The Ruck

Following defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup last weekend, England host Ireland in round three of the 6 Nations on Saturday.

Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and Charlie Morgan are at the England training base ahead of the match and ask whether England or Ireland are under more pressure heading into the fixture? They chat about Steve Borthwick's squad selection, with Henry Pollock making his first start and Maro Itoje set to earn his 100th cap for his country.

Jack Crowley is set to start at fly-half for the Irish, is that a good or bad thing for England? Would they have rather come up against Sam Prendergast?

Plus, this weekend Wales host Scotland and France play Italy.

***

The Ruck Live!

Before the final whistle is blown on the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, there’s the small matter of Super Saturday. This year the final round promises to be even more explosive, with rivals England and France going head-to-head in the very last match of the competition at the Stade de France.

Tough-tacklers Courtney Lawes and Serge Betsen will join Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer at The Times, and Alfie Reynolds — host of our podcast The Ruck — to compare notes on Le Crunch and the biggest moments of this year’s tournament.

Book tickets on thetimes.com/events

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

The second round of the 6 Nations produced plenty of thrills and spills! Scotland stunned England in Edinburgh, Ireland got up and running by beating Italy and Wales shipped fifty points in defeat to France.

Alfie Reynolds is joined by Elgan Alderman, Charlie Morgan and David Walsh to look back on the action and preview round three. They ask whether anyone will prevent a French Grand Slam? Whether there is any evidence to suggest Wales are able to win a match this year? And, how damaging was England's performance in the Calcutta Cup?

They also discuss Sam Prendergast's future as Ireland fly-half, whether Steve Borthwick will make changes ahead of hosting the Irish on Saturday and the importance of Italy's development.

***

The Ruck Live!

Before the final whistle is blown on the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, there’s the small matter of Super Saturday. This year the final round promises to be even more explosive, with rivals England and France going head-to-head in the very last match of the competition at the Stade de France.

Tough-tacklers Courtney Lawes and Serge Betsen will join Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer at The Times, and Alfie Reynolds — host of our podcast The Ruck — to compare notes on Le Crunch and the biggest moments of this year’s tournament.

Book tickets on thetimes.com/events

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

Scotland destroyed England 31-20 to win the Calcutta Cup!

From the stands at Murrayfield Alfie Reynolds, Mark Palmer and Will Kelleher try to unpick a crazy match.

The ghosts of Calcutta Cups past came back to haunt England as they once again produced a lacklustre performance in Edinburgh. Their losing streak in the Scottish capital continues. But Scotland were brilliant and bounced back from defeat to Italy the week before.

What does this tell us about both sides? Are France the best side in the 6 Nations by some distance? And, why can't England win away?

***

The Ruck Live!

Before the final whistle is blown on the 2026 Guinness Men’s Six Nations, there’s the small matter of Super Saturday. This year the final round promises to be even more explosive, with rivals England and France going head-to-head in the very last match of the competition at the Stade de France.

Tough-tacklers Courtney Lawes and Serge Betsen will join Charlie Morgan, Senior Rugby Writer at The Times, and Alfie Reynolds — host of our podcast The Ruck — to compare notes on Le Crunch and the biggest moments of this year’s tournament.

Book tickets on thetimes.com/events

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

It's Calcutta Cup week as Scotland host England in the 6 Nations.

Alfie, Alex and Will are in Edinburgh to look ahead to the match. They discuss the pressure on Gregor Townsend and Scotland, England's poor record north of the border with their last win being back in 2020 and Steve Borthwick's squad for the match on Saturday.

They chat about England's continuing drive for positional versatility and ask 'how good are Scotland?' who come into the fixture on a poor run of form, despite the quality of their side on paper.

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

On the opening weekend of the 6 Nations Scotland lost against Italy to heap pressure on Gregor Townsend, Ireland lost to France who produced a statement performance and England hammered Wales.

Alfie Reynolds is joined by Owen Slot and The Times' new signing, Charlie Morgan, to look back on all the action.

The boys discuss whether Townsend departing seems inevitable, whether Andy Farrell has done a poor job in regenerating this Ireland team and whether Thursday night 6 Nations rugby works.

Plus, they look ahead to round two which includes a massive Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh, Ireland hosting Italy in a game which could go either way and Wales taking on France which could be in front of a half empty Principality.

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

England got their 6 Nations campaign up and running with a ruthless 48-7 victory over Wales who endured a torrid day at Twickenham.

Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look back on all the action and discuss whether the result actually could have been worse for Wales who saw four players yellow carded. And, where do Steve Tandy's side can go from here as they welcome France to Cardiff next weekend?

They look ahead to England's trip to Edinburgh to face Scotland, chat about who impressed the most including Henry Arundell who scored a hat-trick and debate if the current Wales side are worse than the Italian team who went on a 30 game 6 Nations losing streak.

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

What chance do Wales have of beating England at Twickenham this weekend in the opening round of the 6 Nations? The bookmakers have them as huge outsiders so from the England team hotel Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look ahead to the weekend.

They chat about whether Wales can harness the passion and spirit of the country to lift their performance. How will England deal with the expectation that they will compete for the title? And, is the big shock on the opening weekend going to happen in Rome?

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

The 2026 6 Nations is here!

Who are the favorites to win the championship? Is it France as the defending champions or a resurgent England?

Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman, Alex Lowe and Mark Palmer look ahead to the opening weekend of fixtures. They ask whether Scotland will benefit from flying under the radar? Could Wales win a match? And, who will play fly-half for Ireland?

Plus, they chat about a massive Calcutta Cup fixture in week two in Edinburgh, whether England need to reach Paris on the final weekend with a chance of winning the title and if Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert can work as France's half-backs.

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

Alfie and Will welcome Mark Evans back onto The Ruck having returned from his time as the CEO of the Fijian Drua.

They chat about the latest developments in Welsh rugby with Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, becoming the WRU's preferred bidder for Cardiff and ask whether there is a danger that rugby in Wales might become like cricket in the West Indies.

Mark also gives his views on two of his former clubs Saracens and Harlequins, after it was announced Mark McCall would step away from his role with Sarries at the end of the season and fans at the stoop left early following another disappointing defeat.

Plus, Steve Borthwick has named his England squad for the upcoming 6 Nations and was in a very confident mood when Will went to chat with him last week.

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

Following the All Blacks sacking head coach Scott Robertson, Alfie, Will and Alex are joined by the New Zealand Herald's Liam Napier to explain why he's been given his marching orders just two years into his tenure. Was it down to losing the dressing room? Or was he not suited to the spotlight which comes with the role?

They also look back on the final round of the pool stages in the Champions Cup and explain why the format, despite its issues, is here to stay. They breakdown the last-16 and route to the final which could serve up some cracking ties and also look ahead to Steve Borthwick naming his England 6 Nations squad on Friday.

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