The Ruck

At the midway point in the Prem season Harlequins find themselves in a crisis. They're 8th in the table, having only won two of their nine games, including a 66-21 defeat to Northampton at the weekend.

So, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are at The Stoop to chat with the Quins CEO Laurie Dalrymple. They discuss the coaching upheaval in the summer and the knock on impact to the clubs current struggles, player retention and why so man...

It's the end of 2025 so in keeping with tradition The Ruck's end of year selection meeting is back as Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan name a world XV of the year.

South Africa are the number 1 side in the world but how many springboks will make it into the team? Who gets selected at fly-half? And, in a year where positional versatility has been so important what does the bench look like?

Plus, given that the 2025 British & Ir...

It's the final pod before Christmas and Alfie, Alex, Will and Elgan are back to review all the action over the weekend.

They discuss humbling defeats for Gloucester and Harlequins and ask whether the current top five will be the teams to battle for a play-off spot at the end of the season.

Plus, why are there so many high profile transfers ahead of next season? And, what can the whole league learn from Bath as they try and bu...

Will and Alex are solving all sorts on the Ruck this week. 

Mark Palmer comes on to chat about Glasgow's extraordinary win over Toulouse in the Champions Cup -- a rare shining light in another mixed round of the competition -- and the boys then debate how to fix the tournament, so there are fewer blow-out pool games. 

Could there be a "European Super League" instead? Or would it work playing it in one block in ...

The Ruck has a South African flavour this week as we interview Springboks hybrid hero André Esterhuizen, the centre who can also play back-row. We talk about that innovation, the Boks' fine 2025 and the upcoming Champions Cup clash between his Sharks and Saracens on Saturday.

Will, Alex and Elgan delve into the first round of the Champions Cup, which featured some of the same old issues but good wins for Northampton Saints, Bath...

Following the end of the Autumn Internationals, Alex Lowe and Elgan Alderman review the action. We look at South Africa's 73–0 mauling of Wales, as well as the late-game incident involving Eben Etzebeth.

Elsewhere, Alex and Elgan discuss the latest in the R360 league saga, and with the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw coming this week, we look ahead to how the new 24-team format changes the pools, the seeding and the matchups it could ...

Following the end of the November internationals Alfie, Alex, Will and Barnsey are back in studio to review the action.

In 2025 South Africa have cemented themselves as the number one side in the world but who are their closest challengers? Is it England who have won 11 out of 12 matches in the calendar year? And, will Steve Borthwick's side now be expected to win the 6 Nations?

It's also been a tough November for the officia...

It's the final weekend of the November internationals (apart from Wales and South Africa who play each other next week!).

So, Alfie, Will and Elgan are once again at the England training base to look ahead to their match against Argentina. After a huge win against the All Blacks how difficult will this match be? And how important is it to end 2025 with another win? They also have an injury update as Max Ojomoh replaces Fraser D...

Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Owen Slot and Will Kelleher look back on the latest action from the November internationals.

They ask what was the most important result of the weekend? Wales finally winning at home or England beating the All Blacks? And, they react to Scotland losing to Argentina despite leading 21-0 and what that means for head coach Gregor Townsend.

Plus, the Nations Championship, which starts in 2026, has final...

England have beaten the All Blacks for the 9th time in their history! Steve Borthwick's side ran out comfortable winners for a statement victory.

Alfie, Alex and Will react to the result and discuss what it now means for England moving forward. They pay tribute to George Ford who produced an outstanding performance to guide England to victory. And, they ask what does it tell us about this New Zealand team?

All Blacks legend and double world cup winning New Zealand captain Richie McCaw joins Alfie, Alex and Will to look ahead to the match against England this weekend.

He explains why an All Blacks team should never be 'developing', what makes Ardie Savea such a great player and how he thinks the game will go at Twickenham. The boys also explain why it is such an important match for the Steve Borthwick England era and why his team s...

Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman and Stuart Barnes look back on the latest from the November internationals. They're joined by Mark Palmer to reflect on an agonising defeat for Scotland against New Zealand and ask will they ever beat the All Blacks? They also chat about South Africa's stunning performance away to France in Paris on Saturday night and Steve Tandy's Wales tenure starting with defeat to Argentina.

Plus, they look ahe...

Alfie Reynolds and Will Kelleher look back on England's victory over Fiji at Twickenham. For the second week in a row Steve Borthwick's side managed to win the match comfortably despite not being at their best. Plus, Fiji gave further evidence that they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with at international level.

With New Zealand next up for England, they ask how well the first two weekends of November have prepared t...

It's the second weekend of November internationals so Alfie, Alex and Elgan look ahead to the action.

They are at the England training base so discuss another very interesting squad selection from Steve Borthwick. Including Chandler Cunningham-South getting the opportunity at number 8, Maro Itoje dropping to the bench and Marcus Smith being deployed at full-back.

Plus, they look ahead to the other matches at the weekend, espe...

Alfie, Will and Owen Slot are back to review all the November internationals over the weekend and preview the upcoming round of fixtures.

They are joined by double world champion Springbok, Steven Kitshoff, who looks back on that epic world cup quarter-final in 2023 between France and South Africa and looks ahead to the sides meeting again in Paris on Saturday. He also chats about his life threatening and career ending neck inju...

Alfie, Alex and Will react to England's victory over Australia at Twickenham as Steve Borthwick's side started their November campaign with a 25-7 win.

They chat about the impact of the England bench, Henry Pollock (of course!) and how they got over the line.

Alfie makes the case for the match being an example of how England have progressed over the last 12 months but Alex & Will are more measured in their assessment of t...

England begin their November internationals this weekend by welcoming Australia to Twickenham.

Alfie and Alex are at the England training base to preview the match. They discuss Steve Borthwick's bold matchday squad and explain why the England head coach is under-appreciated for the brave selection decisions he makes. They chat about Tommy Freeman starting at outside centre, the back-row balance and what would constitute success...

It's the start of the November internationals so Alfie and Will look ahead to the matches this weekend, including England's game against Australia. They discuss Steve Borthwick's bold selection of moving Tommy Freeman to outside centre, which means no Ollie Lawrence, as well as George Ford starting at fly-half.

Sam Warburton chats to Will about the WRU's plans to cut the number of regional sides from four to three and he also e...

Alfie, Alex and Will are at England's training base after Steve Borthwick announced his training squad ahead of the November internationals. Teenage sensation Noah Caluori has been fast-tracked into the set-up, could he genuinely play a role next month? Owen Farrell isn't a part of this squad but will he return to international duty in the future? And, what does Tom Willis' move to Bordeaux next year, which makes him ineligible for...