Legendary Sky Sport NZ commentator Tony Johnson joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week, as they try to get to the bottom of just why 2025 has been the best start to a Super Rugby season in living memory. And it’s not an easy question with one simple answer. It’s not just that all the Australian team are competitive. It’s not just that anyone can beat anyone on any give weekend. It’s not just that the demise of the Melbourne Rebels has boosted depth in other...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 19
The Bulls toppling the traveling Leinster at Loftus and the NSW Waratahs notching their first win over the ACT Brumbies in 14 starts were the headlines for Brett McKay & Harry Jones to launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Plenty of surprises too! Quins won their first London Derby in a good while, Panasonic lost a second straight game for the first time ever in League One guise in Japan, and the Stormers scored a try against Scarlets that just has to be se...
Mar 23, 2025•42 min•Season 2Ep. 18
Brett McKay & Harry Jones were thrilled to welcome NSW Waratahs flyhalf Tane Edmed onto the show for this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, in which Tane conducted a proper Goal-Kicking 101 for the guys that right into the details about his process and ball placement, and even detail like ball set-up and tee height. If you’re a goal-kicking nerd, this is definitely the chat for you. Tanes also shared his experience playing NPC rugby for North Harbour in New Zealand in the back h...
Mar 19, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 17
France have been crowned Six Nations Champions for 2025, headlining the final Test Match edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast until the July Internationals. Brett McKay & Harry Jones take a look at all the Round 5 results, in which England continued their resurgence toppling Wales, and Ireland were left to ponder the what-ifs as they did enough to beat Italy. Plus, there were some emphatic statement wins in Super Rugby Pacific (the Blues aren’t done yet), and a ...
Mar 16, 2025•46 min•Season 2Ep. 16
France blew the 2025 Six Nations tournament apart when they thumped Ireland last weekend in Dublin, and the fallout is still fresh in the mind of former Ireland international turned renowned pundit Bernard Jackman, who joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The 15-point margin largely flattered Ireland, with Bernard glowing in his praise for the French team, honest in his own underestimations of Les Bleus, and clear still very disappointed ab...
Mar 13, 2025•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 15
An upsetting weekend of rugby was headlined by France triumphantly turning the Six Nations on its head, as Riaan Louw joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on this week’s Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Ireland were thumped at home and now have to answer serious questions; the Brumbies, Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika brought the upsets to Super Rugby Pacific, and one URC Shield has been handed out already? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SixNations #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #MLR...
Mar 09, 2025•49 min•Season 2Ep. 14
The biggest rugby match of 2025 will almost certainly decide this year’s Six Nations tournament, when Ireland host France in Dublin this weekend. The Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, where all the weeds were got into for this blockbuster clash. France have gone down the 7-1 bench split route again, but in doing so have named a bench that almost literally weighs a tonne. Ireland have the benefit of playing a ma...
Mar 06, 2025•55 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Another high-scoring round of Super Rugby Pacific is set to a backdrop of Gene Hackman films, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. And there were URC shocks! Edinburgh winning in Limerick, the Stormers silencing the wet Bulls at Loftus, and Ospreys breaking a nine-year duck in Glasgow. Tables are tightening up across the board! Plus: what caught our eye from the Top 14 in France, Japan Rugby League One, and Major League Rugby i...
Mar 02, 2025•41 min•Season 2Ep. 12
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes to feed a hungry crowd at a major stadium? Managing Director of Twickenham Experience, Nils Braude, let Brett McKay & Harry Jones behind the curtain in this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Covering everything from your typical stadium fare to partnering with street food vendors, right up to Michelin star hospitality catering in Twickenham’s famed East Stand, and all the sheer numbers that go with it: hundreds of thousands of pints o...
Feb 26, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Lighter, whiter shades of playing kit reigned supreme in Week 3 of the Six Nations, and it’s another weekend of high scores in Super Rugby Pacific, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Did Ireland take Wales easy in Cardiff? Were Wales actually very, very good under new coach Matt Sherratt? Has Fabien Galthié made life very difficult for himself at the selection table? And did England really cop criticism for the way they won b...
Feb 23, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 10
Sandwich tales, a great Australia start to Super Rugby Pacific, and the return of the Six Nations has Stan Sport commentator Sean Maloney excited, joining Brett McKay & Harry Jones in this week’s milestone episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. In the 8-9 Combo’s 50th guest episode and 100th overall, the guys compare Harry’s sandwich in a pub in Limerick with Seanny’s extraordinary SuperBowl smoked meat fare, and make everyone hungry, before celebrating the Australian teams start to 2025 to...
Feb 19, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Last minute wins and a Grand Final get-square headlined the first weekend of Super Rugby Pacific, while successive Zebre upsets is the talk of the URC, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The ACT Brumbies took a team laden with debutants to Fiji and did what no Australian team had done before, Munster was most comfortable at home for Harry’s very poetic Irish long weekend, and the Sharks overcame being down to 12 at one point ...
Feb 16, 2025•38 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Curious selections for the opening weekend of Super Rugby Pacific, the French Six Nations fallout, and it’s a second attempt at life post-Warren Gatland in Wales, as Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones in this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. An already accomplished rugby columnist, Geoff Parkes provides some wonderful perceptions into Super Rugby for 2025, as well as delving into his writing processes that delivered two books over the Australian summer: 'A Year in th...
Feb 12, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Undefeated and ominous-looking Ireland now lead the Six Nations Championship after two rounds in 2025, but England’s late win over France will remain a talking about for a while yet, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Scotland showed some but not enough grit before going down to Ireland at Murrayfield, England’s 80th minute winner to beat France by 1 will keep Twickenham Man happy for weeks, and Italy were just way too good f...
Feb 09, 2025•39 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Last week was all about the Seven Deadly Sins within the Six Nations, and for the bumper second round of matches it’s Crime & Punishment. Brett McKay & Harry Jones take a look at three individually intriguing games for the latest episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. It is, of course, a round with three really interesting matchups, and three games that could go either way. But punishment looms in all three contests, too. Are Wales at rock-bottom with another loss? Can Italy cope with f...
Feb 06, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The Six Nations Championship has begun for 2025, with France and Ireland laying down statement wins in Round 1, providing Brett McKay & Harry Jones with the perfect platform to kick off the new Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. France were completely dominant in their 43-0 win over hapless Wales in Paris on Friday night, with Scotland’s 31-19 win over Italy in Edinburgh, and Ireland’s patient 27-22 win over England in Dublin completed the opening weekend with bonus points ...
Feb 02, 2025•35 min•Season 2Ep. 4
There are many deadly sins on the rugby field, but just which of the Seven Deadly Sins broadly apply to the Six Nations teams was pondered by The Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan, who joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for the latest episode of second season of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Harry, of course, has committed most of those deadly sins on the rugby field, but he was intrigued with the idea of applying the Seven Deadly Sins to each of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy an...
Jan 29, 2025•1 hr 37 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Growing the game globally while at the same time making it sustainable are the big challenges for the new Chair of World Rugby, Brett Robinson, who joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for the first weekly episode of second season of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. Following on from his predecessor, Sir Bill Beaumont – who was the first guest at the very start of the 8-9 Combo, back one year ago – Brett Robinson outlines his vision for the game over the next four years, why the tweaks to the Laws o...
Jan 22, 2025•1 hr 24 min•Season 2Ep. 2
The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast is back for a massive year of rugby in 2025, and Brett McKay & Harry Jones are here with all the details of what to expect this year. The short summary: more Great Rugby Chats every week! They’ll cover it all: the Six Nations, a revamped Super Rugby Pacific, the United Rugby Championship, the Premiership in England, the Top 14 in France, the European Champions Cup, Japan Rugby League One, Major League Rugby in the States, and then – the British & Irish Lions T...
Jan 21, 2025•11 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Brett McKay and Harry Jones delved into The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast archives one last time for the summer, to pull together some of the best bits from some of their favourite guests from more than forty weekly guest episodes in 2024. Guest highlights include Matt To’omua, Riaan Louw, Sean Maloney, Tony Johnson, Kevin Foote, Andrew Kellaway, Gareth Whittaker, Brett Cronan, Jamie Wall, James Slipper, and Charlie Morgan. See you soon for Season 2 in 2025! Social media: #89Combo Twitter: https://twi...
Jan 15, 2025•53 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Brett McKay and Harry Jones delve into The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast archives to share and celebrate their favourite Cheers & Jeers from the start of more than forty weekly guest episodes in 2024. Featuring non-speaking guest appearances by Charlie Morgan, Sam Larner, Riaan Louw, Laurie Fisher, Cam Sheppard, Harry Wilson, Sean Maloney, Jamie Wall, rugby mascots, and all our wonderful guests in 2024. See you back in 2025! Social media: #89Combo Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo YouTube: http...
Dec 12, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 91
Brett McKay and Harry Jones come together on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast for one last time, to wrap up the 2024 rugby year in one big go – by asking simply, ‘How do we sum up 2024 for…?’ each of the top eight international teams: South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Argentina, Scotland, England, Australia. But to do that, somehow, the summary is set in the Wild West! Find out who the outlier church is, who the questionable brothel, who is the gunslinger with the hired goons, and who is th...
Dec 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 90
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into the final Test Match post-mortem of the year with no more thought than usual, with this week's fulltime focus on Ireland’s patience and Australia’s frustrations in the 22-19 result at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, to wrap up the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours for 2024. A wonderful, gripping contest came from some seriously scrappy rugby – and curious officiating – and that only exaggerates Ireland’s relief, while simultaneously driving the Wallabies frus...
Nov 30, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 89
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the final Games of the Week for 2024, incorporating the final match of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours between Ireland and Australian in Dublin, and which will put Joe Schmidt and his gameplan up against his former assistant Andy Farrell and the same gameplan in what will be a fascinating contest. The United Rugby Championship and the English Premiership are both back this week too. Does Schmidt and the Wallabies have one last performance up their slee...
Nov 28, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 88
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Irish sportswriter and playwright Patrick McCarry to look back over the final full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, and then to cast an eye forward to the final international fixture for 2024 this weekend coming, when Ireland host Australia at the Aviva in Dublin this Saturday. The Irish haven’t had the smoothest of time through this Autumn Nations, and have had to make adjustments to the new Law Variations in play, but...
Nov 26, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 87
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into another Test Match post-mortem without much thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on Scotland’s gritty 27-13 win over Australia at a chilly Murrayfield in Edinburgh, the wrap up the final full weekend of Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours. In a game that would have been a statement win for either side, it was the Scots who maintained their shape, their discipline, and their excellent defence to see off the Wallabies, and with it, another shot at a...
Nov 24, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 86
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the final full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours, the last chance for the Home Nations to save something from the November Tests, and for the southern hemisphere nations to reinforce their claims of global rugby domination. Can Argentina spring one last upset? Can Ireland make one last statement? How much patience is left in Wales? Will New Zealand appease fans at home with a fourth Spring Tour win? Will Scotland blin...
Nov 21, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by incoming New South Wales Waratahs coach Dan McKellar, who has put the disappointment of how his Leicester Tigers gig ended, the strong links to his native Queensland, and his storied history with the ACT Brumbies all behind him to get on with the job of restoring the Waratahs to the force Australian rugby needs them to be. Plus, Brett and Harry also dig into the Wallabies’ super impressive 52-20 thumping of Wales in Cardiff, the first ti...
Nov 18, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into another Test Match post-mortem without much thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on France’s patient 30-29 win over New Zealand in Paris, and South Africa’s well-in-hand 29-20 win over England at Twickenham. Two enthralling contests with lead changes and plenty of drama, and from which there was plenty to talk about straight away – and will be more to talk about for the rest of the week, we’re sure. Social media: #89Combo Twitter: https://twitter....
Nov 16, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the second full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, where the Home Nations in particular will be seeking responses after all suffering losses of varying degrees of hurt the previous round. Pressure is starting to mount in certain team environments, and another loss will only add to some already uncomfortable narratives. How much patience does Twickenham Man have left? Equally though, the SANZAAR nations in particular wi...
Nov 14, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 82
