England Rugby Pod

Episode 30 see's the Lions tour come to an end. In our final round up, we look back at the tour as a whole, ask if/where the coaches got things wrong, what they could have done differently to win the series and Dan has a go at singing the "Maro Itoje" theme tune!!

Plus, we name our Lions/All Blacks Super XV and make some changes to the 2021 tour to South Africa.

Thanks for joining us over the past 4 weeks - hopefully your rugby interests extend to listening to us banging on about England as they become the focus of the pod moving forwards - and what a lot we have to discuss!

Join us for this, past and future episodes by subscribing on iTunes itun.es/i67Q32M plus get in touch with us on social media (@englandrugbypod), through the website (www.englandrugbypod.com) or email us ([email protected]). We'd love to hear what you think and we'd love to share anything interesting you have to say in future episodes, and if you enjoy waht we're doing, please drop us a review on iTunes and tell your friends and family about us.

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Andy & Dan

Wow....the series decider was history in the making. A chance for the Lions to beat the Kiwis in their own backyard. History was made but not the way we expected. We relive the two halves of a game that will go down in the history books and left nothing between the two sides as they fought it out to the end for a 15-15 draw to halve the series. Mixed feelings, but a heroic effort from a Lions team touted to loose 3-0. We'll have a more detailed analysis on Tuesday once we've had times to really digest everything, but get our initial reactions right now and check out past episodes. You can also subscribe to ensure you never miss another episode right here: itun.es/i67Q32M

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Enjoy...

In Episode 28 we discuss the decision not to make any changes to the match day 23 as the Lions look to beat New Zealand to make history and claim a series victory. Its a huge ask, but the Lions have shown the Kiwis aren;t invincible and its set this up to be one hell of game. Andy also does a complete u-turn on AWJ and non-England Rugby Pod fashion, we call for Mako to be the impact man off the bench - but all in all we're pretty happy with the side and looking forward to Saturday. Get all the reaction and more right here with past episodes available to download right now at itun.es/i67Q32M.

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Thanks for listening...

Andy & Dan

In Episode 27 we take a closer look at the man behind the Lions, Warren Gatland, OBE. We have a look back over his coaching history before asking the all important question - Lions hero or coaching zero? A man who has seen highs and lows, has Warren coached his last Lions tour and will his (sometimes) unpopular decisions come good on Saturday when the Lions have a chance to make history? Download now to hear our thoughts and listen to past episodes and remember to subscribe to ensure you never miss an episode, and please don;t forget to drop us a review, give us a rating and let us know what you think. You can also get in touch with us on Twitter and Facebook if you have any questions or suggestions for future episodes.

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In the 2nd test, a must win for the Lions, the early exit of SBW open the door and though the Lions didn't barge through, they got there in the end. We take a look at the first half then give our post match reaction to a test match that leaves the series door wide open. A fantastic result but still a lot of improvement needed. Here our thoughts on all the Lions matches, as well as everything England right here. Enjoy

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So the team has been announced for Saturdays 2nd Test against the All Blacks. 3 call-up's, 2 changes and 1 horrible inclusion!!! Andy and Dan lose it as they react to the decision to keep Alun Wyn Jones in the starting XV plus reaction to the new recruits and the changes in game plan. Will Ben Te'o be as useful off the bench as he was in the XV last weekend - only time will tell, but check out our thoughts now. Enjoy

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In the last of the Lions mid-week games, they took on the Hurricanes in Wellington. A high tempo first half saw the Hurricanes ill-discipline give the Lions a strong lead that looked out of reach, but a yellow card in the second half open the floodgates for deluge of points and saw the Hurricanes close the gap and level the scores. A last minute drop goal attempt from Dan Biggar falling just short to end the game in a thrilling 31-31 draw. It wasn't always pretty, but it was always entertaining. Who knows where Gatland's head is, but he's promised to shake things up so the test team is anyones guess until tomorrow night when its announced. A great end to the mid-week tour even if the score-line didn't quite reflect it. On to the final 2 tests. Enjoy

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Its Episode 23, its the first test at Eden Park as the Lions take on the All Blacks (unbeaten here since 1994!!). There were highs and lows, positives and a lot of negatives, but the main thing is that our analysis shows they're not done yet - the Lions could roar once again! Here our thoughts on the build up, followed by the first half break down and then the full time analysis. Enjoy

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In this episode we discuss the Lions emphatic win over the Chiefs (34-6) and what it means for the future of the test team. A number of players putting down markers including all of the England boys. Nowell and Daly looked dangerous on the outside each offering something different, Haskell and Marler leading the tackle count, Cole still making turnovers at 80 minutes and Lawes a dangerous, physical specimen in the row. It was a weakened Chiefs side, but the performance showed heart, grit and determination and it was clear that whether mid week or test, once a Lion always a Lions and pride was evident. Enjoy

We take a look at England's second test against Argentina where they weathered the ferocious first 60 minutes before putting the game to bed for their second win to complete an unbeaten tour. A huge success for a team short 16 of its key players. Lessons will have been learnt and the future looks bright for English rugby. Andy is joined by friend of the pod Ben Cooper in the absence of Dan so huge thanks to him. Keep listening, keep rating and reviewing and tune in next time for the U20 RWC Final against NZ and all the latest from the Lions tour. Enjoy.