The Ruck

Stephen Jones welcomes Nick Easter, Simon Halliday and Nigel Botherway to cover a wide range of topics.

Nick Easter outlines the lure of coaching in South Africa.

Plus the rule change which means teams can't relax in Europe, the key man for Saracens this year and why was Munster vs Exeter so engrossing?

Looking ahead to the Six Nations what grade would the Eddie Jones era get, and is it a problem everyone now plays the same way?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To coincide with Stuart Barnes' new book, Stephen Jones grills his old friend on his life in rugby. 

Including: why the book doesn't have a chronological structure, why a stag do fight with Jeremy Guscott's helped his career? How a fear of failure stifled chances with England and how he regrets the lack of sports phycology when he played the game.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Jones welcomes Stuart Barnes, Mark Palmer and Martin Gillingham to focus on Scottish and French teams in Europe.

There's also a preview of this weekend's Champions Cup action and a early look ahead to the Six Nations. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owen Slot welcomes Alex Lowe, Al Dymock, and Mark Evans to discuss big issues off the field.

Is the club breakaway threat credible and could relegation still be scrapped this season?

On the field the Premiership continues to thrill but how high is the standard, has the quality of the English clubs been exposed in Europe?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owen Slot hosts Stephen Jones and Adam Hathaway to digest a remarkable week of rugby. 

First, Sam Peters joins the podcast to discuss his altercation with Sale Director of Rugby Steve Diamond and explains why he won't be making a formal complaint, and the panel consider the role of journalists in rugby. 

PLUS Has Alex Dombrandt's starring role usurped Chris Robshaw, was the alleged spitting incident resolved correctly, and who has the boldest prediction for 2019? 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Jones welcomes Owen Slot, Steve James and Mark Evans for a festive special.

Can the panel cope with Owen's quiz of the year, which are the best grounds on the planet and who from the rugby world would be invited to Christmas dinner?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Jones welcomes former England international Danielle Waterman, Sunday Times writer Sam Peters and Adam Hathaway.  

The panel review the fourth pool round of the Champions Cup, reveal their Christmas wishes, name their best ever teams and debate the next steps for safety of the game after the tragic death of Nicolas Chauvin.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Jones welcomes Owen Slot, Steve James and Mark Evans to review another entertaining weekend of rugby in Europe.

The panel debate: is the money so big in the Premiership and Top 14 big sides are focusing more domestically than on the Champions Cup, can the demise of Wasps and Leicester be explained by club culture, and how do the Welsh sides fight back?

There's also a bizarre selection for the "God of the week".

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owen Slot is joined by Alex Lowe, Ben Ryan and Nick Easter. 

Ring-fencing looms. With so many teams in the relegation fight, will the Premiership scrap relegation, perhaps as early as this season or should they maintain the current structure? (starts at 24.23) 

PLUS Ben Ryan outlines problems with the RFU's coaching pathways comparing with other approaches around the world as Nick Easter details his experience in South Africa as a young coach and the panel debate the best way to develop backroom talent. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.