The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with another special edition of Games of the Week, with the guys take a look back at The Rugby Championship for 2024 and discuss once and for all what we have learned about the four SANZAAR national teams from this tournament, and what it might mean for the November internationals in the northern hemisphere.

This week’s Games of the Week:

• URC: Lions v Edinburgh in Johannesburg

• Premiership: Northampton v Harlequins at Franklin’s Gardens

• Top 14: boycott in place – France bad

• NPC: Tasman v Taranki in Nelson

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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

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Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Planet Rugby writer and connoisseur of stadium security dominant tackles, Jared Wright, for a full look back on South Africa’s thumping of Argentina to wrap up The Rugby Championship for 2024, and what has really made this Springbok team so dominant on their way to their first southern hemisphere title since 2019.

The guys also ponder the future of The Rugby Championship and what it might look like in the years New Zealand and South Africa tour each other. Perhaps this really is the chance for SANZAAR to stop talking about it and finally bring Japan and Fiji into the fold properly.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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 another weird and curious Bledisloe Cup contest in Wellington, where the All Blacks overcame some first half issues to put the Wallabies away 33-13.

After their almost comeback in Sydney, this loss in Wellington will have to be one that the Wallabies review harshly after one of their strongest first halves of the year, while the All Blacks made some impressive defensive shifts to regain an even share of possession and territory, which allowed them to get away in the second half.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with the final Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week, coming after a weekend where the guys survived each other’s close companies, and have emerged out the other side to explore the final weekend of Test rugby in the southern hemisphere for 2024.

Plus, it’s a return to the original Games of the Week format, with the guys pulling out the best games to watch in various competitions back underway, or in their final stages, around the rugby world.

This week’s Games of the Week:

• Australia v New Zealand in Sydney

• Argentina v South Africa in Santiago del Estero

• URC: Bulls v Edinburgh in Pretoria

• Premiership: Leicester v Bath at Welford Road

• Top 14: Racing 92 v La Rochelle in Paris

• NPC: North Harbour v Canterbury in Albany

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by New Zealand Herald Chief Sportswriter Liam Napier for a trans-Tasman deep-dive into the surprisingly tight first Bledisloe Test of the year in Sydney on the weekend just gone, and what is now likely to eventuate in the return bout in Wellington this weekend coming.

Whilst Sydney Bledisloe Tests have often been fairly evenly split in terms of support for both the Wallabies and All Blacks, the 31-28 result in that perhaps for the first time in a long time, both set of fans walked away from the Olympic Stadium reasonably satisfied. And now moving to Wellington, where NZ’s record in recent years isn’t great, there’s life in this series yet.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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 surprisingly entertaining and tight contest between Australia and New Zealand in the first Bledisloe Cup Test of the year in Sydney.

In a classic game of two halves, the Wallabies should now take a lot of confidence to Wellington next week, despite the loss, and the All Blacks will be asking how what should have been a comfortable win suddenly became so uncomfortable.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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/

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

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with another Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week – where this week Harry and Brett are both preparing to make the trip to Sydney for the first Bledisloe Cup Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks.

But in a GotW episode a day earlier than normal, we’re left to but speculate on what sort of teams we might see for the Bledisloe contest, and for what Los Pumas might serve up for the Springboks too, with another experimental side named by Rassie Erasmus.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

This week’s Games of the Week:

• Australia v New Zealand in Sydney

• Argentina v South Africa in Santiago del Estero

Plus, Japan and Fiji meet in the Final of the Pacific Nations Cup, and the United Rugby Championship and English Premiership both commence their seasons this weekend.

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

Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by TVNZ presenter, SENZ Breakfast radio star and still the pod’s favourite home baker Scotty ‘Sumo’ Steveson for a proper in-depth look back at all that ills New Zealand Rugby, Rugby Australia, and the game as it stands in both countries heading into the first Bledisloe Cup match of the year.

Coming at a time where Rassie Erasmus and his Springboks remain four steps ahead of everyone, both the All Blacks and Wallabies find themselves in genuine rebuilds, but that only one of them will admit to. And while NZR and RA are pretending everything is fine, Super Rugby limps along as a shadow of its former self.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 available NOW on RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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 are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Radio New Zealand sportswriter, author, and new South African travel ambassador Jamie Wall fresh from his tour with the All Blacks for a complete debrief of his two weeks in the Republic.

But where a rugby podcast and YouTube video would typically centre around the on-field action, this time around Jamie’s first ever experience in South Africa, and what he learned and consumed about the local cultures, and the vast differences between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and how it has influenced his take on the All Blacks-Springboks rivalry, which he detailed a few years ago in his wonderful book The Hundred Years War.

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 coming soon to RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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 too much thought, with this week's fulltime focus is on South Africa’s 18-12 win over New Zealand with Harry still there in Cape Town, and Argentina’s record 67-27 thumping of Australia in Santa Fe.

It’s South Africa’s fourth straight win over the All Blacks for the first time since 1949, while Los Pumas recorded their biggest ever win over Australia – and it’s the Wallabies worst loss in their history. And all that leading into two Bledisloe Cup Tests…

Brought to you by Chasing the Sun 2 coming soon to RugbyPass TV – head to rugbypass.tv and sign up for FREE, to watch wherever you are in the rugby world!

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