What’s All The Ruckus?

This week, we sit down with Stuart Porro, a proud Gibraltarian and key figure in Gibraltar Rugby, ahead of Rugby Europe’s pivotal vote on December 6th. With both Gibraltar and Greece awaiting decisions that could reshape their rugby futures, Porro opens up about the emotion, history and decades of dedication behind Gibraltar’s bid for membership. From the Rock’s deep-rooted rugby culture and the u...

In this episode, we’re joined by Chris Davies, the newly appointed Head of 7s in Poland—a role that sees him overseeing both the Men’s and Women’s national sevens programmes. Although only a couple of months into leading the full programme, Chris is no stranger to Polish 7s, having previously served as the head coach of the men’s side. Chris brings a wealth of international experience to the conve...

In this episode, we’re joined by Frank Sackey — Ghana international, rugby all-rounder, and all-round great guy. Frank plays both 7s and 15s, and although he’s based in the UK, his heart has always been closely tied to Ghana. He talks openly about what it feels like to pull on the Ghana jersey, not just as an athlete, but as someone honouring his family, his roots, and the place that shaped him. F...

In this episode, we’re joined by Ale Loman, the Swedish prop making history as the first Swedish male player to feature in the Premiership, following his debut for Leicester Tigers against Northampton Saints. Ale takes us through his remarkable journey — from growing up in Lund, discovering rugby as a teenager, to studying in the UK and earning his spot at Nottingham before his loan move to the Ti...

This week, we dive into the inspiring story of Tony Gillings, the man credited with founding rugby in Belize. After first visiting the country in the 1980s with the UK military, Tony couldn’t shake his connection to the place. Decades later, he made a life-changing decision — quitting his job, packing up everything, and moving to Belize to introduce the sport he loved to a whole new community. Joi...

In today’s episode, we’re heading to the Middle East to chat with Bahrain’s Adam Wallace — a man who’s worn just about every hat possible within Bahrain Rugby Club and the national setup. From Director of Rugby to head coach and captain, Adam has been at the heart of the club’s growth and the country’s emerging rugby scene. While Bahrain Rugby Club has long been a cornerstone of Gulf rugby, 2025 m...

On today’s podcast, we’re joined by James Faktor — a stalwart of the Czechia national rugby team and a mainstay in their recent Rugby Europe Trophy campaigns. With the new Trophy cycle kicking off this weekend, this episode started out as a timely preview of what lies ahead for Czechia and the competition as a whole. But what we didn’t expect was for James to drop some big news during the chat — a...

On today's podcast we’re joined by Josh Sutcliffe, the head coach and former player of the Philippines men’s 15s side — better known as the Volcanoes. Rugby in the Philippines was inactive for a number of years until Josh helped to bring it back late last year. The national team is enjoying a strong spell right now, with a growing pool of diaspora players from rugby heartlands like Australia,...

On today's podcast we have two brothers who will be playing together in the Rugby Europe Trophy this season, for newly promoted Denmark. We have previously spoken to head coach Andreas Robertson but thought it would interesting to get a player perspective on their chances ahead of what will likely be a challenging campaign. On a positive note, we speak about their journey to qualifying for the sec...

On today’s pod, we’re joined by Alejandro “Bola” Pradillo — prop, trailblazer, and the first Mexican player to break into Major League Rugby. After signing with the San Diego Legion in 2024, Bola made history at the top level of North American rugby. But a whirlwind summer — which saw the Legion merge with LA Rugby Club and three other MLR teams fold — left him without a contract and the league in...

Being of South African, Irish and Swiss descent is certainly the hallmark of a culturally unique fella. However, add domiciling in England to that and you have a man who is the epitome of a globalised world! This week we are joined by the fascinating Donovan O’Grady who combines his day job of working for the Rugby Players Association with being a Switzerland international rugby player. In the pod...

On today’s pod, we’re joined by Eldar Karimov, President of the Azerbaijan Rugby Federation. Unlike many unions chasing quick results, Eldar is taking a different path — putting 100% of his focus into growing the game at youth level.  Right now, there’s no senior national team in Azerbaijan, and that’s by design. Eldar’s committed to building a strong grassroots system first, with the long-term go...

This week we step away from the international game to discuss German domestic rugby with President of the Bundesliga, Niko Colic. Niko discusses the state of German rugby, the restructuring of the Bundesliga as well as his short and long term ambitions for rugby in Germany.  Check out www. AIMS.co.uk for all of your accounting, financial and business needs.  Huge thank you to Rugby in Germany for...

This week we swap cold Scandinavia for the warm Caribbean to discuss Grenadian rugby with Head Coach Rob Edison. In the podcast, we discuss Rob’s plans for Grenada, as well as his unique coaching trajectory and how this benefits him in his current role. For those who don’t know, Grenada is certainly a fledging rugby nation considering that they only played their first XV game this July. However, t...

On today’s pod we are joined by Finnish rugby royalty Thomas Finell. With a staggering 70 caps to his name, Finell is certainly a Tier 3 stalwart who has experienced all the highs and lows of playing international rugby for Finland. As part of our Scandinavian double header with Andreas Robertson, this is once again another podcast ideal for those wanting to learn more about rugby in the Nordic na...

This week we are joined by former Danish sevens player and current Denmark XV Head Coach Andreas Robertson. Currently ranked 60th in the world, Andreas discusses Denmark’s recent promotion from the Rugby Europe Conference, as well as how Denmark will attempt to bridge the gap to teams in the division above. This is an exciting listen for those interested in both Nordic rugby and the development of...

This week we welcome Canadian Head Coach Steve Meehan onto the podcast. With over 20 years of coaching experience which has taken Steve from his native Australia to Bath in the English Premiership, Canadian fans will be eager to see how Steve can revolutionise the men’s team following their failed qualification for the 2023 World Cup. We discuss Steve’s ambitions with Canada for their upcoming Pac...

We are back with a very exciting guest this week, with Hong Kong China hooker Alex Post on to talk all about their recent qualification to the 2027 World Cup (their first ever). Having played for his national team for over a decade, Post had plenty of insight on the progression of his nation and how they've reached this point. Lots on his own personal career and his club side Richmond as well...

We have Algeria head coach Adrien Buononato on the pod this week, to talk about their meteoric rise over the past year. They have risen up 10 places in the World Rankings and now sit in 43rd, and with a recent third place finish at the Rugby Africa Cup, things are looking positive for the nation. However, almost all of their international success has came from France-based players of Algerian desc...

Today we have one of our most topical episodes of all time, because we have Zimbabwe player Matthew McNab on the pod to talk about their recent World Cup qualification. Matthew came back after two years away from Sables duty to help them get over the line against Namibia, which happened just over a week ago. We talk all about his personal career and how Zimbabwean rugby has progressed over the pas...

Apologies for a late upload, we had some technical issues when exporting the audio file, but they're all sorted now. This episode is definitely one that is worth the wait. We have a coach that has worked in Australia, USA, Germany and now Sweden in Karl Savimaki. Currently Sweden's assistant, we hear all about some of the best stories that he has had along the way. For a properly internati...

This week, we have someone involved in both one of the biggest names in rugby as well as one of the smallest. Gert Mulder is with the Blue Bulls organisation in South Africa, which includes URC side Vodacom Bulls, whilst also being the head coach of Pakistan. Rugby in Pakistan is extremely small despite the massive population, due in large part to the popularity of cricket. We speak all about his...

We have our first ever World Cup winner on the podcast today, Graham Smith. Graham was part of the coaching staff that led England women's to the 2014 World Cup alongside head coach Gary Street. Now he is working with Estonia Rugby to grow the sport in a country that is a huge minnow within the Rugby Europe system. We speak all about his career to date, his work in Estonia and so much more. x:...

We have got a slightly different episode this week, which is not necessarily tier 2 but is an interesting rugby story from outside of what is usually reported. England's Visually Impaired (VI) team have been playing matches since 2019 and are celebrating their 10-year anniversary since being founded. Scrum-half Aaron Fowler has played every England game so far, with his side still being unbeat...

This week we have some Tier 2 royalty in former Tonga international and now assistant head coach, Nili Latu. Latu was once the record appearance holder for his nation (but has since been surpassed) and some of you may remember him for his time in the Premiership with Newcastle Falcons. He was always known for playing with passion and has now taken that into his coaching career. We spoke all about...