RugbyBits

Bulls, Stormers, Sharks, Cheetahs & Lions through & More

Thala and Shaun review the weekends Champions Cup action. They talk about the Sharks...AGAIN and have a look at the Round of 16 fixtures.
 
We pick our winners to go through to the Quarter Finals try and unpack what is going on with the Sharks, Owen Farrell and how the Bulls and Stormers nearly slipped up.
 
Enjoy

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Kooks and Shaun get 2024 underway as they take a look at the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup action from the weekend. We talk Finn, Antoine, Damian, Hacjivah and much more.
 
We then dive into what 2024 will bring and a look at contenders for the Springbok jersey as well as what this year will bring for France, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, England and more.

Stormers Smash and Grab, Kooks vs Danty and wrap up of 2023

Kooks, Shaun and Thala record their last pod of 2023, mainly looking back at the second weekend of Champions and Challenge Cup and wrapping up a massive year for rugby.
We start with the Stormers smash and grab win over the champs La Rochelle. Kooks talks about almost taking a photo with Jonathan Danty. Shaun has questions about the balance of the loose trio. Thala talks about the experience of watching Levani Botia and Will Skelton live.
We then look at the narrow Bulls loss at Lyon and how well they’re set up to make a run at both the URC and the Champions Cup. We rave about Sergeal Petersen and Devon Williams and start to preview the big upcoming derby between the Stormers and Bulls.
We run through the other Champions Cup results. We worry about Toulon and Munster’s narrowing chances of qualifying for the knockouts. We rave about the form Bordeaux is showing and we sense an opportunity for the rest of the competition to capitalize on La Rochelle, Leinster and Toulouse not yet hitting top form.
We then shift focus to the Challenge Cup and Kooks and Shaun lament yet another bad Sharks loss, this time to the Cheetahs. We rave about the great job being done in Bloemfontein, while trying to diagnose why the Sharks look so pitiful. We also look at the Lions big win over Newcastle and shout out Georgia’s Black Lion for their first Challenge Cup win ever.
We finish by looking back at 2023 and some of the big storylines - the Springboks finding a way, the disaster of the Eddie Jones era in Australia, the success of the Tier 2 nations.
We will be back for the 3rd round of the Champions Cup!

Bulls trample Saracens, Stormers B Team show fight in Welford Road, Nienaber already influencing Leinster

Shaun and Thala review the first round of Champions Cup and Challenge Cup games - a weekend of mostly positive results and performances for the South African teams.
We start with the Bulls dominant win over Saracens at Loftus. We discuss Cameron Hanekom’s rise as the next big thing in South Africa rugby and the dangerous Bulls back 3.
We then go to Welford Road where a mostly second string Stormers outfit nearly shocked Leicester at home. There were encouraging performances from three likes of Keke Morabe, Jurie Matthee and Sti Sithole, but Handré Pollard and Jasper Wiese led Leicester to the bonus point win.
We go through each of the other Champions Cup games. We note Leinster using the Jacques Nienaber rush defence to finally get a win over the champions, La Rochelle. We talk about some of the surprise results from the weekend, including Exeter beating Toulon and Bayonne getting a draw with Munster and finally talk about the entertaining game of the weekend - the Siya Kolisi-led Racing being beaten by Harlequins.
We also review victories from the Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup. We finish off by talking about the Cape Town SVNS, the dominance of the Australian women’s team, the Argentines breaking the pool and what reforms may be needed for the South African women’s team.

We’re Back | URC, Bad Fans and Champions Cup

We're back baby and we get this new season off with Thala, Shaun and Kooks chatting about what's going on.
 
Shaun and Kooks avoid the Sharks problems, Thala is basking in the Bulls victories.
 
We take a hard look at fans and why the likes of Owen Farrell are putting their international career on pause.
 
We take a look at the Champions Cup Round 1 fixtures and wonder where Wandi Simelane should go

RWC Review: Where to from here

Kooks, Shaun and Thala deal with their Rugby World Cup hangovers by looking at each of the top RWC teams to discuss where do they go from here.
Listen as we discuss the Springboks coaching situation, what the All Blacks will do at flyhalf, what France can do to be less Dupont-dependent, who England should build around in the next four-year cycle, what the Proteas could possibly teach Ireland and why Rugby Australia should call Ronan O'Gara.

Bok to Bok, PSDT masterclass, Kwagga Smith the Sixth Man and Bok legacies

Kooks, Shaun and Thala break down South Africa retaining the Rugby World Cup after their 12-11 victory against New Zealand.
The gents start by marveling at Pieter-Steph du Toit’s man of the match performance and Kooks talks about his attempt to commemorate his performance.
We then break down the Springbok defensive performance, the impact of Kwagga Smith, where the All Blacks went wrong, the key moments in the game and how Wayne Barnes and the officiating team handled big decisions such as the Sam Cane red card.
We then reflect on the Rassnaber era, Thala explains what he got wrong with the Boks, we discuss which player have possibly become the best players of all time after winning the legacy and why this victory and this Springbok team has achieved far more off the field than on.
We then finish by reacting to Eddie Jones stepping down from the Wallabies job.

Rugby World Cup Final Preview (RugbyBits n Pieces)

The full squad are all here to preview the biggest Rugby World Cup Final ever.
Jared, Kooks, Shaun and Thala react to the match day 23s selected by the two teams, the impact of the 7:1 Springbok bench will seek to have, how the All Blacks will counter Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane, the importance of starts and the kicking game and the most important players on both sides.
We also discuss the significance of this Final, how crappy the 3rd/4th place playoff game is, what crime Luke Pearce must have committed in France to not get a knockout game and we pay tribute to Jacques Nienaber in his last game as Springbok coach.

Selection debates, Fletcher Newell and sexy intro music with Tony O’Sullivan

Shaun and Thala are joined by Distracted Sports' Tony O'Sullivan to debate selections and to get a Kiwi take on Saturday's Rugby World Cup Final between South Africa and New Zealand.
Tony shares the stress he has thinking about Ox Nche, why Dane Coles and Willie le Roux have similar roles in the team, the luxury of rotating between Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick and why Fletcher Newell might be the star of the final. Listen also for Tony's unexpected review of the RugbyBits intro music too!

The Hundred (plus) Years’ War with Jamie Wall (RugbyBitsnPieces)

Shaun and Thala are joined by Jamie Wall of Radio New Zealand to preview the All Blacks for the Rugby World Cup final. 
Jamie discusses why some of the changes in selection for the All Blacks in 2022 happened more through chance than by design. The influence of Joe Schmidt and Jason (not James, Thala) Ryan as coaches. Why Rieko Ioane gets a bad wrap for his defence at 13. The influence of rugby league in how the All Blacks attack and what the All Blacks will try to do against the Springboks.
Jamie also tells us about his book "The Hundred Years' War" on the All Blacks and Springboks rivalry, which you can get at jamiewallrugby.com