The Rugby Pod

Brian Mujati was one of the most sought-after props in World Rugby. Born in Zimbabwe, Brian's life story is incredible, with a career that spanned playing professionally in South Africa for the Springboks, before playing club rugby in England, Wales and France. We hear about his journey, his successes, as well as his struggles both on and off the pitch in this engaging chat. Enjoy. Learn more abou...

Following the recent media storm around Worcester's financial situation, Big Jim chats to former Worcester Director of Rugby Dean Ryan to get his thoughts on the precarious position the club finds itself in. With his current role as DoR at The Dragons, Dean explains how the Welsh Regions are building towards a move away from the WRU and how they hope to fare in the URC this season. As one of Engla...

In this episode, we chatted to Welsh legend Andy Powell about his career, his high points, low points, and plenty of big nights out in between. Powelly is one of rugby's biggest characters on and off the pitch and he tells some incredible stories involving playing for Gats, playing against Bakkies Botha, and playing with the likes of Mike Phillips. We also hear about him flipping Pizza tucks and o...

In July 2022, Gloucester and former Leicester second row Ed Slater was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 34 and forced to retire from professional rugby. In this episode, Jim and Gloucester Team Manager and good friend, Sam Raven, chat with Ed about coming to terms with the life-changing diagnosis and the impact it's had on him, his family, and friends. It's an emotional and inspi...

In the very first episode of Rugby Pod sessions, Andy Rowe interviewed Joe Marler during one of his preseasons at Quins and found out a bit more about the England and British and Irish Lions prop. From how he got into rugby, all the way to the "pinnacle" of his career, sitting on the wet tarmac in Wellington Harbour eating a late-night snack, we got an insight into one of the biggest characters in...

Dr. Bill Ribbans is an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Trauma Consultant, and one of the highest regarded specialists in sports medicine. He has treated some of the world's best sports stars, including Michael Schumacher, Usain bolt, Jessica Ennis and countless rugby players. He is now at the forefront of concussion research and debate in rugby, working with Progressive Rugby to help advance the safety of th...

In this episode, Jim chats to the person who signed his first major professional contract, Simon Cohen. Between 2005 and 2020, Simon was head of operations for Leicester, before moving on to become their CEO for eight years. During this time, he helped Leicester become one of the most successful clubs in the game, winning four premiership titles during his time at the club and helping identify and...

This is the incredible true story of Max Guazzini, the former flamboyant French owner of Stade Français, who spent over €30 million and took the team from the 4th division to five-time champions of France before fraud and bankruptcy threatened it all. Naked calendars, hot tubs with Madonna, audacious kits, gladiatorial pre-match entertainment, tragic suicide, and fallouts, we speak to the players...

In this episode, Jim's joined by one of the most successful and popular coaches in the game, Crusaders Head coach, Scott 'Razor' Robertson. During this chat, it's easy to see why Razor is held in such high regard both in New Zealand and throughout the game. We hear about his coaching philosophy, how he gets the best out of his players, his international ambitions for the future, his Rugby World Cu...

In this episode, Jim travels to the bright lights of New York City to interview the new owner of The Sharks, Marco Masotti. Marco's successful background and experience in private equity and law give him a great perspective on why more people are looking to invest in rugby and why the future is potentially very bright for the sport. He talks about his investment in The Sharks and the potential for...

One of the best refs in the game sits down with Jim this week to give us an unprecedented look into what it's like being an elite rugby referee in the professional era. We get a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes both personally and professionally for the man in the middle. Luke opens up on the pressures of being a referee as well as the good and bad that comes with the job, i...

With England on tour in Australia, we take the opportunity to check in with Jim's good mate and former Wallaby legend Drew Mitchell. The lads chat about the series so far, Eddie Jones, the state of the game in Australia, Drew's time in France, and what rugby can do to help raise its profile around the world. cvKVmXWHa7SY4Dha0N1x Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Rugby Pod Stories. In this new short series, we explore some of the most iconic moments in the history of rugby by speaking to the people who were there. In this first episode, we explore what happened to the New Zealand team ahead of the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final in South Africa, with first-hand accounts from players, coaches, doctors, media managers and journalists. Were the All Blac...

Roddy Grant played 138 times for Edinburgh before moving into coaching for the club. In 2019 he moved to Ulster where he is now their forwards coach and the youngest coach in the URC. In this epiosde, Jim and Roddy chat about where their careers overlapped and where they diverged. He also gives some insight into his mentality and techniques as a coach, including the importance of judo, loyalty, an...

It's the last episode of the season and we're joined by The Wallabies' Andrew Kellaway ahead of England's three-match series down under. We also review an incredible premiership final as friend of the show Freddie Burns slots the winning drop goal to clinch a first Premiership title for Leicester in nine years. Jim and Goodey discuss the URC final which saw The Stormers take the title in the all-S...

Following a massive weekend of semi-finals in the Premiership and URC, the lads chat through all four games from this weekend. After an emotional day at Welford Road, we discuss Leicester's chances as they face a battle-hardened Saracens in the final after their fierce encounter with Harlequins. We're joined by The Stormers' Head Coach John Dobson to find out how his side managed to overcome Ulste...

After a successful playing career at Gloucester and Saracens, James Parkes went on to become a key cog in Exeter's success story. He was lead coach for Strength and Conditioning under Rob Baxter for 9 years and helped Exeter become one of the most successful teams in premiership history. James and Jim chat through their overlapping careers and journeys, what helped make Exeter so successful over t...

This week we're joined by Harlequins and South Africa centre André Esterhuizen as we preview his side's Premiership semi-final London derby against Saracens. We also discuss the other semi-final as top of the table Leicester face Northampton in the East Midlands derby, Jim and Goodey run through all the results from across the premiership this weekend and look ahead to the semi-finals of the URC t...

After La Rochelle toppled a seemingly unbeatable Leinster side, Jim and Goodey discuss where O'Gara's side won the game and where Leinster fell short. We also chat with former Leinster and Scotland second-row Nathan Hines ahead of his upcoming challenge. We're joined by Gloucester's Freddie Clarke ahead of their huge final game of the regular season, and discuss the massive task ahead of them in s...

In this episode, Jim chats with a fellow Covskin and a Championship stalwart Ben Gulliver about his career and life playing in the second tier of English rugby. Ben played over 300 times in the championship and experienced the highs of playing alongside his hero, Zinzan Brooke, to the lows of having to undergo 21 operations. The guys chat through the challenges the league faces in terms of funding...

As the regular season enters its final rounds, we look back at the weekend's action in the URC ahead of the quarter finals in 2 weeks time. Jim and Goodey also run through the results from across the Premiership and look ahead to how the semi-finals will likely shape up. We preview this weekend's Champions Cup Final as La Rochelle face favourites Leinster on Saturday. Following Jim's surgery last...

With the semi-finals of both the Champions and Challenge cups all wrapped up, we review all the weekend's games and look ahead to the finals in a couple of weeks time. Jim and Goodey are joined by former Leinster and Ireland hooker Bernard Jackman to discuss why Leinster are such a dominant force in European rugby. After the final two English teams crashed out of Europe, the lads discuss how they...

We're joined by one of the all-time greats in Shane Williams to chat about his transition to life after rugby. It's Mental Health Awareness Week, so this episode takes an intimate look into the lives of Shane and Jim as they struggled with certain aspects of life after rugby. They discuss the highs of their careers and professional rugby, and what tools helped them cope and come to terms with some...

Our long-awaited return to studio is finally here and what a studio it is. Coming to you from Spotify HQ, we're joined by Scotland and Racing 92 fly half Finn Russell following his side's Champions Cup Quarter final victory over Sale Sharks on Sunday. The lads run though all the European fixtures from last weekend and look ahead to the semi finals this week. Jim and Goodey give their predictions f...

This week, Jim and Goodey are joined by former Ireland, Leinster and Leicester back row Shane Jennings to look ahead to his two former clubs facing off in the Heineken Champions Cup Quarter final this weekend. The lads predict the winners of all the Champions Cup Quarter Finals as well as running through last weekend's Premiership fixtures which saw a whopping 409 points scored across all 6 games....