DSPN - Devlin Sports Podcast Network

Martin Devlin and "Jeff the Ref" tackle a weekend of absolute chaos on the grass. We break down the shockers from the Hurricanes and Crusaders clash, from forward passes that weren't called to officials who seemingly forgot the 2026 lineout laws. Plus, Jeff opens up about the dangerous trap of "balancing the ledger" and why coward hits on try-scorers need to go. Learn more about your ad choices. V...

The trickle has become a river. Martin Devlin, John Day, and Mark Watson dive into the massive talent drain hitting New Zealand rugby, with 11 big names already signed away. We ask the hard questions: Has the All Black jersey lost its value? Should we start selecting from overseas? Plus, we tackle the "negative narrative" claims from NZ Rugby and why Super Rugby is struggling to keep us awake. Lea...

We’re breaking down a massive Round 12 where the Crusaders might have every right to feel aggrieved over a shocker of a forward pass. Tony Johnson joins us to look at the Hurricanes’ grit, the Blues' second-half surges, and why the Brumbies’ defense has completely fallen off a cliff. We ask the big question: in a competition where anyone can beat anyone, who actually has what it takes for the play...

Let’s be honest, we all saw it coming — or in the case of that Crusaders try, we all saw the forward pass that the TMO somehow missed. Martin breaks down six key takeaways from Super Rugby Round 12, from the Hurricanes sitting in the box seat to the "round robin of pain" ahead for the top Kiwi sides. We look at why the Waratahs are underdelivering again and if Auckland really has a shot at hosting...

It’s an emotional final mailbag as we bid farewell to Lachlan Waugh before he heads off to Sky. We dive into the massive success of the Christchurch Super Round, debate whether Ardie Savea can captain the All Blacks from the bench, and tackle the "naff" state of halftime entertainment. Plus, we explore the retro jersey trend and why Athletic Park’s urinals are a smell you never forget. Learn more...

Sir Steve Hansen is back with Martin, and as always, there is no soft serve here. From Christchurch’s new stadium buzz to the All Blacks’ future, this is a proper state-of-the-game chat. We get into Super Rugby standards, New Zealand’s player pathways, the lure of the All Blacks jersey, offshore eligibility, Dave Rennie’s coaching group, and why Hansen still believes this country has the talent to...

After 15 years of waiting, planning, debating and building, Christchurch finally has its new stadium, and Marty is right in the thick of it. Martin Devlin talks with Chris Paterson and former Wallaby Al Baxter from Populous, the architecture firm behind Te Kaha, about what it takes to design a stadium that feels big, close, loud and properly special. They discuss the emotional weight of the projec...

Ever watched a game and thought, “how on earth is that the rule?” Yeah, same. That’s where Jeff the Ref comes in. This week, Jeff McGregor joins us to break down some of the biggest refereeing moments from Super Rugby, including head contact calls, obstruction, a spider cam intervention, and one of the strangest tries you’ll see all season. We get into the grey areas around shoulder-first tackles,...

Christchurch finally got its big rugby weekend, and fair play, it looked and felt like the sort of thing Super Rugby has been begging for. But should Super Round stay there, move around the country, or is Watto right to be the bloke grumbling about chips and long-term crowds? This week on DSPN’s Rugby Roundtable, Martin is joined by Mark Watson and John Day to dig into the Super Round glow, the Cr...

Now we get into the rugby. After the buzz of Christchurch, Tony Johnson sticks around to break down a massive Super Rugby round and what it means for the run home. All five New Zealand teams got the job done, but the bigger story sits in the table. The Chiefs and Hurricanes are setting the pace, the Blues are right there, and the Crusaders are quietly climbing into a spot no one will want to deal...

Super Rugby's Super Round absolutely delivered! After a cracking weekend in Christchurch, we’re back from Te Kaha Stadium with Tony Johnson to unpack why this one hit differently. From the packed stands and city buzz to fans in colours from every corner of Super Rugby Pacific, there was a proper festival feel around the whole weekend. Tony and Martin talk through the timing, the new stadium, the w...

At Super Rugby’s Super Round, Dan Carter joins Martin Devlin on the DSPN for a wide-ranging chat. He reflects on the city’s earthquake recovery, Crusaders history, and the buzz around the new stadium, while highlighting his work with UNICEF delivering clean water to Pacific communities. Carter also weighs in on the All Blacks’ No.10 depth, the challenge of locking down the jersey, and why New Zeal...

This one starts in the Mailbag and ends with a proper farewell. We get stuck into your feedback on Super Rugby, from whether the comp is actually sustainable to draft systems, salary caps, provincial pride, and why league keeps pinching hearts and minds. There’s plenty on the Chiefs vs Hurricanes thriller too, including the Cam Roigard substitution, Ruben Love at 10, golden point, and whether a dr...

We caught up with Crusaders legend and ex All Blacks captain Todd Blackadder to talk about the brand new stadium in Christchurch - it is a massive moment for the city. We also get his honest take on the current state of Super Rugby, the Crusaders' season so far, and what he thinks about players moving between international competitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...

Riley Higgins is off, Ardie Savea’s next move is suddenly a proper talking point, and we’re still no closer to a clean answer on the All Blacks No. 10 jersey. This week on the DSPN’s Rugby Roundtable, we get into what Higgins leaving actually says about New Zealand Rugby, whether players should be free to move right across Super Rugby, and why Damian McKenzie might have pushed himself back to the...

Some of rugby’s toughest calls went under the microscope this week, and we got Jeff the Ref in to break it all down properly. We go through a stack of big moments from across Super Rugby, including the Zarn Sullivan tackle that had everyone split on red versus yellow, head-on-head collisions, forward pass debates, and whether the TMO is getting involved in the right situations. There’s also a real...

Who should wear six, seven and eight for the All Blacks? We got Murray Mexted back on to do what he does best - get right into the guts of loose forward play and explain what actually matters when selectors start circling names. We dig into Chiefs vs Hurricanes, the back row battle inside that game, and why Mex still believes the All Blacks trio will come from those two sides. He breaks down the d...

That was one of those Super Rugby weekends where the table shifted, the pressure cranked up, and nobody got to hide. We get into the Chiefs’ statement win over the Hurricanes in Hamilton, why Damian McKenzie’s influence mattered so much late, and what golden point does to the blood pressure. Then it’s on to the Drua pulling off one of the biggest away wins the comp’s seen, the Crusaders looking vu...

The Super Rugby Vibe Rankings are back and, honestly, it is absolute carnage. This week on DSPN, we try to make sense of a Super Rugby comp where the Chiefs have muscled their way to the top, the Hurricanes picked the wrong time to get loose, and half the ladder feels like it could beat the other half on any given day. We get into why the Chiefs now deserve the flowers after closing out a huge win...

This round had everything. A golden-point gut punch in Hamilton, the Drua pulling off a proper stunner in Canberra, and the Crusaders coughing up a 19-nil lead. Just a normal weekend in Super Rugby, obviously. On this episode, Martin and Jamie rip through all the big Round 10 talking points, starting with whether the Hurricanes blew their shot against the Chiefs and what Damien McKenzie’s control...

Ruben Love at 10? We’re done dancing around it. This week’s DSPN Mailbag gets stuck into the big one, with plenty of you making the case to just hand him the jersey and find out if he’s the real deal. We also rip through overseas eligibility, whether New Zealand should loosen the rules with a few caveats attached, and if Super Rugby is actually enough to prepare players for test footy. On top of t...

Super Rugby is back in the spotlight, and not always for the right reasons. We get stuck into what happens next for the competition after Moana Pasifika’s demise, whether the current model is actually working, and why there are still big questions around crowds, structure, and long-term sustainability. From there, we shift into All Blacks selection and the big calls coming up. Ruben Love is puttin...

Moana Pasifika is all but done, and we’re still trying to work out what that really means. We get Jamie Wall in to unpack the sadness around the club’s collapse, the funding model that was always under pressure, and the bigger picture for Pacific rugby. We also get into what a 10-team Super Rugby comp looks like from here, why coaches keep heading offshore, and whether New Zealand rugby is just ca...

What actually needs to change if the All Blacks want to stay at the top? That’s the big question in this one, and we get stuck into it with two men who know the game inside out, Sir Graham Henry and former NZ Rugby chair Brent Impey. In a very special extended chat, we talk Super Rugby, offshore eligibility, player depth, club rugby, the financial squeeze on the game, and why Sir Graham believes N...

Not every big hit is a good hit, and not every whistle needs to blow. This week on the DSPN, we get Jeff the Ref back in to work through some of the trickiest calls from the Super Rugby weekend. We get into tip tackles, head clashes, yellow cards that maybe should not have been, and a few moments where the refs probably left everyone scratching their heads. Jeff also owns a correction from last we...