What a Lad

Liam Squire- What a Lad

Liam Squire was one of the most feared players in world rugby, he had an incredible ability to throw his body into contact with zero thought of self preservation. While that approach created Liam Squire the player, it's taken a serious toll on the body of Liam Squire the man. He's had an endless amount of injuries throughout his career and hip pain, shoulder pain and knee pain are all things he now has to live with, as he moves into the next chapter of his life.
In this episode you'll hear him speak extremely openly and honestly about some of the struggles throughout his career. Dealing with the fame of becoming an All Black, handling the comments on social media and all the pressures involved in the game which ultimately lead him to make himself unavailable for the All Blacks leading up to the 2019 RWC.
There's so much in this episode and it gives you a great insight into the life and the mind of one of NZs most damaging players. He's also an absolute lad who loves a hunt and is just a genuinely humble great lad. If you enjoy this episode please give it a share, it helps out massively.
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Macca Springer- What a Lad

Macca Springer is one of the most promising young rugby talents in the country, having  just turned 18 years old and has already made an impact at the Provincial level with the Tasman Mako.
It's not often you have players so young, look as comfortable at the next level as Macca has, having already had 3 very good games at for the Tasman Mako. It's refreshing hearing a young player talk about what it's like to be living his dream as a professional rugby player and the heights he looks to reach in his career.
I'm certainly looking forward to following Maccas career with interest. He is a player that I'd love to get on again throughout his career as he goes through the ranks because he's not just a talented player but as you'll hear he's also an absolute lad!
If you enjoy this episode please give it a share and all the discounts and information are on www.whatalad.com

Jacob Norris- Prank

There's a new TV show about to launch called "Brother Battles". It's a show where some of the most famous brothers in the country go head to head in all sorts of challenges. With the catch being they'll be doing all of the challenges naked. As the man in charge of TV content, I thought who better to call up than Tasman Mako legend and NZ Maori star Jacob Norris. 
The Norris brothers have had a rapid rise through the ranks the last few seasons so to get them on a National TV, going toe to toe in random challenges, with the likes of the Savea brother and the Barretts would be great to see.
As you'll hear Jacob is such a good lad and I hope someone out there can make this show happen one day for him. If you enjoy this episode please give it a share and if you're enjoying the podcast please subscribe and go give it a 5 star review 🙏🏼

Joseph Sullivan- What a Lad

Joseph Sullivan, the Olympic Gold medalist in rowing, the 2 time Americas Cup winner with Team NZ and an absolute lad!
This really is an incredible story of someone who wasn't built to be an Olympic rower, who went on to become one of the greats. Purely through his mindset and effort. The story leading up to his Olympic gold medal moment is crazy. It's a moment that inspired the country and is one of the best moments in NZ sport ever. It won the best sporting moment of the decade at the Halberg awards last year.
It wasn't just pre the Olympic yarns that blew my mind, as how Joe was treated after the event was also unbelievable. I think many Olympic athletes would be able to relate, that once the big event you've trained so hard for is over, it's a real challenge to get back to a "normal" life. As he was battling away in a dark space, Team NZ randomly came into the equation and Joe became a 2 time Americas Cup winner as a champion grinder.
I really enjoyed hearing this story and as you'll hear Joe is an absolute lad who is pretty inspiring with what he has done. If you enjoy this episode please give it a share, comment or like so others can be inspired from this champion lad as well!

Jerome Kaino- What a Lad

One of the greatest loose forwards in All Black history, @jeromekaino is on What a Lad this week and what a lad he is!
The humble enforcer who has had an incredible rugby career, having played for Auckland, the Blues, Toyota Verblitz, Toulouse and of course he is a double Rugby World Cup winner with the All Blacks. Jerome has just recently retired from playing the game, after helping Toulouse win the Champions Cup and Top 14 double and he has now made a seamless transition into coaching.
On the side Jerome along with his best mates, have started @mintwear.co which is a brand with the most comfortable undies I've tried. They also have a great message behind them around male body confidence and being all inclusive. If you're keen to try them with 20% off, head over to www.whatalad.com and all the information is on there.
As you'll hear in this episode Jerome is such humble, easy going lad. Everyone who has played with him always said what a great lad he is and he was often one of the first people to make them feel comfortable in a new environment. It was an absolute honour to have him on the podcast and go through his journey. If you enjoy it please give it a share.

Isaac John- What a Lad

Grateful to have the king lad Isaac John on What a Lad and man there was plenty to talk about in this one!
Starting with Isaac's successful NRL career, where he played for the Warriors, Panthers and Manly. He also got picked for the Kiwis from playing reserve grade!
Then we go through the transition into business after footy where he has excelled. He has started up the YKTR clothing brand, which has since expanded into YKTR sports and is growing very quickly. He also has a very successful podcast in the Ice Project and has recently launched the Inner circle which is an online education platform. He's making big moves and it was awesome to hear how he went about it.
As you'll hear Ice is an absolute lad, who has inspired so many throughout his journey, he's always willing to help others and is very generous with his time! If you enjoy this episode then please give it a share!

Guy Williams - What a Lad

One of NZ best comedians and NZ today host Guy Williams joins me this week for an absolute classic yarn.
The local Nelson legend himself, has had a very eventful career and has never been shy to put himself out there. Which is great for us, as it means there was plenty of interesting insights to talk about in this episode.
Some of Guys achievements include winning the Billy T award for comedy, in 2014 he was voted the Sexiest man in NZ, he's reached the charts with his hit song 'the Pigeon Song', he's worked in Radio on the Edge and has been part of plenty of TV shows, where he now has his own show NZ Today which is one of the greats! If you haven't seen any of those episodes, I strongly recommend you go check them out on Youtube.
As you'll hear in this episode Guy is an absolute lad, who is obviously incredibly funny but he also has a deeper side to him and has plenty of knowledge to share. If you enjoy this episode please give it a share, tag what a lad podcast and you're a lad!
 

Nehe Milner-Skudder- What a Lad

The man who possesses one of the deadliest side steps rugby has ever seen, Nehe Milner-Skudder, joins me this week on What a Lad to go through his rollercoaster journey.
It's so easy to talk up Nehe because he is such a champion lad, who throughout his career has always been so good to all of his fans, his team mates and the game.
On the rugby field he is lethal. For a period of time, he was carving up with every single touch of the ball, impossible to tackle 1 on 1 and he was the guy every kid in NZ wanted to be in the backyard. During that period, he won the Championship with Manawatu, he carved up Super Rugby with the Hurricanes and won the RWC with the All Blacks. He was flying! And then injury struck. It wasn't just one, it was injury after injury after injury, which has made it incredibly hard for him to get back to where he once was. However, what Nehe has done around speaking out about his struggles during his injuries, has been incredibly powerful for all other athletes. He is doing amazing work with mental health awareness by proving that even All Blacks can have their own struggles.
It was awesome to hear in this episode that Nehe still has aspirations to play at the highest level, so I'm super excited to continue to follow his journey back to the top.
As you'll hear in the episode, Nehe is an absolute lad whose rise to the top was pretty special to witness. If you enjoy this episode, please give it a share on your social media accounts, tag what a lad too so I can thank you personally.
 
 
 

Ben O'Keeffe - What a Lad

There is no game without the man in the middle, so it was awesome to get one of the best referees in the world, Ben O' Keeffe on What a Lad to give an insight into one of the hardest jobs in the world. 
Ben, who at the age of 32 has quickly gone through ranks and is now one of the best in the game. Having recently returned from the Lions tour of South Africa, he gives some great insight into the pressure involved in being in charge of a test match like that. He also gives great insight into what life as a top referee is like.
Rugby is such a tough game to referee as the rules are all so subjective. Yet, after almost every game played, if you read the comments they'll mainly be bagging the ref and his decisions. I hope this episode sheds some light into how difficult the job is and the fact that if you look at a game from one teams perspective there is always going to be missed calls.
As you'll hear, Ben is a great lad, who loves his rugby and wants to do his best for the game. I certainly learnt a lot from this episode and I hope you do too.
If you enjoy this one or you know someone who is always abusing the referees, then please share this podcast with them so they can understand what its's like out there in the middle.

Luca Inch - Prank

It's been a long time between pranks but when you have a young lad like Luca Inch around your environment, a prank was never far away. Luca is one of the most promising front rowers in the country, having recently played for the NZ u20s and is also in the 2021 Tasman Mako squad, at just 19 years old. He's also an absolute character, literally always smiling and he is just a real good lad to be around. 
Anyway for the prank, I knew that he really liked Cory Jane, so I called him up as Darren (Cory Janes mate) from the NZRU to see if I could stay at his house for the weekend. 
Anyway have a listen, if you enjoy it please give it a share.