Welsh Regional Rugby Appreciation Podcast

In the second part of this bonus podcast, Harley and Huw continue to discuss rugby with Francisco Isaac and the effect it has had on Portugal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The story of RWC2023 so far has been the style of rugby that Tier 2 nations are playing and the man who has been championing Tier 2 rugby for 20+ years is Francisco Isaac. In the first part of their chat with Francisco, Harley and Huw, don their flatcaps and review the group stages of the Rugby World Cup. The up's and downs and how things need to change if we are to see more from these sides. Part...

Despite the temptation to dive straight in to discussing the quarter final - the boys begin with a few pre-season game reviews and the prospects for the coming season. Some are more enthusiastic than others to discuss them but the need for better coverage of these types of games is obvious. Conversation then turns to France - the good bits from the Georgia game, the impressive performances, the un...

We had the pleasure of welcoming back Francisco Isaac to the pod tonight - not only one of the most knowledgeable and experienced journalists in European rugby circles but also a fantastic person to talk to. This weeks discussion begins at the World Cup, works its way around the pre-season warm up games from last weekend and then weaves its way back to the World Cup. We take a look at the best gam...

It doesn't take a genius to work out that we discuss Wales win over Australia in the Rugby World Cup quite a bit on this pod. We were joined by renowned rugby journalist Simon Thomas to discuss the game and some other stuff - but mainly the game! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Finding positives in the Portugal game was difficult but the boys got there with a bit of effort and determination. There were a lot of learning to be taken from that game both for the Australia game and for future development in general. The Fiji v Australia game gave Wales a lot of information to work with but exactly how Gatland puts it to good use is up for debate. One thing the boys do agree...

The first hurdle has been overcome - it wasn't easy nor fun but Wales got over it and the World Cup has begun. This week's pod covers the vital bits of the World Cup so far, including french men pretending to be cockerels, the social media reaction to referee decisions and English red cards. We then dive into the Fiji game in all its glory before looking forward to the Portugal game. Who knew Port...

Drink of the week excels itself this week - interesting doesn't come close to describing this weeks drinks. This weeks guest is Ged from the Attacking Scrum Podcast - he of the mystical missing pod, who joins the boys to discuss all things Fiji and the Rugby World Cup. Discussion points include are Fiji over-rated or a genuine threat? Did Gatland get the selection right? Is this Welsh team under r...

Our guest this week is Paul Eddison, renowned rugby journalist with a particular interest in French rugby. Together we look at the World Cup build up, how Group C is looking and what are the chances of Wales progressing beyond the group. Most importantly, we begin our search for the best moustache, beard and hair at the World Cup. We have some very strong contenders already. Learn more about your...

Jamie is very impressed with this weeks Newsdesk intro but it wasn't enough to cushion the conversation about the South Africa game. We tried to avoid it but we had to cover it. The conversation about squad selection was easier and much less depressing. We skipped over the important topics such as hair, facial hair and level of fake tan - maybe we will cover them next week, Learn more about your a...

It's a bit of a long one but well worth it. We deep dive into the England v Wales game and the controversy surrounding it to begin with. We look for the good points and the areas we stuffed it up with our guest AP Cronje (rugby writer extraordinaire) who provides most of the positives! Then we dive headlong into the peculiarities of the Springbok world cup squad selection and the expectations for...

Our second season starts with Jamie on holiday but replaced seamlessly by Gav. There are a few transfers and appointments to get out of the way first before we delve into the first World Cup warm up game against England. We discuss players who impressed, who didn't and why. Were Wales on top form form or were England below par? Did Wales play their first firsts against England 2nds and what can we...

Welsh rugby never fails to deliver something to talk about and this week was no different. From players being released from the Turkey training camp, an actual signing for the Ospreys and a discussion about why the WRU might be promoting a Gallagher Premiership game ahead of a URC game! Throw in some theme tunes for Jamies newsdesk AND drink of the week and finish off with a chat about who would w...

We said goodbye to one of the original gang this week and welcomed on board their replacement. There is plenty of transfer information to be discussed including AWJ to Toulon and Cai Evans to Dragons as well as the Welsh U20's performance and the new season fixtures. It turns out that there is a lot to be positive about in Welsh rugby at the moment but a lot to be nervous about as well. Learn more...

Just when we thought things were calming down and going quiet - the Dragons agree to the takeover of the club, the Scarlets sign a utility forward who marches straight into the Welsh squad, the Ospreys confirm the loss of a key player and Cardiff are still seeing if anyone turns up for work. On top of this we also discuss the rumours around the Cardiff and Ospreys merger, we ask if Y11 are being f...

What a year it has been for Welsh Rugby - well for Welsh Rugby news reporters at least! Steff Thomas from Wales online joins us for a look at the season from a Wales point of view. The on field performances and the off field dramas, the good stuff (there was some) and the ugly stuff (there was plenty) all gets a good going over with the man at the centre of Welsh Rugby news. Steff gives an honest...

The best league in the world is ...... a question that fans love to discuss over a drink or two and we are no different . Depending on the criteria that you use, the URC is either a little bit ahead or quite a bit ahead - well that is our opinion anyway. We take a look at the stats and the details with out guest Huw Griffin in order to cut through the guff and get to the facts. We have only just s...

Welsh Rugby continues with it's regular supply of news stories and Cardiff are determined to keep people talking about them! Somehow we managed to focus more on Drink of the week, the songs of Natasha Beddingfeild and who has the coldest ground than we did the Scarlets season. We did manage to discuss plenty enough of it, the frustrations and the fun bits, the cards and the close calls as well the...

We are joined by Chris Kirwan to review the ups and downs of the Dragons season. Everything from Dean Ryans comments after the first game to the final try of Judgement day gets a going over. We couldn't skip over the news from the English Premiership and some of the other news coming out of Welsh rugby this week but we begin with our most adventurous 'Drink of the week' so far! Learn more about yo...

Our planned review of the Scarlets season has been bumped to next week as a load of news stories popped up that demanded our attention. We started with transfers - the real ones and the rumoured ones, then we moved on to the URC final before picking our way through the short list for the WRU Chair. Most importantly - drink of the week continues to surprise and educate us all - long may it continue...

If you want to find out about Womens rugby in Wales, the best person to start with is Philippa Tuttiett, one of the most respected and liked pundits around. Philippa joined us to discuss how the game has progressed on and off the field over the last season, what we can expect from the future and what it was like to work with Eddie Butler. We then discuss another quiet week in Welsh rugby, with two...

Together with this weeks guest @huwgriffenrugby we review the Ospreys season, game by game, the highs and lows and everything in between. Huw's analysis is bang on the money and puts facts behind the stuff we think we know about the game. Finally we introduce our summer feature where we search for or make up the most bizarre rugby rumour and see how far we can push it, Learn more about your ad cho...

Now that the season has ended for all Welsh regions. it is time to review 2022/23, remember the good times and take learnings from the bad times. Putting aside the issues within the wider game in Wales, we focus on Cardiff's season from the egg incident through to Dai's suspension, the players and the games that impressed us and those that we can comfortable forget. Rhys returns to his favourite g...

Jamie still can't get over the pint of something that Carwyn bought him at Tiny Rebel - it may take some time! We started with Scarlets v Glasgow and the non yellow card that might have changed the game - then we go through the various comings and goings in both playing and backroom teams this week before we discuss all the talking points from the Wales world cup training squad. We finish up with...

The next dictionary to be published should have an entry for 'Welsh rugby' where the definition should be 'the inability to go more than a few days without ballsing something up' - last week was very 'Welsh rugby'. We discuss the timing of the announcement Dai Young's suspension and the players response, the Welsh womens game against France and the improvements that have been made, Judgement day a...