Elite Rugby Banter

The opening weekend of the Nations Championship is in the books, and one thing became abundantly clear: when the Springboks hit top gear, nobody else is quite operating at the same level. Phil and Ant unpack South Africa's convincing victory over England, from the blistering opening quarter to another dominant second-half display. Damian Willemse reminded everyone why he's one of the world's premi...

The Nations Championship is finally here, and with a brand-new tournament comes one very important question: what actually counts as success? Ant and Phil kick things off by looking at South Africa's campaign. Is three wins the minimum expectation for the Springboks? Which combinations still need answers before the business end of the season? And with Rassie continuing to build depth across the sq...

The Springboks have played, SA A have capped everyone with a pulse, and apparently the All Blacks just aren't scary anymore. Phil, Ant and Adam unpack the SA A victory over Zimbabwe, the rise of the latest batch of under-20 stars, and why Rassie's second-team experiments might be one of the smartest things he has has done. There are flowers for the youngsters, sympathy for the injured, and widespr...

Springbok season is finally here, and Rassie has wasted no time giving us something to argue about. Phil and Ant unpack the first Bok and SA A squads of the year, from a backline full of baby Boks to the surprise selection of Quan Horn at flyhalf. Is SA A becoming rugby's version of passport control? Which youngsters are most likely to force their way into the conversation? And just how excited sh...

Another month has passed in the ERB rugby universe, and finally the gang have reached the knock-outs. Not them, but at least the Stormers. Andy and Ant, who are Phil and Dick-less this week, speak about the Stormers just being themselves in throwing away a winnable game against Leinster, and praise the Bulls' grit at Murrayfield (though Pollard really shanked them...). They also chat Super Rugby,...

It’s the young guns (which excludes our panelists, sadly) who take centre stage this episode, from Zekhetelo and the Boogeyman at the Sharks to the Baby Boks and even LBB at Bordeaux. U20s, URC, Super Rugby, and Currie Cup all coming to you courtesy of the boys at ERB. Music by @monstroid, 80s TV Show.

It’s a full house for the first time in forever as we cast our minds back to Six Nations last round excitement, as well as the ongoing Super Rugby Pacific and URC competitions. South African sides remain firmly in contention for playoffs in Europe and at home, and the game appears to be in rude health judging by the unpredictable nature up north. What a time to be a rugby fan! Ant goes deep on old...

The lads unpack a massive rugby weekend featuring Super Rugby chaos, Blitzboks success, and one of the most entertaining Six Nations rounds in years. We start down south with a Super Rugby check-in after four rounds: the Chiefs quietly looking strong, the Brumbies stumbling late against the Reds, the Crusaders flirting with panic mode, and the Force discovering that scoring points is easy… defendi...

Ant is back from faraway lands with a scouting report from Georgia (spoiler: they don’t know much about SA rugby… except that we’re good), and the boys dive into a proper Six Nations mid-tournament temperature check. We unpack three weeks of Six Nations chaos: France looking like the only adults in the room, Ireland nearly getting Italy'd in Dublin, Scotland doing Scotland things (again), and Engl...

After a quick detour to the URC, Ant, Phil and Andy preview the upcoming Six Nations. Will England and Italy's rises supersede Ireland and Scotland's golden (yet greying) generations? Will Dupont carry France or will he be lost to the Winter Olympics? And will Wales...nah, they won't. That and more in this week's episode. Music by @monstroid, 80s TV Show.

Phil, Ant, and Andy are back after a festive break to review the state of play in the URC and European Cup rugby. Also, what's going on in New Zealand and when is Razor going to swap Christchurch for Durban?? They also play adjudicators for the SA Rugby Awards after the shortlists were released this week. Who is the ERB SA Player of the Year? Moment of the Year? Coach? Have a listen and find out....

It's the festive season, which is when we find out who has been naughty or nice, or in ERB's world which teams had good years, average years, and a season to forget. Ant, Phil, and a returning Andy have a look at standout players and moments for each of the top 12 sides. Oh, yes, we also address the extremely disappointing Eben incident and the needless Wales rout, while also touching on a tremend...

Strap in for a bumper episode of Elite Rugby Banter as Ant and Phil break down a truly bizarre and brutal Test match in Dublin. The Springboks were undeniably dominant against Ireland, so why did it feel so close? We dive into the FIVE Irish cards, the scrum carnage, the bizarre refereeing decisions, and the James Ryan incident that left us speechless. Then, we shift gears to crown the best of the...

This week on Elite Rugby Banter, we unpack a weekend of rugby that felt like it was scripted by a mischievous referee with a flair for theatre. The Boks beat Italy, but the real drama was in the card deck — with Eddie Jones still talking about “intent” like it’s a legal thriller. KLA ghosted again, Moodie’s defence was more interpretive dance than tackle technique, but Dwilly was electric and Mani...

If French rugby is fine wine, the Boks uncorked it, chugged it straight from the bottle, and smashed the glass on the way out. The Springboks have once again marched into Paris like uninvited houseguests, stomping mud across the carpets, smashing the crockery, and pocketing a few heirlooms for good measure. France looked overrated, outmuscled, and utterly unable to dent the Bok defence, while the...

Tadgh Beirne’s red card lit the fuse this weekend, and while most of us were still debating intent versus accident, BBBB was already pledging his undying defence of the man. We ask whether a Barrett‑less All Blacks might actually be the better version. Meanwhile, SaFM continues to smoulder — is it still flames or just smoke and mirrors? Two aerial 50/50s had everyone split down the middle, Kolbe’s...

We are 5 weeks into the URC and have 5 weeks of Springboks rugby ahead - it's the perfect time for a stock take. Do the Boks have what it takes to go 5 from 5? Are the Stormers as good as they seem? Did the Citing Commissioner set an extremely dangerous precedent? The answer to at least one of those questions is a yes. Listen in to find out what the guys think.

After a brief review of the URC second round and the last of the Rugby Champs (Bokke back to back!), each of our four regulars delivers the end-of-term report on their allotted team. Listen in to find out more about James O'Connor's haircut, why Jordie Barrett may have resurrected Camille Chat's international career, Ant's Nic White impression, and Kolbe's sudden senile onset. Music by @monstroid,...

Strap in for a chaotic episode as Phil, Ant, and Rich attempt to analyse the un-analysable. The Springboks' win over Argentina had everything: 97 points, 12 tries, a hattrick, a bizarre drop-goal attempt from your own in-goal, and a coming-of-age masterclass from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. We break down the madness, the genius, and the sheer lunacy of it all. Plus, we cover the Bledisloe Cup, the...

This week, Dick blows the whistle on the TRC’s scheduling shenanigans, accusing them of high tackle interference with the Women’s RWC and AFL finals. It’s a calendar clash of titanic proportions, and someone’s getting yellow-carded. We scrum down on the age-old debate: Six Nations or TRC—which competition reigns supreme? Spoiler: it’s less “crown jewel” and more “jewel heist,” depending on your he...

What a weekend of rugby... The Wallabies and Argentina got our morning's off to a great start with a highly entertaining clash, followed up by what was one of the all-time great halves of rugby from the Springboks and a record defeat for the All Blacks. The Springbok Women then closed out the double up with an inspired debut in the World Cup knockouts, ultimately falling to the superior Black Fern...

Rain and the ref seem to be common excuses going around the South African water coolers this week, but in all honesty the Boks had only themselves to blame for gifting Ardie Savea a victory in his 100th Test. While the Springbok men failed to create history, the women will write a new chapter as they appear in their first ever RWC quarter final against New Zealand this week, lining up a tasty Kiwi...

Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, Nadine Roos, Nolusindiso Booi... A special generation of Springbok women have made history with a first ever appearance in the RWC knockouts. Ant and Andy revel in the green glow and recount this historic moment. The Springbok men also feature, with a recap of the Wallabies win and a nervous note on the upcoming game-of-the-year against the All Blacks in fort...

Well, nobody saw that coming. The Springboks spontaneously combusted as the Wallabies ran in wonder try after wonder try at Ellis Park to take a famous victory. But, the pod believes a victory next week is still the most likely outcome as some mitigating factors emerge. Perhaps some hard but necessary lessons learned in this shock defeat? Music by @monstroid, 80s TV Show.

Short answer, no. The consensus is that even Ireland is better than the B&I Lions. The real question is Argentina better than the Lions? They beat them. But England B beat Argentina. So are England B better than the Lions? And are England B better than England A? Is Maro Itoje the problem? If you asked Andre Piardi, he'd probably say "si". But then, after this week's controversy, do we trust anyth...