Hugh Renton is one of the NZ rugbys hard men, he's tough, he's aggressive and he has a reckless regard for his body. He's also had to be very tough mentally with some of the challenges he has faced in his professional career to date. From being signed on a 3 year contract with the Hurricanes straight out of school with a non functional arm, to losing his Dad to suicide. Hugh has had plenty to deal with.

The best thing from all that, is he has learnt so much about himself and the mind through his journey and is wanting to share what he's learnt to help other. He has always had an incredible work ethic and his desire to become better, learn more about the mind, means he has plenty of good advice to share.

After releasing Shanes episode last week it's clear there is so much that needs to be done in this space so I hope that some of the tools Hugh shares are beneficial for you all.

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Here it is! We are at the pinnacle of the sport a Rugby World Cup final with 2 of the most dominant teams in the history of the sport going at it as the mighty All Blacks get set to take on the Springboks. What a way to finish which has been such an incredible World Cup. So many good games and I’m sure this weekend will be no different.

As always on here, we are joined by two of the great rugby analysis in the form of Searley from Searley talks sport and Jacob Atkins as we review last weeks semi finals. Plenty to review in those 2 games with the All Blacks being far too good for Argentina and South Africa using their get out of jail free card on England.

We obviously go through the final in an in depth review and try to predict what we can expect to see out there on Saturday night in France. Also touching on the Bronze playoff game .

Also to finish we share our initial thoughts to announcement of the new RWC format and the new Nations Championship.

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Shane Christie is one of NZ's great lads! This is one of the the most honest, raw and engaging episodes I've ever done, as we talk about topics which are very close to home, like concussion in rugby and the incredibly sad passing of a good mate Billy Guyton.

Many will know Shane as a Super Rugby winner with the Highlanders, or an NPC winner with Tasman as both a player and coach, or maybe even for his time with the NZ Maori All Blacks. However I think what every one loves about Shane Christie, is he always tells it how it is. That doesn't stop here either as he shares...

- His unique pathway to becoming a professional rugby player, which included building and playing Club for 7 years!

- The disappointing first season with the Crusaders.

- His move to the Highlanders and how they found success in 2015.

- How hard ending his career with concussion was

- The post footy transition into coaching

- The depth he has gone to to help recover from his concussion symptoms, and heaps more.

I've been waiting a long time to get this man on and I am so happy he agreed to come on, he's a true lad!

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Before we start talking Semi Finals, lets sit back and take in what was the best weekend of Rugby you will see! Some of the most entertaining, competitive and intense games you will see, topped of by an All Blacks v Ireland game for the ages. 37 phases deep playing for the win, it truely was edge of the seat stuff. France v South Africa was in the same boat for intensity and drama! While both Wales v Argentina and Fiji v England both went right down to the wire. There's been lots of complaining about the draw but with that weekend of rugby viewing I am not complaining.

We do also look forward to the Semi Finals in this episode, both Searley and Jacob Atkins share their thoughts for the games after some in depth analysis. I also share made fantasy rugby update and a surprise tactic I'm going to run this week to try and catch the pack.

So much in this one, if you enjoy it as always please give it a share

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Phill Jones is one of the best shooters of a Basketball this country has ever seen. He scored thousands of goals in his 23 year career, which included at least 163 games for the Tall Blacks. The Reefton Kid had plenty to discuss in this one which includes..

Coaching his son Hayden who at 16 is already playing in the NBL (his daughters Maia and Ava are also very talented)

Growing up in the small town of Reefton

His pathway from Nelson College to the Nelson Giants

Some crazy stories about playing basketball in Greece, Finland and Italy

Playing for the Tall Blacks at tournament like the World Champs and the Olympics

Playing against 'The Dream Team' and some of the best players in the world like Lebron James

Scoring 105 points in one game!

And heaps more.

Phill is such a good lad who has had an incredible career, it was awesome getting an insight into the world of professional basketball. After hearing Phill talk it's clear to see how he managed to play at such a high level for so long, he's as competitive as they get. Really enjoyed this one and I know you will too. 

To support the podcast head over to What a Lad and get your hands on some merch

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How good is this Rugby World Cup! You couldn't ask for a more even, hard to predict quarter final games than what we have here. 4 Northern Hemisphere teams taking on 4 Southern Hemisphere teams, with all 4 Northern Hemisphere teams going in as favourites for the first time ever.

So much to talk about in this episode but before we look forward we must look back to the incredible week that has been with Portugal creating scenes winning their first ever RWC game. Ireland putting on an absolute clinic! France and the ABs way to good in their games and heaps more.

Fantasy rugby has hit QF stages too so theres a few things to think about there and this is the toughest week for fantasy rugby yet. Seriously fizzed for this weekend of Rugby!

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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 deadset 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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The last round of pool play is here and knockout rugby has come a week early for a few teams, which makes for a couple of mouth watering clashes to finish pool play.

Jake the snake and I first look back at the week that was where we talk about the absolute clinic the All Blacks put on Italy as well as all the other match ups from last week. 

I review my fantasy rugby week and how Darcy Graham changed my week and I think it's an easy week for fantasy players this week with some real clear options to get maximum points this week.

Then Searley and I talk through the games for this week, which includes a couple of beauts in the form of the Ireland v Scotland game and the Japan v Argentina game, with quarter finals on the line. It's also the last chance for teams to show us what they've got before leaving the tournament or heading into the quarter finals so a huge week ahead.

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Big Brad Mika was one of those guys I loved watching growing up, an absolute beast with the skill set of a back. Capped by the All Blacks just 3 times, after some outstanding years of Super Rugby, where he played for the Crusaders, Blues and the Hurricanes. He's now transitioned into Coaching where he has been coaching in Malaysia for the last 7 years.

In this episode we go through..

Life and coaching in Malaysia

Growing up doing every sport with his mum having to carry his passport

Playing 1st 5 through most of his school days

Debuting for Auckland at 18 and what the environment was like back then

Being drafted by the Crusaders

Making the All Blacks after one year of Super Rugby

Moving around the different Super Rugby teams and comparing the cultures

His tough time in France

Struggling with knee issues

And heaps more.

It was awesome to get this humble legend on What a Lad because he is just that and I'm sure you will enjoy listening to this one.

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How good is the RWC, no game for the All Blacks but that didn’t stop the drame, Aussie gone, Dupont with a facial fracture, Ireland win the battle of the giants it was all go! Plenty to get through in this review with searley and snake.

I Also review my fantasy week and give you my thoughts for this weekend. It is a tough week so plenty of thought needs to go into your team for this week.

We then jump into the preview and some tricky match ups this weekend with a few split decisions from the panel and we even look a few weeks ahead to our predicted quarter finals. Those games are going to be incredible and extremely tough picking winners in all 4 of those games.

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