Inspiring Sporting Journeys

In episode 2 of Season 2 I got the chance to speak with Noah Sixton, a player who has had the opportunity to play for England 7's. We spoke all about Noah's journey in rugby and how his time at Truro impacted his development and how himself overcame the challenge of balancing 3 A-levels and Rugby. As we covered the ins and out on Noah's career we also spoke about the challenge of Covid-19 and how Noah kept himself busy during the Covid period.

We also spoke about the moment when Noah met Johnny Wilkinson which for any rugby fan would be an absolute honour. Following on from that we continued to talk rugby and focused on Noah's career out of Covid and his aspirations of playing on the World Series again in the near future.

Overall this is a great episode with a lot of laughs and great advice from a quality player like Noah, it was a real honour to get the chance to talk to Noah and I want to wish him all the best in the future.

Instagram ~  https://www.instagram.com/theburgesspodcast/

Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/Burgesspodcast

James also runs his own coaching business where he offers his services to young rugby players in Berkshire & Oxfordshire. If you are looking for coaching to improve as a rugby player get in touch with James.

Coaching Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/burgesscoaching/

Coaching Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/burgesscoachinguk

Season 2 is here and what an episode this is getting the chance to speak to a player who was an integral part in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Winning squad, he represented the British & Irish Lions on 3 separate tours and has recently been awarded an MBE for his services on and off the field. 

Will’s career is one of success and hard work and something a lot of people can learn from. Rugby started for Will in Italy when his father was playing over there, therefore rugby has always been a huge part of Will’s life.  We then progressed to talk about time post university being at Harlequins, before moving to Leicester. We then spoke about the reasons for Will returning to Harlequins and spoke in detail about his club career before progressing to the famous and successful International career Will has had. We spoke about the famous 2003 Rugby World Cup and that moment where Johnny Wilkinson slotted the winning drop goal. We continued to speak about his career with England and the involvements he had with the British & Irish Lions. Finally we wrapped up the podcast talking about Will’s current roles with more focus on his career as an analyst for big games throughout the season. 

It was a pleasure and an honour to speak with Will Greenwood MBE and something which provided me with great inspiration and insight and this is what I hope you can gain from the episode by listening to it.

Instagram ~  https://www.instagram.com/theburgesspodcast/

Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/Burgesspodcast

James also runs his own coaching business where he offers his services to young rugby players in Berkshire & Oxfordshire. If you are looking for coaching to improve as a rugby player get in touch with James.

Coaching Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/burgesscoaching/

Coaching Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/burgesscoachinguk

In Episode 10 of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to talk to current London Irish player Theo Brophy Clews. This episode is full of insight and advice surrounding playing at the top level of English rugby. 

We began talking about Theo's time at school where he attended Abingdon which facilitated his development in reaching the top level. It was interesting listening to how Theo balanced rugby, school and his social life as a teenager. We then progressed to talk about Theo's time with England U18's and U20's which gave him the chance to show himself on an international level. It was also at this time when Theo was 17 he made his debut for London Irish, in which he scored in making him the youngest ever London Irish Try scorer. 

Following on from this, we covered Theo's time at Irish from then on and spoke about the highs and lows that Theo has faced as a pro rugby player and how the adversity he has faced in the game due to injury has lead to bigger and better things off the pitch. This is evident as Theo set up RugbyGrub alongside fellow London Irish team mate Harry Elrington. We spoke about how this came about and the future plans they have for RugbyGrub.

It was a real honour to chat to Theo, a top bloke and I would like to wish Theo all the best in the future.

In Episode 9 of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to speak to former Wasps player Will Wilson. This is an episode filled of advice and insight on facing adversity not just in rugby but also in life. For myself this was a very inspiring episode and I hope it proves to be the same for you.

We started off talking about how Will got into rugby and spoke about his time at Wellington College one of the most notorious rugby schools in the UK. From that we continued to speak about his time at school before moving onto his time at Oxford University where Will studied History and tried to balance Uni work and rugby. Will then got the opportunity to play for England 7's and he speaks about his amazing experience over in Hong Kong.

Following on from that we spoke about when Will reconnected with Wasps, but his time their was interrupted by injury and mental health issues. Will suffered from bad depression and anxiety during his first year back at Wasps. This is an inspiring moment when speaking about Will's battles with depression and I really hope if anyone today is listening to the podcast and feels the same way, do not hesitate to get in touch with myself as I want to offer myself as a listening ear for people who may be struggling.

We then spoke about how Will overcame these challenges before heading out to play rugby in South Africa and returning to play in the Championship for Cornish Pirates which ended up being his final season in rugby.  Will is now studying to become a lawyer, we wish Will all the best with his future endeavours and it was an honour to have him on the podcast.

Instagram ~  https://www.instagram.com/theburgesspodcast/

Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/Burgesspodcast

James also runs his own coaching business where he offers his services to young rugby players in Berkshire & Oxfordshire. If you are looking for coaching to improve as a rugby player get in touch with James.

Coaching Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/burgesscoaching/

Coaching Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/burgesscoachinguk

In this episode of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to have a chat with current Saracens player Tom Whiteley. This episode is action packed with insightful and interesting information about his career, with a slight addition to a couple of minutes of football chat at the end for all you football fans.

We spoke about how Tom got into rugby and his time at Millfield; one of the most notorious rugby schools in the UK. Tom played for a couple of academies in his youth and we spoke about the challenges he faced at these stages of his career. After failing to get a pro contract through the academy system, Tom continued to work hard and show his skills which was evident at the 2014 Rosslyn Park 7's which Tom won player of the tournament and consequently got offered a contract after some trials with Saracens. 

We then continued to talk about Tom's time at Saries and his various loan spells he went on and talked about how his time away from the club learning new styles of rugby helped his development.  We then talked about Tom's experiences playing 7's and 10's for Saracens where he has seen much success leading the 7's side to a Premiership title.  Following on from this we spoke about Tom's more recent success which has seen him sign a two year contract at current Premiership leaders Bristol Bears where Tom will look to develop himself further and get regular minuted in the Premiership.

It was an absolute honour talking to Tom and hope you enjoy listening to his journey within rugby.

In episode 7 of The Burgess Podcast we get the opportunity to talk to former London Irish and Wasps player and current Seattle Seawolves player Ross Neal. This episode is packed with valuable and interesting information about life as a premiership rugby player on the fringes of first team rugby. This episode helps show how hard it really is to make it at the top level of the game we all love.

Ross began his time at Beaconsfield Rugby Club and we progressed to talk about his time at RGS High Wycombe where he got the chance to play regular first team school rugby. Ross got picked up by London Irish in Upper Sixth which is fairly late on for a schoolboy. Ross then got offered his senior academy contract and trained with the first team and managed to make his debut for London Irish. After a season on loan at Scottish, Ross decided to get regular first team rugby the Championship is going to be the best place for that and Ross ended up signing permanently for Scottish. We then spoke about Ross' move to Premiership giants London Wasps and how this move came about and we also spoke about Ross' very impressive debut Vs Bristol for Wasps.

After struggling for consistent game time Ross moved to Seattle and joined up with Seattle Seawolves over in the states to embark on a new journey which has allowed Ross to again play regular rugby. As we approached the rugby restart after COVID-19 Ross got the chance to join up with London Irish again on a 10 week contract to help with the intense run of games which saw Ross play again for London Irish. We spoke about how this opportunity allowed Ross to realise he has made the correct decision in moving to Seattle Seawolves as he is enjoying playing over in the states and is excited for the season ahead.

This was a great episode to record and is a brilliant listen, hope you enjoy.

Instagram ~  https://www.instagram.com/theburgesspodcast/
Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/Burgesspodcast

James also runs his own coaching business where he offers his services to young rugby players in Berkshire & Oxfordshire. If you are looking for coaching to improve as a rugby player get in touch with James.

Coaching Instagram ~ https://www.instagram.com/burgesscoaching/
Coaching Facebook ~ https://www.facebook.com/burgesscoachinguk

In Episode 6 of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to talk to former Western Force and current London Irish Prop Ollie Hoskins. This podcast is a long one... but be assured it is full of insight on life as a professional rugby player and the journey Ollie has taken himself to reach this level. Ollie also provides a wealth of advice throughout the podcast which I am sure young aspiring rugby players can take away.

We began in Perth, where Ollie's rugby started and spoke about the influence his parents had on his game and how his love for rugby grew as a child, Ollie attended Scotch College as a schoolboy where he spoke about having some of his most enjoyable times playing rugby. As well as this at this time Ollie was part of the Western Force Academy where he trained and learnt off some high quality coaches. We then proceeded to talk about Ollie's debut for Western Force and how his time there impacted his development. We then spoke about when the opportunity to move for more game time came about and how close he was to signing for Scarletts before signing for London Irish. 

Ollie's first season for Irish was in the Championship which he said at first came as a slight disappointment but how that turned into a humbling, career changing experience where he got the chance to develop and grow as a player without the pressure always on him. We then continued to speak about Ollie's time at Irish speaking about promotion, relegation and the impact that had on the team and himself. We then progressed to more recent times and spoke to Ollie about how he found training during COVID-19 and the restart of rugby and the intensity that this came with. Following on from this we moved onto talking about this season and more specifically the special occasion that was his 100th appearance for Irish in an exciting 27-27 draw Vs Harlequins.

In Episode 5 of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to talk to Scott Steele current Harlequins and Scotland Scrum-Half. The chat with Scott is full of valuable advice for young rugby players as well as providing a very interesting listen into how Scott made it as a professional and the adversity that he faced along the way.

We began the episode by talking through Scott's life before becoming a professional, we covered how he got into rugby and his time at his amatuer club Dumfries Saints. We also looked into Scott's time at Merchiston School where he got the opportunity to focus on his rugby in an environment which allowed him to flourish. 

Following on from that, we spoke about how Scott's opportunity to sign for Leicester Tigers as a youngster came about and how his time at Leicester training with a side that won the Premiership that year.  In Scott's time at Leicester he got the chance to train alongside Ben Youngs who Scott learnt huge amounts off as we speak about the impact of training alongside the caliber of players that were at Leicester. This lead us on niceley to talk about when and how Scott signed for London Irish, this was a really interesting part of the podcast as it was a huge decision for Scott to make but it was clear that it was the correct decision for his career as his 6 years at London Irish was full of success. We spoke about the adversity in getting relegated and how the club bounced back and dealt with this situation.  We then continued to speak about Scott's time at London Irish before addressing the situation that we are all involved in at the moment once again... COVID-19 we spoke to Scott about how he dealt with training at home and his challenge of finding a new club during this time before speaking about his move to Harlequins. 

Finally we spoke about Scott's more recent debut for Scotland when he came on Vs Wales in Scotland's famous 14-10 win. Scott spoke about how important this moment was for his career and how he aims to progress and hopefully make the squad for the upcoming Six Nations. It was a real honour to speak to Scott and I am sure you will all really enjoy this episode.

In Episode 4 of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to talk to Chris Wyles who has 4x Aviva Premiership Titles, 2x European Champions Cup Titles and represented USA at 3 Rugby World Cups and at Rio 2016 Olympics. It was an absolute honour and privilege to get the chance to chat to Chris as we covered some very interesting moments of his career.

We started off by talking about how and when Chris got into Rugby initially and how the impact of Academy Rugby helped his development. We then covered a bit about Chris' time at Nottingham University and how that lead to the opportunity for Chris to gain 40 apps for the Nottingham Senior side giving valuable mens rugby experience. Chris then got his move to Northampton Saints which he faced obvious adversity and speaks about why he felt his time at Saints was hindered which he gives really valuable advice on how to deal with situations where you are not excelling as you wanted too.

Following on from this, we started to talk about the beginning of the success of Chris' career when he got the chance to represent USA at France 2007 Rugby World Cup where he got the chance to play on the international stage for the first time. This then lead to a move to Saracens with Eddie Jones and this was the start of a journey that you are going to want to listen too. So feel free to tune into Episode 4 of The Burgess Podcast to listen about his time at Saracens where he scored 375 points in 244 appearances for the prestigious club that is Saracens.

Go check us out on Instagram where we will be posting new updates on a daily basis about The Burgess Podcast. @theburgesspodcast

In this episode of The Burgess Podcast we got the opportunity to talk to Wasps Academy and England U18 player Archie Mcarthur. It was really good to talk to Archie about his Rugby journey so far. 

We started off talking about Archie's early years in Rugby about his time at RAMS and Moulsford and how these  early years in the game has impacted his development to allow him to be the player he is today. We then proceeded to speak about Archie's involvement in London Irish DPP and attending school at Shiplake. It was inspiring to hear how Archie overcame the struggles of being dropped from London Irish DPP and Wasps DPP a couple years later. 

It was after these moments of adversity that Archie began to progress and take his game to the next level. He got the chance to play for Oxfordshire for two years and consequently getting the chance to play for Scotland Greens and Captain that team. Following on from this, Archie joined up with City of Oxford College and there ACE programme where he earnt the chance to be involved in the Wasps Academy where he has developed to become the starting prop for the U18's. With his performances catching the eye of England U18 coaches as he got the call up to join the England U18's camp recently. 

It was a great chance to chat to a player who demonstrates high levels of resilience and dedication to reach the level he wants to consistently play at and understand how Archie dealt with adversity faced along the way.