The Lekker Rugby Pod!

Chippie Solomon, long-time Stormers team manager and one of the most important figures in Western Province rugby, passed away this week. In this piece, Harry Jones reflects on a man who meant far more than a title. A teacher, a leader, a bridge between generations, and a constant presence in the lives of those who passed through the Stormers environment. This is not analysis. This is a tribute. Ou...

Johan Ackermann did not arrive at a finished Bulls team. He stepped into a side that had been to three finals in four seasons, but one that was in turmoil. The previous coach had been forced out, and the group was searching for direction and alignment. Since then, results have started to turn. But as he explains here, the process is still unfolding. The Bulls are improving, yet they are not the fi...

Episode 162 of the Lekker Rugby Pod is built around one idea. Harry has worked out what it will take for the Stormers and the Bulls to win this weekend's cruciall games, and we go through it properly. We look at how the Stormers are approaching Toulon, why that 50-minute mark matters, and where they think the game can be won. Then we turn to the Bulls and Glasgow, where Harry lays out a six-po...

What does a professional rugby team actually look like from the inside? MW spent a week embedded with the Bulls. Harry did the same with the Stormers. Not from the outside. Inside the week, inside the meetings, inside the environment. This episode works through what that access revealed. Some things look familiar. The structure, the preparation, the level of detail. You begin to see why top teams...

Fourteen rounds in, you stop guessing. The Bulls, Stormers, Sharks and Lions have all taken shape. Clear enough now to see what they lean on, and what they give away. The question is whether that holds in knockout rugby. This episode works through each team as they are now, and what that could mean when the season tightens. Riveting stuff!

Modern rugby looks different. More kicks, more broken play, more tries. Yet kicking is still treated as a mistake. In Episode 159, Harry Jones speaks to analyst and author Sam Larner ( Attacking the Space ) about how the modern game actually works, and why so many people misread it. The common view is simple: keep the ball, build pressure, avoid kicking. The reality is more complicated. The best t...

People have been asking for it. They’ve been waiting for it. So here it is. The Lekker Rugby Pod reaction to the Bulls vs Stormers derby may not be instant, but sometimes the dust needs to settle before the real analysis begins. MW Welman and Harry Jones take a calm look back at what happened at Loftus. Why the Bulls struggled to adapt once the Stormers slowed the game down, why the Stormers looke...

This is the match the Lekker Rugby Pod was built on. North vs South. Bulls vs Stormers. Loftus vs Cape Town. For more than a century this rivalry has defined South African rugby, and this weekend it explodes again in Pretoria. In Episode 158, MW Welman and Harry Jones go head to head in a classic preview full of analysis, history and merciless banter. From Pollard and Willie to Sacha and Willemse,...

England vs France is one of rugby’s great rivalries. But what actually decides these matches? In this episode of the Lekker Rugby Pod, Harry Jones and MW Welman are joined by analyst Angus Usher (@analystgus) to break down the tactical battle between England and France. Using the Six Nations clash as the case study, we unpack how teams build their game plans, where matches are really won, and how...

Former Springbok flyhalf Pat Lambie joins Harry Jones on the Lekker Rugby Pod for a reflective conversation about his career in the green and gold. Lambie looks back on unforgettable moments in a Springbok jersey, including his famous try against Australia at Newlands and the heartbreak of the 2011 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal. He shares insights into playing under Heyneke Meyer, how elite flyhalv...

Scotland have blown the Six Nations wide open. After previewing the match earlier in the week with Charlie Morgan of The Times, the Lekker Rugby Pod discussed the blueprint Scotland would need to beat France. At Murrayfield, that plan unfolded almost exactly as imagined. Finn Russell and Ben White controlled the tempo, the Scottish midfield stretched the French defence, and Kyle Steyn produced one...

France arrive at Murrayfield looking like the most complete side in the championship. Power, pace, transition attack and a squad full of rangy athletes have pushed them ahead of the field in this Six Nations. But Scotland may be the one team with the tools to disrupt them. Charlie Morgan of The Times joins the Lekker Rugby Pod to unpack the tactical puzzle at the heart of Round 4. We look at how S...

Dave Rennie has been named head coach of the All Blacks. This conversation with Martin Devlin was recorded hours before the official announcement. During the episode, Devlin predicted Rennie would get the job and unpacked what the appointment would mean for New Zealand rugby at this moment in the cycle. The discussion moves beyond the name itself into the bigger questions facing the All Blacks, fr...

For weeks, the URC table felt like it was settling into shape. The leaders looked secure, the gaps were forming, and the season appeared to be narrowing toward a familiar conclusion. Then Round 12 unsettled it. Glasgow fall to Connacht. Leinster lose to Cardiff. The log compresses, games in hand suddenly carry weight, and the sense of control at the top evaporates. The dynamic has changed because...

The London meeting came and went. The status quo held. No sweeping law changes. No dramatic reset of the global game. But that does not mean nothing is happening. Because if you look closely at what Rassie Erasmus has been building, you could argue the real moves are being made elsewhere. The Springbok alignment camp, the quiet cooperation with France, and Rassie’s confirmation through 2031 sugges...

Gurthrö Steenkamp won a World Cup. Two years later he was humiliated in public and told he would never wear the Springbok jersey again. Most players would have blamed politics or bad luck. He went back to work. What makes this conversation different is not the medals or the setbacks. It is the way he thinks. Gurthrö decided early that he had to be ten times better to earn his place, and he built h...

Episode 150 begins at Twickenham. Bernard Jackman joins Harry Jones and MW Welman to unpack Ireland’s dominant win and the bigger coaching questions it raises. Ireland did not just win. They controlled the game physically, emotionally and tactically. England did not just lose. Their structure looked rigid under pressure and their in-game adjustments fell short. We examine what changed for Ireland,...

France have used 66 players in the past year. The Springboks have used 50. They are younger across key positions, rotating more aggressively and beginning to win while developing depth. So should South Africa be concerned? In this episode we unpack what the Six Nations is actually revealing. We examine France’s depth profile, their age balance, tactical evolution and growing collision dominance. W...

In this episode of the Lekker Rugby Pod, Brenden Nel joins us to tackle a hard truth: talent is not enough. What actually separates good players from great ones? It is not flair. It is not natural ability. It is standards, habits, preparation, and the uncomfortable details most people never see. From dressing room honesty to daily discipline, we unpack what sustains performance at the highest leve...

England lost control at Murrayfield. At Twickenham, the same pattern returned. Poor exits from their own half. Forced passes when patience was required. Kicks that handed momentum straight back. Under pressure, the decisions did not match the moment. Ireland did not need magic. They needed clarity. Their breakdown work was sharp, their shape was connected, and when chances came they were clinical....

England and Ireland have both been punched in the face. Now they meet at Twickenham with pride bruised and pressure rising. Harry Jones welcomes Charlie Morgan of The Times and Ireland’s Pat McCarry into the bar for a lively, sharp-edged Six Nations preview. Expect press-conference temperature checks, Emo Andy analysis, Henry Pollock hype, fly-half debates, scrum anxiety and plenty of Irish wit al...

Scotland rose to the moment. England looked rattled. Italy pushed Ireland harder than expected. Questions are starting to surface. In this episode, MW Welman and Harry Jones sit down with Tim Cocker of EggChasers Rugby for a proper Six Nations temperature check. Together, we unpack England’s recurring Scotland problem, the tactical decisions that defined the Calcutta Cup, Ireland’s scrum vulnerabi...

Franco Smith has coached Italy in the Six Nations and now leads Glasgow in the URC. In this episode he explains what has changed in Italy’s structure, why Scotland enter the Calcutta Cup under pressure, and how coaches analyse games beyond surface reaction. We go into tight-five development, lineout mechanics, aerial contest adjustments, kick-chase organisation and the difference between club prep...

Is Jacques Nienaber really at the heart of Ireland’s problems, or is that a lazy conclusion? Rugby writer Charlie Morgan joins the Lekker Rugby Pod to unpack how the Six Nations is already shifting after round one, and why the debate around Jacques Nienaber, Ireland, and Leinster has become unavoidable. We step back from the scorelines to look at the deeper trends shaping the tournament, including...

Ireland went to Paris with trepidation. They left overwhelmed. In this instant reaction, Harry Jones and Pat McCarry unpack a night where Ireland walked into a ruthless French trap and never found a way out. From collisions and tempo to selection and control, this is a raw first response to a performance that turned quiet fears into loud questions.