Two English greats back to back! How good! This time I've got the great lad Brad Shields on to take me through his story and what a story it is! Brads a player who I felt was playing well enough to be an All Black for about 3 or 4 years back to back, while consistently putting in dominant performances for the Wellington Lions and the Hurricanes. That moment obviously never came, so to see him end up playing International rugby for England was pretty awesome to see and it's interesting to hear ho...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 2Ep. 71
Not many people know this but todays guest Lewis Moody, is not only an English Rugby great and an absolute lad who is doing amazing things in this world, but he is also my brother in law. So it was awesome to finally get him on What a Lad, to go through his journey to becoming one of the greats. I had so much to talk to Lewis about for this one, obviously he had a very successful rugby career winning Premierships and Heineken cups with Leicester Tigers, winning the 2003 Rugby World cup with Engl...
Mar 07, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 2Ep. 70
The legend of John Hardie joins me for this one and he does not disappoint! Currently with the Newcastle Falcons, Hardsauce is probably better well known as the Scotland international, the Highlander great or arguably the greatest Southland Stag of all time! Not only is he a great player but he is also a great lad, one who has plenty of stories to share from throughout his journey. Hards is also responsible for one of the greatest videos on the internet as he interrupts a news interview so he sh...
Mar 04, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 69
I'm mixing it up a little bit with this one, going deeper in to the very important topic of mental health. For this episode I'm lucky enough to get on Austin Hay, a young English rugby player who has recently had mental health struggles of his own. Austin is a champion lad who was really keen to open up and talk about it, to potentially help anyone else out there feeling the same. Austin aka the Seal is a guy I knew at Irish, as a real friendly bloke who always seemed happy so hearing he got to ...
Feb 28, 2021•52 min•Season 2Ep. 68
With the Joseph Parker fight this weekend, I thought it was a perfect chance to release the Loni Uhila aka The Tongan Bear prank. This prank was done in 2016, just before The Tongan Bear was about to fight the Brown Butterbean on the undercard for a Joseph Parker fight. So we got prank expert Reggie Goodes to call him as someone from Ducco Events, basically to see if we could get him the fight Joseph Parker for 25k. Anyone who knows the Tongan Bear will know he's one of the best characters in th...
Feb 25, 2021•4 min•Season 2Ep. 67
I've held off getting this guest on as long as I could. I know you need to time your big names well, so I think now is a great time to take the podcast global and get on an international sensation, who has the self acclaimed best banter in world rugby, Jebb Sinclair! Jebb has represented Canada at two world cups, he's also represented them on the 7's circuit, he's played Super Rugby with the Stormers, he's won the Curry Cup with the Western Province and he's also a legend of the great club Londo...
Feb 21, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 66
We are back with a prank, it's been a long time! This one was found deep in the archives which takes us back to 2015 when a young Mark Abbot calls Hurricanes forwards coach Richard (hard parts) Watt. The situation for this one was, Watty had flown up to Auckland for an appointment and unfortunately his flight back to Wellington was cancelled due to fog. The Hurricanes had training the next day so Watty decided to hire a car and drive back himself. So we thought it'd be a great chance to jump in ...
Feb 18, 2021•6 min•Season 2Ep. 65
The beauty of a podcast, you think you know someone well, then you sit with them on the podcast and you are absolutely blown away with their story. That is exactly how this episode with the great man Mark Stafford aka Staffy went. Staffy has had an incredible journey to become the face of the TAB and the face of sport here in NZ but he certainly had a few bumps along the way. He shares some mind blowing stories in this episode including one how he died in a car crash but was brought back to life...
Feb 14, 2021•1 hr 34 min•Season 2Ep. 64
In this episode I catch up with the Scotland international and London Irish star, Blair Cowan. I found this an interesting yarn hearing that Blair was someone who never really took rugby that seriously, he just loved playing the game. However when he did play the game he went hard! He has always been a player who just gets stuck into everything and he still is to this day. The man they call Steeve, also talks about the time he missed out on the Scotland RWC squad, which is a real eye opener into...
Feb 11, 2021•1 hr 21 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Man this episode with Robbie Flynn got me good, it is the classic case of talent vs discipline but with so much more to it. Robbie Flynn really should be a household name. He should be known as a rugby player who played at the highest level, with the natural talent that he had. Unfortunately, Robbie blew chance, after chance, after chance, as he struggled with self discipline and like many talented kids, he just kind of expected things to happen. Hearing Robbie talk about his upbringing was incr...
Feb 07, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Many of you will be wondering who is Jacob Atkins? Well I can tell you right now, that he is a very talented rugby player and an absolute Lad who just loves code! Although the man they call Snakob may look like a man coming to the end of his career, he is only just getting started! Still just 23 years young, the kid has been involved with the English Premiership side London Irish, for the past 5 seasons. Snake has a massive work ethic, always trying to improve and is patiently waiting for his ch...
Feb 04, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 60
For the first episode of season 2 I knew I had to get one of the biggest lads in the game on! Good news, I have got one in the form of the absolute lad himself, Marty Banks! Banksy, who has built a cult following throughout his career due to his laddish behaviour and his very recognisable image, with his tall skinny frame and lush curly locks! Not only is he a lad but he's also had an incredible rugby journey which has seen him experience some world experiences that not many players or people ge...
Jan 31, 2021•1 hr 39 min•Season 2Ep. 59
I've just squeezed in an extra episode (solo) before the first episode with Marty Banks is released tomorrow, just to update you all on the plans for What a Lad going forward. In the episode I talk about... Where I'm at with rugby. What I'm up to now. Some of the plans that I have for the podcast. The launch of some what a lad merch. The launch of the website www.whatalad.com If any of the above interests you then have a listen, if not tune in tomorrow for the big one Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Jan 30, 2021•12 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Here we are, the last episode of season 1! For this one I felt the pressure to bring you one of everyones favourite lads and I think I have come up trumps here, with the champion lad and unbelievable player Brad Weber! Brad has had an incredible journey having played for Otago, Waikato, Hawkes Bay, the Chiefs, the NZ 20s, the NZ Maoris and the All Blacks! However, what makes his journey so incredible is that he was dropped from the Otago ITM cup side and he went from having no contract to becomi...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Get ready for this one as the GOAT lad Andrew Goodman joins me, as we go through his journey as well as some classic yarns along the way! Goody in most known for being the Tasman Mako legend he is, having played 55 games, including captaining the side and has also transitioned into coaching them to back to back Premiership titles. He's also spent time in Japan with Honda Heat and Toyota Shuttle and spent 2 years over in Ireland with powerhouse side Leinster. Any one who's been lucky enough to pl...
Dec 13, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 57
In this episode I catch up with the hardest player on this planet to tackle, Ngani Laumape. Unfortunately the audio quality on this episode is not great but Ngani certainly makes up for that with his chat and it was awesome to go through the journey of this powerhouse midfielder. Ngani talks about everything is this episode from his time with the Warriors, his transition to Rugby and he has heaps of good stories from his time in both codes. He has also had his fair amount of setbacks throughout ...
Dec 10, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 56
In this episode I catch up with All Black legend, Aaron Smith. In 2007 both Aaron and I missed out on the NZ u19s and I clearly remember sitting in the room with him afterwards both gutted! Fast forward 13 years and the man is now the most capped All Black number 9 in history with 95 caps, while he's also played 150 games for the Highlanders! Thats not to mention the fact he has also represented the Manawatu Turbos, the NZ Maoris and the North side. It's fair to say there's not many players left...
Dec 06, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Here's a prank from late Super Rugby Aotearoa, where we call one of the best finishers in world rugby, Rieko Ioane. So for this prank, our prank expert Reggie Goodes makes the call, as he is looking to sell more shares in his dodgy adult DVD store, Fiesta Videos. Being a DVD store investment in todays climate is always going to be a tough sell, however, he had obviously just signed up Shaun Stevenson for 43k for 40% of the business so he was feeling pretty confident with the call. For those who ...
Dec 03, 2020•6 min•Season 1Ep. 47
I never thought this day would come, Finlay Christie coming on What a Lad but we did it! It was a pleasure to sit down with this Scotland born legend, as he talks through his pathway to becoming one of the best halfbacks in the country. The man they call Red didn't have your conventional pathway to the top, after starting off as a talented gymnast before switching to rugby basically for the social side of the game. It wasn't until a standout club season down in Christchurch that his career took ...
Nov 29, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 54
In this episode I catch up with the NZ Halberg award winner for the best sporting moment of the year 2017 and potentially the decade Mitchell Hunt. Hunty who was born and raised in Nelson, talks me through his journey which has seen him go on to play for Auckland and the Crusaders. He's also had an outstanding first season with the Highlanders in 2020 and has helped lead the Tasman Mako to yet another final in the Mitre10 cup. Although being born and raised in Nelson, Hunty is a proud North Isla...
Nov 26, 2020•58 min•Season 1Ep. 53
In this episode I catch up with a man very well known for his stories, Hurricanes scrum coach, Dan Cron. Crono has had a pretty unique pathway through the coaching ranks which has seen him involved with teams including the Black Ferns, Northland, Tonga, Samoa, Kubota in Japan and of course the last 10 years with the Hurricanes. Crono is a champion bloke who loves a yarn and he certainly delivers with some classic stories from his career in this episode. He also gives some good insight in to some...
Nov 22, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 52
In this episode I catch up with one of the most talented and most exciting young talents coming through the NZ ranks at the moment, Leicester Fainga'anuku. Leicester was a school boy superstar, he was just like he is today big, strong and fast! However, all his life wanted to play rugby league, loved it and never saw rugby union as an option. As a 15 year old kid, he had a very difficult decision to make, whether he goes to Australia to take a contract with the Sydney Roosters and live his dream...
Nov 19, 2020•53 min•Season 1Ep. 51
With the exciting new partnership What a Lad has formed with Pure Sport CBD, I just had to get on the Co Founder, the self acclaimed journeyman and absolute lad himself, Grayson Hart. So I first met Grayson as an under19 NZ super star, he was one of the true guns in the side, he even started ahead of Aaron Smith. He played for Auckland and the Blues at a very young age and was air marked the next big thing. Hearing from Grayson of the journey leading up to that and through his time in Auckland w...
Nov 15, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 1Ep. 50
For this prank we go back a few years to when current All Black assistant coach John Plumtree was coaching the Hurricanes. Plum had just had a back operation mid season from carrying the side, so we got one of the great doctors, Dr Rogan Joshua to call him to see if he could get him to miss his flight with the team. Both myself and Reggie Goodes were a bit nervous of losing our spot pranking the coach so we handed this one to a very good info committee member, @mkainga who does a great job! As y...
Nov 12, 2020•3 min•Season 1Ep. 48
The king of Blenheim joins me for this one, as I sit down and go through the career of Tasman Mako legend Quentin MacDonald. Although Q has only ever played for one Provincial side in Tasman, he certainly has done the rounds with other teams having played for the Crusaders, the Blues, the Chiefs, NZ Maori, Munster and even 100 games for Oyonnax in France. From a young age you could always tell that he was going to have a very successful career in Rugby and it was awesome to hear about it in more...
Nov 08, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 46
I've said it before but I'll say it again, you can't have a podcast called 'What a Lad' without getting the best lads in the game on! So the lad himself Tim O'Malley was an absolute must! He may not be one of the biggest names I've had on but he certainly is one of the best lads and he has been a massive part of the recent success of the Tasman Mako. As well as the Tasman Mako, the man they call Bruce has also played for the Utah Warriors in America and the NEC Green Rockets in Japan where he's ...
Nov 05, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 45
The setting was perfect, the backdrop of the famous deck which over looks the sea, the shiny new bike just to my right with the sofa seat attached and a cold fortune favours in hand. Podcast settings don't get much better and to share it with Samoan International, Kieron Fonotia one of the real lads in NZ rugby, was special. Big Fonny has had an incredible career having played for the Tasman Mako, the Crusaders, the Ospreys and the Scarlets and he has some absolute classic yarns from his experie...
Nov 01, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 44
In this episode, I catch up with the one of the most promising players coming through the NZ ranks at the moment, young German sensation Anton Segner! Anton who was born and raised in Frankfurt Germany has had a very unique journey! As a big kid, he in love with Rugby the first time he picked up the oval ball. As a young 15 year old, he decided to leave his family and come to NZ as a 6 month exchange student. He made the Nelson College 1st XV and quickly developed into one of NZs best school boy...
Oct 29, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 43
When you've been playing Rugby professionally for the past 15 seasons for teams which include, the Crusaders, the Highlanders, the Chiefs, NZ Maori, NTT Shining Arcs and the All Blacks you're bound to have some stories! It doesn't stop either as our man Isaac Ross is still going strong having recently signed with the Tasman Mako for this seasons Mitre10 Cup. With all those experiences, I was really looking forward to this one and he certainly does not disappoint! After Isaac made the All Blacks,...
Oct 25, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 1Ep. 42
In this episode I catch up with the youngest journeyman in NZ rugby Dan Hollinshead. Dan has played for Bay of Plenty since leaving school and has also had stints with Agen in France, the Coca Cola Red Sparks in Japan as well as being involved with the NZ 7s team, the Chiefs, the Crusaders and the Highlanders. Shedsy has had an eventful career to date with lots of new experiences which he openly shares some great stories about in this episode. He also speaks about some of the hard decisions he h...
Oct 22, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 41
