The Ruck

Stephen Jones welcomes Owen Slot, Al Dymock, Peter O'Reilly and Paul Eddison for a full preview of the 6 nations opening weekend.

Every team's strengths and weaknesses are assessed with a comprehensive analysis of the key match ups.

Can Ireland overcome the history books and see off France, will England ever get the credit Eddie Jones thinks they deserve, and will the loser of Scotland vs Wales be instantly in the "mental mush"?

Also find out what the panel hate about the tournament in a section they'll probably wish had been cut.

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In this special edition of The Ruck, Stephen Jones talks to Wayne Barnes about life as a referee, the tactics officials will be keeping an eye on in the Six Nations and what Nigel Owens sang at his wedding.

They also discuss the legality of Saracens’ rush defence, what to do when a player calls for a rival to be sin-binned and whether Richie McCaw truly knew the rule book better than anyone else...

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This week Owen Slot welcomes Alex Lowe and former Saracens player, Will Fraser. 

They discuss the final round of the European group stages, the reasons behind English rugby having just one representative in the quarters, with player fatigue, declining quality and the cyclical nature of sport considered.

Then the panel explore how Saracens recovered off the back of multiple defeats earlier this campaign with unique insight from Fraser's access at the club.

Finally England's seven position is debated. 

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Owen Slot welcomes Stephen Jones and Alex Lowe to discuss another thrilling weekend of European rugby. 

Peter O'Reilly joins the debate from Dublin and offers his thoughts on the current strong form of the Irish teams and defends the Pro 14 from the opinion they have it much easier than the Premiership sides.

The writers also reflect on their favourite European club performance down the years before suggesting what to do with the England team ahead of the squad announcement this week.

And as Exeter shock the rugby press by limiting food for journalists to one pasty each, Owen Slot defends himself from multiple allegations he is the reason for the drastic measures. 

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The Ruck returns with Stephen Jones, Owen Slot, Stuart Barnes and Jonny Fordham.

The panel discuss why Dylan Hartley's club form will not change Eddie Jones' thinking on starting him for England. Owen explains the book which led Jones to think this way and Jonny reveals the day to day relationship between captain and coach.

Stephen and Stuart then disagree on the England coach's criteria and selection policy. 

There's also a full preview of all the big european action and Stuart explains why he thinks Jordan Larmour could be worth the hype.

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

Stephen Jones welcomes Steve James, Owen Slot and Al Dymock for the penultimate Ruck of the year.

The panel cover: Dan Cole's struggles, Beno Obano's triumphs and Danny Cipriani's impossible task.

There's a full review of the European action, including fears for a lack of English quarter finalists. Also find out who on the panel is dodging the christmas games and Al speaks about his investigation into the dark side of player welfare within the game.

There's also an Ashes verdict from Steve and find out why Owen may incur the wrath of Mrs Slot on New Years Eve.  

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

Stephen Jones, Owen Slot and Sam Peters are feeling weary after the autumn internationals, with the debate raging on as to the physical damage that could be done with needless rugby matches being played.

The panel also discuss the Saracens slump, whether Eddie Jones is a strong selector and if Danny Cipriani can be a good squad player.

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Owen Slot welcomes Jonny Fordham of The Sun, Tom Hamilton from ESPN and Al Dymock from Rugby World to reflect on the weekends action.

They offer answers to the following: if they were to re-plan their weekends which matches would they have attended, did the world rugby awards pick the right winners and which nation is letting their hemisphere down badly?

There's also marks out of ten for each nation's autumn performance, a predicted England side for the six nations and a public service announcement from Al Dymock on the perils of nudity at Japanese spa's.

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