The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast

TV's Michael Atkinson, from Stan Sport and the Nine Network joins Brett McKay on our brand new offering, the AUS Rugby scene, for a look back on another round of Super Rugby Pacific dominated by the form of the NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies. Somethings are hard to keep a lid on, right? The Brumbies just put 50 on the Crusaders in Christchurch, and the Waratahs won well over Drua despite leaving a similar scoreline on the field. And it all makes for an interesting view on the Queensland Reds this weekend, who are still theoretically the best team in Australia. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #SuperRugbyPacific Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riaan Louw joins Brett McKay on 8/9 Rugby this week, for a look back on the first three rounds of what has already been an extraordinary Six Nations tournament. Ireland, a team running on old legs and in desperate need of refresh two weeks ago are suddenly giant killers (who might still need a refresh), and England, a team who just two weeks ago were celebrating 12 straight wins, now look like they might never win again! Wales nearly pulled off a stunning win over Scotland, and France were comfortable over an Italian team sporting sweet-looking bomber jackets. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #internationalrugby #SixNations #Ireland #France #England #Scotland #Italy #Wales Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Novelist and weekly author of The Wrap Geoff Parkes joins Brett McKay for a look back at first round of Super Rugby Pacific and all the surprises that came with it, on the latest episode of a brand new offering from 8/9 Rugby: the AUS Rugby scene. And it wasn't without blemish, with the powers that be declaring on Monday morning a try should not have been awarded that was. In Round 2 this weekend, there is bounce-back factor in several games, while the teams that did win now have to back that performance up. Also, Brett and Geoff run you through what to expect on 8/9 Rugby on Substack, the new publishing venture they set up over the Australian summer. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #SuperRugbyPacific #89RugbyonSubstack Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pat McCarry joins Brett McKay on 8/9 Rugby this week, to take a look at the fallout last weekend's Six Nations results and another Calcutta Cup victory for Scotland, as well as a sneak peak to what's coming for Round 3 this weekend. Seemingly, Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has sorted his immediate future once again just by beating England. Ireland overcame a dogged and certainly no longer the easybeat Italy, and France beat Wales as you do. This weekend? It's all eyes on Twickenham, where England's reaction to a loss needs to be better than Ireland's conviction that they're getting better. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #internationalrugby #SixNations #Ireland #France #England #Scotland #Italy #Wales Pat McCarry's Dirt Trackers Rugby Substack: https://dirttrackersrugby.substack.com/ Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean Maloney from Stan Sport joins Brett McKay to finalise preparations for the first round of Super Rugby Pacific which starts this weekend, on the latest episode of a brand new offering from 8/9 Rugby: the AUS Rugby scene. And they have declared that surely 2026 has to be the year an Australian team goes all the way through to the Super Rugby Final! ‘A long time between drinks' only tells part of the story. The new season does shape as an intriguing one, however, with five match-ups in this weekend's opening round that could be anything. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #SuperRugbyPacific #ACTBrumbies, #NSWWaratahs #QueenslandReds #WesternForce Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Huw Griffin joins Brett McKay on 8/9 Rugby this week, for a look back at last weekend's Six Nations results and to ponder the already shifting narratives for Round 2 this weekend. Already, we has to ask if we're all maybe underestimating Italy? And how do Scotland have so much ball and not make one line break? France were excellent over a jury's-very-much-still-out Ireland, and undoubtedly, England should have beaten Wales by a lot more. HG Rugby on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@HuwGriffinRugby #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #internationalrugby #SixNations #Ireland #France #England #Scotland #Italy #Wales Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ben Darwin from Gain Line Analytics joins Brett McKay for a Super Rugby Pacific preview, launching the brand new offering from 8/9 Rugby: the AUS Rugby scene. And with pre-season predictions a mug's game at the best of time, Ben's ability to dig into and find meaning in the numbers is a great insight. So with Round 1 just over a week away, it's interesting to look at the squads in terms of experience – with perhaps some surprising results – and to look closer at everyone's draw and see who really does have a good draw this season. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #SuperRugbyPacific #ACTBrumbies, #NSWWaratahs #QueenslandReds #WesternForce Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Charlie Morgan joins Brett McKay to get 8/9 Rugby underway for 2026, and what better way to begin another year of Great Rugby Chats than to preview the upcoming Six Nations championship. And after injuries seem to been the story of the build-up, days out from the first match we start wondering about the rise of England, whether France are still in last year's holding pattern of FRA, and just what is actually happening with Ireland? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #internationalrugby #SixNations #Ireland #France #England #Scotland #Italy #Wales Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and we're doing more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay outlines the evolution of 8/9 Rugby, and what's in store for 2026. TLDR: the Great Rugby Chats resume this week! The long list of guests will rotate through the co-host chair every week across two programs: the same 8/9 Rugby you know and love with guests from all around the rugby world, and the brand new AUS Rugby scene, focussing primarily on Australian rugby and Super Rugby Pacific And do check out 8/9 Rugby on Substack! Great rugby writers and opinions you know well, and the exclusive new home of ‘The Wrap', Geoff Parkes' well read and highly regarded weekly column. It's all happening for 8/9 Rugby in 2026, and we hope you're part of the discussion on video, on the pods, and now in written form, too. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Rugby #89RugbyonSubstack #internationalrugby #SixNations #SuperRugbyPacific #ChampionsCup #Premiership #UnitedRugbyChampionship #URC #Top14 #LeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #MLR RECAP: revisit Harry's 8/9 Combo December 2025 announcement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LG1xmZlB4 Find us on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever else you get your podcasts Social media: search for ‘8/9 Rugby' on Twitter, Bluesky, and we're trying to do more on Instagram, too And please do check out and subscribe to 8/9 Rugby on Substack: https://89rugby.substack.com/ Find Brett on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport Music: "Up Above" by Letter Box (via YouTube Creator Studio) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones come together for one last time on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast, to wrap up more than 300 episodes as a duo over four wonderful years. From their humbles beginnings on The Roar, Brett and Harry formed the 8/9 Combo and went large, catering for rugby fans all over the rugby world, with great discussion and banter with each other and almost a hundred wonderful guests, slick analysis and reaction, the occasional dodgy connection, and plenty of laughs every week. If you've watched and listened from the start, or you've only found the 8/9 Combo recently, the message is the same: Thank you. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo 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

After more than 300 episodes together over four brilliant years, Brett McKay & Harry Jones share some news about The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast. But it might not be the end, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions as to what comes next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean Maloney joins Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast, fresh from the SVNS World Series circuit rolling from Dubai to Cape Town, and ready to wrap up the rugby year for the SANZAAR nations. There's the Springboks' disgusting embarrassment of playing depth riches, there's the All Blacks' surprising and maybe infuriating conservatism, there's the Wallabies sending flowers but then not showing up at the in-laws, and then there's Argentina, who might just be timing their run to the 2027 RWC beautifully. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

It's the final Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, with Brett McKay and Harry Jones running the rule over South Africa's big win over Wales in Cardiff to wrap up the Autumn Nations and November Tests. In a game played largely for the Welsh Rugby coffers, the Springboks have inflicted a record loss at home on the Welsh, running in eleven tries in none in a completely dominant win. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast by prolific rugby YouTuber Huw Griffin for a review of the Autumn Nations Series and November Tests, where the guys plot whose October expectations are very different to the end of November feelings. And then there's the World Rugby Team of the Year announced this week, where after having no huge objections to the XV as selected, the guys ponder which three changes they'd be inclined to make. What does Brett have against Harry Wilson? Can Harry narrow down to one Argentinean back three player? And how many fullbacks does Huw really need? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

A very different and very short Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, with Brett McKay giving a quick run through the two biggest games in Harry Jones' convenient Springboks celebration-shaped absence on the ground in Dublin. And it was two intriguing contests for very different reasons. South Africa dominant in their win, but Ireland somehow staying in a contest they maybe had no right to, and Australian left to lament a 15pt loss to France that was only that wide because of what they did to themselves in what was probably still their best performance of the November Tests. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Riaan Louw joins Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast once again as the Autumn Nations Series and November Tests reaches its penultimate weekend of a series that feels like it's been going for longer than it has. And there's so much to talk about in the rugby world suddenly! Are we seeing a changing of the guard in the Six Nations? Is there a chance of an upset anywhere this weekend coming? Do the World Rankigns feel about right? And who will possibly beat our presumptive favourite Ox Nche to a well-deserved World Player of the Year gong? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back for another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, after another big Saturday of Autumn Nations Series and November Tests in the norf'. An outstanding match in London, in which England really have upset the world rugby order after their impressive defeat of New Zealand, 14- and at a time 13-man South Africa got home over Italy in a weird game in Turin, Wales have scraped home over an unlucky Japan in Cardiff, and about the only positive from the Wallabies thrashing from Ireland in Dublin was that an Australian fullback nabbed a hat-trick inside half an hour. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Charlie Morgan once again joins Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast as the Autumn Nations Series and November Tests heads into what looks like the most intriguing weekend of matches so far. Three of the six matches really stand out: England v New Zealand in London and Ireland v Australia in Dublin both on Saturday, followed by Scotland v Argentina in Edinburgh on Sunday. All three look intriguing as match-ups, it feels like there's an upset somewhere, and the rankings implications for RWC seedings are clear - even if the situation for Australia is perhaps a bit better than many think. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

South Africa have overcome a red card and France in Paris, Italy has conquered Australia again, and Scotland were just one Damien McKenzie away from history against New Zealand, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones pull it all apart on the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The second weekend of Autumn Nations Series and November Internationals has thrown up some engrossing performances, if perhaps predicted results, and there is plenty to discuss as always. Will France learn their lessons from the 2023 RWC now? Did the Springboks play better with 14? Surely the Wallabies have to make adjustments now, after their most disappointing capitulation of 2025? And did Scotland just underline ongoing issues for New Zealand? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast after one of them went missing temporarily in Chicago, and they've teamed up with Martin Devlin from the DSPN in New Zealand for a look back on the Ireland-All Blacks game at Solider Field. What was it that clicked on the hour for NZ? How did Ireland lose control of the match so quickly? And what on earth was going on with the set-up? No referee comms in the stadium, no TMO replays and decision on the big screens, and the pièce de resistance, the sight of referee and ARs having to go and watch replays on a sideline monitor. As big Martin thinks the All Blacks problems might be, the 2031 RWC in the US is only eight years away. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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

Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast after an enjoyable late-season break, and they've used their first pod in three weeks to catch up on one family holiday and several intriguing current rugby matters. Namely, how was Brett's trip to Japan? How much of the famed 8/9 travel budget is left? (Spoiler: not much) How have the Stormers started the URC so well? How on earth did the URC Judicial process suspend Jan-Hendrik Wessels for so long with so little corroborating evidence? What is the Welsh equivalent of Suntory or Toshiba? And most importantly, how will these fascinating November Internationals impact 2027 RWC seedings? It's all in this week's Ep. Make sure you hit Subscribe! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #NovemberTests #AutumnNationsSeries #SouthAfrica #NewZealand #Ireland #France #England #Argentina #Australia #Scotland #Fiji #Italy #Wales #Japan 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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With the rugby world taking a little break in the international calendar, Brett & Harry have taken this little window to revisit some of their favourite episodes from The Rugby Championship. This week, a look back at the week following Australia's historic win over South Africa in Johannesburg, with Riaan Louw joining the show to recall all the ways he and Harry were wrong about the Ellis Park clash as they sat amongst the crowd inside the great stadium. Equal parts awkward and hilarious. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the rugby world taking a little break in the international calendar, Brett & Harry have taken this little window to revisit some of their favourite episodes from The Rugby Championship. This week, a look back at our TRC Post-Mortem following the Wallabies famous – infamous, for some – victory over the Springboks at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, snapping a streak that went back more than 60 years, and which has so far proved to be a high point for Australia in 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rugby Championship has been run and won for 2025, but the real question would seem to be has it been run and won forever? Rugby writer and author Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder that very question. And as a way to wrap up The Rugby Championship properly for 2025 (but maybe forever), Harry sat a couple of homework tasks before this week's chat, namely: 1. Was that the last ever TRC? 2. If this was the last TRC, how will the TRC be recalled? 3. Who from each of the 4 teams whose TRC performance exceeded your expectations? And.. 4. When did each team look their best, and why they all had at least one shitty game. It all makes for a substantive, meaty, profound way to the conclude the TRC. Maybe forever. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

The All Blacks have swept the Bledisloe Cup series, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones pull it all apart in another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. A relatively even first half contest looked more comfortable than perhaps it was, courtesy of two late tries, before the Wallabies cruelled their own second half with silly mistakes, skill errors, and poor decision-making, leaving them and Australian fans to contemplate the what-ifs for yet another year. And because the WiFi gods worked against us, and we recorded several hour after both games, there's a good wrap-up of what turned out to be a surprisingly close match between Los Pumas and the Springboks at Twickenham. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

It's the final round of The 2025 Rugby Championship this weekend, with a couple of key southern hemisphere matches to be played in Perth and, er… London? Brett & Harry ask the key questions for TRC Rd.6. Can the Wallabies square the Bledisloe Cup series in Western Australia, and can Los Pumas possible bounce back against the Springboks at Twickenham? This week's key questions: Q1. Despite the Horror of Ellis Park, is this South Africa's Rugby Championship to lose? (reckon this is the headline) Q2. Where is Argentina's best chance of an upset? Q3. Who has fared better from Bledisloe injury toll? And is this Tane Edmed's opportunity to nail down no.10 for November? What do you think? We'd love to hear from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Bledisloe Cup decided for another year, but the return Test and The Rugby Championship still very much up in the air, Kiwi rugby journalist Jamie Wall joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to dive deep into the fallout. While the result at Eden Park wasn't so surprising last weekend, the way the All Blacks closed the game out, and the way the Wallabies simultaneously killed off their best Bledisloe chance in many a year went against recent form lines and expectations. While Australian fans are still raging about refereeing decision, New Zealanders are just happy they didn't lose two games on the trot. The contrasts make for yet another Great Rugby Chat™. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas, #BledisloeCup 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

The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup for another year, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones feel like the nine-point margin was about right on another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. New Zealand started sharply and looked ominous early on, before Australia swing momentum and reduced the halftime margin to just three points. After the break and in the end, it will be another case of Wallabies errors and missed opportunities to rue, with crucial mistakes killing off any chances of yet another famous comeback win. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

Global CEO of Rhino Rugby equipment Reg Clark joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to get into the weeds about a rarely-thought, but crucial part of the modern game: the humble tackle bag. Rhino Rugby are perhaps the dominant player in the technical training equipment game, supplying so many national unions and the British & Irish Lions with crash pads, training aids, and scrum machines. In 2025, they're also supplying South African rugby with their match balls, which are currently making their debut in The Rugby Championship. It's a fascinating chat, you'll discover something you didn't know, we're quite sure. Plus, Brett and Harry run the rule over Round 5 of the tightest TRC ever, which this weekend includes maybe the most highly anticipated Bledisloe Cup opener in years. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas, #RhinoRugby, #rugbytraining, #rugbyballs 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

We keep saying The 2025 Rugby Championship is the tightest one yet, and so it remains after four rounds. Everyone has two wins and two losses. Everyone has won and lost at home, everyone has won and lost away. Brett & Harry ask the key questions in this TRC week off before we resume for Round 5 next weekend. But how will Australia and New Zealand bounce back after stinging losses? And how confident are Argentina and South Africa right now? This week's key questions: Q1. How deep is the Wallabies fallout from the Argentina loss in Sydney? Q2. Is it nearly as deep as the All Blacks fallout from the Boks loss in Wellington? Q3. Everyone has two wins + two losses. Who wins the TRC from here? What do you think? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rugby Championship is officially nuts. After four rounds, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, amd Argentina all have four wins. Brett McKay and Harry Jones try to make sense of it all on another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. In Sydney, Los Pumas scored the two point-win they perhaps should have claimed a week ago, though Australia now lead the tournament courtesy of double bonus points in a loss and the worst forward pass miss in a long time. In Wellington, the Springboks handed the All Blacks a thumping that didn't just eclipse their worst loss on home soil, they more than doubled it. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

If the 2025 Rugby Championship is the tightest one yet, Round 4 this weekend looms as the hardest to pick yet. Australia and Argentina have both rung the changes to their teams, forced and not, New Zealand appear to have beefed up their pack but snuck a debutant on the wing, and South Africa have named such a young side that Rassie may well be now operating two RWCs ahead. Brett & Harry ask the key questions ahead of this weekend's 4th Round of TRC matches in Sydney and Wellington. Can Argentina bounce back from the heartbreak of Townsville? How much do South Africa have left to find a win in NZ? And could we finish the weekend with everyone on two wins? This week's key questions: Q1. If NZ were to be beaten, why would it happen? Q2. If OZ were upset, what's likely reason? Q3. Of those two upsets, which likeliest in your opinion? What do you think? We'd love to hear from you! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is officially the tightest Rugby Championship anyone can remember and former Argentinean centre Marcello Bosch joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to flip a coin in an attempt to work out what happens this weekend in Round 4. Certainly, the rise of the Wallabies has helped, but the rise of Los Pumas cannot be ignored in that conversation. Marcello can't be more impressed with the evolution of Argentina under Felipe Contepomi, and believes there's no coincidence that the lift in form from both Argentina and Australia can be traced back to Irish influences on their respective coaches. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

The Wallabies have found another comeback win and the All Blacks' Eden Park fortress remains intact and impenetrable, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones delve into another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. In Townsville, the Wallabies came from 21-7 down at halftime, and turned down three penalty attempts after the final siren to find an 86th winner, to beat Argentina 28-24 in the north Queensland sunshine, while the All Blacks did everything right early to lead 14-0, holding on for dear life as South Africa threw everything at them in the second half to no avail, winning 24-17 in Auckland. Two proper Test Matches, make no mistake, and no guarantees for the return Round 4 next weekend. Features an Eden Park cameo from friend of the pod, Jamie Wall! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

Former Queensland and Wallabies captain James Horwill joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder the tightest start to The Rugby Championship anyone can remember. The Wallabies, Los Pumas, All Blacks and Springboks all head into Round 3 of the TRC with one win apiece, and as we enter the second block of matches in Australia and New Zealand, it's hard to pick which, if any team is ready to follow-up their service break with another win. Could we finish this block with everyone of two wins? It's not out of the question at all. Plus, James offer some great insight upfront into rugby captaincy, and how he learned on the run, and how it's already different now to when he finished playing. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

Not too many people ride the Wallabies highs and lows quite like Sean Maloney, and the great Stan Sport/Nine Network Australian commentator joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to relive all the extremes of the Wallabies opening to The Rugby Championship for 2025 in South Africa. The memorable Ellis Park win has completely shifted the narrative on the Wallabies, to the extent that the loss in Cape Town may have even enhanced it, for the way they were able to nullify the might of the Springboks at times. Wallabies fans will love this chat, but rugby fans in general will love this chat too, because at some point, we've been through what Australian rugby fans are currently experiencing. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

All is not well in Springbok Nation despite squaring the series with the Wallabies, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones delve into another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, after South Africa accounted for Australia 30-22 at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town. Yes, the ‘Boks got the win, and yes, there was a reaction, but its level of convincingness will vary among the Springbok faithful. A Wallabies side besieged with injuries throughout the wet-weather contest on the Cape has kept South Africa to three tries while posting another three themselves, with the boot of Handre Pollard the main difference. In truth, the result will leave both teams walking away annoyed they didn't convert more opportunities. Oh, and now it's totally OK to sign autographs in the middle of a Post-Mortem recording! That actually happened! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

Riaan Louw joins the 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast and the therapist is in! Riaan and Harry delved into all the ways they were wrong about the Bok-Wallabies game at Ellis Park last weekend, while Brett McKay just sat back and enjoyed it all. But that means there will be some degree of reaction in the return match in Cape Town, where Harry comes to you from, and where both South Africa and Australia have been forced into changes. Surely South Africa won't lose two in a row at home, will they? Surely?! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

The Wallabies shock win over the Springboks at Ellis Park didn't just break a 62-year drought, it's completely thrown The Rugby Championship on its' head for 2025. But it surely isn't over already? Is it? Brett & Harry ask the key questions ahead of this weekend's 2nd Round of TRC matches in Cape Town and Buenos Aires. What sort of reaction will we see from the South Africans? And can Argentina bounce back against New Zealand? This week's key questions: Q1. Is TRC already over; are we just pretending like in SRP? (Brett) Q2. Rassie's public statements: right note? (Harry) Q3. Last week we thought NZ back row looked a bit weird - did it kind of work? (Brett) What do you think? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rugby Championship is underway for 2025, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones have fired up the TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, after the Wallabies shock 38-22 win over the Springboks at Ellis Park, Johannesburg. Australia's first win in Jo'burg since the 1960s will rank as one of the biggest Test rugby upsets of the professional era, and certainly the most incredible Wallabies comeback. From 22-0 down after just 19 minutes, Australia piled on six tries and 38 unanswered points to record a stunning Bonus Point win to kick off The Rugby Championship, with the result leaving huge implications for World Rankings, and 2027 RWC seedings later this year. It's the most unexpected of wins. This wasn't supposed to happen. Wallabies fans still aren't sure if it did. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas 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

The first weekend of The Rugby Championship is here, and Australia, Argentina, and New Zealand have finally named their teams, roughly 10 days after Rassie Erasmus dropped his South African selection. Brett & Harry ask the key questions going into this weekend's all-important first round – with the Springboks hosting the Wallabies in Johannesburg, and Los Pumas hosting the All Blacks in Cordoba. This week's key questions: 1. Harry – Have the Wallabies created a problem for themselves if injury strikes at the worst time, with no backup 10 on the bench? 2. Brett – Montoya, Matera, Kremer, Mallia, Tetaz Chapparo, Petti, Gonzalez, Carreras, 500 caps between them - but is this one of the youngest Los Pumas teams we've seen in a TRC match? 3. Harry – Depth is an absolute necessity: has NZ built enough in the back five of the pack when inevitable injury strikes? What do you think? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

All eyes on the TRC! With the British & Irish Lions 2025 Tour of Australia well and truly behind us, the international rugby world now turns to The Rugby Championship which begins this weekend, with Brett McKay & Harry Jones launching an 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast into the competition opener in Johannesburg. The world champion South Africans are unbackable favourites – despite anything Harry says – for another southern hemisphere title, and have picked a big, fast team to face Australia at Ellis Park. How will the Springboks open their account after a month off? How will the Wallabies lift from the Lions Series defeat? And how have Argentina ensured New Zealand will have a far from easy time in the second game in Córdoba? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

The British & Irish Lions have bid farewell to their 2025 Tour of Australia, heading back to the Home Nations with the trophy in their pockets and winning bonuses in their wallets. But with still so much to wrap up from the series Brett McKay & Harry Jones welcomed onto The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast Jonathan Drennan from the Sydney Morning Herald. All the key questions will be asked: which coach is least unhappy? What was the biggest selection gamble or mistake? Which players most epitomised the Wallabies and Lions? And importantly, with a squad named and about to head to South Africa to kickstart The Rugby Championship campaign, how must the Wallabies and Australian rugby build from the Lions Series? #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #British&IrishLions #Lions2025 #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas 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

The Third Lions Test has been run and won, and the series is done now too, and Brett McKay and Harry Jones another Lions Test Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, after the Wallabies finished the series on a high, beating the Lions 22-12 at Accor Stadium in Sydney. After the game was delayed for lightening, the recording suffered both weather and technology issues, and for which you have the 8/9 Combo's apologies. But what you will get is the only reaction podcast recorded on Fulltime at the Stadium, as Harry and Brett go through all the key moments – plus what the Wallabies can now take forward with them into The Rugby Championship in just two weeks' time. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #LionsTour #Wallabies #AllBlacks #France #BritishIrishLions 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

The British & Irish Lions have sealed the Test Series of their 2025 Tour of Australia, winning a Melbourne Cricket Ground thriller in the 80th minute, and all in front of a record crowd for a Lions Test. And with so much to go through it was timely that The Telegraph's Charlie Morgan joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast. And with so many moments to get into and analyse and dissect, Harry also decide this was the week to create the first Rugby Writer's Colloquium, in which he peeled out highlight's Charlie's great analysis this week, and Brett's column for RugbyPass, and read it back to them! But it provided the perfect way to get into so many more of the moments that seem to have been lost in all the debate about whether or not there was a penalty in the last ruck of the match. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #British&IrishLions #Lions2025 #internationalrugby #Wallabies #U20sWorldChampionship 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

Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into the Second Lions Test Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, in which the British & Irish Lions wrapped up the series with a 29-26 win over the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia produced perhaps their best 70+ minutes of rugby every from this playing group, which makes the heartbreaking three-point loss, and with it the series gone, all the more hard to take. The Lions should perhaps feel like they've got away with one, pushed for way longer than any game on tour, and forced into mistakes not seen from them so far. And yet again, Brett & Harry find themselves podding after a Wallabies loss. Do a podcast, they said. It'll be fun, they said. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #LionsTour #Wallabies #AllBlacks #France #BritishIrishLions 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

If the 2025 British & Irish Lions Tour is to follow the 2001 and 2013 scripts, the Wallabies simply must win in Melbourne this weekend to send the series to a decider. The great Jim Tucker joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to contemplate everything the Second Test needs this weekend. The Gods of rugby timings blessed this week's episode with both the Wallabies and Lions team lists mid-recordings, allowing the guys to got through the changes on both sides of the contest and determine what either side needs to do in order to win at the MCG on Saturday night. And for the Wallabies, it's not now a matter of ‘if', but ‘how'. Because they just have to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into the First Lions Test Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast, in which the British & Irish Lions have beaten the Wallabies 27-19 in front of more than 52,000 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The Lions will be annoyed to have been ascendant all game, yet only winning by eight, while the Australian can take plenty of positives out of the First Test, knowing there's some key big bodies to come back into the side. Get Harry's take on the game from afar, while Brett bring the incredible stadium noise into your ears so soon after full time. Plus, some quick thoughts on New Zealand's clean sweep series win over France that was far closer than the history books will show. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #LionsTour #Wallabies #AllBlacks #France #BritishIrishLions 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

We're just days away from the Wallabies v British & Irish Lions Test Match, but why haven't the protagonists on each side emerged yet? Lee Calvert from the Blood & Mud podcast joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to ponder what the series has so far missed. Tidbits about the teams are starting to filter out. The Coach may not pick the Son. Storylines of heartbreak and triumph are emerging, and Exclusives will be claimed. Some will even be actually exclusive. But there is still a treading-water feel about this build-up. Maybe that changes when the teams are announced on Thursday. Games of the Week: • New Zealand v France, Hamilton SAT • Australia v British & Irish Lions, Brisbane • South Africa v Georgia, Mbombela (Nelspruit) • Argentina v Uruguay, Salta • U20s World Championship finals, Italy #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #British&IrishLions #Lions2025 #internationalrugby #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas #U20sWorldChampionship 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

Big scores and statement wins were all the rage, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones pull apart another big weekend of July Internationals on the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The AUNZ XV offered throwback jerseys but not much else to the British & Irish Lions in Adelaide, the All Blacks delivered the obsessive, emphatic result over France the pundits so desperately wanted a week earlier to prove their point, the Springboks were at the innovative best in dispatching Italy, and England completed the two-game sweep of Argentina. Plus, Wales have won a Test Match! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #LionsTour #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #Argentina #England #Italy #France #Wales #BritishIrishLions 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