The Lekker Rugby Pod!

The End of Year Tour always brings expected and unexpected. New Zealand beat Ireland at home for the first time in ages, playing simple Bok-like rugby. But the No. 1 Boks have pulled a surprise speedy lineup choice. Join Harry on the wet ground in Ireland and Scotland with MW as your guide to figure it all out.

Who will make their name up North for South Africa? Who might be odd man out? The Autumn Nations Series kicked off with a classic clash of styles at Twickenham, which showed how a team can hang in the fight with less ball and tries if they have a Ratel-Richie-Pocock type breakdown specialist. MW and Harry look at Cameron Hanekom’s potential at openside flank and wonder how the Boks will share the load over three Tests, beginning with the attack-minded Scots at Murrayfield. … And Harry claims all the rule variations and experiments and changes except one will backfire and help the Boks!

How will the teams of the South end up on their end of year tours up North? The favoured Springboks can make no excuses, the All Blacks are trying to regain mojo, the Wallabies are rebuilding and the Pumas are forever underrated. MW and Harry rip into the battle for rugby supremacy, evaluating Fiji, France, Ireland and old England as well.

The hardest thing to do in elite sport is to repeat. Even harder is to go back-to-back-to-back! The best version of the All Blacks could not three-peat in 2019 because of a few mistakes in selection, which began in 2018. MW and Harry go through the wider landscape of Bok planning, for this tour and beyond. Don’t miss this deep dive into how Rassie is shrewdly mapping out the road to three World Cups in a row!

Who’s boxing clever and who’s punching below their weight so far in the URC’s South African sector? MW and Harry dig into who can still rise. They also dissect what went wrong for the Vodacom Bulls and right for the Stormers, Sharks and Lions! Harry ends with a moving tribute to the Butcher of Paarl, the Lantana Lekkerback, Kurt-Lee Arendse!

The marriage between rugby and social media is rocky but neither side can leave the other. Part of the problem is how we chase things, not knowing why: fame, approval, fortune, community. MW and Harry dig into the why in this special episode on the how not to be anti-social media.

The balance of power in rugby is forever shifting. Club versus country, the bitter battle between the hemispheres, the fight for broadcast revenue, embattled coaches finding ways to beat other coaches, the everpresent log, and shifting laws. Happy MW and sad Harry discuss what we learned this past weekend and talk about how scrumhalves are like jockeys!

Does rugby know how to grow? MW quizzes Harry on World Rugby's proposed law changes and the expected and unexpected consequences of shifts. They also take a look at what should be expected of Jake White and his Bulls this URC season. Harry finishes with an Ode to Ox, true to MW’s poll promise.

What can we make of the Boks 3.0 this far into season 2024? MW and Harry rummage around in the ruck to see what can be known, what is yet to be known, and what may never be known. Harry goes deep, guessing at the currents running under River Rassie.

Join Harry and MW for a special literary look at the Rugby Championship and the claims in Johnny Sexton’s autobiography (“we were the best”). Tongue in cheek and cheek in tongue.

The Rugby Championship trophy is full of brandy and coke and probably safely in a cabinet that is full. Are we getting too full of ourselves? What can we make of 2024 so far? Have the Springboks ticked enough boxes? MW and Harry dissect the climactic Mbombela win, look across the Bok season as a whole, and cast their eyes ahead to the end of the tale.

The great gamble of Santiago lost by a point but Nelspruit awaits, full of redemption and vindication. MW and Harry study how this, the first true knockout match of 2024, mirrors another must win match, the semifinal of 2023 in the World Cup versus Englander i, down to the team shape. The way to understand the complexity of Rassie’s rugby brain is to begin at the end and work backwards. Join us for rugby archaeology!

Rugby detectives do not attach to one theory too quickly. MW and Harry sift through the evidence of Round 5 to find the causes, culprits and silver linings of the one-point Springbok loss to the Pumas in The Rugby Championship!.

Once again, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus surprised all and sundry with a relatively inexperienced Springbok team, with the backline and bench being the more experienced. Did he structure this team to exploit the Springboks' well-known scoring sprees after half time or does he have something else in mind? MW and Harry do a proper deep dive into what Rassie might be thinking and how he might intend to attack a high-riding Pumas side.

The Boks try to close out The Rugby Championship one week early in Argentina. But it is the most unpredictable team selection of the year with stalwarts left back home, an ongoing lock shortage, and a need to see more from the supporting cast. MW and Harry speculate as to how Rassie and his merry band of mad scientists will use the Springbok Lab.

Can the Boks Stay on Top? MW and Harry take a hard look at the end of the Underdog Era and the chances of Rassie and the boys learning to be the favourites in every match. This is an episode which goes deeper into the psychological world of winning in business, sport and life!

The All Black challenge to Springbok superiority was repelled in Cape Town. Not by much, but by just enough to put several arguments to rest. MW and Harry rip into stadium reviews, anthemology, Hegelian theory, key moments and a wider view of these golden years and how long they may last. Plus, Harry reflects on a homecoming. Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

Who has outfoxed who? Rassie and Razor are locked in a tactical vice. Join MW and Harry as they decode who is in whose head. Win and Rassie is well on his way to mastering the old enemy. Lose and we are back to square one. Draw? Team mysteries, bench battles and a new fortress!

MW and Harry went to Ellis Park. Listen to their individual experiences of the monumental Springbok Test win over an excellent but ultimately limited All Black team. Some stood up. Some stepped down. The conversation travels through theme and topic and the triumph! Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod! Harry's X (Twitter) account: https://x.com/haribaldijones

The most intriguing rivalry in rugby has always been as much about mind games as physical mismatches. With both the Boks and All Blacks turning the page on the 2023 World Cup, the battle at Ellis Park will set the tone. Also, the naming of Aphelele Fassi at fullback creates a dozen key questions: all are explored. MW and Harry fathom what might and could and will happen. Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

The old enemy invades Ellis Park with Springbok supremacy on the line. Split the series and the All Blacks leave feeling (too) good. The Boks are better, brainier and faster, but remain underdogs until they show they can handle the mantle of world’s best. A hiccup: lock stocks are battered! Hear Harry reveal inside info to MW real time and the guys ponder with North brain and South madness how to handle it. Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

Beyond benches and burpees: what traits make a Bok in Rassie’s world? What is the one thing most valued by coaches like Daan Human and Tony Brown? Which players need to have more caps than their age? Why did Razor cut his attack coach? MW and Harry dig into the Championship thus far and take on the topics nobody else will. Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

Everybody knows the Boks are hard, big, tough and stubborn. But are they now the smartest team in The Rugby Championship? Brainier than the All Blacks? MW and Harry explore these and other rugby heresies on this deep dive review. Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

The Springboks have controversially named one of the least capped starting teams in recent memory to maintain their lead in the Rugby Championship. MW and Harry debate how much that championship really matters in Rassie’s grand scheme! Perth will provide a few more answers than Brisbane! Join the growing audience for this deep Bok dive pod!

Much hype for Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and he showed why! But what about that high school third team industrial engineer late bloomer from Maties with the buttoned up jersey and major attitude? MW and Harry dig deep into one of the best Bok blindside run on debuts in history, and also cover Razor’s sharp pain in Wellington caused by the Pumas’ claws. Visit Harry's X (Twitter) account here: https://x.com/haribaldijones

Wondering who’s who and what’s what in the Wallabies as the Springboks try to lift the Brisbane curse? MW asked Harry all the questions he could about the matchup, lineups, philosophies, rivalry, and what is at stake for Sacha and the boys!

Springbok fans want it all: blood new players like the lekkerbacks to mesh with 75-cap veteran winners so we win every World Cup but also stay on top by using continuity and finally win a bloody Rugby Championship with 1000 caps in first and second XVs! MW and Harry debate how Rassie & Co may approach the rest of this year, when and how Siya Kolisi and Willie le Roux will ride into the sunset, and what the Full Tony might look like!

How do we know a GOAT? When can we see it? What’s the basis? Is it technical or in service of a team style? How many GOATs are in action at one time? Is rugby conducive to GOATism? Join rugby skeptics MW and Harry as they delve deeper.

How deep is the Boks' depth? Join MW and Harry as they ponder how a runaway 10-try win in Bloemfontein reveals true Test qualities. The precise Pretorian and the wayward Capetonian measure the merit of (mostly hyphenated) players and come up with quite a few surprises!

Bok business is still unfinished. No tries at Kings Park for the Tony Brown attack scheme and a series of calamities ended in last minute heartbreak for Saffa fans desperate to shush resilient Ireland. MW Welman and Harry Jones take all the sentiment out of it and weigh how bad it was, what should have been done, and what can be done next.

Episode 6: Time to reflect after a weekend of helter skelter Test Rugby action! MW and Harry review the major internationals, and do a deep dive into the Springboks' new game plan. Is it working, will it continue to work, and most importantly, is it really Springbok rugby? Read Harry's article on Saturday's test here: https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/07/08/s-t-just-got-real-inside-rugbys-alpha-collision-of-six-nations-boss-and-swaggering-world-cup-holders/?s=09

MW and Harry talk about lekkerbacks - those uniquely South African scrumcapped swivelhipped pintsized wing who keep coming. But thoroughly dissect the unlekker Bulls’ miserable second half in the URC final. A deep dive. Also up for discussion is the Springboks whipping Wales at Twickenham and the penultimate Harry's Index where the best club team in the world will be crowned next week after the French Top 14 final!

Podcasts can keep you sane after your team loses. But when your team wins, podcasts are just the right amount of fanatic insanity. The Bulls knocked off mighty Test-laden Leinster and the sober Pretorian MW Welman cannot hide his giddy glee. Stormers tragic Harry Jones joins MW to break down every facet on how this famous victory happened.

MW and Harry work through the top rugby leagues to fathom who is on top and who is near. They also examine why some South African coaches and players rise so far when they join the diaspora rather than stay close to home.