Rugby Union Weekly

On the 30th anniversary of England's victory in the 1994 World Cup final, Sara sits down with Giselle Mather and Gill Burns to relive that historic day in English women's rugby. It was the tournament that almost never happened, but Scotland stepped in to host at the last minute and the rest as they say is history. Gill and Giselle take us back to the struggles being a rugby player in the early 90s juggling work and even sharing beds with players while on tour. They also delve into the final itself and explain how they toppled the defending champions USA in front of packed stadium in Edinburgh.

We're talking reunions on this week's pod after Ugo's trip to see Blue in Liverpool. If there was one team or player in their prime you could pay to watch, who would it be? Bristol get some love after crashing the top four party in the Premiership and that's time of year where we start to talk end of season awards. We get Danny to run the rule over England's plethora of in-form nines now that he has called time on his international career. There are big wins for Munster and Ospreys in the URC, Leinster sign a Barrett brother and Ugo considers launching a new career as a gymnast.

Sara Orchard and World Cup winner Kat Merchant react to England getting a record win over Ireland. Abby Dow and Ellie Kildunne both scored hat-tricks in front of 48,778 fans at Twickenham to remain on course for the Grand Slam.

Sara Orchard and World Cup winner Kat Merchant are at Twickenham chatting to Megan Jones and Maud Muir ahead of Ireland on Saturday. Megan and Maud talk the Twickenham noise and how the team have been preparing for the loud atmosphere. Plus Sara has been catching up with Ireland co-captains Edel McMahon and Sam Monaghan and how they think their familiarity with the Red Roses players could work to their advantage. Kat and Sara also chat the challenge that faces Wales as France travel to the Principality and the grudge match between Italy and Scotland.

We're at full strength on the pod this week with Ugo, Danny, Ashy and Chris all on the sofa to review the Champions Cup quarter-final weekend. We had to start with the thriller in Bordeaux, friend of the pod Marcus Smith drops by to give us - and Danny - the lowdown on that epic win. Is it working having the South African teams in the competition? Do we need a neutral host city for semi-final weekend? We also talk Croke Park, rowing and our favourite Blue hits as Ugo heads to Liverpool for the Blue reunion tour.

Sara is in Edinburgh to bring you reaction to another big win for the Red Roses as they remain on course for another Grand Slam. England ran in eight tries as they thrashed Scotland in front of a record crowd for Scottish women's rugby, despite being reduced to 14 players in the second half. Sara is joined by former Scotland prop Heather Lockhart pitch side to get her thoughts, they also grab a word with England's Jess Breach and Scotland's Fi McIntosh.

Sara Orchard and former Wales captain Philippa Tuttiett head into the England camp ahead of their trip to Scotland in the Women's Six Nations. They hear from the retiring Red Rose Vickii Cornborough after she had twins last year, whilst also speaking with current England lock Abbie Ward about her return to play after the birth of her daughter. Italy and Sale lock Sara Tunesi joins the pod from Parma to talk about her sides hopes of making history ahead of their clash with France. There's also plenty of chat about the possible return of Ireland hooker Cliodhna Moloney and the World Rugby 4.5 size ball trial.

The pod bounces around the world this week, starting in Northampton and ending in Dubai. Chris is joined by Paul Grayson and Alex Mitchell after the Saints beat Munster in a cracker at Franklin’s Gardens, before checking in with Ashy as he hides from the Dubai sun. We run the rule on the Champions Cup weekend and look forward to the quarter-finals. Are Toulouse still the team to beat, or is this Bordeaux’s year? And do any of the three English sides have a realistic chance of winning the whole thing?

Ugo, Ashy and Danny convene to discuss a busy weekend of action in the Premiership. They kick-off with the controversy at Danny’s game that saw Irné Herbst return to the field having only served seven minutes of his sin-bin. Coupled with last week’s TMO blunder, Ashy doesn’t hold back in his criticism of the officials. With Louis Rees-Zammitt picking up a contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, the boys debate how this can positively impact the image of rugby. And with Europe returning this weekend, they run down their pick of the fixtures.

Sara Orchard is alongside former Wales captain Philippa Tuttiett and England World Cup winner Kat Merchant for reaction to England's huge win over Wales in the second weekend of the Six Nations.

Philippa Tuttiett joins Sara to look ahead to the weekend’s action in the Women’s Six Nations. We're inside the Scotland camp with Helen Nelson as they prepare to take on France. Wales winger Jaz Joyce tells us what their goals are for the next 12 months. And find out why Sophie Ellis-Bextor is spoken about on the pod.

It’s a big day for Danny as he calls time on his England career after 16 years and 101 caps. He tells Chris and Ashy what was behind the decision, the conversation he had with England boss Steve Borthwick and we get to the bottom of how David Beckham sent him a video message for his 100th cap. We also round up the action from the weekend as the Premiership came back with a bang as Saracens laid down a big marker, Gloucester shocked Leicester and Finn Russell finally landed his first drop goal.

Sara, Katy Daley-McLean and Maggie Alphonsi round up an eventful opening weekend of the Women's Six Nations. They discuss Scotland ending their 20 year wait for a victory on Welsh soil and a costly final minute for Wales. Katy and Maggie pick out plenty of positives for Ireland under their new head coach Scott Bemand despite the defeat in France. We also look at England's big win over Italy in Parma that featured a red card, a lacklustre first half performance and Emily Scarratt at 12.

The Six Nations continues as the Women’s tournament gets under way this weekend! Sara and Philippa Tuttiett are at the launch event to speak to the home nations captains and explain why the battle for third place this year will be so intense. They speak to England's Marlie Packer as she prepares to win her 100th cap for the Red Roses. Sara bounds with Scotland’s Rachel Malcolm over a certain reality TV show. We find out why Ireland's new co-captain Edel McMahon is called 'tricky', plus we hear from Hannah Jones on whether Gloucester's dominance in the PWR will bring more success to Wales. We also discuss what France and Italy can bring to the party and there’s a special cameo by a Gladiator!

Chris, Gareth and Tom reunite for one last pod to bring the curtain down on the 2024 Six Nations. What mark out of 10 does this year's tournament deserve? The guys pick their favourite match of this year's championship and their player of the tournament after the four-man shortlist was revealed. Can one scrum-half count himself unlucky to have missed out? And should there have been more than one Italian on the list? We also look at what's next for the home nations ahead of some intriguing assignments in the summer.

Chris is joined by Ugo Monye, John Barclay and Sam Warburton to go through the Six Nations after Ireland win back-to-back titles, while Wales pick up the Wooden Spoon for the first time in 21 years. The team rate each country and pick out some key moments from the tournament. Who overachieved and who came up short and why? And what next for those teams evolving and going through transition? Sam also gives his thoughts on the future of Welsh rugby and shares a story from a post match function, after Scotland’s win over Wales in Cardiff.

Chris is joined by Tommy Bowe and Fraser Brown for on the whistle reaction from the Aviva after Ireland beat Scotland to win back-to-back Six Nations titles. Plus Chris has pitch side reaction from Jack Crowley and Robbie Henshaw. The team also chat Wales’ loss to Italy and what’s next for them. Elsewhere Sara is out in Lyon with Matt Dawson and Chris Ashton following France’s 33-31 victory over England after a late Ramos penalty. Sara also speaks to England captain Jamie George.

Chris manages to track down Tom English in Dublin to look ahead to the final round of the Six Nations. They debate where back-to-back titles would leave Andy Farrell's Ireland after they missed out on successive Grand Slams. Rory Darge joins the pod with Scotland in the hunt for a first Triple Crown since 1990. How do they end a run of nine straight defeats against Ireland? Could this weekend be Manu Tuilagi's final appearance for England? Sara catches up with him in Lyon as England look to end their championship on a high. And we discuss the wooden spoon decider in Cardiff between Wales and Italy.

Will Ireland wrap up back-to-back Six Nations titles or is there a big shock in store? The teams are out for Super Saturday and Chris is in Dublin to preview Ireland's clash with Scotland and get the thoughts of Luke Fitzgerald, who was part of the last Irish team to win successive titles. Sara is Lyon and has been to the England team hotel to speak to fly-half George Ford who hopes to mark his birthday this weekend with a first England win on French soil since 2016.

In the last episode of our rivalries series, Chris sits down with Martin Johnson to discuss the fixture known simply as Le Crunch. They look at the brilliant French side of the 80s and England's dominance in the 90s as Johnson made his breakthrough. We look at how the psyche of the French rugby player is built on emotion and why facing France in Paris was such a daunting task. Johnson also reveals why this rivalry meant the most to him as a player and that his favourite try of all time was scored by a Frenchman.