Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls

Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls
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 Welcome to Rucks Mauls & Oval Balls, the ultimate podcast for all things English rugby! Hosted by two former university teammates who shared the pitch and forged a lasting bond, this show takes you behind the scenes of the rugby world, blending insightful analysis with a shared passion for the sport. Each episode dives deep into the game, with a special focus on statistics, player performance, team dynamics, and match breakdowns. Whether you're a die-hard fan or new to the game, Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls offers expert commentary, fun debates, and insider knowledge that you won’t find anywhere else. Tune in for the perfect mix of rugby banter, in-depth analysis, and a true love for the game! 

  1. 3 juin

    S2 Ep 36 - Prem Rugby Delivers For Run In

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! The Premiership run-in just went feral. Five matches, five genuine humdingers, and a top-four race that suddenly feels like it could break three different ways depending on one last weekend of chaos. We start with the big rugby news doing the rounds: the Shaun Edwards rumours. We talk through why he’s arguably the best defence coach of the modern era, what his exit from France might mean for their World Cup hopes, and why England’s coaching ticket could transform overnight if the RFU acts. From there we nod to Bordeaux’s Champions Cup win and the brutal fallout around Leinster, before widening the lens to the uncomfortable question English rugby keeps dodging: how do you build a system that can rival the Top 14’s depth, development and week-to-week intensity? Then it’s straight into Prem Rugby Round 17. Bristol bounce back in style against Bath and we dig into whether Bath’s conservative approach is starting to stifle their strike runners. Saracens keep stacking points with a performance that screams late-season momentum, while Northampton survive a Gloucester scare that had all the ingredients of a season-defining upset. Up north, Newcastle pull off a comeback that feels like a trailer for next season, and Exeter go to Welford Road and shut Leicester down with set-piece pressure and some seriously organised defence. We finish with our Team of the Week, Round 18 predictions, and the launch of the Rucks Mauls and Oval Balls end-of-season awards, including Player of the Season, Coach of the Season, Breakthrough, Signing, Dark Horse and Dog’s Body. Subscribe, share the pod with a rugby mate, and leave us a review, then tell us: who’s gets your vote? 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 40 min

  2. 20 mai

    S2 Ep 35 - Global Calendars, Coaches Galore & Giant Collapses

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! Rumours of South African teams stepping away from European competition are getting louder, and the consequences could be huge. We get into why the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup have been such a logistical headache, why “player welfare” is both a real concern and a convenient headline, and how a broken global rugby calendar keeps forcing square pegs into round holes. If South Africa moves, the URC, European formats, and even the shape of British domestic rugby could shift with it. From there we give the Red Roses their flowers after another Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam, with a look at how England’s evolving attacking game is raising the bar for everyone. We also take a moment to reflect on the sad passing of Scotland legend Scott Hastings, and what it means when names from the sport’s history suddenly feel much closer to home. Then it is full throttle Gallagher Premiership: Northampton Saints explode for 94 against Bristol, Bath cruise past Newcastle, and Harlequins pull off a wild fightback to stun Exeter. We also unpack Saracens’ win over Gloucester, why Maro Itoje and Ben Earl look red hot, and why Leicester’s win over Sale comes with a serious late season problem at fly half. We finish with England’s training camp squad, the debate around Bernhard Janse van Rensburg, and our picks for a best XV plus a frightening “absent” XV that shows just how deep England rugby can be. If you enjoy smart, honest rugby chat, subscribe, share the pod with a mate, and leave us a review. Who makes your England starting XV from that camp squad? 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 30 min

  3. 13 mai

    S2 Ep 34 - A Prem Rugby Cat Amongst Prem Rugby Pigeons

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! The league table says one thing, but the rugby says something else: the Gallagher Premiership run-in is starting to feel like a scrap, not a procession. We start by pulling on the biggest off-pitch threads of the week, including talk of Welsh, Scottish and Irish clubs joining the PWR and what that could mean for professional women’s rugby, talent pathways and international standards. We also tackle the much spicier rumour of Ealing Trailfinders looking towards the URC, and why closed-shop leagues, European qualification and RFU player access make that idea far more complicated than it sounds. From there we connect the money dots. With American investment circling English rugby and Exeter Chiefs progressing discussions with the Black Knight group, it’s hard not to wonder whether the sport is drifting towards a franchised, British and Irish league model. We keep it practical: what works, what breaks, and what would actually make sense for supporters, players and clubs. Then it’s pure Premiership therapy. Gloucester finally string wins together, Leicester Tigers bully Northampton Saints in the derby, Saracens look ominous again, and Exeter Chiefs expose Bath’s one-speed plan with a performance that throws the title race back into chaos. We finish with teams of the week, quick-fire predictions for Round 16, and Rory’s final thought on Henry Pollock. Subscribe for next week, share the pod with a mate, and leave us a review. Who do you genuinely think wins the Premiership from here? 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 33 min

  4. 6 mai

    S2 Ep 33 - Is This The Start Of A Rugby Civil War?

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! Rugby doesn’t get to hide behind tradition any more and that’s the thread running through everything we talk about. We start with the Bristol Bears “marketing agency” comment and the reaction it sparked, because it cuts straight to the modern fight inside the sport: do we want rugby to grow, make money, and reach new fans, or do we want to pretend that commercial reality is somehow beneath the game? We talk player marketability, digital profiles, and why some fans hear that language as an attack on community and identity. From there we get into the media side and the gatekeeping that still lingers. When creators and analysts build huge audiences by explaining the sport well, should ex players sneer at them, or learn from them? We also call out how negativity in commentary can shrink a brilliant occasion, especially when the rugby itself is delivering. If you care about where rugby coverage is going, this conversation is not optional. Then we go properly on-field with the Champions Cup semi finals. Bordeaux v Bath becomes a case study in ruthlessness: Jalibert and Lucu do what they do, but Bordeaux’s defence and late-game ambition are what really stand out. We also unpack the replay and TMO controversy and why the EPCR tech set-up matters more than any tired “French TV director” conspiracy. Leinster v Toulon is the other side of the coin: line speed, suffocation, and big names stepping up, setting up a Bordeaux v Leinster final that feels like a genuine clash of identities. We finish by helping Steve Borthwick out: a Premiership form based England summer squad, position by position, including the tight calls at hooker, the back row logjam, and what England actually need at fullback in a blitz defence world. Subscribe, share the episode with a mate, and leave us a review, then tell us the one player we’ve absolutely got wrong. 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 22 min

  5. 29 avr.

    S2 Ep 32 - Prem Rugby's Weekend For The Wingers

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! English rugby can put on a brilliant weekend and still feel stuck in place. We start with the good stuff: club rugby silverware, big days out, and the sense that participation is finally stabilising after Covid. Then the mood turns as the RFU governance vote gets binned, locking English rugby into the same old structures for years. We talk honestly about what that could mean, from leadership fallout to the long-term risk of the Premiership pulling further away from the grassroots game. From there, it’s full Premiership Rugby Round 14 mode. We celebrate a true weekend of the winger with monster metres and finishing clinics, then get into the details that actually decide matches: ruck speed, soft edges in defence, and which sides can win ugly. Bristol do the nasty breakdown work that powers their tempo, Saracens and Leicester serve up a proper throwback scrap, and Quins and Sale somehow make thirteen tries feel strangely flat. Saints v Bath gives us a classic with plenty to admire and plenty to worry about, while Gloucester’s win over Exeter blows the top-four race wide open just as the run-in gets serious. We finish by arguing over a team of the week and putting Rory under pressure with Water Ranker. Subscribe, share the pod with a mate, and leave a review, then tell us: who grabs that fourth play-off spot? 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 29 min

  6. 22 avr.

    S2 Ep 31 - Prem Rugby Round 13 Unlucky For Some

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! Two finals in two weeks. One RFU vote that could change who gets a say in English rugby. And a Premiership weekend that lurches from a proper ding-dong at Sandy Park to scorelines that make you wince. We start with our own club world as the Westcliff Lions march into a league final and a cup final, talking leadership, young players learning the hard way and what finals day really feels like when your body is already in bits.  Then we get into the bigger story: the RFU’s proposed governance reform and the special general meeting where members vote on modernising how the game is run. We dig into why separating the professional game from community decision-making is so contentious, what happens if the vote fails, and why “English rugby being English rugby” is not a plan. From there we move into Exeter Chiefs takeover rumours, what American sports investors might bring, and the renewed importance of salary cap rules if billionaire ownership becomes the norm. We even let ourselves dream about NFL-style structures, a league commissioner and whether a draft could ever work without wrecking academies.  Finally, we review Gallagher Premiership Round 13: Bristol Bears blowing Gloucester away, Northampton Saints pinching it late against Exeter, Leicester Tigers running riot against Newcastle, Bath Rugby overpowering an injury-ravaged Harlequins, and Saracens putting a staggering 80+ on Sale Sharks. We close with a look at the Red Roses in the Women’s Six Nations and the real question behind dominance: how the rest of the sport catches up through investment and pathways like the PWR.  If you enjoy sharp rugby union analysis with a bit of club chaos on the side, subscribe, share the pod with a mate and leave us a review. What reform would you make first to fix English rugby? 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 30 min

  7. 15 avr.

    S2 Ep 30 - Champions Cup Quarter Final Crunch Time

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! Knockout rugby doesn’t care about your feelings, and the Champions Cup quarter-finals prove it. We start with a quick dose of real-world grassroots rugby, from survival maths to sore heads, then jump straight into Premiership Rugby transfer chatter: who is still shopping, who is capped out, and why George Furbank heading to Harlequins says a lot about contracts, squad depth, and the modern salary cap puzzle. From there we live in the pressure cooker. Bath v Northampton Saints gets the full treatment: atmosphere, big calls, missed moments, and the tug-of-war between Saints’ high-tempo attack and Bath’s brutally effective forward game. We also ask the awkward question every neutral secretly loves: if you have Finn Russell, should you always cut loose, or is “brilliantly boring” still the smartest way to win? The rest of the weekend delivers contrasts. Glasgow Warriors v Toulon gives us defence, breakdown scraps, and clutch plays. Leinster v Sale Sharks turns into a lesson in how to make a favourite uncomfortable, even if Leinster’s quality eventually shows. Then we finish with the kind of match that makes you forget the scoreline and just enjoy the craft: Bordeaux v Toulouse, a heavyweight clash where the breakdown and defence look like the true superpowers, plus a rant about how Jack Willis can be this good and still sit outside England plans. We round things off with a quick What a Ranker challenge and a serious nod to the Red Roses opening their Women’s Six Nations title defence in front of a huge Twickenham crowd. If you enjoy sharp rugby opinions and big-game analysis, subscribe, share the pod, and leave us a review, then tell us where you disagree most. 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 17 min

  8. 8 avr.

    S2 Ep 29 - Lawes Is Back & So Is The Champions Cup

    Send us a text... thoughts, feelings & feedback are all welcome! We will address them on the podcast! Courtney Lawes is coming back to Premiership Rugby, and I’m equal parts delighted and furious. We unpack why a 37-year-old can still be a difference maker, why Sale landing him changes the feel of their recruitment overnight, and how quickly England should be picking up the phone if they want more bite, edge, and week-to-week consistency in the pack. From there we zoom out to the business and the rulebook. The rumours of American investment in Exeter Chiefs hint at where English club rugby might be heading, especially as the USA World Cup gets closer. Then we get into the uncomfortable stuff: a biting citing, the mitigation that follows, and why the disciplinary process can feel outdated for a professional sport that says it prioritises welfare and standards. We also feast on the Champions Cup round of 16. Saints v Castres delivers proper hostility and lessons about discipline, skill execution, and missing leaders like Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith. Bath v Saracens turns into a masterclass in bench impact and momentum swings, with a tryline-to-tryline moment that belongs on any highlights reel. We round it out with quarter final predictions, a ridiculous new ranking game, and a Women’s Six Nations preview where the Red Roses are favourites but Ireland and France look ready to ask sharper questions. Subscribe for weekly rugby chat, share this with a mate who loves the Champions Cup, and leave us a review with your boldest quarter final call. 🎧 Thanks for tuning in to the Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast! 📲 Stay connected with us on social media for behind-the-scenes content, hot takes, and episode updates: Instagram: @rucksmaulsovalballsTwitter/X: @RMOB_RugbyTikTok: @rmob_rugbyYouTube: Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls Podcast📬 Got a question, comment, or just want to rant about your club’s form? Email us at: RucksMaulsOvalBalls@outlook.com

    1 h 14 min
Tout afficher (67)

À propos

 Welcome to Rucks Mauls & Oval Balls, the ultimate podcast for all things English rugby! Hosted by two former university teammates who shared the pitch and forged a lasting bond, this show takes you behind the scenes of the rugby world, blending insightful analysis with a shared passion for the sport. Each episode dives deep into the game, with a special focus on statistics, player performance, team dynamics, and match breakdowns. Whether you're a die-hard fan or new to the game, Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls offers expert commentary, fun debates, and insider knowledge that you won’t find anywhere else. Tune in for the perfect mix of rugby banter, in-depth analysis, and a true love for the game! 

Informations

  • Création
    Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls
  • Années d’activité
    2025 - 2026
  • Épisodes
    67
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls
  • Site web de l’émission
    Rucks, Mauls & Oval Balls

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