Rugby Union Weekly

Chris, Tom, and Gareth are back for the penultimate pod of the autumn. They save the Wales chat for the end, as Gareth tries to make sense of the challenges facing the team. Chris questions whether England's coaching staff might be short on experience, while Tom argues that Scotland's clash with Australia is a must-win, believing it could define their entire year.

Is time running out for Warren Gatland? Wales have now lost 11 successive Test matches and conceded 50 points at home for the first time. Chris, Ugo and Ashy discuss what needs to change to get Welsh rugby back on track. Is the issue bigger than the head coach? England are also on a losing run. Are there still question marks around their identity under Steve Borthwick and is fitness one of the reasons behind their inability to close out games? Plus, the nominees for the World Rugby Awards are out and the Haka is back in the spotlight – quite literally!

Chris Jones, Chris Ashton and Matt Dawson react as England lose their fifth consecutive game as back-to-back world champions South Africa win at Twickenham's Allianz Stadium. Hear from captain Jamie George and coach Steve Borthwick.08:20 Jamie George 13:45 Steve Borthwick

Chris, Tom and Gareth return after a clean sweep of defeats for the home nations. They begin with the narrative in Wales as more pressure is being heaped on Warren Gatland. Gareth asks whether the WRU are considering his future. Despite their poor showing against the All Blacks, Tom isn’t concerned for Ireland. And Chris tries to explain what is going on behind the scenes at England.

Chris and Ashy bring you a special pod looking ahead to England's massive game against the World Champions South Africa at Twickenham. You'll hear from Ellis Genge on the challenge of facing the Boks up front and how they've been picking themselves up after the shock defeat to Australia. We also Jerry Flannery on how special it is to be working with the double World Cup winners. Follow the Autumn Nations Series on BBC Sounds: Friday 15th November: Ireland v Argentina - 20:10 Saturday 16th November: Scotland v Portugal - 15:10 | England v South Africa - 17:40 | France v New Zealand - 20:10 Sunday 17th November: Wales v Australia - 16:10

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.