The Ruck

England make the trip to Rome in the 6 Nations following two defeats and two terrible performances against Scotland and Ireland. So how much pressure are they under ahead of facing Italy on Saturday? Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are on the streets of the Eternal City to look ahead to the match. They chat about the raft of changes Steve Borthwick has made for the game and what that t...

Last week the English league system saw its biggest shake-up since the dawn of professionalism: it was confirmed that from 2029/30 the PREM will change to a franchise system and there will be no promotion or relegation starting next season. Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and Stuart Barnes join Alfie Reynolds to chat about those developments. Is this an inevitable step to try and fix a system which doesn...

It's a fallow week in the 6 Nations so Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman and Stuart Barnes discuss all of the action from round three. They chat about Scotland's nervy performance in Cardiff as Gregor Townsend's side (just!) got the victory. Was this Scotland banishing demons from previous campaigns? Or have they once again failed to back up an impressive performance against England? Barnsey gives hi...

England's hopes of a 6 Nations title went up in smoke as they lost to Ireland at Twickenham. Following a loss to Scotland a week ago, Steve Borthwick's side produced another lacklustre and dreadful performance. Alfie, Will and Charlie try to pick through the bones of a galling defeat which will ask major questions of this England team. Will it be a performance which ends England careers for some p...

Following defeat to Scotland in the Calcutta Cup last weekend, England host Ireland in round three of the 6 Nations on Saturday. Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and Charlie Morgan are at the England training base ahead of the match and ask whether England or Ireland are under more pressure heading into the fixture? They chat about Steve Borthwick's squad selection, with Henry Pollock maki...

The second round of the 6 Nations produced plenty of thrills and spills! Scotland stunned England in Edinburgh, Ireland got up and running by beating Italy and Wales shipped fifty points in defeat to France. Alfie Reynolds is joined by Elgan Alderman, Charlie Morgan and David Walsh to look back on the action and preview round three. They ask whether anyone will prevent a French Grand Slam? Whether...

Scotland destroyed England 31-20 to win the Calcutta Cup! From the stands at Murrayfield Alfie Reynolds, Mark Palmer and Will Kelleher try to unpick a crazy match. The ghosts of Calcutta Cups past came back to haunt England as they once again produced a lacklustre performance in Edinburgh. Their losing streak in the Scottish capital continues. But Scotland were brilliant and bounced back from defe...

It's Calcutta Cup week as Scotland host England in the 6 Nations. Alfie, Alex and Will are in Edinburgh to look ahead to the match. They discuss the pressure on Gregor Townsend and Scotland, England's poor record north of the border with their last win being back in 2020 and Steve Borthwick's squad for the match on Saturday. They chat about England's continuing drive for positional versatility and...

On the opening weekend of the 6 Nations Scotland lost against Italy to heap pressure on Gregor Townsend, Ireland lost to France who produced a statement performance and England hammered Wales. Alfie Reynolds is joined by Owen Slot and The Times' new signing, Charlie Morgan, to look back on all the action. The boys discuss whether Townsend departing seems inevitable, whether Andy Farrell has done a...

England got their 6 Nations campaign up and running with a ruthless 48-7 victory over Wales who endured a torrid day at Twickenham. Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look back on all the action and discuss whether the result actually could have been worse for Wales who saw four players yellow carded. And, where do Steve Tandy's side can go from here as they welcome France to Cardiff...

What chance do Wales have of beating England at Twickenham this weekend in the opening round of the 6 Nations? The bookmakers have them as huge outsiders so from the England team hotel Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look ahead to the weekend. They chat about whether Wales can harness the passion and spirit of the country to lift their performance. How will England deal with the e...

The 2026 6 Nations is here! Who are the favorites to win the championship? Is it France as the defending champions or a resurgent England? Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman, Alex Lowe and Mark Palmer look ahead to the opening weekend of fixtures. They ask whether Scotland will benefit from flying under the radar? Could Wales win a match? And, who will play fly-half for Ireland? Plus, they chat about...

Alfie and Will welcome Mark Evans back onto The Ruck having returned from his time as the CEO of the Fijian Drua. They chat about the latest developments in Welsh rugby with Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, becoming the WRU's preferred bidder for Cardiff and ask whether there is a danger that rugby in Wales might become like cricket in the West Indies. Mark also gives his views on two of his former...

Following the All Blacks sacking head coach Scott Robertson, Alfie, Will and Alex are joined by the New Zealand Herald's Liam Napier to explain why he's been given his marching orders just two years into his tenure. Was it down to losing the dressing room? Or was he not suited to the spotlight which comes with the role? They also look back on the final round of the pool stages in the Champions Cup...

Following another weekend of action in the Champions Cup Alfie, Elgan and Alex look back on all of the big stories. With only one round of matches to go until the knockout stages they explain why, despite some great games, the competition continues to have structural issues. They ask what is going wrong at Toulouse who have lost twice already in the pool stage and discuss which teams are in the ru...

Henry Pollock had a remarkable 2025! Breaking through with Northampton Saints, making his England debut, beating Leinster in Dublin, a Champions Cup final appearance and being named on the British & Irish Lions tour. So Will and Alex have made the trip up to the East Midlands to chat with Henry Pollock and his director of rugby Phil Dowson. How does the youngster reflect on the past 12 months?...

At the midway point in the Prem season Harlequins find themselves in a crisis. They're 8th in the table, having only won two of their nine games, including a 66-21 defeat to Northampton at the weekend. So, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are at The Stoop to chat with the Quins CEO Laurie Dalrymple. They discuss the coaching upheaval in the summer and the knock on impact to the clubs current struggles,...

It's the end of 2025 so in keeping with tradition The Ruck's end of year selection meeting is back as Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan name a world XV of the year. South Africa are the number 1 side in the world but how many springboks will make it into the team? Who gets selected at fly-half? And, in a year where positional versatility has been so important what does the bench look like? Plus, given t...

It's the final pod before Christmas and Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan are back to review all the action over the weekend. They discuss humbling defeats for Gloucester and Harlequins and ask whether the current top five will be the teams to battle for a play-off spot at the end of the season. Plus, why are there so many high profile transfers ahead of next season? And, what can the whole league learn...

Will and Alex are solving all sorts on the Ruck this week.  Mark Palmer comes on to chat about Glasgow's extraordinary win over Toulouse in the Champions Cup -- a rare shining light in another mixed round of the competition -- and the boys then debate how to fix the tournament, so there are fewer blow-out pool games.  Could there be a "European Super League" instead? Or would it wor...

The Ruck has a South African flavour this week as we interview Springboks hybrid hero André Esterhuizen, the centre who can also play back-row. We talk about that innovation, the Boks' fine 2025 and the upcoming Champions Cup clash between his Sharks and Saracens on Saturday. Will, Alex and Elgan delve into the first round of the Champions Cup, which featured some of the same old issues but good w...

Following the end of the Autumn Internationals, Alex Lowe and Elgan Alderman review the action. We look at South Africa's 73–0 mauling of Wales, as well as the late-game incident involving Eben Etzebeth. Elsewhere, Alex and Elgan discuss the latest in the R360 league saga, and with the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw coming this week, we look ahead to how the new 24-team format changes the pools, the se...

Following the end of the November internationals Alfie, Alex, Will and Barnsey are back in studio to review the action. In 2025 South Africa have cemented themselves as the number one side in the world but who are their closest challengers? Is it England who have won 11 out of 12 matches in the calendar year? And, will Steve Borthwick's side now be expected to win the 6 Nations? It's also been a t...

It's the final weekend of the November internationals (apart from Wales and South Africa who play each other next week!). So, Alfie, Will and Elgan are once again at the England training base to look ahead to their match against Argentina. After a huge win against the All Blacks how difficult will this match be? And how important is it to end 2025 with another win? They also have an injury update...

Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Owen Slot and Will Kelleher look back on the latest action from the November internationals. They ask what was the most important result of the weekend? Wales finally winning at home or England beating the All Blacks? And, they react to Scotland losing to Argentina despite leading 21-0 and what that means for head coach Gregor Townsend. Plus, the Nations Championship, wh...