Rugby Union Weekly

It was a weekend to forget for the Northern Hemisphere in the Autumn Nations Series. Ugo, Danny and Chris look back on a clean sweep for the Southern Hemisphere sides as the home nations all lost on home turf. To blitz, or not to blitz, that is the question facing England after they shipped 42 points against the Wallabies. Is it time for them to adopt another defensive system? What next for Wales after they suffered a record-equalling 10th Test in a row? Will the WRU give Warren Gatland the time to turn things around? Ireland lost their unbeaten home record as the All Blacks continue to impress under Scott Robertson. And South Africa got the better of Scotland once again, centre Andre Esterhuizen joins us from Edinburgh airport as they start their prep to face England. Plus, we talk 20-minute red cards.

Chris, Matt Dawson and Paul Grayson bring you reaction to a bonkers game at Twickenham as Max Jorgenson scored an 84th minute to inflict another defeat on England. Why aren't they able to hold onto a lead? England led by 12 points in the first half and then fought back to lead 37-35 with only two minutes to go, but couldn’t see it out. We hear from England captain Jamie George and head coach Steve Borthwick immediately after the full-time whistle on where it went wrong. Is it a coaching issue or a psychological one? “A megastar in the making,” that was verdict on Joseph Suaalii's Test debut as he picked up player of the match as the Wallabies won at Twickenham for the first time since 2015.

Chris, Tom and Gro are all finally together as the Autumn Nations Series starts in earnest. Gro seeks positives to cling on to as Wales prepare to face Fiji, and we discuss whether Ireland are justifiably favourites against New Zealand on Friday night. Scotland face the stiffest test in world rugby, while after losing to the All Blacks, England are under pressure to return to winning ways against Joe Schmidt’s Australia.

There's a new rugby autobiography hitting the shelves this week and it's already caused quite a stir. Ugo and Chris quiz Danny about his book and what he's got to say about Eddie Jones' England regime. We continue to pick the bones out of England's last-gasp defeat against the All Blacks and discuss the most effective way to nail a drop goal. But are England scoring enough points under Steve Borthwick? And how do they avoid getting sucked into an arm wrestle when they keep coming up short? Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham are fighting it out to become Scotland's all-time try scorer, but can they stun the Boks this weekend? Joe Marler retires from international rugby, again, and a depleted New Zealand head to Dublin to face Ireland at the Aviva.

Chris, Ashy and Matt Dawson react to New Zealand’s dramatic win over England at Twickenham. They pick through the final stages and where the game got away from England. Was it the right decision to bring Marcus Smith and Ben Spencer off? We hear from Jamie George on the pod, who says England need to start closing out tight matches. All Blacks head coach Scott Roberson also gives us his take on another narrow win over England and we wax lyrical about the winning try from Mark Tele'a.

The Nations Pod is back! GRO, like Wales, sits out this episode as it falls outside of the international Test window, but Chris and Tom eventually look ahead to the start of the Autumn Nation Series after battling yet more technical issues. How much pressure are England under to beat the All Blacks this Saturday? Steve Borthwick has named his team early picking Ben Spencer at scrum-half and Henry Slade in midfield, despite him only playing 54 minutes this season. Sione Tuipulotu will lead Scotland against Fiji and Tom is full of praise for the new Scotland captain and is backing Gregor Townsend's side to take a big scalp this autumn.

To launch our coverage of the autumn nations series, Chris and Ashy head to Jersey to sit down with double World Cup winning South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus. We ask what makes him tick, how he stays motivated, and whether the Springboks can win a third World Cup. And given his emotional connection to South Africa, would he ever coach another international side? We are also joined by the great winger Cheslin Kolbe; what has been his favourite moment in a Springbok jersey, and what’s the driving force behind his brilliant career so far?

We’re with England at their training camp in Girona as they continue their prep for the autumn internationals. Chris sits down with new senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth to find out more about his new role, plus we get the latest on the fitness of Henry Slade and George Ford ahead of the first Test against the All Blacks. Alex Lozowski is back in the England fold for the first time since 2018, so how much is he relishing the chance to prove himself on the international stage again? There’s also a fascinating interview with Luke Cowan-Dickie who opens up about overcoming the health issues and injuries that stalled his England career. He also reveals he’s quit gaming and alcohol in a bid to rediscover his best form.

Wales boss Warren Gatland is our special guest on the day he names his squad for the autumn internationals. It’s been a tough year for Gatland, so how is he approaching the upcoming Tests? And which of his players could play their way into Lions contention? Meanwhile it was a gripping weekend in the Premiership, with Newcastle pulling off a much-welcomed and long-awaited win, and nearly all of the other games going down to the wire. And with England going into camp in Girona this week, who should play in the midfield against the All Blacks? We also debate whether 20-minute red cards are a step forward for the game, or a step back.

Sara and Kat Merchant bring you all the reaction to the Women’s World Cup draw. They chat to England captain Marlie Packer about the Red Roses being drawn against Samoa, USA and Australia and what it was like to have the draw live on The One Show. Ireland are in the same pool as the Black Ferns, can they stun the World Champions again? We speak to their co-captain Sam Monaghan about their progress over the last year. And with Scotland and Wales in the same pool as one of the top seeds Canada, is it a straight shootout between the two for second place? Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm and Wales skipper Hannah Jones discuss and look back at their last World Cup encounter.