Evening Standard Rugby Podcast with Lawrence Dallaglio

Lawrence and Steve are joined by Northampton player, Tom Pearson, who’s fresh from the celebrations of winning the Premiership title. Tom talks about his first year with the club, what it’s like living with his club mate and landlord, Fin Smith, the reaction from locals to bringing home the trophy and his views on red cards in big games.    Plus Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick...

Fresh from announcing his training squad ahead of the Qatar Airways Cup clash against South Africa at Twickenham and subsequent tour of Australia, Wales Head Coach Warren Gatland joins Lawrence and Steve Cording to chat all things rugby. He shares some of his decision making when it comes to team selection, what he hopes his players will learn as they take on the Springboks and Wallabies, why he’s...

This week Lawrence is joined in the studio by rugby legend, Martin Offiah, who shares his rugby journey, chatting about why he made the switch from union to league, what it was like being team mates with Andy Farrell, Shaun Edwards and Jason Robinson at Wigan, how he feels about being immortalised in bronze at Wembley Stadium and why he’s now a supporter of Bath Rugby.  Plus Martin tells us w...

With the Top 4 of the Premiership now decided, Lawrence Dallaglio, Steve Cording and Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal, review the weekend’s performances and discuss the semi-final line up, assessing the key strengths of each team.  Plus Former Leinster, Ireland and British and Irish Lion, Gordon D’Arcy, joins Lawrence and Steve to look ahead to this weekend’s Investec Champi...

Lawrence and Steve are joined in the studio by Harlequins CEO, Laurie Dalrymple, who lifts the lid on the business of running a Premiership club. They chat about the relationship between the RFU, PRL and the clubs, the opportunities to work cohesively to raise the profile of rugby, and why it’s a seminal time in terms of progression for the game. Laurie also tells us why the fan experience is at t...

Lawrence and Steve are joined in the studio by Lawrence’s World Cup winning team mate and former Leicester and Harlequins centre, Will Greenwood. As well as giving his review of the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals, Will shares why he thinks the policy of only allowing players from English clubs to play for the national team is a good one, sparking a debate with Lawrence. He also offers his asse...

Lawrence returns from his Cycle Slam and, along with Steve Cording, chats to this week’s special guest, Tommy Freeman.  Tommy shares his views on last weekend's Big Summer Kick Off game against Quins, his preferred position on the field, Northampton's hopes for the upcoming Investec Champions Cup semi final against Leinster and even shows off his card trick skills with the pod’s first ever ma...

As Lawrence completes the last stretch of his Cycle Slam, Steve Cording and Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal, are joined by England captain, Marlie Packer, who reflects on the team’s Women’s Six Nations campaign so far before looking ahead to the Grand Slam decider taking place this Saturday against France.  In 'Grow the Game with QBE Business Insurance’, Marlie offers her o...

With Lawrence away on his Cycle Slam, Steve Cording and Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal, are joined by Harlequins’ tighthead prop, Will Collier, to chat about Quins' momentous victory in Bordeaux and how the team will be preparing for their Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Toulouse. Will also gives his opinion on whether the World Rugby laws around scrums should change,...

Lawrence and Steve are joined by former London Irish player, Henry Arundell, who tells us about his new life with Racing 92, what he’s learnt so far from French rugby and what it’s really like having Siya Kolisi as a team mate. Plus Red Roses captain, Marlie Packer, joins from England's training ground as she delivers the latest news from camp ahead of this weekend’s Women’s Six Nations game again...

Lawrence and Steve review the drama of the Easter weekend Premiership action including the 100 minute game at Kingston Park, the 7 min yellow card at The Stoop and another win for 'under the radar’ Bristol Bears, as Lawrence shares his predictions for the end of season Top 4.  Plus Marlie Packer is back to give us the inside scoop on all things Red Roses, including Jamie George’s visit to cam...

Lawrence Dallaglio, Steve Cording and Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal, assess the return of the Premiership as the clubs face 'The Run-In’ to the end of the season.  In light of comments from an incident at The Showdown between Saracens and Harlequins, Lawrence explains the relationship between broadcasters and TMOs, and reveals where he’d place Owen Farrell in the list of...

Lawrence and Steve welcome former Saracens and England lock, George Kruis, to the studio for a chat as they round up the end of the Six Nations and look ahead to the return of the Premiership, with special focus on The Showdown between Saracens and Harlequins. George explains his role as line out consultant to the England team, why he feels the team’s future is so bright, and what drives the cultu...

Lawrence and Steve are joined by former Leinster and Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy, as they review Saturday’s Six Nations Round 4 contest at Twickenham. Gordon shares his insight into where England most disrupted Ireland’s game plan, which of the men in white had the biggest impact on the field and how the Ireland team will now be preparing against Scotland in a bid to retain the championship title...

Lawrence and Steve are joined by Ben Kay as they look ahead to Round 4 of the Six Nations, with a specific focus on Saturday's England v Ireland game at Twickenham. Ben offers his assessment on the tournament to date, shares which players he considers have the ‘stardust’ that England need, and reveals his opinion on how England should be approaching the game.  Plus Lawrence explains how it wo...

Lawrence and Steve are joined by Harlequins’ winger, Cadan Murley, as they discuss the results from Round 3 of the Six Nations.    Cadan chats about his recent experience with the England A team, his on-going conversations with Steve Borthwick, and what he thinks about the drinking culture at Twickenham Stadium. He also confirms which team mate he clean bowled in a game of cricket last w...

Lawrence Dallaglio and Steve Cording are joined by former Scotland captain, John Barclay, as they look ahead to this weekend’s Six Nations games with a special focus on the Calcutta Cup fixture at Murrayfield on Saturday.    John offers his thoughts on Scotland’s campaign so far, how he believes they’ll handle England’s blitz defence and which players he’d select for their starting back...

Lawrence is joined by former Wales player, Shane Williams, who holds the record as top try scorer for his country, and Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal.  Lol, Shane and Nick analyse Round 2 of the Six Nations and discuss England’s progress, the pros and cons of the blitz defence, what’s making Ireland so unstoppable and whether or not there should be any fallow weeks in the...

Lawrence, Steve and special guest, Jiffy, deliver their analysis of the opening weekend of the Six Nations before looking ahead to Round 2. Jiffy shares his thoughts on key players for Wales as they head to Twickenham and recalls his own feelings about playing at England HQ. He also offers his insights into why Ireland are looking unbeatable and how Andy Farrell’s time playing rugby league has inf...

Lawrence and Steve are joined by former Leicester, England and British and Irish Lions player, Ben Kay, as they look ahead to the start of the Six Nations.    Ben and Lawrence select their choices for England’s starting XV against Italy and also chat about the strengths of each of the nations, before making their predictions for who will win the championship.    They also discu...

Lawrence Dallaglio and Steve Cording review the weekend’s rugby action from the Investec Champions Cup and look ahead to the return of the Premiership. And with the new Netflix series, Six Nations: Full Contact, about to launch the pair are joined by Evening Standard rugby correspondent, Nick Purewal, who offers his insight into how the players have reacted to being a part of the documentary and w...

Lawrence and Steve bring you all the latest rugby news from the Investec Champions Cup, discussing the highlights from the weekend’s games before looking ahead to the match-ups and possible outcomes from Round 4. Plus are the rumours around a move to France for Owen Farrell causing problems for the team’s on field performance? And will current champions, La Rochelle, be able to do enough to e...

In the final episode this year, Lawrence and Steve get festive with a chat about Christmases past and present, reminiscing on family traditions, and their best ever presents as children.   Lol also tells us what he really thinks about South African clubs being part of the European Champions Cup, as the pair chat through the weekend’s European Champions Cup action.    Plus the Evenin...

With Sarra away and Lawrence on his sick bed, Steve Cording hosts a one-to-one chat with Bath Rugby’s Assistant Coach, Lee Blackett.  Lee shares his thoughts on the opening round of the European Champions Cup including why he was frustrated by Bath’s performance despite their win over Ulster. He also chat about the current squad, revealing which special qualities he believes Finn Russell has...

T/W This episode includes themes of mental health, self-harm and suicide. For support on any of the topics discussed, you can follow the links below to organisations who can help.  At a time when high profile players and officials are taking a break from international duties to protect and prioritise their mental health, Lawrence, Sarra and Steve welcome Simon Trower onto the podcast to discu...