Who gets selected at fly-half? And, in a year where positional versatility has been so important what does the bench look like?Plus, given that the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour wasn't a 'vintage' series, how much weight do they put on Lions selection? Which big name superstar misses out? And, despite hardly playing any international rugby this year, does Antoine Dupont make it? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the final pod before Christmas and Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan are back to review all the action over the weekend.They discuss humbling defeats for Gloucester and Harlequins and ask whether the current top five will be the teams to battle for a play-off spot at the end of the season.Plus, why are there so many high profile transfers ahead of next season? And, what can the whole league learn from Bath as they try and build a squad to win a title?Following Sports Personality of the Year they also praise Ellie Kildunne for coming 2nd in the individual award, ask whether the Red Roses should have picked up the team award and discuss what the British & Irish Lions missing out on a nomination reveals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will and Alex are solving all sorts on the Ruck this week. Mark Palmer comes on to chat about Glasgow's extraordinary win over Toulouse in the Champions Cup -- a rare shining light in another mixed round of the competition -- and the boys then debate how to fix the tournament, so there are fewer blow-out pool games. Could there be a "European Super League" instead? Or would it work playing it in one block in May and June?Then Will Collier, the Castres tight-head, joins us to discuss demystifying the scrum, following on from the superb guest column he wrote for The Times last week.And Alex dissects some news and theories around promotion from the Champ to the Prem, a subject that refuses to go away. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Ruck has a South African flavour this week as we interview Springboks hybrid hero André Esterhuizen, the centre who can also play back-row. We talk about that innovation, the Boks' fine 2025 and the upcoming Champions Cup clash between his Sharks and Saracens on Saturday.Will, Alex and Elgan delve into the first round of the Champions Cup, which featured some of the same old issues but good wins for Northampton Saints, Bath, Bordeaux-Begles and the Scottish sides. Plus, the boys rattle through the 2027 World Cup draw, and a gouging ban for Eben Etzebeth. We ask how the South Africans can be stopped from winning three tournaments in a row, and whether Rassie Erasmus might throw the Italy game.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the end of the Autumn Internationals, Alex Lowe and Elgan Alderman review the action. We look at South Africa's 73–0 mauling of Wales, as well as the late-game incident involving Eben Etzebeth.Elsewhere, Alex and Elgan discuss the latest in the R360 league saga, and with the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw coming this week, we look ahead to how the new 24-team format changes the pools, the seeding and the matchups it could deliver.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the end of the November internationals Alfie, Alex, Will and Barnsey are back in studio to review the action.In 2025 South Africa have cemented themselves as the number one side in the world but who are their closest challengers? Is it England who have won 11 out of 12 matches in the calendar year? And, will Steve Borthwick's side now be expected to win the 6 Nations?It's also been a tough November for the officials so the boys ask what World Rugby needs to do to give referees more support? And, whether they need to crack down on coaches pressuring them.Plus, the fallout from England's narrow win over Argentina, including accusations of Tom Curry being a 'bully', Wales' defeat to New Zealand and a strange 2025 for the Wallabies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the final weekend of the November internationals (apart from Wales and South Africa who play each other next week!). So, Alfie, Will and Elgan are once again at the England training base to look ahead to their match against Argentina. After a huge win against the All Blacks how difficult will this match be? And how important is it to end 2025 with another win? They also have an injury update as Max Ojomoh replaces Fraser Dingwall in the squad for Sunday.Plus, what constitutes success for Wales against New Zealand? And, How will Ireland fare as they host the Springboks in Dublin? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Owen Slot and Will Kelleher look back on the latest action from the November internationals.They ask what was the most important result of the weekend? Wales finally winning at home or England beating the All Blacks? And, they react to Scotland losing to Argentina despite leading 21-0 and what that means for head coach Gregor Townsend.Plus, the Nations Championship, which starts in 2026, has finally released further details about the fixtures so the boys try to explain how the competition will work and the pros and cons.And, after beating the All Blacks on Saturday how do England kick on from that important result? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England have beaten the All Blacks for the 9th time in their history! Steve Borthwick's side ran out comfortable winners for a statement victory.Alfie, Alex and Will react to the result and discuss what it now means for England moving forward. They pay tribute to George Ford who produced an outstanding performance to guide England to victory. And, they ask what does it tell us about this New Zealand team? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

All Blacks legend and double world cup winning New Zealand captain Richie McCaw joins Alfie, Alex and Will to look ahead to the match against England this weekend.He explains why an All Blacks team should never be 'developing', what makes Ardie Savea such a great player and how he thinks the game will go at Twickenham. The boys also explain why it is such an important match for the Steve Borthwick England era and why his team selection shows what sort of match we could have in store. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman and Stuart Barnes look back on the latest from the November internationals. They're joined by Mark Palmer to reflect on an agonising defeat for Scotland against New Zealand and ask will they ever beat the All Blacks? They also chat about South Africa's stunning performance away to France in Paris on Saturday night and Steve Tandy's Wales tenure starting with defeat to Argentina.Plus, they look ahead to the matches coming up this weekend, including England's game against New Zealand as Stuart explains why he thinks George Ford should start at fly-half and whether England should be the favorites to win the match. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie Reynolds and Will Kelleher look back on England's victory over Fiji at Twickenham. For the second week in a row Steve Borthwick's side managed to win the match comfortably despite not being at their best. Plus, Fiji gave further evidence that they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with at international level.With New Zealand next up for England, they ask how well the first two weekends of November have prepared them to take on the All Blacks. And, question who should play at fly-half, George Ford or Fin Smith. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the second weekend of November internationals so Alfie, Alex and Elgan look ahead to the action.They are at the England training base so discuss another very interesting squad selection from Steve Borthwick. Including Chandler Cunningham-South getting the opportunity at number 8, Maro Itoje dropping to the bench and Marcus Smith being deployed at full-back.Plus, they look ahead to the other matches at the weekend, especially Wales v Argentina, France v South Africa and Scotland hosting New Zealand. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.