The Ruck

By The Times

The Ruck is the journalists rugby podcast from The Times & The Sunday Times.

Join Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and a selection of guests every week as they provide insigh

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3.4

2929 ratings

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FAQs about The Ruck:

How many episodes does The Ruck have?

The podcast currently has 511 episodes available.

The Ruck episodes:

September 30, 2025 The Champ, The Prem, and the future of English club rugby
Promotion and relegation, franchising and the rugby pyramid; these are all issues that are so fundamental to the state of English rugby, and things so few people agree on.

So, to tackle these meaty topics Will and Alex go to Twickenham to meet Simon Gillham, the chair of the new Tier 2 board, and vice-president of French Pro D2 side Brive.

Can the Champ, which relaunches this weekend, and the Prem finally get on, coexist and thrive together?

How could promotion to the top flight work? Will London Irish return like Worcester Warriors have?

And Will there be an end to "self-interest" on all sides? We discuss it all, and rattle through the news from the opening round of the Prem, plus the finale of The Rugby Championship.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1h 7min
September 27, 2025 Red Roses glory as England win home World Cup
England are world champions! The Red Roses have won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup so outside Twickenham Alfie, Elgan and Alex look back on the final and the tournament as a whole. They ask what this moment will mean for women's rugby in England? And, what it will mean for the women's game as a whole as other unions play catch up to this all conquering England side? They dissect the performance and credit England's dominance in the final over Canada, plus talk about the job John Mitchell has done as head coach.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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27min
September 23, 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup final preview!
This weekend England face Canada in the Women's Rugby World Cup final. Alfie and Elgan look ahead to the match and ask if the Red Roses can finally get over the line and become world champions. How big a burden are the psychological scars from previous failures? Will it be a seminal moment in the history of women's rugby in England? And, has this tournament broken through to new audiences outside of rugby circles? Alfie also chats to Red Roses legend Rocky Clark who admits it will be an emotional moment watching them play in front of a sold out Twickenham.
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40min
September 22, 2025 'PREM' season preview - A new Red Bull era and Thursday night rugby
The new season is here! Ahead of domestic rugby restarting Alfie and Will are at Twickenham to look ahead to the action. It's been a huge summer of change at Newcastle who are now owned by Red Bull, so Director of Rugby Steve Diamond explains what that means for the club and how they can start looking up the table. The season kicks off on Thursday night as Sale host Gloucester, so Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson looks ahead to that and reveals he was watching on in awe at Tom Curry during the Lions tour. Alex and Will then speak with PREM Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor who explains that the league is in a great place, why they decided to rebrand and who he thinks will win the title!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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1h 4min
September 16, 2025 Were Ireland robbed of a World Cup semi-final?
Alfie and Elgan are at the England team hotel ahead of their semi-final against France in the World Cup this weekend. They chat to second-row Morwenna Talling following her player of the match performance against Scotland. They also look back on all the other quarter-final action and ask whether Ireland were unlucky that France's Axelle Berthoumieu wasn't shown a red card for biting but instead only banned retrospectively. Plus, what next for South Africa and Scotland following excellent campaigns? And, who will progress into the final? They also round up another brilliant weekend of action in the Rugby Championship.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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47min
September 09, 2025 Is an England v New Zealand final the best thing for the World Cup?
The Women's World Cup is into the knockout rounds! Ahead of the quarter-finals Alfie and Elgan are at Twickenham where they chat to the Managing Director of the tournament Sarah Massey. They discuss the great attendances during the pool stages, TV viewership and the importance of growing women's rugby. They also ask whether New Zealand displayed their title credentials for the first time at the weekend and whether the Black Ferns meeting England in the final is the ideal match-up. Plus, Fiji beat Wales for their first win over northern hemisphere opposition, Australia caused England problems and John Mitchell has injury concerns ahead of the last-8. They also round up the action in the Rugby Championship.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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37min
September 02, 2025 Australia and USA in Pool A shootout & South Africa produce the shock of the tournament
The second round of the women's rugby world cup provided the best two matches of the tournament so far! Alfie and Elgan are down near Brighton to review all the action and preview the final round of pool matches. They discuss who will progress from Pool A out of Australia and the USA and hear from the Wallaroos co-captain Emily Chancellor as Australia hope to upset England this weekend. They also ask if South Africa qualifying for their first quarter-final at a women's world cup can be the inspiration their women's side need?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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36min
August 25, 2025 Are one sided score lines an issue at the World Cup? When will LRZ return for Wales?
Following the opening round of fixtures at the women's Rugby World Cup, Alfie and Elgan look back on all the action. They discuss the Red Roses performance against the USA and question who impressed out of France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada as the sides best placed to trouble England. They also reflect on a brilliant Scotland performance against Wales but also how disappointing Sean Lynn's side were. Plus, how big an issue are the one-sided score lines across the opening weekend? Alfie heads to Bristol to chat with Louis Rees-Zammit on his return to the sport and they also round up the latest results in the Rugby Championship.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39min
August 18, 2025 Can the Red Roses finally win the world cup?
The women's world cup starts this week so Alfie Reynolds and Elgan Alderman look ahead to the tournament. They ask whether 2025 is going to be the year that England are finally crowned world champions and who out of France, Canada and New Zealand are best placed to trouble them. They preview every pool, speak about who the stars of the world cup will be and discuss whether a home world cup win could be the Red Roses 'lionesses' moment. Plus, they round up the latest from the Rugby Championship, including Australia's historic comeback victory over South Africa at Ellis Park.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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35min
August 04, 2025 Goodbye from Australia - Lions tour review
Following the conclusion of the 2025 Lions tour Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Owen Slot and Will Kelleher bring you one final pod from Australian soil.

They reflect on a joyous 7 weeks covering the tour, including their final reflections on the test series and what the future of the Lions tour looks like. How can they make the tour games in Australia more engaging? Should there be a Barmy Army-style supporter package to make it affordable for a younger audience? And, have the Wallabies' performances in the final two matches given hope for their home world cup in 2027?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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54min

FAQs about The Ruck:

How many episodes does The Ruck have?

The podcast currently has 511 episodes available.

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