Ben Smith the self acclaimed 'white battler', who has gone on to be one the the greatest outside backs of this generation. For the Highlanders, he is right up there with the best to ever pull on the Jersey. Playing in Highlanders colours 153 times, which included Co-Captaining them to the 2015 Super Rugby title. He also played a huge part in the All Blacks success in the same year helping them to the RWC victory! Off the field the man they call Bender (not actually for his bender ability) is suc...
Jun 12, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 162
And then there were 4! Semi Final time, with a couple of huge match ups to look forward to! Before we look ahead, we do look back to what was an entertaining round of Quarter Finals. Searley as always joins me and shares his thoughts on the 4 games and some important take aways from those game. We then get into the big ones and preview what we think will happen in these two Semi Finals. We also find some juicy value for you with some powerplays and some other options. And go get amongst the new ...
Jun 09, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 161
There is lads and then there is Naitoa Ah Kuoi! Geez there were some laughs in this one, such a character and such a lad. After his recent post match interview went viral, I had soo many of requests to get this man on and I can tell you now that he does not disappoint. The proud Wellingtonian was a gifted teenager, where he captained NZ in AFL, he was a gun Water Polo player and so good at Rugby, that he made the Wellington College 1st XV at year 10! He chose the rugby path and has not looked ba...
Jun 05, 2022•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 160
Finals Footy is here! We've been pumped for this weekend for ages and now it's finally here! After last weekends disaster round on the picks, it's fair to say Searley and I make it up to you this week with all the information you need to pick the games correctly. We do start with last weeks games though and what a way for the 4 teams who have finished to exit. Huge wins from the Force, Rebels, Moana and an unbelievable effort from the Drua! Like I said, terrible for the picks but great for Super...
Jun 02, 2022•32 min•Season 3Ep. 159
A couple of days after sitting down with Ajeet for a What a Lad episode, he messaged me. He asked if he could come back on and open up about some of his mental health struggles he has had during his tennis career. Never an easy thing to topic to talk about but such an important one. I’m honoured that Ajeet felt comfortable to use the What a Lad platform and I do really hope this episode can help anyone who might be going through something similar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more ...
May 30, 2022•40 min•Season 3Ep. 158
NZs number 1 tennis player Ajeet Rai is on What a Lad this week and it was awesome to get an insight into life as a professional tennis player. Ajeet who started playing at the age of 3 has been committed to becoming the best tennis player he can be throughout his life. Now 23 years old and winning singles and doubles tournaments around the world, he looks to be on the brink of something pretty special. It was really interesting to hear the lifestyle of a tennis player and some of the challenges...
May 29, 2022•1 hr 8 min•Season 3Ep. 155
The last games of round robin are here before we get into the excitement of knockout footy! Heaps to get through in this one with some massive games last week and plenty of success with the tips. Also a huge round for me in fantasy rugby to get me into 2nd so I'll tell you my team to get you to the top. Searley and I also preview all the games for this weekend, give you our winners and players to look out for and most importantly how to make a buck or two. If you enjoy the episode as always give...
May 26, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 157
Dave Porecki is a perfect example of how far you can get when you commit to something and you're willing to make the sacrifices. It was awesome to catch up with Dave who has been consistently putting out world class performances for the Waratahs this season and has forced his way into the Australia squad. A man of routine who boarders on a suffering from serious OCD, Dave has worked hard for everything he has got. I think this is a great episode for anyone who is trying to make it in the game or...
May 22, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Season 3Ep. 153
How good is Super Rugby! Another cracking weekend last weekend and the match ups this weekend make for a very interesting round. For this episode I am joined by the great Searley who is officially joined Swysh ! Huge day for Swysh and Searley go get your left nut bully from him right now. But anyway we review last weeks games and highlight who stood out for us. We then work into the preview where we tips plenty of winners, chat the what a lad power plays and give you an insight into how I'm goin...
May 19, 2022•33 min•Ep. 154
If you've ever wondered what being a punter in American Football is like then this is the episode for you! In this episode I'm joined by James Evans, the 20 year old from Auckland, who is making a name for himself playing College Football for the Indiana Hoosiers. The size of college football in America is mind blowing where they are playing in sold out stadiums of up to 100,000 crazy football fans. On the back of that sort of following comes the money involved with it. Hearing about the facilit...
May 15, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 149
Round 12 provided some magic which in this episode Searley and I will review. We talk about which players and teams stood out for us last week and throw out some loose All Black chat. We also preview all the games for this week, find a bit of value and share some of the what a lad power play options. If you listen to the start of the episode you'll hear how you can win some free Pure Sport CBD products so get amongst that. This episode was sponsored by Swysh, the perfect gift for sport fans – Ch...
May 12, 2022•33 min•Season 3Ep. 152
You all know Mark Telea as one of the most dangerous wingers in rugby. He has the footwork, fend, D and work rate to be one of the greats. There is no doubt he’ll be playing internationally at some point soon, for who is the question? However, what you won’t know much about is Mark Telea the lad. With his Samoan Mum and South African Dad the man they call Mamba has great genetics for rugby. What really stood out for me in this episode was his mindset, the belief in his own ability, the ability t...
May 08, 2022•59 min•Season 3Ep. 151
Geez last week really threw a few spanners in the mixer after the all the Aussie teams impressed. Although it was bad for our tips it is awesome for the competition having really competitive games across the board. This week Searley and I, review all the games from last week and a few players who stood out. For this week, we do our best to find you some winners, highlight some key players and most importantly try to find you some value for the punt. If you enjoy the episode, don't be shy, give i...
May 05, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Craig Newby was someone that I had been told by many as being a seriously good lad and after this episode I can see why! So many good yarns in this one from Craigs playing days, which did see him play for plenty of quality sides including, North Harbour, Otago, The Blues, The Highlanders, Leicester, the NZ 7s side and the All Blacks! While there are a few good stories from on the field, it's the off field antics that you are sure love. Craig has great memory and the stories were endless when it ...
May 01, 2022•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 148
This week we have Jackson Garden-Bachop join us as we preview Round 11 of Super Rugby, which should be a cracker. But first, we look back on last weeks Super Round, as we review all the games and players who stood out for the round. There are plenty of players really putting their hand up for a Black jersey. It was awesome to get in insight from Jacko into some differences between the NZ and Aussie teams and hear which players have impressed him this season. If you enjoy this episode, then pleas...
Apr 28, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 147
There are cruisy people in this world, then there is Izzy from Gizzy! There is not much that phases big Isaia Walker-Leawere and he is one of those guys who just always seems to be having a good time. It was awesome to catch up with a man who is one of NZs most promising locks, who has a real point of difference with this power game and incredible skill set. From growing up on the East Coast of NZ, it's easy to see where Izzy gets his laid back attitude from. It was also cool to hear about how h...
Apr 24, 2022•56 min•Ep. 146
Super Round is here, such a cool concept and an awesome weekend for any rugby fan to get along to or park up on the couch and get some exciting games of Super Rugby in. Interesting round this week with the first cross over games so it'll be good to see where the Aussie form stacks up against the Kiwi teams. So to help Searley and I this week and stop us from being too biased we're joined by the man who knows more about Aussie rugby than anyone on the planet, Mitch Evans from rugby fixation. We p...
Apr 21, 2022•34 min•Season 3Ep. 145
Jimmy Gopperth has had an incredible 19 year rugby career, where he has made a name for himself on both sides of the world. His consistency and his ability to kick his goals in any situation, has made him widely regarded as one of the best NZ imports into the Premiership. However before he made the move overseas, he was responsible of running the cutter for the Wellington and Hurricanes backlines, full of legends of the game. Cullen, Umaga, Lomu just to name a few. He then had a short stint with...
Apr 17, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 144
This week we are lucky enough to be joined by Crusaders coach and goat lad Andrew Goodman, who joins Searley and I for another cracking week of Super Rugby. There has been some great games of rugby lately and some juicy match ups again this weekend! We start off by reviewing all of last weeks games, including getting Goody's thoughts on the Hurricanes v Crusaders finish. We preview all of the games for this week including potentially the game of the season, the Crusaders vs the Blues. As always ...
Apr 14, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 143
I've never heard anyone ever say anything bad about Simon Hickey as a person. He’s a genuine lad who has had a hell of a footy career to date! An age grade superstar who was playing for Auckland as a teenager, he had a very mature head on him for a kid. He proved that as he then went on to captain the NZ u20s, even starting ahead of the great Richie Mo'unga. He made the Blues side not long after and he even captained Auckland at the age of 20! He then left for France at only 21 years old and spe...
Apr 10, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 142
Round 8 of Super Rugby brings not only another great round of games to look forward to but also another great Super Rugby Review/ Preview show. This time we have convinced the great Marty Banks to join us and share his insight. Also as always we are joined by arguably one of the best tipsters on the planet Searley from Searley Talks Sport. In this episode we review last weeks games and picks, including some of the outrageous stats thrown out there by last weeks guest Jeremy Drake. We look ahead ...
Apr 07, 2022•43 min•Season 3Ep. 141
At just 25 years old, Brett Cameron has had a truely unique career to date. He's won almost everything there is to win in NZ Rugby with Canterbury and the Crusaders. He's even achieved what every NZ player aspires to and has become an All Black. However, even with all that, there is still the feeling that we haven't seen the best of Brett Cameron just yet. Brett has obviously spent a large amount of that career behind the great Richie Mo'unga and in this episode he speaks about the challenges in...
Apr 03, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 139
Another ripper round of Super Rugby ahead for round 7, with plenty of juicy match ups to preview. As always I'm joined by the lad, co-host Searley from searley talks sport. We are even joined for the preview part of the show by a very special guest in Jeremy Drake, who is loves a stat! We start this episode with a bit of self reflection after last weeks shocking round of picks, however, we have picked ourselves up and we have found some absolute specials for you this week. In this episode you'll...
Mar 31, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 140
Conor Gilsenan, the London Irish legend, the reality TV star and one of the biggest lads you'll meet joins me this week on What a Lad. Gilly is a man who has popped up in plenty of other episodes already and with his recent appearance on the UK hit reality TV show 'The Apprentice' now was the perfect time to get him on. However there is a lot more to this mans story than a few weeks on the Apprentice. He had an incredible rugby career which saw him play for all the Ireland age group sides. He th...
Mar 27, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 137
We have a full round of Super Rugby again this week and crowds are back! How good! I'm pumped to see crowds back and I'm sure the players will be too as it brings more intensity to a game so I'm expecting a very exciting round of footy! In this episode you'll hear Searley from Searley talks sport and I review our picks from last week, preview all the games this week (including a player to look out for). We also talk through the What a Lad Power Plays available this week and where we see the valu...
Mar 24, 2022•26 min•Ep. 138
Tom Robinson is one of the real characters in NZ Rugby, so it was awesome to get him on What a Lad and hear some of his classic yarns! Big Tom has had a different pathway to the top to most these days, not playing NZ age group but after going on a serious bulking diet things started to happen pretty quickly. He became an instant legend at the Northland Taniwha and then was picked up by the Blues where his consistent performances saw him lead the side to 2021 Super Rugby Trans Tasman success. But...
Mar 20, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 136
What a shambles round 5 has turned out to be with Covid taking a massive toll on the NZ teams, leaving us with just 4 games for us to preview this week. Unfortunately due to surgery on the lefty, Tom couldn't join us this week. However, the lad and on fire tipster, Searley from Searley talks Sport does and as always brings some great energy and insight. We look back and review what was an outstanding round 4, we also go through some players to look out for this week and find some value with the ...
Mar 17, 2022•23 min•Season 3Ep. 135
Stephen Donald has one of the greatest stories in sport. From a man who copped so much public criticism, he couldn’t even go to the supermarket without hiding his identity. To becoming literally the hero of a nation after kicking the penalty to win the 2011 RWC! The story has been told through the blockbuster movie, ‘The Kick’, which was all based around the famous call up to the All Blacks leading up to the RWC final. However what you’ll hear in this episode is the whole story before that event...
Mar 13, 2022•1 hr 25 min•Season 3Ep. 134
For this weeks Swysh Super Rugby Preview, we are lucky enough to be joined by the man who tipped out the Drua last week Searley, from award winning podcast Searley talks sport. He joins our usual co-host Tom Marshall as we look back to last weeks round and look ahead to what's to come. Some good match ups this weekend and we we're all pretty similar in what we are thinking. As usual we have highlighted some players to watch so look out for them to star and we talk about the blow out that's happe...
Mar 10, 2022•31 min•Season 3Ep. 133
Richie Mo'unga is without a doubt one of the best players in the game and somehow even a better lad! It was awesome to get one of the greats on the Swysh What a Lad podcast and go through his journey. From a young kid who always believed he would get to where he is, I loved hearing the mindset that Richie has had on his way to the very top. After missing out on the NZ schools team, a set back he struggled with at the time. He now looks back at that miss selection, as a 5 time Super Rugby winner ...
Mar 06, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 132
