The Ruck

Following the 5th round of fixtures in the Gallagher Premiership, Alfie Reynolds, Stuart Barnes and Elgan Alderman look back on all the action. They discuss Finn Russell 'shushing' The Shed as Bath beat Gloucester, what a great weekend it was for fly-halves and Bristol's struggles. They also chat about the return of the England A side and how important those fixtures can be for developing talent. Plus, Jess Hayden joins the show to preview the start of the Premiership Women's season. And, the panel name their God or Goddess of the week.

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Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman and Alan Dymock are back in the studio after months on the road at the Rugby World Cup. They turn their attention to domestic action in the Gallagher Premiership and also chat to Mark Palmer about the opening rounds of the URC. They debate the future of Wales' fly-half jersey, Exeter's rebuild and the impact of the World Cup on the start of the season. Plus, Alan asks if the British and Irish Lions should add France to the list of countries they tour and the boys name their God or Goddess of the Week.

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The Springboks retained the Word Cup as they beat New Zealand in a gripping and tense final. Alfie Reynolds, Stephen Jones, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe reflect on the match and tournament as a whole. They have conflicting views on whether the final was a great spectacle and also talk about the big refereeing decisions which saw All Blacks captain Sam Cane get sent off. Plus, they chat about England winning a bronze medal, pay tribute to Ben Youngs who retires as England men's most capped international, mention Eddie Jones' departure from the Wallabies and name their God or Goddess of the week.

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It's New Zealand versus South Africa in the Rugby World Cup final. Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher, Alex Lowe and Stephen Jones preview the match. They discuss the Springboks extraordinary team selection by going 7-1 on the bench and not having a back-up scrum-half. Plus, they reflect on the All Blacks' resurrection over the last year having gone from being branded as one of the worst New Zealand sides ever to a World Cup final.

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Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and Stephen Jones look back on the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup as the All Blacks and Springboks booked their spots in the final. They discuss England's heart breaking 15-16 defeat and how it is a platform for Steve Borthwick's side to build upon. Plus they discuss a much more one-sided semi-final as New Zealand hammered Argentina 44-6. Plus they name their God or Goddess of the week.

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Ahead of the Rugby World Cup semi-finals between Argentina and New Zealand, as well as England versus South Africa, Alfie Reynolds is joined by Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and Sam Warburton to preview all the action. They discuss how England might be able to produce an upset against the Springboks and all the big talking points ahead of the matches this weekend.

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The Rugby World Cup quarter-finals lived up to the hype as four brilliant matches took place over the weekend with New Zealand, Argentina, England and South Africa progressing to the last four. Alfie Reynolds, Stephen Jones, Owen Slot and Chris Jones were in Paris for two of the best matches in world cup history, so they look back on the victories for the All Blacks and Springboks. Whilst, Alex Lowe and Will Kelleher review the action they witnessed in Marseille where Argentina beat Wales and England held on to defeat Fiji. Plus, they all name their God or Goddess of the week.

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Four years ago South Africa won the Rugby World Cup for the third time! Francois Louw was a part of that success as they beat England in the final and explains to Will Kelleher how the Springboks won, having been underperforming just 18 months before. He chats about getting revenge on the host nation, Japan, for the infamous defeat they suffered in 2015, the importance of Siya Kolisi as the captain and facing Eddie Jones' England team just after they had produced a stunning performance to beat the All Blacks in the semi-final.

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Alfie Reynolds is joined by Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe to look back on the pool stages at the Rugby World Cup and preview the quarter-final line-up. He also chats to Mark Palmer and Peter O'Reilly at the Stade de France following Ireland's victory over Scotland and Elgan Alderman reflects on Wales and Argentina's final pool fixtures as they meet in the quarter-finals this weekend.

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The 2011-2015 All Blacks are arguably the greatest international rugby team ever, having won back-to-back World Cups. But prior to that they were known as a side who always failed to deliver when the pressure was on. In this episode, Will Kelleher chats to New Zealand legend Conrad Smith about how they went from World Cup disappointment to domination. He explains how they changed their mindset, dealt with the absence of Dan Carter in 2011 and then waltzed to the title in 2015.

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