Empire, The Global Game

Every four years the when the British & Irish Lions tour comes around we ask the same question - should it still exist? Join us for Season 1 finale of The REP where we answer this question with references to the tours of old. Skip pass goes on a junket and tells some of the funnier tales of Lions off the pitch.

It's a new year and The REP is back! This time we're opening the law book on the changes that have been made to improve the enjoyment of the sport. Both from a safety perspective but also from the fans' perspective. In Skip Pass, we're looking at the rugby's TMO vs soccer's VAR system. So download and settle into another year of rugby economic debate!

Happy Christmas to all listeners of The REP! In the last episode of 2020, The REP digs deep into the new relationship CVC has with rugby. Using Formula 1 as a reference point, we look at how CVC's involvement changed that sport forever...and not always for the better. Meanwhile, Skip pass looks into the Silver Lake Partners acquisition of 12.5% of the All Blacks. This is the best way to start your Christmas week.

Rugby's biggest problem is the overlapping seasons between the international and club games, as well as the north-south split which complicates the issue further. This week The REP dives into the issue, explaining where the problems arise and discusses where the answer could be. The NFL offers us some insight during this week's Skip Pass. Listen and join the debate.

On The REP this week, we're opening the ledger on how the game of rugby is funded. We look at the 3 prevailing models: the Union Dictatorship, the Japanese Corporate approach and the Sugar Daddy model that prevails in Britain and France. Whilst on Skip pass, we put the All Blacks brand under the microscope. You won't want to miss this.

Building on rugby's global expansion, this week the REP tackles the struggles facing the game in more modern times. The powers at be were finding it harder to cling onto amateurism, despite making a pretty penny themselves. There were political and commercial interests in the mix, creating the perfect storm for professionalism to break through. In skip pass, we recount the tale of the commercial success of rugby's first world cup. Enjoy

This week the REP continues its story, discussing how the British Empire spread the game of rugby around the world, making it the first global game. We look at the nations who adopted it and made it their own, and those who rejected it. Meanwhile, Skip Pass tells the tale of how India provided rugby with its most famous trophy. Not to be missed.

The REP looks back at rugby's beginning amongst the aristocracy in 19th Century Britain; following the story from William Webb-Ellis to the great split and the birth of Rugby League. The Skip Pass segment takes a look at the birth of the weekend and its role in growing rubgy amongst the new middle classes.

The REP: Rugby's Economic Podcast is the show that looks at how money, power and politics impact the game that we all love so much. Shining a floodlight on the challenges rugby faces as a global sport and offers suggestions on how they may be tackled. Join aspiring alickadoo, Felix McCabe, as he explores the goings-on off the pitch that dictate so much what happens on it. This is The REP.