The Brains Trust - Rugby Pod

The fellas rip into the Stags first up loss to Otago under the roof, look at Countrys win over Otago Country and look ahead to the Stags R2 game vs BOP along with all other rep footy coming up this weekend! 

Scott & Jeremy sink their teeth into the STAGS squad for 2021 and how the season is shaping up after a much improved 2020 campaign.  Town & Country teams are also discussed along with the Southland B & Southland U19 teams upcoming games. 

Wow what a weekend of finals! Man of the moment for Woodlands Kieran Lee joins the lads to discuss that crazy Galbraith Shield final finish.  The lads talk over Wyndham's Ack Soper Shield win over Edendale and Collegiate Captain Daniel Low dials in to talk us through Collegiate's stellar season including Saturdays final win over Mataura.

Star & Stags legend Greg Pleasants-Tate joins the fellas to review and preview the Galbraith Shield semi finals and upcoming final between Woodlands and Star.  The Brains Trust then review and preview the Ack Soper and Gerald Dermody grades as they reach their finale. Grade review previews go in order this week! 

The team are all back on board this week and are joined by Rugby Southland's Dermot Hughes to review all the final round robin action, talk competition structures and formats both this year and moving forward and look ahead to this weekends semi finals in the Galbraith, Ack Soper & Gerald Dermody Shields. 

Waikaka and former Woodlands, Babas forward Ryan Koning joins Scott & Jeremy to talk us through his club footy journey and the lads get stuck into our usual review preview of all the Premier & Division 1 action. Plenty of laughs in this one along with some good rugby chat! 

Woodlands & Stags halfback (15) Liam Howley joins Scott & Jeremy to chew over all the action from June 19th 2021.  The fellas review and preview Premier and Division 1 action and chuck in plenty of banter for good measure.  **Note - please excuse the audio quality from Liams end - the Howley house hold not on the fibre network yet!**

Scott & Jeremy cast their eye over all the action from the Galbraith, Ack Soper & Gerald Dermody action from the 12th of June and look ahead to this weekends footy (19th June) where points tables will really begin to sort themselves out! 

After a long weekend the fellas are back to dissect all the Premier and Division 1 action from games played mid-week before the long weekend as well as the two centenaries which took place. The lads cover off the latest Stags HP squad named in preparation for the NPC and salute John Hardie on a fabulous footy career. 

As the first round comes to an end placings in various grades have been decided.  The fellas look over who has finished where in the Galbraith Shield, Ack Soper Shield and Gerald Dermody Shield, how the formats work and who is looking good for round one with a host of mid-week fixtures and a couple of big centenaries for Marist and Mossburn. 

Waikiwi stalwart Kyle Mckenzie joins Scott and Jeremy on The Brains Trust to provide a look into the Waikiwi Senior set up in 2021 and dissect all the Premier and Division 1 action from the weekend and look ahead to the final round before the competitions split next week. 

Week 5 of Southland club rugby is in the books, Scott Jeremy and Bryce review all the action and look ahead to the second last week of the first round before competitions split into the championship rounds.   

As we get down to the last three weeks of the first round, the race for places in the next round of competitions is heating right up!  Scott, Jeremy and Bryce review all the action and look ahead to some crucial games in Premier and Division 1 this weekend. 

The fellas are back and are joined by POB legend and 2020 Stag Craig “Doofy” Smith to talk all things footy including POB's good start to the Premier competition in 2021. The guys cover off some of the more predictable and surprising features of the season to date and preview all the action for round four this Saturday 8th May.

Scott & Jeremy dissect all the action from week three of Southland Club Rugby in Premier & Division 1. Due to no rugby this weekend there is no preview but the lads come up with a Premier form XV so far and discuss the hot topic of prop struggles in the region. 

Barbarians flanker and 2020 Southland Stag Jacob Coghlan joins The Brains Trust to give a Eastern Northern Barbarians perspective on club footy in Southland after two weeks of the 2021 season.  The fellas review all the week two action, Jacob discusses his experience of stepping into the Barbarians and making the Stags last year and the lads finish by looking ahead to week three this Saturday April 24th. 

Week 1 of Southland Club Rugby for 2021 is in the books.  Scott, Bryce & Jeremy review all the action and preview round 2 fixtures for this weekend, April 17th. 

Scott & Jeremy preview Division 1, Division 2 and Women's grades for the upcoming 2021 Southland club rugby season.  The fellas also have a sneaky look over all Presidents grade teams. 

Scott, Jeremy & Bryce preview all seven Premier teams and the Premier competition overall in Southland club rugby kicking off this Saturday April 10th 2021 

Scott sits down with 2020 Southland Stags Captain Tony Lamborn to talk about his rugby journey, his time in various teams around the world and his experiences leading the Stags to a much improved season last year. Tony also shares his some of his future plans on the footy field. 

Bryce sits down with former Southland Stag and the Prince of Riverton Phil Halder to chat through his journey not only on the footy field but his life and the effect rugby has had on him. 

Season 2 - Episode 1 The Brains Trust is back for 2021 and we kickoff the second season with Stags hooker & former Southland Boys' High School star Flynn Thomas.  Scott sits down for an in-depth chat with Flynn about his rapid rise through the rugby ranks coming out of school and the many highs and lows he has experienced along the way. The trio of Scott, Jeremy & Bryce will be back in the next couple of weeks as we build towards club season kicking off in April. 

For the final time in 2020 Scott, Bryce & Jeremy put on the headphones.  The fellas rip into looking at the M10 Cup semi finals and give predictions for this weekends finals. The lads pick their M10 Cup MVP's, review the full professional rugby year that has been with some highlights and lowlights, and we look ahead to 2021 with some big and bold predictions.  The Brains Trust Rugby Pod will be back bigger and better in 2021 when we rip into the next Southland Club Rugby Season.

Bryce, Jeremy & Scott are back this week for an in-depth footy chat. 4min ABs review 23min Stag Day 33min Stags Otago review 43min M10 Cup WK 10 preview and predictions 55min Alternative boutique venues in Southland for a Stags game The guys finish by discussing the future of the M10 Cup and Bryce tells us what he really thinks of crossover games and the current M10 structure

Scott sits down for a casual chat with 2020 Southland Stags squad members Cole Blyde, Logan Crowley and Matt Mckenzie about their move south from their home province of Taranaki.  The guys have a light hearted discussion about their time in the deep south so far, talk a bit of club and Mitre 10 Cup rugby and finish with a bit of flat banter. 

This week Bryce, Jeremy & Scott cover off all the latest rugby news doing the rounds.  The lads go in depth on the Stags season so far four weeks in. To finish off the fellas also answer a few instagram topics that were brought to the table, ranging from several Stags based topics, possible club rugby formats for 2021 and a whole lot more.

Bryce is back in the hosting seat this week talking to Scott & Jeremy about all things rugby from the past two weeks.  The lads dive into the first two weeks of the Stags campaign, talk about some of the big rugby headlines on a national level and discuss a few different topics. 

The guys have decided to dust off the microphones and do a Mitre 10 Cup preview for 2020 from a Stags perspective.  Bryce jumps into the MC chair and talks to Scott & Jeremy about all things Stags in 2020 and how the M10 Cup in general is looking in both the Premiership & Championship.  

For the final episode of the 2020 Southland club rugby season Scott, Bryce & Jeremy wrap up all the action from last weekends finals across the seven senior grades.  The fellas hand out the awards in the inauguraul Brains Trust 2020 Prize-giving, and the guys come up with Galbraith Shield & Ack Soper Shield XV's of the year.  

Scott, Bryce & Jeremy are back and have gathered all the latest information ahead of this weekends Southland Club Rugby finals.  We review the final week of round robin in the Galbraith Shield, Ack Soper Shield & Gerald Dermody Division One.   With Southland back in Covid Alert Level 2 at the present moment (13/8/2020) Rugby Southland will be holding all finals with no crowds.  The lads have tried to gather all the intel and provide you with up to date finals previews with games taking place at Rugby Park & Les George Oval on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  The guys do not hold back when it comes to discussing certain topics this week so tune in for a laugh and some intense club footy chat. 

As the season draws to an end, Midlands forward Sam Brame joins the lads to dissect all the action.  The guys review all the Ack Soper Shield, Galbraith Shield & Gerald Dermody Division One games from last weekend, and look ahead to the final round robin fixtures this Saturday 8th August.  To finish off the fellas have a laugh and pick their top three and worst three playing strips on the eye in Southland. 

This week Star captain Jordan Stewart joins the lads to discuss all the action from last weekends round of Southland Club Rugby.  We review the SBHS 1st XV's game vs Kings High on Tuesday, review all the Galbraith Shield, Ack Soper Shield & Gerald Dermody matches and look ahead to this weekends games in all three grades.  The lads finish off with a bit of a discussion about the future of Rugby Park and the possibility of a smaller ground at Surrey Park as an alternative. 

Woodlands halfback Liam Howley joins the fellas to review all the Galbraith Shield action from Wednesday night. The guys also review Gerald Dermody division one action from last Saturday and look ahead to this weekends games in both the Galbraith Shield & Gerald Dermody competitions.  We finish off by looking forward to the SBHS 1st XV's big game on Tuesday vs Kings High in Invercargill. 

Scott & Jeremy cover all the Galbraith Shield & Ack Soper Shield action from Saturday 18th July & preview the upcoming mid-week Galbraith Shield fixtures along with the Ack Soper matches to be played this Saturday July 25th. 

We are at the halfway point of the season and the lads are back to review all the action from last weekend in Premier, Ack Soper & Gerald Dermody Division One.  We grade & rate how the Premier & Ack Soper teams have performed so far.  We look ahead to this weekends action and the fellas come up with our form XV's of the Galbraith Shield & Ack Soper Shield competitions! 

After a big week of rugby the lads are back and are joined by Pirates Old-Boys fullback Angus Swale to dissect all the latest action in Southland Club Footy.  The guys start by discussing the Country Sports Breakfast Super Rugby players poll which produced some interesting insights, we talk about Dan Carters return to club rugby, review & preview all the action from the Galbraith Shield, Ack Soper Shield & Gerald Dermody Division One. We also have a look at how the teams are shaping up in Division Two & the Senior Womens competition.  "Dan watch" is also back this week and the guys preview & predict this weekends senior club footy. 

This week Premier referee Jason McMath joins the lads to give a referee perspective on Southland Club Footy.  The fellas review all the mid-week action in the Galbraith & Ack Soper Shields & preview all of the upcoming round four action this weekend in Premier & Division One. 

Due to Wednesday night action this week in the Galbraith & Ack Soper Shield competitions the lads have done an extra episode this week reviewing all the action from week two of Southland Club Footy and looking ahead to the mid-week fixtures on Wednesday. 

This week Scott, Jeremy & Bryce take a look at all the senior action from week one of Southland club footy and look forward to week two.   1min - Kearney sacked from the Warriors. 6min - Super Rugby week two. 11.30min - Galbraith Shield week one review 22.30min - Ack Soper review. 28min - Gerald Dermody division one review/preview. 33min - Ack Soper preview 40min - Galbraith Shield preview. 51min - SBHS 1st XV  & some banter to finish. 

This week Scott, Bryce & Jeremy review all the action from last weekend and preview this weekends first week of Southland Senior Club Rugby.  1.30min Super Rugby review, 6min Club Rugby pre-season review, 19min Southland Club Rugby week 1 preview, 45min SBHS 1st XV preview 2020.  

Scott, Jeremy & Bryce get together to preview what is shaping to be an exciting, modified 2020 Southland Club Rugby Season. The guys have an in-depth look at all six premier teams and look over all other grades right down to Presidents (Senior C).  7min - Galbraith Shield preview, 46min - All other grades preview

This week Scott catches up with former Southland Stags & Jersey Red's halfback Liam Howley on his rugby journey so far.  Liam has had an interesting ride with his rugby career so far experiencing both the highs and lows of being a professional rugby player.  It is great to talk to Liam about his ride to date and talk about his hopes and goals for the rest of 2020 & beyond. 

Midlands player Ben McKerchar joins Scott & Bryce to give a country perspective on all things to do with Southland club rugby.  The guys discuss the impact combining Premier & Division One grades on country clubs in 2019.  The success & future of the Eastern Northern Barbarians, off field perceptions and differences between town and country clubs at senior level, as well as plenty of good discussion on many topics to do with club rugby in Southland. 

Episode 6 - Club, Stags & All In Between Ft Javaan Fa'amoe Ioane Marist & 2019 Southland Stags centre Javaan Fa'amoe Ioane joins Scott & Jeremy to recap the 2019 Galbraith & Ack Soper Shield seasons.  The guys discuss some players who stepped onto the Southland club scene in 2019.  Javaan talks about his journey to gaining a Mitre 10 Cup contract and the guys offer some thoughts around the importance of having a balance when it comes to picking local players vs bringing in imports from a Southland perspective in the Mitre 10 Cup. 

The Brains Trust Rugby Pod - Episode 5 This week the crew are joined by former Dunedin Shark and current Auckland Varisty U85kg coach and committee member David Hutchens to talk all things grassroots footy.  The guys cover off where they see provincial rugby heading, an update on the current status of club rugby in Southland and NZ in 2020, and we dive into the world of U85kg Rugby in the North Island. Scott Bryce & Jeremy have a go at picking a Southland U85kg team! 

The Brains Trust - Rugby Pod - Episode 4 This weeks the guys discuss all things on a global and local level. We review The Last Dance on Netflix and talk some of the about the big announcements in NZ Rugby over the past week.  On a local level we discuss the possibility of Town v Country making a comeback, how club teams are shaped and moulded these days and we have a go at picking our top three and worst three rugby grounds in Southland.  

Scott chats with former Southland BHS 1st XV & Marist player Monty Mitchell who now lives and plays his rugby in Scotland.   Monty talks about his memories playing in the 1st XV and what it meant to pull on the royal blue jersey.  Explains his decision making around choosing which club to play for after leaving school and we both come up with our best SBHS 1st XV team from players we have played with and watched over the past few years. 

The Brains Trust - Rugby Pod - Episode 2 Scott is joined by Bryce Morgan & Jeremy Boyle to cover off multiple topics including, when Southland club rugby may get underway and whether the season should start later.  Ideas to bring engagement to the club rugby scene across all grades.  The club vs school debate for secondary school players.  We also have a go at naming our top three club aftermath functions in Southland and recall some memorable social gatherings from the past. 

The Brains Trust Rugby Pod - Episode 1  Scott & Bryce Morgan discuss all things rugby in Southland. The Future of Super Rugby.  What are the possibilities for Southland Club Rugby in 2020.  Bringing back the Highlanders 1st XV competition, and we discuss who have been the most influential Southland Premier Club players from the past decade. All chucked in with some banter and a few laughs.