The ACT Brumbies gave the British & Irish Lions their sternest test on tour, but how many questions have they answered for Joe Schmidt? Irish Sportswriter, Producer and Playwright Pat McCarry joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week for the pulse check on the Lions, little more than a week from the First Test in Brisbane. Which Lions enhanced their chances in the 36-24 win? How close was that Lions side to the First Test team? And role will the AUNZ Invit...
Jul 10, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 49
‘Twas a weekend of just scraping through, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones pull apart the first full weekend of July Internationals on the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Wallabies needed 79 minutes to beat Fiji, the Lions saved their worst performance on Tour for a Waratahs Harry and most other writers has written off, a French 3rd XV described as ‘disrespectful’ pushed the All Blacks way further than the narrative suggested, and even South Africa were left to lament a mo...
Jul 06, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 48
The British & Irish Lions on tour present the ultimate test of talent v cohesion. Gain Line Analytics know an awful lot about cohesion and how teams benefit from it, and co-founder and former Wallabies prop Ben Darwin joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week to get into the nuts and bolts of it. So how do the Lions build the cohesion they need? And which positions can be most affected by a lack of cohesion? And what is the best way for the Wallabies to ov...
Jul 03, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 47
The British & Irish Lions Tour of Australia in 2025 in finally underway, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into the first Lions Tour edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Western Force asked plenty of questions of the Lions for as long as they could in Perth, before the tourists’ class and experience rose to the top, sealing the 54-7 eight tries to one win to open their Australian tour with a win. Plenty of really good performers amongst then: Dan Sheehan, ...
Jun 29, 2025•47 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Acclaimed crime and rugby author and notable weekly columnist Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast (briefly) to wrap up the Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final, where the Crusaders proved way too strong for the Chiefs in Christchurch. And Geoff was supposed to join the 8/9 as we slip firmly into Lions Tour mode, too, only for a network outage in New Zealand to rule him out of what still was an interesting discussion, as Brett & Harry turn their attenti...
Jun 26, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Already large trophy cabinets in Christchurch are now overflowing and the 2025 Lions Tour is officially underway! Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Grand Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The British & Irish Lions got off to a rocky start with a 28-24 loss to an Argentinean team thrown together in the same timeframe, the Crusaders have won yet another bloody Super Rugby Pacific title with a performance more dominant than the scoreboard showe...
Jun 22, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 44
Legendary New Zealand commentator Tony Johnson joins Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to contemplate the clash of styles, the different journeys, and the mouthwatering contest that awaits the Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final, where the Crusaders host the Chiefs in Christchurch. The Chiefs will be determined to kick the perennial ‘bridesmaid’ tag in their third straight decider, while the Crusaders will not want to be the team that undoes their incredible 31-game unbeat...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 43
The first domestic silverware of the year was handed out in London and Dublin, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into it all for the first Grand Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Bath and Leinster took the spoils in the Premiership and URC deciders respectively, the former overcoming a valiant Leicester and the latter doing enough to stay ahead of and withhold the Bulls. There were Semi Finals of contrast in the Top 14, and it was very similar in Super R...
Jun 15, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 42
It’s the pointiest weekend of all in the URC and the Premiership this weekend, and rugby Youtube star Riaan Louw joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder style over substance, power over precision. Leinster host the Bulls in Dublin in the URC Grand Final, while all English rugby eyes turn to a sold out Twickenham, when Bath and Leicester face off in the Premiership Final. Is Dublin still in love with Leinster? Will the Bulls’ private charter plane be their se...
Jun 11, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Finals Series are set and finals formats are up for debate, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. While the URC Semi Finals went pretty much as expected, a major boilover has shaken up Super Rugby Pacific, with the most unlikeliest of scenarios exposing the one slight flaw with the new six-team finals format. The Premiership is set for a proper Twickenham blockbuster that could be the making of Michael Cheika, and it was a final roun...
Jun 08, 2025•42 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Super Rugby Pacific talked a big game this season, promising better, faster rugby and better contests on the field, and even more ambitiously, they promised better social media presence and a significantly better fan engagement. Stan Sport‘s Sean Maloney joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to concede that yes, they might just have ticked all the boxes. The regular season of ups and downs has delivered the finals series combatants we probably picked in pre-season, ...
Jun 04, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Finals series are taking shape around the rugby world, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, and in which they explore the power of song as a coping tool for loss. The URC Quarter Finals saw a fine line between plausible cramp and genuine shithousery, Super Rugby Pacific set its top six with a couple of genuine danger teams lurking, the Premiership semi-finalists include two teams that maybe only friends and family were talking about...
Jun 01, 2025•37 min•Season 2Ep. 38
Rugby YouTube star Huw Griffin makes a rapid return back to The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast with Brett McKay & Harry Jones, as the fallout from the Champions Cup Final celebrations continue. Zebra-related injuries are not something a team typically plans for, but may feature in reviews of Bordeaux’s European campaign. From there, the URC moves into knockout mode, with Quarter Finals to be played in Scotland, South Africa, and Ireland this weekend, and with upsets possible in one, maybe two games...
May 28, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 37
The first silverware of the professional rugby year has been handed out, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones come together for a Champions Cup Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, recorded as the Cup was being lifted in Cardiff. An enviable celebration is underway in the French wine regions, after Bordeaux’s super impressive 28-20 win over Northampton in the Final in Cardiff, a triumph for taking opportunities, game management, and supreme confidence in your metho...
May 24, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 36
Lee Calvert from the outstanding Blood & Mud rugby podcast joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast to try and make sense of a Champions Cup Final that not too many saw coming, to contemplate where, if anywhere, Northampton and Bordeaux will find their point of difference, and just where 1980s mega group Duran Duran fits into this complicated picture. Plus, Lee shares some thoughts on the latest developments in Welsh Rugby, where having maintained four professional...
May 21, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 35
The pointy end of the rugby seasons are only getting pointier, and finals football is very close as Brett McKay and Harry Jones hand down another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. And the Weekend Post-Mortems are going to start hotting up now – Super Rugby Pacific has a new competition leader and maybe a changing of the guard in Auckland, the URC finals are locked in after some final round movement saw some teams win through and others lose out, and Bath have extended their le...
May 18, 2025•42 min•Season 2Ep. 34
Crusaders CEO Colin Mansbridge joins Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast for an in-depth chat about what make the Crusaders so great, both as a team and an organisation. And we have to say, the explanation might surprise you! Fourteen Super Rugby titles in 29 season puts them in pretty rarified air, in terms of professional rugby, and it’s extraordinary to think that Colin is just the third Crusaders CEO in all that time. And he goes into great depth outlining how that s...
May 14, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 33
Harry Jones is out of hospital and triumphantly joins Brett McKay for a welcome return to the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. All the Leagues are on their downhill runs to playoffs and have common themes. Teams are well set and standout favourites – hello Leinster, Bath, and the Chiefs; Teams are making a charge – the Bulls, ACT Brumbies, Crusaders, and Leicester, and teams are really picking the worst time for form slumps – Glasgow, the NSW Waratahs, and Gloucester. Plus: t...
May 11, 2025•35 min•Season 2Ep. 32
The Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan joins Brett McKay but not Harry Jones to go through all the ins and outs of the Lions Squad announcement, in this bonus edition of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. With the British & Irish Lions arriving in Australia in less than two months for their 2025 Tour, the guys ponder the key questions from the announcement event at the O2 in London: Who were we most surprised to see? Who were we most pleased to see? Who will dominate the headlines and debate (because some...
May 08, 2025•43 min•Season 2Ep. 31
The Lions Squad Announcements is almost here, the Champions Cup is saved (hoo-RAH!), and rugby YouTube star Huw Griffin joins Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast to celebrate the best of British and forget about everything we hated before the semi-final stage. As all rugby podcasts are at the moment, we’re contractually obliged to mention potential Lions Tour bolters amongst other educated guesswork for the make-up of Andy Farrell’s squad, and we hold up out end of the d...
May 07, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 30
A stunned crowd in Dublin and a jubilant one in Bordeaux were the order of the day, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones rip into a Champions Cup Semi-Final edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Northampton and Bordeaux will face off in the European Final in Cardiff on May 24, after winning their respective Semi-Finals over Leinster and Toulouse in two brilliant games of knockout rugby. In Super Rugby Pacific, the Hurricanes have shaken up the table after knocking off t...
May 04, 2025•45 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Brett McKay & Harry Jones tackle a very simple question on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week: which team, out of all the teams in all the professional competitions around the rugby world, is bang on average? And how do you measure which team is properly average? For one thing, it’s not ‘average’ as is in terrible, it’s literally ‘average’. The very bog standard team in each comp, and then the most bog standard of all of them. It could be for and against, it could be tries scored v tries ...
Apr 30, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Upended tipping and fantasy comps and surprise results were the name of the game, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones rip into the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Hurricanes beat the Brumbies in Canberra for the first time in years, Scarlets showed Leinster that reputations can often count for nothing, Northampton rediscovered their European form in a Premiership game, and winless for months, La Rochelle have suddenly won two on the trot! Plus: everything that caught our ey...
Apr 27, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 27
If the Crusaders are well and truly back in 2025 (and they are), then what on earth happened to them last season? Brett McKay & Harry Jones welcome Jamie Wall onto The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week, to contemplate that and many questions in and around New Zealand rugby. Last year’s Champions, the Blues, seem to have adapted the position of the 2024 Crusaders however, and this weekend’s crucial clash in Brisbane against the Queensland Reds feels very ‘must win’ for them, an indication of ...
Apr 23, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Harry Jones dials in from Limerick in Ireland, with many Munster tales to tell as he joins Brett McKay on the latest Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Munster’s annoying loss to the Bulls and the rise of Benetton in the URC top the discussion, as does the statement from the Chiefs and the Super Point chaos and mayhem in Perth in Super Rugby Pacific, and Sale’s return to the Premiership top four. Plus: everything that caught our eye from the Top 14 in France and Major League Ru...
Apr 20, 2025•35 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Rugby YouTube star Riaan Louw joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder a very simple concept: what would you pinch from any other League in the rugby world to make your own league that much better? Whether it’s the URC’s graphic, the Top 14 budgets, Super Rugby’s impatient referees, or League One running Japanese and English language websites and social media, there are plenty of things to envy from other comps around the world. And there are things to avoid ...
Apr 16, 2025•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 24
The Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for a properly comprehensive review of the Champions Cup Quarter Finals – and Leinster’s surging domination - on the latest Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Irish powerhouse are still yet to concede a point in the knockout stage, while Northampton, Bordeaux, and Toulouse will join them in the Semi-Finals in May. In Super Rugby Pacific, a couple of statement wins from the NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies stoo...
Apr 14, 2025•1 hr•Season 2Ep. 23
It’s the halfway point of Super Rugby Pacific, and that seems the ideal time to start drawing conclusions about the competing teams, as leading columnist turned author Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. But in Australian rugby, it’s much more than just how each of the four teams are going. Headlined by incumbent Wallabies flyhalf and ACT Brumbies star no.10 Noah Lolesio electing to head Japan rather than deal with the ups and downs of yet another Wa...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Champions Cup Round of 16 blowouts and thrashings that only underline the need for a format re-jig, plus more Super Rugby Pacific intrigue and Moana Pasifika history stand out for Brett McKay & Harry Jones on the latest Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The start of the Champions Cup knockout stage saw 114-point games, sixty point thumpings, and average aggregate scores of 72 points a game, but also, some quite exciting rugby. And Moana Pasifika’s 45-28 win over the Warata...
Apr 06, 2025•34 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Player welfare, and what that entails in the incredibly broad landscape that is now professional rugby, was the key topic when former Hurricanes and All Blacks great turned players advocate Conrad Smith joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week. Now the Head of Rugby Operations for International Rugby Players, the global players association, Conrad goes into great detail about the sheer volume and breadth of discussions with World Rugby, national Unions, profe...
Apr 02, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 20
