The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast

Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the final full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours, the last chance for the Home Nations to save something from the November Tests, and for the southern hemisphere nations to reinforce their claims of global rugby domination.

Can Argentina spring one last upset? Can Ireland make one last statement? How much patience is left in Wales? Will New Zealand appease fans at home with a fourth Spring Tour win? Will Scotland blink first, or Australia? And will the full support of the board continue for Steve Borthwick?

This week’s Games of the Week:

• France v Argentina in Paris

• Wales v South Africa in Cardiff

• Italy v New Zealand in Turin

• Scotland v Australia in Edinburgh

Plus, the Top 14 is back: we like the sound of Toulon v Bayonne on Saturday

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Now on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

You can find Brett and Harry individually on BlueSky, too!

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

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Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by incoming New South Wales Waratahs coach Dan McKellar, who has put the disappointment of how his Leicester Tigers gig ended, the strong links to his native Queensland, and his storied history with the ACT Brumbies all behind him to get on with the job of restoring the Waratahs to the force Australian rugby needs them to be.

Plus, Brett and Harry also dig into the Wallabies’ super impressive 52-20 thumping of Wales in Cardiff, the first time Australia has won consecutive matches on foreign soil since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Next up for the Wallabies are Scotland at Murrayfield, and a contest that has remained tight for the last few years.

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Now on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

You can find Brett and Harry individually on BlueSky, too!

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney + Amelia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into another Test Match post-mortem without much thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on France’s patient 30-29 win over New Zealand in Paris, and South Africa’s well-in-hand 29-20 win over England at Twickenham.

Two enthralling contests with lead changes and plenty of drama, and from which there was plenty to talk about straight away – and will be more to talk about for the rest of the week, we’re sure.

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Now on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the second full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, where the Home Nations in particular will be seeking responses after all suffering losses of varying degrees of hurt the previous round.

Pressure is starting to mount in certain team environments, and another loss will only add to some already uncomfortable narratives. How much patience does Twickenham Man have left? Equally though, the SANZAAR nations in particular will be wanting to continue their run of performances, with all eyes on South Africa to see if they can make themselves proud again after a win, and Australia determine to ensure the Twickenham triumph was not one-night-only.

This week’s Games of the Week:

• Ireland v Argentina in Dublin

• England v South Africa at Twickenham

• France v New Zealand in Paris

• Wales v Australia in Cardiff

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by The Telegraph’s senior rugby writer Charlie Morgan to look back over the first full weekend of matches of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, with New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and South Africa all recording wins in a sweep of southern hemisphere dominance.

Of course, that means we probably should brace for some kind of reaction, and in the case of Ireland, England, and Scotland, their supporters are already demanding that. But spare a thought for England coach Steve Borthwick, with the RFU already coming out to publicly back their man. And that always ends well…

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney + Amelia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it any thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on the Wallabies absolutely stunning 42-37 comeback win over England at Twickenham, as well as looking back at New Zealand’s 23-13 win over Ireland in Dublin on Friday night

An incredible win from Australia. Is it too big a stretch to call it the single greatest win in rugby history? No, we didn’t think so..

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones push Games of the Week deep into the second week of the November Internationals, where they welcome Australian rugby writer for RugbyPass and The Roar, John Ferguson, along for a proper preview look at the biggest Test Matches of the weekend.

This week’s Games of the Week:

• Ireland v New Zealand in Dublin

• England v Australia at Twickenham

• Scotland v South Africa at Murrayfield

• Top 14 Rd.10: Toulon v Bayonne

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by The Guardian rugby correspondent and surprise new music reviewer (true!) Rob Kitson for a proper review of the first weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, in which New Zealand held out England 24-22 at Twickenham, and Scotland were too good for Fiji, winning 57-17 at Murrayfield.

Attention now turns to the first ‘full’ round of the NSAST this weekend coming, with Ireland, Australia, Italy, Argentina, France, Japan, Wales and South Africa all playing their first matches of the northern campaign.

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney + Amelia

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones launch into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it any thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on a fantastic opening to the Autumn Nations Series where New Zealand have hung on – just – to beat England 24-22 at Twickenham.

Did England err in bringing Marcus Smith off? Did New Zealand get away with a win despite a bit of late confusion as to who was doing what? And why haven’t we just always been able to hear ref mics inside the stadium?

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you FOLLOW US on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones switch Games of the Week back into international mode for the start of the November Internationals, where the guys set, manage, and temper expectations for the SANZAAR nations, as they work out best and worst case scenarios for South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina from their Northern or Spring Tours, or Autumn Nations Series, or whatever we’re calling this next month of Test rugby.

This week’s Games of the Week:

• England v New Zealand at Twickenham

• Munster v All Blacks XV in Limerick

• Scotland v Fiji at Murrayfield

• Top 14 Rd.9: Bayonne v Toulouse

Social media: #89Combo

Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo

Brett: https://twitter.com/BMcSport

Harry: https://twitter.com/HaribaldiJones

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm

Find Brett and Harry’s written work on RugbyPass and The Roar:

Brett: https://www.rugbypass.com/plus/contributor/brett-mckay/

Harry: https://www.theroar.com.au/author/haribaldi/

Music from Uppbeat: https://uppbeat.io/track/oakvale-of-albion/extreme

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices