Legendary New Zealand commentator Tony Johnson joins Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to contemplate the clash of styles, the different journeys, and the mouthwatering contest that awaits the Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final, where the Crusaders host the Chiefs in Christchurch.

The Chiefs will be determined to kick the perennial ‘bridesmaid’ tag in their third straight decider, while the Crusaders will not want to be the team that undoes their incredible 31-game unbeaten streak in finals matches played in the Garden City.

Plus, it’s also the Demi-Finales of the Top 14 in France, and it’s the Conference Finals weekend in Major League Rugby in the States.

Games of the Week:

Super Rugby Pacific Final: Crusaders v Chiefs, Christchurch

Top 14 Demi-Finales:

• Toulouse v Bayonne, Toulouse

• Bordeaux v Toulon, Bordeaux

MLR Conference Finals

• EAST: New England v Chicago, Quincy MA

• WEST: Utah v Houston, Salt Lake City

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #TonyJohnson

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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The first domestic silverware of the year was handed out in London and Dublin, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into it all for the first Grand Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.

Bath and Leinster took the spoils in the Premiership and URC deciders respectively, the former overcoming a valiant Leicester and the latter doing enough to stay ahead of and withhold the Bulls. There were Semi Finals of contrast in the Top 14, and it was very similar in Super Rugby Pacific, just much angrier and fightier. And what on earth does any of this have to do with the 2000 film High Fidelity, starring John Cusack? It’s a great question…

Plus, the conference semi-finalists are underway in Major League Rugby in the States.

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #UnitedRugbyChampionship #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby

Find us:

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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It’s the pointiest weekend of all in the URC and the Premiership this weekend, and rugby Youtube star Riaan Louw joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder style over substance, power over precision.

Leinster host the Bulls in Dublin in the URC Grand Final, while all English rugby eyes turn to a sold out Twickenham, when Bath and Leicester face off in the Premiership Final. Is Dublin still in love with Leinster? Will the Bulls’ private charter plane be their secret source? And who will the neutrals follow in the Prem decider?

Plus, two properly mouth-watering semi-finals await in Super Rugby Pacific, it’s Phase Finale weekend in the Top 14, and it’s conference semi-final weekend in Major League Rugby in the States.

Games of the Week:

United Rugby Championship Grand Final: Leinster v Bulls, Dublin

Premiership Final: Bath v Leicester, Twickenham

Super Rugby Pacific Semi Finals:

• Crusaders v Blues, Christchurch

• Chiefs v ACT Brumbies, Hamilton

Top 14 Barrages:

• Bayonne v Clermont, Bayonne

• Toulon v Castres, Toulon

MLR Conference Semi-Finals

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #RiaanLouw #RugbyUpdate

Find the Rugby Update here: https://www.youtube.com/@RiaanLouw

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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Finals Series are set and finals formats are up for debate, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.

While the URC Semi Finals went pretty much as expected, a major boilover has shaken up Super Rugby Pacific, with the most unlikeliest of scenarios exposing the one slight flaw with the new six-team finals format. The Premiership is set for a proper Twickenham blockbuster that could be the making of Michael Cheika, and it was a final round of truly French surprises in the Top 14.

Plus, the conference semi-finalists are all but set for Major League Rugby in the States.

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #UnitedRugbyChampionship #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

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Super Rugby Pacific talked a big game this season, promising better, faster rugby and better contests on the field, and even more ambitiously, they promised better social media presence and a significantly better fan engagement. Stan Sport‘s Sean Maloney joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to concede that yes, they might just have ticked all the boxes.

The regular season of ups and downs has delivered the finals series combatants we probably picked in pre-season, but didn’t think we’d get for most of it, leaving three ripping Qualifying Finals this weekend coming. Also, a Player of the Year and Team of the Year have been crowned, so more boxes ticked.

Plus, it’s Semi Final weekend in the URC and the Premiership in England, and the final rounds of the Top 14 in France, and Major League Rugby in the States.

Games of the Week:

Super Rugby Pacific Qualifying Finals:

• Crusaders v Queensland Reds, Christchurch

• Chiefs v Blues, Hamilton

• ACT Brumbies v Hurricanes, Canberra

United Rugby Championship Semi Finals:

• Leinster v Glasgow, Dublin

• Bulls v Sharks, Pretoria

Premiership Semi Finals:

• Bath v Bristol at the Rec

• Leicester v Sale at Welford Road

Top 14 Round 26: Montpellier v Clermont, Montpellier

MLR Round17: San Diego v Old Glory DC, San Diego

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #SeanMaloney #StanSport

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Social media: #89Combo

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

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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Finals series are taking shape around the rugby world, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, and in which they explore the power of song as a coping tool for loss.

The URC Quarter Finals saw a fine line between plausible cramp and genuine shithousery, Super Rugby Pacific set its top six with a couple of genuine danger teams lurking, the Premiership semi-finalists include two teams that maybe only friends and family were talking about at the start of the year, and Richie Mo’unga proved he is worth every cent as he claimed another League One title in Japan.

Plus, the penultimate rounds of the Top 14 in France and Major League Rugby in the US, where some tasty matchups are falling into place.

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #UnitedRugbyChampionship #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

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Rugby YouTube star Huw Griffin makes a rapid return back to The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast with Brett McKay & Harry Jones, as the fallout from the Champions Cup Final celebrations continue. Zebra-related injuries are not something a team typically plans for, but may feature in reviews of Bordeaux’s European campaign.

From there, the URC moves into knockout mode, with Quarter Finals to be played in Scotland, South Africa, and Ireland this weekend, and with upsets possible in one, maybe two games at a stretch. Super Rugby Pacific and the Premiership line up for their final rounds of the season, and with most games having some degree of bearing on playoff berths.

Plus, it’s the penultimate round of Top 14 in France and MLR in the States, and Grand Final weekend in Japan.

Games of the Week:

United Rugby Championship Quarter Finals:

• Glasgow v Stormers, the Scotstoun

• Bulls v Edinburgh, Loftus Versfeld

• Leinster v Scarlets, Dublin

• Sharks v Munster, Durban

SRP Round 16: ACT Brumbies v Crusaders, Canberra

Top 14 Round 25: Vannes v Pau, Vannes

Japan Rugby League One Grand Final: Toshiba Brave Lupus v Kubota Spears, Tokyo

MLR Round16: Old Glory DC v RFC Los Angeles, Maryland

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #ChampionsCup #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #HuwGriffin #HGRugby

Check out Huw’s YouTube channel, it’s great! https://www.youtube.com/@huwgriffinrugby

Find us:

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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The first silverware of the professional rugby year has been handed out, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones come together for a Champions Cup Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, recorded as the Cup was being lifted in Cardiff.

An enviable celebration is underway in the French wine regions, after Bordeaux’s super impressive 28-20 win over Northampton in the Final in Cardiff, a triumph for taking opportunities, game management, and supreme confidence in your methods. UBB were just a bit too clinical for the precocious Saints in the end, and will absolutely be eyeing off the Top 14-Champions Cup double in 2025

Plus: Premiership frontrunners Bath are eyeing off a double as well, after dominating Lyon to take out the Challenge Cup, plus there are cricket scores and sheer bloody-mindedness to overcome in Super Rugby Pacific, it’s semi-final weekend in Japan, and an early Western Conference upset in Major League Rugby.

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #ChampionsCupFinal #SuperRugbyPacific #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR

Find us:

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Social media: #89Combo

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Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

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Lee Calvert from the outstanding Blood & Mud rugby podcast joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast to try and make sense of a Champions Cup Final that not too many saw coming, to contemplate where, if anywhere, Northampton and Bordeaux will find their point of difference, and just where 1980s mega group Duran Duran fits into this complicated picture.

Plus, Lee shares some thoughts on the latest developments in Welsh Rugby, where having maintained four professional sides equally as part of a long-term strategy launched in 2024, the WRU announced an intention to implement a new two-tier funding system amid reports it intends to cut a team from its professional tier, reports which the Union has neither confirmed nor denied. Welsh rugby Hunger Games?

Games of the Week:

Champions Cup Final: Northampton v Bordeaux, Cardiff

SRP Round 15: Queensland Reds v Hurricanes, Brisbane

Japan Rugby League One Semi Finals:

MLR Rd.15: NOLA Gold v Utah Warriors, Salt Lake City

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #ChampionsCupFinal #Northampton #Bordeaux #LeeCalvert #BloodandMudpodcast

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Social media: #89Combo

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

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

Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney

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The pointy end of the rugby seasons are only getting pointier, and finals football is very close as Brett McKay and Harry Jones hand down another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.

And the Weekend Post-Mortems are going to start hotting up now – Super Rugby Pacific has a new competition leader and maybe a changing of the guard in Auckland, the URC finals are locked in after some final round movement saw some teams win through and others lose out, and Bath have extended their lead in the Premiership even further after a dominant win.

Plus: the semi-finalists have been decided in League One in Japan, there’s still a few rounds of Top 14 left in France, and the conferences are tightening up again in Major League Rugby in the US.

#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #UnitedRugbyChampionship #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR

Find us:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1

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Social media: #89Combo

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

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

Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones

Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)

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