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 the Chiefs and the ACT Brumbies humbled arch-rivals, the NSW Waratahs, both of them with dominant second halves.
Plus: the finalists are set in League One in Japan and there’s a new conference leader in Major League Rugby in the States.
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #ChampionsCup #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
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44:43
Ep.60 – Who is the most average team in pro rugby?
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 conceded, it could be jersey design, their home ground, the city, their fans… whatever it takes to define the most average team in pro rugby.
Plus, Rugby Australia has finally announced their Joe Schmidt succession plan for the Wallabies. But can they have their coaching cake with Les Kiss and eat it?
Games of the Week:
Champions Cup semi-finals:
Leinster v Northampton, Dublin
Bordeaux v Toulouse, Bordeaux
SRP Round 12: Hurricanes v Chiefs, Wellington
Japan Rugby League One Rd.17: Kubota Spears v Saitama Wild Knights, Tokyo
MLR Rd.12: New England Free Jacks v Houston SabreCats, Quincy MA
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #ChampionsCup #average
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:06:55
Weekend Post-Mortem: Where did those results come from?
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 eye from League One in Japan and Major League Rugby in the States.
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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40:34
Ep.59 – Crusaders are the Blues, Blues are the Crusaders with Jamie Wall
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 just how far they’ve fallen in 2025. The guys try to work the difference from one year to the next for the Blues, look a bit closer at the real health of New Zealand Rugby, and ponder the regular question whether this really in the best season of Super Rugby, ever.
Games of the Week:
• SRP Round 10: Queensland Reds v Blues, Brisbane
• URC Round 16: Glasgow v Bulls, the Scotstoun
• Premiership Round 15: Sale v Saracens, Salford
• Top 14 Round 22: Clermont v Lyon, Clermont
• Japan Rugby League One Rd.16: Shizuoka Blue Revs v Canon Eagles, Shizuoka
• MLR Rd.11: Utah Warriors v Chicago Hounds, Salt Lake City
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #JamieWall
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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1:18:42
Weekend Post-Mortem: Super Point chaos in Perth + Harry’s Munster tales
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 Rugby in the States League One in Japan returns next weekend.
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MLR
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Harry Jones, the grizzly old no.8, and Brett McKay, the unremarkable schoolboy no.9, unite for the short-side set-piece combination you didn't realise you needed in a rugby podcast.
A couple of hosts who came together on a whim in 2022 have become arguably the best - and maybe the only - South African-American-Australian rugby podcast combination in the rugby world, blending the perfect combination of passion, humour, nonsense, and genuine insight. Tune in every week to find out where on earth Harry is podding from, and how on earth Brett keeps it all flowing as they enjoy great rugby chats with an incredible array of guests.