French RUGBY CONNECTIONS with Veronique Landew & Bill Hooper

The Top14  competition started on 4th September and will finish in style in le Stade de France in Paris. Mike Pearce and I preview the final between Castres and Montpellier and we pay homage to the final game of a special rugby friend, Monsieur Guilhem Guirado! We share with you  the latest Rugby news and we discuss the FUN CRUNCH aka the Barbarians game at Twickenham last Sunday,
Enjoy the French RUGBY CONNECTIONS, the rugby podcast with the gallic flair!

The Top 14 season is officially over after 26 epic French rugby weekends! Mike and I give you a very quick review of this ultimate French rugby weekend and the latest rugby news regarding transfers, retirements, new jobs, and women's rugby in under 20 mins! Veronique has Covid and needs to look after her vocal cords.
To be continued!  Next week:  Montpellier and ....Castres will play in the semi-final, but which team will they play against?   Racing 92  or Bordeaux or Toulouse or La Rochelle.  Enjoy the French RUGBY CONNECTIONS, the rugby podcast with the Fench flair.

Done and dusted! The Challenge and the Heineken Cup have been won by two French Rugby clubs and this weekend, both winners will meet in the very tight Top 14 last weekend of rugby before the playoffs aka "Les Barrages". Hear our thoughts on these hard-won European cups and what's in store in the final Top 14 weekend! Finally, you can listen to the final part of my chat with Eric Champ, kindly translated by Tom Dickson! Eric champ is philosophical and funny and made me laugh on a few occasions while recounting some anecdotes. You will enjoy the French Rugby CONNECTiONS, the rugby podcast with the French flair!

Tom Dickson,  English and French rugby friend from Stade Toulousain and highly valued translator in previous episodes with Fabien Pelous, Yannick Jauzion, Denis Charvet, and Eric Champ joins me in previewing the penultimate weekend of the crazy Top 14! Not a boring competition for sure, this year!
We also talk about the Euro semis, Pain au chocolat or Chocolatine;-) and Rugby Sevens! Enjoy the French Rugby Connections, the podcast with the French flair!

It feels good to be French when you're a rugby aficionado, following the phenomenal win from Toulouse against Munster and Racing 92 at the Stade de la Defense versus Sale!  This week, you can also listen part 2 of my chat  with former Bleus Eric Champ (42 caps), about his time as a rugby player and owner of the Toulon club and his thoughts about its current owner. Piece of warning, this week's French rugby lesson is getting arduous! Enjoy the French Rugby CONNECTIONS Podcast, the rugby podcast with the French flair!

Back with a bang! After a 4 week hiatus, the FRC is back on and the Top 14 is going mad, i.e. the points difference between the top 7 teams is minimal! Eric Champ is my guest this week (episode 1) and he reminisces that QF in 2011 against Les Anglais. but he would love to have a pint with Mickey Skinner 30 years later.  Mike Pearce and I review the Top14 and I rant over the six Nations Women final.....

PS: I have to thank Tom Dixon who kindly translated for Eric Champ. Merci Tom!

Only 5 more weekends of Top 14 rugby before the playoffs and the fight will be fierce as the race to the top 6  couldn't be tighter! Veronique Landew and Mike Pearce summarise the Top 14 as it stands and we deep dive into the Tik Tok 6 Nations! Enjoy the French Rugby CONNECTIONS Podcast, the rugby podcast with the French Flair!

Done and Dusted! Bravo les Bleus for your epic 6 Nations Grand Slam win! I also chat with twice grand slam winner, Jean Pierre Rives about his life post-rugby as a painter and sculptor and his involvement with the creation of the French Barbarians with Jacques Fourroux in 1979 and the rest is history! Mike Pearce, my co-host provides great stats about the 6 Nations, shares his sorrow about the Welsh Rugby situation, and updates us on the Top 14. Not long now until the semi-final! Enjoy the French Rugby CONNECTIONS Podcast, the rugby podcast with the French flair!

This week with Jean Pierre Rives, nicknamed Casque d’Or – Golden Helmet – Rives was the star of French rugby in the 1970s and 1980s and became French captain
34 times, playing alongside Jean-Claude Skrela and Jean-Pierre Bastiat in a legendary back row. His style was free-spirited, unpredictable, and entertaining.....in one word ....Very French.
Mike Pearce and I review and preview the last crucial game for France and briefly for the other nations. Enjoy the French Rugby CONNECTIONS Podcast, the rugby podcast with the French Flair!

On this episode, we preview from a French and Welsh point of view that Pivotal game! Will it be third time lucky for Les Bleus or could the men from Wayne Pivac create a big upset?  Mike Pearce, my co-host goes back to memory lane where his love of Rugby started 52 years ago, when he first saw a valiant Welsh rugby team play on TV  and the rest is history.  Unmissable! French Rugby CONNECTIONS, the rugby podcast with the French flair!