We talk to Ross Taylor about the response he’s had to his new book ‘Black and White’, the joy of dominating schoolboy cricket with a teenage Jesse Ryder, the hidden agendas which led to him being ousted as Black Caps captain, becoming an overnight millionaire in the IPL auction, the best memories of the late Sir Martin Crowe, deep convos with Kane Williamson, what life after cricket looks like and much, much more.

Show notes | Episode 93 | Ross Taylor

1:51: Is Ross Taylor a HAMbassador?

4:06: The journey after launching the new book Black and White

10:23: The process of writing the book and pulling out transcripts after eight years 

13:25: The fallout after the first five days

14:54: Will Ross Taylor still pay for half of Seamus’ wedding? 

17:20: What’s The Time Mr. Wolf?

19:58: Opportunity costs and getting used to life at home

26:41: The change in Ross Taylor from the start of his career to the end

27:57: Rising through the ranks at Central Districts and growing up with Jesse Ryder 

36:48: Early sponsorships, why Ross could never play rugby, and being available for domestic cricket

43:06: The mechanics of an IPL auction

48:45: The captaincy saga

56:11: Similarities to the Ian Foster All Blacks coaching situation 

1:00:19: Does time heal old wounds?

1:06:55: Racism, culture, and identity

1:16:48: Ross Taylor on the late Sir Martin Crowe

1:23:46: The relationship with NZ Cricket

1:26:12: Ian Smith, Andy Haden, and Leanne McGoldrick

1:30:28: A conversation between Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson

1:33:23: The long, bumpy road to retirement 

1:44:08: What’s next for Ross Taylor?

1:46:25: Some quick yarns the boom box in the Long Room at Lords, Peter Andre’s Mysterious Girl, and a near miss in St Kitts 

1.54.03: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Ross

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Eliza is a professional pole vaulter and one of the very best in the world. 

She burst onto the scene as a 19-year old, taking home bronze from the Rio Olympics, before winning silver at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and smashing indoor and outdoor Oceania records. 

In this episode we talk about going to school with Lorde, the time she accidentally stumbled on a nude beach, why her coach made her tell a joke each week, her rise to the top of the pole vaulting world and the whirlwind of fame that followed her Olympic bronze. 
 
Eliza's career has stalled recently with an unfortunate run of injuries that prevented her from competing at this year’s Commonwealth Games. We talk about the mental and physical struggle of dealing with injuries, and the inspiring rebuild that’s happening now. 

Eliza is such good company and we both really loved this chat. In the second half we go quite deep on the injury situation, and you’ll get a really clear picture of what a tough few years it's been for her. This was actually her first ever podcast appearance, and we’re really grateful she came on to share her story. 

Show notes | Episode 92 | Eliza McCartney

1:43 Steven’s pole vault research comes to the fore off the back of the Commonwealth Games

4:20 Growing up with Lorde and Eliza’s childhood sporting background

6:26 Seamus navigates watching Eliza at training and Steven’s Rio recollection

8:59 Eliza the comedian

13:01 Some thoughts on Chelsea Lane and that time she lead Eliza astray in Vancouver

18:44 From North Island Champs to World Juniors: The rapid rise to success in pole vault

27:24 The “block” before qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympics

33:30 Expectations and on the day preparations

37:08 Day two of Rio and claiming the bronze medal

47:03 The medal ceremony and blowing up on social media like Pita Taufatofua

50:16 A cheeseburger challenge interlude with Seamus and Roland Jeffrey

51:21 Reflection on the bronze medal success and the whirlwind on Eliza’s eventual return to New Zealand

57:38 Post Rio Olympics: personal bests including the fifth best vault of all-time!

1:01:18 Highs and lows: charting the injury story

1:10:45 Navigating the challenge of having to share your battles publicly with friends and family

1:15:17 How close to retirement did Eliza get?

1:18:15 The rebuild of Eliza McCartney

1:26:03 Advice for young athletes

1:27:35 The social campaigner and environmentalist with a deep appreciation for Te Ao Maori

1:35:24 The Italian Job: on the kite foil Olympic campaign trail with Lukas Walton-Keim

1:37:50 Influencing a generation of kiwi female pole vaulters

1:39:00 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Eliza

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Jason Hoyte is a screen, and voice, actor, radio host, comedian, stage performer, former cricket umpire and father of four. 
 
In this episode we talk about Jason’s infamous scene with Nadia Lim on Late NIght Big Breakfast, the chaotic early days of comedy with Sugar and Spice, his relationship with Leigh Hart and the trials and tribulations of putting Bhuja together, working with Ryan Gosling on Young Hercules, His experiences with the ACC, never being too old for smut talk and some love, and life advice. 

Jase is a guest we’ve wanted on the show since we started it  - and we weren’t disappointed. He’s so often ‘in character’ in his public-facing roles, so it was a real treat to peak behind the curtain to find out what really makes him tick. Jase has been a big influence on both of us, he’s been involved in many of our favourite productions and just generally cracks us up. He’s also lived a hell of a life. 

Show notes | Episode 91 | Jason Hoyte

1:38 Jason throws some heat at Mike Lane about the state of the Export Beer Garden Studio

3:08 The influence of Jason on the everyday lexicon – backbone!

5:40 An impressive body of screen acting work

8:46 One of the most well-known voices in New Zealand

13:23 Setting the foundations at Dilworth: maths poetry and school productions

19:47 Sugar & Spice

30:33 West Auckland Hollywood: Xena, Hercules and Young Hercules

34:54 Killing people on Shortland Street

38:12 A breadth of work from Seven Periods with Mr. Gormsby to Power Rangers

41:36 Leigh Hart, Moon TV, and The Late Night Big Breakfast

51:53 Jason and Nadia Lim

55:26 The transition to radio: Bhuja via the Alternative Commentary Collective

1:04:55 Hüsker Dü: The art of throwing people under the bus

1:07:41 The success of the Alternative Commentary Collective

1:14:04 The Big Show with Mike Minogue and Keyzie

1.18.18 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Jason

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On this episode of Between Two Beers we’re re-winding the clock to November 2021 when we sat down with Chelsea Lane.  

Chelsea was in the news last week when it was announced she’d been appointed as the Head of High Performance at Basketball NZ and we thought it was a great reason to re-share her extraordinary story.

After working in NZ for over a decade as a physio, and with High-Performance Sport NZ, she got an email from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors in 2015, asking for her help. Within a year, she was working with some of the biggest sport stars in the world as a performance therapist, within two years she was running the whole operation, leading a team of 25 and within three years she had two NBA Championship rings and was one of the NBA’s most coveted backroom staffers. She was then headhunted by the Atlanta Hawks, offered an executive role and within five years of leaving New Zealand was the Vice President of an NBA franchise.  

In this episode we talk about why she walked away from it all, the close personal relationships she developed with Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Andre Igoudala and Vince Carter, behind the scenes stories of team-talks with Steve Kerr, the magic she saw from Durante and Curry at training every day, how she celebarted her two NBA championships, how she navgiated 100-hour work weeks, and why so many NBA stars are so emphatic with their praise of her and her work.  

It will quickly become apparent why Chelsea has had the success she has. She's one of the most impressive guests we’ve ever had on the show – and we feel Basketball NZ have done a great bit of business.

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Chris Moorman is one of the most successful poker players of all time.

He has won over $42 million dollars playing cards and is widely considered to be the best online tournament player ever, but he’s also crossed over successfully into live tournaments – winning over $1 million on three separate occasions.

At one point, Moorman was also one of the biggest 'backers' in the online poker scene, and tells the incredible story of how some amateur money-management and sloppy decision-making cost him around $3 million.

Chris is a poker legend; driven, humble, insightful and a great storyteller.  We hear all his best stories from his 15 years as a poker pro, the mental-skills coach that helped him to his first big live win, the time he lost a backpack with $60,000 in it, playing against his wife for $20,000 and so much more.

Show notes | Episode 90 | Chris Moorman

2.01 Drama at the World Series of Poker

4.50 Putting some context on Chris Moorman the poker player

7.31 When Steven and Moorman lived in the same poker house in Papamoa and Queenstown

12.29 Reflecting on the early years

18.05 Horses, stables, and staking players

26.10 Horses going into makeup, writing off debt, and big swings

33.07 Shaun Goldsbury on Moorman losing a backpack with $60,000 cash and poker chips in it

45.20 Transitioning from online poker to live tournaments

55.06 Bringing on a mental skills coach and the immediate improvement it had

1.04.29 Black Friday and the impact on online poker

1.07.51 A short selection of poker stories from over the years

1.11.41 Lessons from some of the best players in history

1.18.53 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Moorman

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Brodie Kane has built a hugely successful career in the media over the past 15 years.

She was runner-up in the latest edition of Dancing with the Stars. She left mainstream media to start her own company – Brodie Kane Media – where she hosts the very popular The Girls Uninterrupted and Kiwi Yarns podcasts, and produces two other podcasts, Three Gals One Beehive, and Out the Gayte.

Before that she had an extensive career in radio and television where she hosted The Hits Breakfast show in Christchurch and worked at TVNZ for five years as a sports presenter on Breakfast, a roving reporter on Seven Sharp, an investigative reporter on Fair Go, and associate producer on Q+A.

Her no-nonsense yet down-to-earth approach is unique in the industry and you can be guaranteed that what you see is what you get.

Show notes | Episode 89 | Brodie Kane

1:39: Brodie Kane – the everywhere girl right now

5:20: Dancing with the Stars

9:59: The realest of the reality shows

12:09: Proud Mary

18:30: Jo Kane swims the Cook Strait at 40

22:06: Clubbies with Lisa Carrington

27:21: Leading the open women’s surf lifesaving nationals

32:58: Brodie Kane and Richie McCaw

39:15: Lessons from the New Zealand army

52:22: Starting out in journalism and a career of heavy subject matter

1:02:30: A shift from hard news to being in front of the camera on Seven Sharp

1:07:47: Moving through the ranks: from Fair Go to Breakfast

1:15:40: The horrible side of fame and calling people out

1:27:07: Controlling your own destiny: Brodie Kane Media

1:35:23: Brodie on podcasts

1:41:28: What does the future hold and actively managing your brand

1:52:29: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Brodie

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Ric Salizzo is New Zealand sports broadcasting royalty – journalist, television presenter and producer – turned rugby consultant in New York.

Ric started his career as a journalist with TVNZ before becoming the All Blacks’ first ever media liaison officer in 1992. Prior to that he pioneered sports media coverage producing the behind-the-scenes documentary The Good, the Bad and the Rugby which kickstarted a series of follow ups over the years.

After four years inside the All Blacks camp he then created, and hosted the wildly popular Sports Café, a cult hit which ran for 11 years creating some memorable TV moments and turned Marc Ellis and Leigh Hart into household names. He then moved behind the camera as the executive producer of The Crowd Goes Wild, which has been running for 16 years.

Now based in New York working in Major League Rugby, Ric shared some of the best bits from his career.

Show notes | Episode 88 | Ric Salizzo

1.47 Rugby New York and the realities of Major League Rugby

6.10 Moving to the US to “get away from rugby” and what the All Blacks can learn from US sport

13.26 Sport in New York

18.20 Newsreader Ric at TVNZ in the 80s

25.10 The first ever All Blacks media liaison officer

31.19 Inside the All Blacks camp

36.03 Jonah Lomu and the 1995 Rugby World Cup

41.18 The original All of Nothing series: The Good, the Bad and the Rugby

45.24 The origins of Sports Café: “…after being the media liaison officer everyone hated me…”

50.09 The genius of Leigh Hart

58.03 The perfect end of Sports Café and the brief return in 2008

1.01.00 Sugar Shack: “one of the most important things I’ve ever done”

1.03.43 Going behind the camera with The Crowd Goes Wild and letting go

1.08.14 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Ric

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Hayley Sproull is one of New Zealand’s top entertainers and definitely one of the busiest!

She is co-host on ZM's hugely popular Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley Breakfast Show. She has been co-host of The Great Kiwi Bake Off and more recently the host of comedic current affairs show Have You Been Paying Attention? She plays the lead role in the kiwi sitcom Golden Boy which premiered in 2019.

A graduate of Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School, her original passion was for theatre and comedy which lead her to create a number of successful comedy works, including 'Miss Fletcher Sings the Blues', 'Tighty Whiteys', 'Milky Bits', and 'Vanilla Miraka', earning her an array of praise and accolades.

She has been a writer on many series including Jono and Ben, 7 Days and Funny Girls, with a weekly segment Hayley Bailey featuring on the Jono and Ben show.

Funny, smart, musical and driven, we were blown away by how good she is at so many different things!

Show notes | Episode 87 | Hayley Sproull

1.41: Busy, busy, busy! The busiest woman in the industry

5.28: Breakfast radio: Pulling the fingers at Jono and Ben every morning

10.36: A closed circle of friends…except for Sam Sproull: Hayley’s Comet and Talk Teddies

20.38: Fletch, Vaughan and Hayley

27.38: Hayley’s Version

35.15: A look into the early making of Hayley Sproull

38.51: Creative projects: Miss Fletcher Sings the Blues, You Make Me Feel like a Natural Woman, Tighty Whiteys, and Milky Bits

44.37: An intensely personal creation: Vanilla Miraka

54.34: Writing for Jono and Ben and Hayley Bailey

59.30: A brief look into the world of Hayley Sproull’s DMs

1.04.59: Moving into prime time: co-hosting The Great Kiwi Bake Off, hosting Have You Been Paying Attention? and acting in Golden Boy

1.10.23: Have You Been Paying Attention? It’s more than just hold and lean

1.19.52: Marching chat

1.29.54: Coaching in Oman

1.33.35: Bits and pieces: dating Greg Grover from Nova, System of a Lounge, and being a goth girl at high school

1.38.43: Using her platform to push topics: having PCOS and a Simon Bridges joke on 7 Days that took a turn

1.41.53: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Hayley

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Grant Fox is one of the best to have ever worn the All Blacks no10 jersey and is still regarded as one of the finest goal-kickers of all time.

He scored 645 points across 46 tests, and played nearly 200 games for Auckland in domestic rugby. He’s been involved in New Zealand rugby for over 40 years as a player, coach, and for the last 10 years as an All Blacks selector. Since retiring from playing in 1993 he’s also been a business owner, a broadcaster, and a dad to Ryan Fox – New Zealand’s top golfer – and daughter Kendall. In the episode Grant shares some really important messages about being present for your kids, as well as an organisation he supports for young men without dads – Big Buddies.

He enjoyed a 40-year friendship with the late Sir Martin Crowe and opens up on their relationship, as well as thoughts on Sir John Kirwan, touring in the 80s and 90s, the inaugural Rugby World Cup.

Show notes | Episode 86 | Grant Fox

1.49: Then and now: an All Blacks squad naming in 1984 v 2022

4.14: Six steps back, two steps to the side and Auckland bring the Ranfurly Shield to Taupo in 1992

6.23: On being Ryan Fox’s dad

11.49: The competitive nature between father and son (interrupted by a phone call from Sir John Kirwan)

18.00: Grant Fox the caddy

21.26: A short fuse, a lack of patience, and aversion to technology

28.10: Some thoughts on parenthood

35.53: A 40-year friendship with Sir Martin Crowe that started at Auckland Grammar School

47.09: Grant Fox: This is Your Life

50.16: A Va’aiga Tuigamala interlude

52.30: Personal and professional friendships: a Sir John Kirwan case study

1.00.00: All Blacks tours in the 80s and 90s

1.03.10: The 1987 Rugby World Cup

1.09.37: The try that wasn’t against Ireland

1.13.45: Hard work and goal kicking

1.16.47: A special relationship with The British and Irish Lions

1.21.16: “Coaching wasn’t for me”

1.26.09: The role of an All Blacks selector

1.38.11: Life outside of rugby

1.40.33: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Grant

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Jono Pryor and Ben Boyce otherwise known as Jono and Ben are one of the most recognisable duos in New Zealand entertainment.

After starting out as stars in their own right they came together as Jono and Ben a juggernaut of Kiwi comedy that was one of TVs top rating shows for seven years. The show helped launch the career of many of New Zealand's top comedic acts and their skits and pranks became legendary and live on to this day.

From Ben starting out on Pulp Sport and Jono on being professionally tortured on “do stuff to Jono Friday's” they are now the hosts of the breakfast show on The Hits and their broadcast journey has mirrored their life arc with their content maturing as they have.

There is no ego with these guys despite their success, they are genuine, warm, funny and quick witted, but there's great depth to them and they touch on very serious, important themes – like asking for help – and being there for your mates in tough times.

Show notes | Episode 85 | Jono and Ben

1.50: Not the traditional three-way but a comfortable four-way including sponsors product and beard envy

2.55: Talkability promotions: Jono's Sky City marathon

6.58: Influences on the come up: Marc and Matthew, Sports Café, Eating Media Lunch

12.56: Old men reminisce about stuff: video stores and the VHS, taping songs off the radio

15.45: “Show us your crack”: New Zealand's most famous radio jingle courtesy of Ben

18.57: Pulp Sport: a YouTube show that made it to Sky Sport

23.52: The pilot skit that went very wrong for Ben

29.50: Do stuff to Jono: experiences in commercial radio

37.57 Jono gets a start in TV on C4

40.47: The making of Jono and Ben

47.28: Moving from late-night Friday TV to prime time

49.30: The cast of characters on and off screen 52.37 A review of some of the best skits: the most destructive prank ever, Jono at Blues training, House covered in Post it notes

1.01.00: Using your platform to speak about important issues

1.06.08: The evolution of Jono and Ben and the stresses of working together

1.13.29: The end of Jono and Ben

1.16.56: A brief history of radio: from The Rock, to The Edge, to The Hits

1.17.40: Creating content: the rise of viral videos, TikTok 1.20.09 A Guy Williams skit gets awkward and their appearance on the Graham Norton Show 1.24.05 Trying to stand out while interviewing celebrities: Jared Leto, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dwayne Johnson

1.30.54: Breakfast on The Hits and what the future holds

1.34.36: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Jono and Ben

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