The Ruck

Promotion and relegation, franchising and the rugby pyramid; these are all issues that are so fundamental to the state of English rugby, and things so few people agree on. So, to tackle these meaty topics Will and Alex go to Twickenham to meet Simon Gillham, the chair of the new Tier 2 board, and vice-president of French Pro D2 side Brive. Can the Champ, which relaunches this weekend, and the Prem finally get on, coexist and thrive together? How could promotion to the top flight work? Will London Irish return like Worcester Warriors have? And Will there be an end to "self-interest" on all sides? We discuss it all, and rattle through the news from the opening round of the Prem, plus the finale of The Rugby Championship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England are world champions! The Red Roses have won the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup so outside Twickenham Alfie, Elgan and Alex look back on the final and the tournament as a whole. They ask what this moment will mean for women's rugby in England? And, what it will mean for the women's game as a whole as other unions play catch up to this all conquering England side? They dissect the performance and credit England's dominance in the final over Canada, plus talk about the job John Mitchell has done as head coach. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This weekend England face Canada in the Women's Rugby World Cup final. Alfie and Elgan look ahead to the match and ask if the Red Roses can finally get over the line and become world champions. How big a burden are the psychological scars from previous failures? Will it be a seminal moment in the history of women's rugby in England? And, has this tournament broken through to new audiences outside of rugby circles? Alfie also chats to Red Roses legend Rocky Clark who admits it will be an emotional moment watching them play in front of a sold out Twickenham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new season is here! Ahead of domestic rugby restarting Alfie and Will are at Twickenham to look ahead to the action. It's been a huge summer of change at Newcastle who are now owned by Red Bull, so Director of Rugby Steve Diamond explains what that means for the club and how they can start looking up the table. The season kicks off on Thursday night as Sale host Gloucester, so Sale Director of Rugby Alex Sanderson looks ahead to that and reveals he was watching on in awe at Tom Curry during the Lions tour. Alex and Will then speak with PREM Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor who explains that the league is in a great place, why they decided to rebrand and who he thinks will win the title! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie and Elgan are at the England team hotel ahead of their semi-final against France in the World Cup this weekend. They chat to second-row Morwenna Talling following her player of the match performance against Scotland. They also look back on all the other quarter-final action and ask whether Ireland were unlucky that France's Axelle Berthoumieu wasn't shown a red card for biting but instead only banned retrospectively. Plus, what next for South Africa and Scotland following excellent campaigns? And, who will progress into the final? They also round up another brilliant weekend of action in the Rugby Championship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Women's World Cup is into the knockout rounds! Ahead of the quarter-finals Alfie and Elgan are at Twickenham where they chat to the Managing Director of the tournament Sarah Massey. They discuss the great attendances during the pool stages, TV viewership and the importance of growing women's rugby. They also ask whether New Zealand displayed their title credentials for the first time at the weekend and whether the Black Ferns meeting England in the final is the ideal match-up. Plus, Fiji beat Wales for their first win over northern hemisphere opposition, Australia caused England problems and John Mitchell has injury concerns ahead of the last-8. They also round up the action in the Rugby Championship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The second round of the women's rugby world cup provided the best two matches of the tournament so far! Alfie and Elgan are down near Brighton to review all the action and preview the final round of pool matches. They discuss who will progress from Pool A out of Australia and the USA and hear from the Wallaroos co-captain Emily Chancellor as Australia hope to upset England this weekend. They also ask if South Africa qualifying for their first quarter-final at a women's world cup can be the inspiration their women's side need? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the opening round of fixtures at the women's Rugby World Cup, Alfie and Elgan look back on all the action. They discuss the Red Roses performance against the USA and question who impressed out of France, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada as the sides best placed to trouble England. They also reflect on a brilliant Scotland performance against Wales but also how disappointing Sean Lynn's side were. Plus, how big an issue are the one-sided score lines across the opening weekend? Alfie heads to Bristol to chat with Louis Rees-Zammit on his return to the sport and they also round up the latest results in the Rugby Championship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The women's world cup starts this week so Alfie Reynolds and Elgan Alderman look ahead to the tournament. They ask whether 2025 is going to be the year that England are finally crowned world champions and who out of France, Canada and New Zealand are best placed to trouble them. They preview every pool, speak about who the stars of the world cup will be and discuss whether a home world cup win could be the Red Roses 'lionesses' moment. Plus, they round up the latest from the Rugby Championship, including Australia's historic comeback victory over South Africa at Ellis Park. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the conclusion of the 2025 Lions tour Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Owen Slot and Will Kelleher bring you one final pod from Australian soil. They reflect on a joyous 7 weeks covering the tour, including their final reflections on the test series and what the future of the Lions tour looks like. How can they make the tour games in Australia more engaging? Should there be a Barmy Army-style supporter package to make it affordable for a younger audience? And, have the Wallabies' performances in the final two matches given hope for their home world cup in 2027? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia ended with one of the most bizarre test matches! Biblical rainfall and a thunderstorm delayed proceedings before Australia won the match in Sydney. Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe join Alfie Reynolds to round up the occasion and the series as a whole. They ask whether Australia were under-prepared for the first test and how much that cost them in the three game series? Is a 2-1 series victory for the Lions an accurate reflection of how good they are? And, what on earth was going on when play was stopped early in the second half? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe and Owen Slot preview the third and final test in the 2025 Lions tour. They discuss why Andy Farrell naming such a strong squad is no surprise as the Lions eye a 3-0 series victory. Plus they ask whether Australia are capable of winning the match to avoid being labelled the 'worst' opposition the Lions have faced. They also salute Tadhg Furlong as he is set to start his 9th straight test and how much winning on Saturday will determine the Lions' legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the controversial ending to the 2nd test between Australia and the Lions, Will and Alfie are joined by Christy Doran, rugby editor of The Roar, to get the Aussie perspective. They chat about how Australian rugby can be successful ahead of a home world cup in 2027 and the importance of winning the final test in the series. Plus, the boys provide an update from the Lions ahead of the final test and ask what is the purpose of a Lions tour? Winning or something more? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British & Irish Lions have won the test series against Australia! Hugo Kennan scored the winning try in the final play of the game to cap off an extraordinary match at the MCG. Alfie, Alex and Will reflect on a match which will go down in Lions history. They chat about Jac Morgan's controversial clear out at the end of the game, how impressive the Lions were to come from behind and the utter devastation for Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the second test between Australia and the British & Irish Lions, Joe Schmidt and Andy Farrell have named their sides. Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher, Owen Slot and Alfie Reynolds are in Melbourne to look ahead to what could be a series clinching match for the Lions, or will Australia respond to their defeat in Brisbane? They discuss both team selections, including Garry Ringrose ruling himself out through injury, Will Skelton's return for the Wallabies and Joe Schmidt's anti-hype approach to the series. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British & Irish Lions won their final tour game on Australian soil as they beat the First Nations and Pasifika XV at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Alfie, Alex, Will and Owen are pitch side to review the match and ask whether it was the best tour game so far? And, does it give an idea on how Australia could beat the Lions int he second test? They also discuss all the selection dilemmas facing Andy Farrell, including whether Owen could feature on Saturday, who replaces Joe McCarthy and whether Jac Morgan could will be involved. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British & Irish Lions are 1-0 up in the test series against Australia. They won 27-19 in Brisbane to gain a huge advantage in the three test series. Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe and Will Kelleher are on hand to look back on the match. They discuss a very impressive Lions performance in which they physically dominated the Wallabies and ask how Australia can get back into the series? Plus, they praise Ellis Genge, Tadgh Beirne, Tom Curry and Finn Russell's performances. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australia and the Lions have named their matchday squads for the first test in Brisbane on Saturday. Alex Lowe and Will Kelleher are alongside Alfie Reynolds to go through all the big talking points. The Wallabies are without Will Skelton and Rob Valetini, how big a blow is that to their chances? Why has Andy Farrell selected Tom Curry over Jac Morgan? And, is this a Lions squad designed to overpower Australia? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the week of the first test between the Wallabies and the British & Irish Lions! Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher, Owen Slot and Stephen Jones are in Brisbane to look ahead to the match. They ask whether the tour matches have adequately prepared the Lions for the series. Plus, what do the latest call-ups tell us about the modern tour? Do they devalue the brand or show the midweek matches between tests need to be a thing of the past? Plus, Will chats to Justin Harrison and Owen Finegan to look back on 2001 when Australia beat the Lions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The British & Irish Lions are heading to Brisbane to prepare for the first test match against the Wallabies. They defeated a combined Australia and New Zealand XV 48-0 in Adelaide but lost Luke Cowan-Dickie to injury and will be without Garry Ringrose for the first match of the test series. Jamie George has been called up as cover at hooker. Alfie, Will and Alex look back on the match and also discuss who Andy Farrell could select in his matchday 23 for that game in a weeks time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.