Rugby Direct

Elliott Smith and Liam Napier are in Sydney this week for the opening Bledisloe Cup and in a crossover special, stopped by the ESPN Scrum Reset podcast studios to count down to Saturday’s match with Aussie rugby journos Sam Bruce and Christy Doran. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier are in Sydney and celebrate touching down by jumping straight into a podcast.

They discuss the Bledisloe Cup test this weekend between the Wallabies and All Blacks and whether the Australians have a show, and what the All Blacks strategy is around blooding new talent.

Also on the podcast, a look back at the Black Ferns v England, Super Rugby format changes and the Ranfurly Shield stays in Tasman.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier assess another All Blacks' defeat to the Springboks, this time in Cape Town as opportunities go begging. We ask what are the reasons for the All Blacks being unable to put away the 'Boks and what is missing from the side at the moment.

We also dig into further information around a 2026 tour of South Africa by the All Blacks, the possible ANZAC Day match against the Wallabies and chat the Ranfurly Shield changing hands.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, ZB's own Elliott Smith reviews the first All Blacks v Springboks test and unpacks what went wrong towards the second half the match.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Elliott's landed in Johannesburg and he and Liam assess the stunning news that Leon MacDonald has quit the All Blacks coaching staff after just five tests.

Elliott and Liam also offer some thoughts on where the first test between the All Blacks and Springboks will be won and lost, as well as the latest in the NPC and FPC.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier discuss the All Blacks' comeback victory over Argentina at Eden Park - and whether or not the team is ready to face off against South Africa.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier review the All Blacks' stunning defeat against Argentina in Wellington and dig into how it happened and what needs to be changed for the rematch against Los Pumas at Eden Park this weekend. We also put some perspective into the reason behind so many empty seats at Sky Stadium.

We also pick through the highlights of the opening round of the NPC and Farah Palmer Cup, the Springboks win over the Wallabies and Twickenham's surprising name change.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier return from a week off to talk the Black Ferns Sevens' gold medal in Paris and how to try and solve the men's Sevens issues at the Olympics.

We dig into the All Blacks squad for the Rugby Championship ahead of this weekend's test against Argentina, debate some contract news for the All Blacks and ask the question... is Antoine Dupont the GOAT? Plus plenty more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier discuss Ardie Savea's bombshell Super Rugby switch from the Hurricanes to Moana Pasifika and the implications for him as well as both franchises before we dig into the All Blacks third test of the year against Fiji in San Diego.

We also rank the All Blacks halfbacks, discuss the chances of gold medals for the sevens sides at the Olympics and whether the NZ U20s finishing third is a positive result, as well as an assessment of Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt and Japan coach Eddie Jones' starts to their tenures.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Rugby Direct, Elliott Smith and Liam Napier wrap the second test against England and discuss the All Blacks' game plan - or seeming lack thereof, as well as the impact of Beauden Barrett, line-out struggles and how they might line up against Fiji in San Diego.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.