#45 North v South - Nations Championship Preview, Bok Mind Games & 500 Not Out

The Nations Championship delivered a final weekend of chaos as England survived a seven-card thriller against Argentina, with controversial calls, post-match bust-ups and massive performance from Manny Feyi-Waboso dominating the fallout. The lads debate whether England’s successful tour has eased the pressure on Steve Borthwick, assess Ireland’s costly collapse against the All Blacks at Eden Park and ask whether a gap is emerging between rugby’s top three and the rest. There’s also Scotland’s impressive win in Fiji, another brutal afternoon for Wales against the Springboks, all the latest other news and the final Good, Bad & Ugly of Season 10. Find your forever cookware @hexclad and get 10% off at hexclad.co.uk/RUGBYPOD Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at: ⁠⁠⁠https://refundclub.co.uk/rugby Get £10 off Huel with the Code: RUGBYPOD or by visiting ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://my.huel.com/RUGBYPOD⁠ *Refund Club is a trading style of Sandsford Law LTD. You can pursue a claim free of charge directly to your lender and then to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FCA is likely introducing a free-to-use Consumer Redress Scheme; it estimates the average redress per agreement will be £829. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Scotland push the Springboks to the limit and may have revealed a blueprint for troubling the world champions, but a second-half surge by the Boks leaves them wondering what might have been. England stop the rot with an 11-try demolition of Fiji, although questions remain over how much the result really tells us ahead of Argentina. Bigs breaks down Wales’ reality check against Los Pumas and the daunting trip to Durban, while the lads look ahead to Ireland’s shot at ending the All Blacks’ 52-match unbeaten run at Eden Park. Plus, Australia collapse again, France unleash Jalibert and Ntamack together, Rassie’s incredible squad depth, Henry Pollock’s hat-trick and all the latest news from across the rugby world. Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at: ⁠⁠https://refundclub.co.uk/rugby Get £10 off Huel with the Code: RUGBYPOD or by visiting ⁠⁠⁠http://my.huel.com/RUGBYPOD⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We break down a blockbuster opening round of the Nations Championship, with Ireland edging a thriller against Australia, Scotland lighting it up in Argentina, Wales finally finding back-to-back wins, and South Africa overpowering England at Ellis Park. The lads dig into the big tactical talking points, from Ireland’s grit and Scotland’s attacking threat to England’s lack of direction and Borthwick's pressure, before being joined by Springbok legend and World Cup-winning captain John Smit to talk Boks dominance, Rassie’s machine and whether anyone can stop South Africa. Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at: https://refundclub.co.uk/rugby Get £10 off Huel with the Code: RUGBYPOD or by visiting ⁠http://my.huel.com/RUGBYPOD Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're celebrating our 500th episode as international rugby returns with the inaugural Nations Championship. We preview all the big North v South clashes, including England’s daunting trip to Ellis Park to face the Springboks, an injury-hit Ireland heading to Australia, Scotland’s shot at revenge against Argentina, Wales taking on a dangerous Fiji side in Cardiff, and France’s weakened squad facing the All Blacks. We look at all the main talking points like England captaincy, some potential weaknesses in the Springbok squad and some big decisions for Andy Farrell. Plus, there’s chat on Ellis Genge exit rumours, Toulouse’s Top 14 dominance, Bledisloe history, and some shoutouts from across the rugby community. Check for FREE if you are due a refund in 60 seconds at: https://refundclub.co.uk/rugby Get £10 off Huel with the Code: RUGBYPOD or by visiting ⁠ my.huel.com/RUGBYPOD⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The lads unpack a massive weekend of finals rugby as the Northampton Saints are crowned champions of England and Leinster go back to back! We get stuck into how Saints proved they’re more than just razzle dazzle, grinding out a proper final win over a very good Exeter side, with George Hendy coming up clutch yet again and Henry Pollock continuing his takeover as the main character. Hendy joins the pod from a beer garden fresh from the celebrations to talk through the win, the party, and George Furbank’s fairytale Saints send-off . We also head to Croke Park, where Leinster absolutely blew the Bulls away to go back-to-back in the URC, with Sam Prendergast putting in a statement performance, Handre Pollard having a night to forget and some big Ireland injury worries coming out of it. Plus, there’s chat on Leo Cullen’s future, England XV’s strange outing against France, the Boks battering the Barbarians, Super Rugby chaos and loads more. Settle back, enjoy, and make sure you’re subscribed on Spotify. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Prem Rugby delivered absolute chaos this weekend as Exeter Chiefs pulled off one of the great playoff comebacks, overturning a 16-point deficit to stun Bath at The Rec and book a place in the Premiership Final. We break down Rob Baxter's masterclass, Northampton Saints’ attack on fire against Leicester Tigers and preview a cracking final at Allianz Twickenham this weekend. Joining us this week is Northampton back-rower Callum Chick, who reflects on Saints' semi-final triumph, his move from Newcastle and what was Goodey like to play with as a young lad… We also look at a blockbuster URC Final between Leinster and the Bulls, will it be 4th time lucky for the South Africans or a homecoming parade in Dublin? Sign up to NordVPN by going to http://nordvpn.com/rugbypod  to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months free. It’s completely risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Prem season went down to the absolute wire but we have our semi finals locked in as Northampton Saints host Leicester Tigers and Bath face Exeter Chiefs at the Rec. One step ahead of the Prem, the URC has its finalists with Leinster edging the Stormers and Bulls completing a shocking comeback against Glasgow to earn a shot at silverware at Croke Park. Jim, Goodey & Producer Rob break down all the controversy, big plays and bigger players as well as chatting through all the OTHER NEWS from this week… Including a MEGA contract extension for Andy Farrell, changes to The Rugby Championship AND a Springbok coach jumping ship. We also have Cadan Murley in the studio to take us behind the scenes in the England dressing room, previewing their upcoming battle with the Springboks, telling us what an Ellis Genge Pre-Match speech is really like AND what it means to pull on that special white jersey. Sign up to NordVPN by going to http://nordvpn.com/rugbypod to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months free. It’s completely risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plenty to get stuck into as the URC semi-finals are locked in, the Premiership top-four race goes down to the final day, and rugby delivers drama everywhere you look. Bigs, Goodey and Jim chat State of Origin lessons, Shaun Edwards’ shock France exit rumours, Newcastle Red Bulls’ All Blacks contract drama saga, creator rugby selling out stadiums in France, giant South African schoolboy signings, and Bordeaux choosing the pish over the president. Plus, the lads preview a huge final Premiership weekend and look ahead to the URC semi-final showdowns. Sign up to NordVPN by going to ⁠https://nordvpn.com/rugbypod⁠ to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months free. It’s completely risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

French rugby takes centre stage this week after a dominant EPCR finals weekend, with Bordeaux-Begles battering Leinster 41-19 to claim the Champions Cup and Montpellier beating Ulster 59-26 in the Challenge Cup. The lads dig into how the Top 14 has opened up a serious gap on the URC and the Premiership teams, what went wrong at Leinster, whether Leo Cullen is under pressure, and how teams can bridge the gap. There’s also chat on Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s Player of the Year, Cheslin Kolbe's South African return, Steve Diamond’s brutal Newcastle exit, a Hollywood ending as Ealing are shocked in the Championship, rugby spying scandals from bushes to hotel fire alarms, and a few grassroots shoutouts from Middlesbrough, Mold RFC and Syracuse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a massive week as the lads react to the URC quarter-finals being locked in, Glasgow’s statement win in Belfast, Cardiff’s huge result over the Stormers and Connacht emerging as dark horses. We look ahead to the Champions Cup final in Bilbao and whether Leinster can topple Bordeaux. We also ask whether rugby has a growing drug problem after major bans in Georgia and South Africa. We dive into South Africa’s club rugby future with rumours they may be dropping out of Champions Cup, the potential URC-Prem merger, Eddie Jones’ suspension, England’s new-look training squad and the Premiership chaos after Saints put 94 points on Bristol. Sign up to NordVPN by going to https://nordvpn.com/rugbypod to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months free. It’s completely risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices