No one has won more Super Rugby titles than Mitchell Drummond! A man who has done it all in the red and black jersey, Drummy has won 3 NPC titles with Canterbury and a ridiculous 8 Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders – yes, 8 titles! Add to that a test for the All Blacks, a stint with the Barbarians, over 100 games for Canterbury, and being the youngest ever Crusaders centurion and you start to get the picture.

But beyond the stats, Mitch has been the Glue Guy for the Canterbury Region for over a decade, a man who has genuinely put the team first and always nailed his role in the side whatever that may be.

In this episode, we chat about:

- An exclusive announcement on where he will be playing his rugby this season

- Why he chose Rugby over a promising Cricket career

- Why he turned down an offer from another Club

- How he went from playing against the All Blacks one week to playing for them the next

- An insight into the competitive rivalry with Bryn Hall

- His struggles with social media comments

- How he feels about his Dad owning the Highlanders

- And all of your questions!

Drummy also gives some great insights into leadership, what’s made the Crusaders successful, and great advice for young aspiring rugby player.

Mitch Drummond is one special human and this episode is one of the great episodes!

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Rugby fans don't get much bigger than Colin Mansbridge! Who also just happens to be potentially the most successful CEO in all sport, having been the Crusaders CEO for the last 8 years which includes 7 Titles! However, for many it was the way he handled himself and the organisation last season when Crusaders missed the top 8 which was most impressive!

In this episode, Colin brings plenty of honesty, insight, and laughs and we go through some of the challenges and triumphs of being the boss!

Some parts that stood out in this one were...

Why he decided to ban the Cow Bells from the Super Rugby final

His take on Super Rugby and where it’s heading

Why he stood by Rob Penney and didn’t panic after the 2024 season

His love for rugby and in particular scrums

How he landed the CEO gig despite thinking he couldn’t run a rugby club

The decision behind the Crusaders rebrand

His thoughts on the new stadium

How he ended up on TikTok,

Who he reckons is the best player he’s ever CEO’d

And of course… his secret to locking down a good scrum

Colin brings the same level-headedness and wit to this chat that he brings to one of rugby’s most demanding jobs. If you want to understand what really goes on behind the curtain at the Crusaders, this one is for you.

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He’s trained the greatest All Blacks of the modern era, he's survived the pressure cooker of test rugby, and has done so for the past 18 years! Nic Gill, the legendary All Blacks trainer, sits down for one of the great yarns full of honesty, laughs, and elite-level insight.

In this episode we cover:

• What makes him one of the most respected S&C coaches in world sport
• His reaction when Razor took over — and if he thought he’d be staying on
• Why he initially turned down the All Blacks job
• The struggles of a young S&C coach, the sleep deprivation, the sacrifices — and the lessons learned from it.
• What it was like when he firsat came into the All Blacks environment
• Ma’a Nonu pulling down his pants and a $750 bet gone wrong
• The heartbreak of RWC 2023 and what it’s like being that guy on the sideline
• The fastest, strongest, fittest All Blacks
• His best advice for up-and-coming S&Cs
• And heaps more

If you’ve ever wanted a peek behind the curtain of the All Blacks machine — or what it takes to build and sustain excellence — this is it. One of the great men, with a stack of stories and a massive impact on NZ rugby. What a lad!

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For this weeks Fan Favourite episode we throw back to one of the most powerful episodes to date, I’ll always remember this episode for the feeling of goosebumps I got down my spine as Michael Fatialofa shared his incredible journey. Fats was one of the toughest players on the field I ever played with and he proved he was even tougher off it after a life changing tackle.

The former Auckland, Southland and Hurricanes star was over in the UK playing for Worcester, when he was hit awkwardly in a tackle that caused him to be Paralysed from the neck down. He was told he will never walk again! From that moment his life had changed forever and hearing the battle he has gone through the last 3 years left me feeling inspired, sad and proud of what he has been able to achieve.

This episode is an awesome reminder to be truely grateful for everything you have in your life, as like in Michaels case it can literally be taken away from you overnight. I'm so grateful to Fat's for coming on What a Lad and speaking so openly about his journey, it is one of the most powerful and inspiring episodes ever!

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This one has it all — Scott Waldrom, one of the most explosive loose forwards to play the game, jumps on for an absolute ripper of a chat and does not hold back. From growing up as a rugby super fan idolising his hero’s to playing with legends like Jonah Lomu, Jerry Collins, Christian Cullen and Justin Marshall, to getting dropped from Sevens after a scrap in Lower Hutt, Scooters career is full of highs, lows, and unreal yarns.

We talk about:

• His early days which involved plenty of battles with younger brother Thomas Waldrom
• Debuting with Jonah Lomu and being starstruck in training
• Getting told he was too small for NPC and proving everyone wrong
• National Nude Day and bar vouchers 
• Being told his foot injury meant his rugby career was over — and then making it back
• Getting named in the All Blacks squad and wondering if he belonged
• The brutal truth about injuries, pressure, drinking culture, and bouncing back
• Coaching with the NZ Sevens, a scary health scare and life after footy

Honest, hilarious, and full of insight — this one’s got everything. A top man with a stack of stories. Scooter Waldrom is an absolute lad!

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Marty Banks was a cult hero, fans loved him. He looked like your average kiwi bloke, tall, low muscle mass and ran a distinctive curly mop. On the field he was a point scoring machine, he kicked goals from everywhere and made a habit of scoring long range tries which his deceptive pace.

That's the Marty we all knew from the screen. The Marty you'll hear from in this episode is the one who struggled with self confidence, the one who battled through serious injury pain and the one who has had his challenges transitioning into post footy.

Marty played all around the world and experienced so much from the game, having played in Russia, Italy, Japan, Refton, Nelson, Wellington and Dunedin. He's someone who always enjoyed a good time and never took himself to seriously, he even famously chopped a beer a fan threw at him before kicking a conversion to beat Taranaki!

He's definitely a massive lad so it was awesome to get him on What a Lad again.

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We got back to an early fan favourite for this one with the great Mark Stafford!

The beauty of a podcast, you think you know someone well, then you sit with them on the podcast and you are absolutely blown away with their story. That is exactly how this episode with the great man Mark Stafford aka Staffy went. 

Staffy has had an incredible journey to become the face of the TAB and the face of sport here in NZ but he certainly had a few bumps along the way. He shares some mind blowing stories in this episode including one how he died in a car crash but was brought back to life, in an event that ended his rugby career. 

Staffy also gives some unreal insight in to what goes on behind the scenes at the tab and some unbelievable match fixing stories.

I loved this episode as it has a bit of everything in it and you can hear what a genuinely great lad Staffy is!

If you enjoy this episode as always please share it, this is a great one to share with anyone who is having a tough time. 

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"Who's that new hooker at the Crusaders?" That's a question I'm hearing everywhere! Well in fact that man is Ioane Moananu and this is your chance to hear all about this great man in his first ever podcast. Now Ioane is incredibly humble and down to earth with a infectious laugh and cool story. From struggling to start for Counties Manakau to becoming arguably the form hooker of Super Rugby Ioane has had an incredible 12 months and the future is so bright for this great man.

This episode is a good reminder of when you play the game because you love it, the setbacks become easier to handle. Ioane has had plenty of challenging injuries early in his career and his mum recommended he shouldn't play anymore. That was never an option for Ioane who has a passion for the game.

It's also a reminder that as you move into the professional game, all those professional habits like recovery, sleep, nutrition all add up to make a massive difference in performance as we've seen with Ioane. So there is plenty of great advice in this one!

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Scott Fuglistaller was one of those champion team mates who did everything he could to be the best he could be. Unfortunately for the self acclaimed battler it was just never quite enough during his time at the Hurricanes competing with some pretty gifted athletes. He found a way though with moves to the Highlanders and then the Melbourne Rebels for him to become a regular Super Rugby starter and even captain. Sitting at a natural weight of around 80kgs, Scotty had to work so hard in the gym and with his diet to get to a weight that he could survive in the forwards at Super Rugby level. That came at a price, having 11 major surgeries during his career which took it's toll.

Some other parts that stood out for me in this one were..

The freedom Scotty had growing up which meant he grew up quick

How finding rugby was a turning point in his life

How he got from 80kg to 106kgs

His battles with self confidence and why he played his best under pressure

Why he moved to Japan and his time playing there

The struggle of life after rugby

And how he landed in his current role of helping retired players tranisition with the NZRPA.

As you'll hear Scotty has had a journey to get where he is, he's such a top man who will always put others first. Let me know what stood out for you in this one in the comments 👇

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Voted by you guys as the funniest episode ever!

Charlie Gubb is one of my all time favourite Warriors, not just because of the way he played on the field (even though he was an absolute animal) but more importantly because of how big of a lad that he is off it.

Gubby is the kind of team mate everyone loves to have in the team environment, loves a yarn, loves banter and just loves being around the lads. What I didn't realise before going into this podcast was the incredible journey Rugby League took him on!

Some of the interesting points were..

How he made his own highlights package and posted it to all the NRL clubs to get his first opportunity,

How he eventually worked his way into the Warriors and some classic stories from his time with them,

Why he moved to the Raiders (another crazy story that) followed by a move to the UK,

His battles with concussion and mental health,

Why he walked out on his contract in the UK,

and how he ended up starting up Wellingtons favourite porta loo company, Porta Kings.

This is without a doubt one of the funniest episodes so far. I found myself laughing away through this episode at the time and then in the edit. At the end of this episode you'll realise why everyone regards the great Charlie Gubb as one of the all time great team mates.

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