What a Lad

This week I am joined by not just one great lad on the podcast but two of them! Who better to get on as a duo than All Black 7s stars, key Tasman Mako members and best mates Regan Ware and Andrew Knewstubb. Both lads have joined the Tasman Mako mid season this year after a few outside back injuries and both have had massive impact for the side helping them reach the Bunnings Cup final.  Before joi...

New Prank Friday is back with a very familiar prank for What a Lad listeners, "Dougie" from TVNZ has already got Tasman Mako Jacob Norris on board for his new TV show. So his next step is to get his brother, Chiefs and Waikato Star, Ollie Norris on. The new TV show which involves some big names and plenty on nudity is sure to be a hit and its great to get a couple of great lads like the Norris bro...

The recent Moana Pacifica signing and Tasman Mako, Willie Havili joins me on What a Lad this week. Its awesome to see Willie back playing at the level that he is, after taking some time away from rugby to find his love for the game again. The honesty that Willie talks about his struggles in this episode is extremely refreshing. He talks about the pressure that comes with being the younger brother...

Luca Inch may not be a household name just yet but this lad is without a doubt one of the biggest characters in NZ Rugby. At just 20 years old, the big front rower has had a massive year, having starred for the NZ u20s side and now playing for his beloved Tasman Mako. Not an easy feat for a young front rower but Luca is one of the most promising front rowers in the country and he has a massive fut...

The legendary Jason Eaton is one of the most recognisable lads in Rugby. The long flowing mullet, the big bushy beard and the big 2 meter frame. Combine that with the personality of one of the biggest lads going around and this is what you get. A true All Black bolter having been named in the All Blacks after just one season of NPC with Taranaki. He shares what it was like going into that environm...

Liam Squire was one of the most feared players in world rugby, he had an incredible ability to throw his body into contact with zero thought of self preservation. While that approach created Liam Squire the player, it's taken a serious toll on the body of Liam Squire the man. He's had an endless amount of injuries throughout his career and hip pain, shoulder pain and knee pain are all things he no...

Macca Springer is one of the most promising young rugby talents in the country, having  just turned 18 years old and has already made an impact at the Provincial level with the Tasman Mako. It's not often you have players so young, look as comfortable at the next level as Macca has, having already had 3 very good games at for the Tasman Mako. It's refreshing hearing a young player talk about what...

There's a new TV show about to launch called "Brother Battles". It's a show where some of the most famous brothers in the country go head to head in all sorts of challenges. With the catch being they'll be doing all of the challenges naked. As the man in charge of TV content, I thought who better to call up than Tasman Mako legend and NZ Maori star Jacob Norris.  The Norris brothers have had a rap...

Joseph Sullivan, the Olympic Gold medalist in rowing, the 2 time Americas Cup winner with Team NZ and an absolute lad! This really is an incredible story of someone who wasn't built to be an Olympic rower, who went on to become one of the greats. Purely through his mindset and effort. The story leading up to his Olympic gold medal moment is crazy. It's a moment that inspired the country and is one...

One of the greatest loose forwards in All Black history, @jeromekaino is on What a Lad this week and what a lad he is! The humble enforcer who has had an incredible rugby career, having played for Auckland, the Blues, Toyota Verblitz, Toulouse and of course he is a double Rugby World Cup winner with the All Blacks. Jerome has just recently retired from playing the game, after helping Toulouse win...

Grateful to have the king lad Isaac John on What a Lad and man there was plenty to talk about in this one! Starting with Isaac's successful NRL career, where he played for the Warriors, Panthers and Manly. He also got picked for the Kiwis from playing reserve grade! Then we go through the transition into business after footy where he has excelled. He has started up the YKTR clothing brand, which h...

One of NZ best comedians and NZ today host Guy Williams joins me this week for an absolute classic yarn. The local Nelson legend himself, has had a very eventful career and has never been shy to put himself out there. Which is great for us, as it means there was plenty of interesting insights to talk about in this episode. Some of Guys achievements include winning the Billy T award for comedy, in...

The man who possesses one of the deadliest side steps rugby has ever seen, Nehe Milner-Skudder, joins me this week on What a Lad to go through his rollercoaster journey. It's so easy to talk up Nehe because he is such a champion lad, who throughout his career has always been so good to all of his fans, his team mates and the game. On the rugby field he is lethal. For a period of time, he was carvi...

There is no game without the man in the middle, so it was awesome to get one of the best referees in the world, Ben O' Keeffe on What a Lad to give an insight into one of the hardest jobs in the world.  Ben, who at the age of 32 has quickly gone through ranks and is now one of the best in the game. Having recently returned from the Lions tour of South Africa, he gives some great insight into the p...

It's been a long time between pranks but when you have a young lad like Luca Inch around your environment, a prank was never far away. Luca is one of the most promising front rowers in the country, having recently played for the NZ u20s and is also in the 2021 Tasman Mako squad, at just 19 years old. He's also an absolute character, literally always smiling and he is just a real good lad to be aro...

One of the great personalities in sport, Kurt Baker becomes the 100th guest on What a Lad and there's no better lad to raise the bat with! Kurt's had an amazing career in the game and like most careers he's had his fair share of ups and downs. He's won everything possible in the NZ domestic game, ITM Cup Premiership and Championship, the Ranfurly Shield and of course Super Rugby with the Highlande...

Straight back from the Tokyo Olympics as an Olympic Silver Medalist, I was lucky enough to get the great Scotsman and the All Blacks 7s coach Clark Laidlaw on this week. Clarky has an impressive coaching CV having coached Taranaki, The Hurricanes, London Irish and is now the Head Coach of the All Blacks 7s side. I really enjoyed this episode, Clarky gave heaps of insight into the preparation to th...

The proud Southern man, Jamie Mackintosh aka Whopper, joins me this week to go through his eventful career to date.  During his time in NZ, Whopper was a highly rated school boy who played a record number of games for the NZ age grade sides, making NZ Schools at 16! He then went on to become the face of the Southland Stags, the Highlanders captain and was even capped for the All Blacks. Whopper fi...

Imagine a Super Rugby team made up of 2021 NRL players, the best players in League swapping codes, to compete in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition. That's what we have done here in this podcast, so if you enjoy the NRL then this episode is for you. To help select the side I have called on some NRL and Super Rugby gurus, in the form of Hurricanes star Jackson Garden-Bachop, ex Warriors Legen...

He's back! Tom Marshall, the Tasman Mako legend has returned to the province where it all started for him. I was lucky enough to get him around to the What a Lad Studio, to talk about his return and also where he is off to next! Many of you would have already heard Toms journey to the top, in his episode in season 1, which gave us a good chance to get into some detail around his time in Japan. As...

One of NZ rugbys biggest names is off! Liam Mitchell the Hurricane and Manawatu Turbo legend, has decided to head off shore with a deal that no one saw coming. He tell's all exclusively to the What a Lad podcast just because he is an absolute lad.  Many of you will already know the Liam Mitchell story from his What a Lad episode in season 1, where he shared is journey from being in the 4th XV at s...

Youth suicide rates in NZ are out of hand and something needs to be done about it, so it was awesome to get the legend Solomon Alaimalo on What a Lad to openly share what he has been through. Even though he is so called 'living his dream' as a professional rugby player, the stresses and pressure that come with it can at some times be all too much. However the power of opening up and being vunerabl...

The legendary lad Otere Black is off! Absolute heart break for NZ rugby, as he leaves NZ shores straight after guiding the Blues to their first Championship in a long time! The beauty of him coming on the podcast is that you get the whole picture for his decision and you can understand why the 26 year old is heading to Japan. Oatsy talks about the offers that he received overseas, his options in N...

Unfortunately I can't release the Otere Black announcement episode I had planned, just yet. However I jumped on this podcast last week, which was hosted by Nelson College students Wil Thornalley and Ollie Inch. Both of these young men are very talented rugby players who have big futures in the game. Anyway I thought they did a great job, asked some good questions and had obviously put some time in...

Man I enjoyed this one with one of the Highlanders greats, Lima Sopoaga! Lima has had a very successful rugby career, having started with the Wellington Lions at just 18 and then moving down to the Highlanders not long after. He's also played for the Southland Stags and of course he's represented his country at the highest level, playing for the All Blacks!  For the last 3 years Lima has been over...