What a Lad

Alex Malcom (The Legend of Marty Banks)- What a Lad

Alex Malcom may not be your house hold name but if you do enjoy your rugby, then you probably know his Facebook page 'The Legend of Marty Banks'. His page is of course named after one of What a Lad listeners favourite guests, Marty Banks and to hear how the whole page came about is pretty crazy.
To think that Alex now gets asked for his autograph or for a selfie at rugby games, for being the man behind a social media page, is something that he is still getting use to. From being a self acclaimed "awful" rugby player, to starting up this page as a bit of a joke, it's pretty cool to see where it is at now.
After hearing how much time that Alex puts into his page, it's no wonder that he has had the success that he has. To think that he has done it all for his love of the game is pretty inspiring stuff. As you'll here Alex is a lad who is looking to use his platform to have a positive influence on the game which is awesome to hear!  Also if you haven't heard of his page go give it a follow
https://www.facebook.com/watch/martybanksrugby/
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Reed Prinsep - Prank

Reed Prinsep is a great lad who has always enjoyed wearing his Speedos. So what we've got here is an old prank from the archives, where our What a Lad prank expert Mark Abbott, calls a young Reedo and offers him the deal of a life time to team up with Speedos. 
As you'll hear this prank, it really tests the composure of even one of the great pranksters and Reedo handles himself like the lad he is, under all sorts of pressure.
As always if you enjoy this episode please share it and if you're keen to help support the podcast, head over to www.whatalad.com and go place a bid on one of the WLR jerseys!
 

Scott Steele- What a Lad

Not many people had a crazier 2020 than the great Scott Steele. After being let go by London Irish just before Coronavirus hit, he found himself back at his parents house in Scotland, looking for a job, wondering if he will play professional rugby again. Fast forward 6 months and Scott Steele is making his International debut for Scotland after receiving a lifeline from the Harlequins club in the English Premiership. A crazy story and it's awesome to hear some of the lessons that he has learnt from his experience.
Steely has been a premiership regular having played well over 100 games for London Irish, after playing a handful for the Leicester Tigers in his earlier years. A man with many talents, who has never been afraid to enjoy his time off the field as well. As you will hear, Steely has plenty of great stories from his journey to date and he is an absolute lad who shares his stories with refreshing honesty.
If you enjoy this episode if you could share it to whatever social media platform you use that would be much appreciated. All shares are helping make this podcast grow so thank you! Also if you're keen to help the podcast stay alive, head over to www.whatalad.com and get yourself some lad Merchandise, what a lad coffee or some Pure Sport CBD any love is all much appreciated!
 
 

Beauden Barrett- What a Lad

Beauden Barrett is one of the best players in world rugby and one of the best lads you'll meet. It was awesome to get him on What a Lad and go through his journey to date as his journey is one of the greats!
In the episode we talk about everything, from what his life was like growing up in his super talented and rugby mad family. We reflect on his incredible career at the Hurricanes and touch on some of his favourite memories in the All Blacks, including that incredible try in the 2015 RWC final. We also cover his move to the Blues, how he has found his time in Japan with Suntory and much more.
If you like Beauden Barrett as much as I do, then you'll love this episode and as you'll hear he is an absolute lad! If you do enjoy it please share the episode and tag what a lad podcast in it and if you want to help the podcast grow head over to www.whatalad.com and treat yourself to something on there!

Theo Brophy Clews- What a Lad

I was shocked last week to hear that one of Englands most promising young players had to retire due to concussion. It was therefore great to get young Theo Brophy Clews on the podcast and hear how it all happened.
Concussion is a huge topic in the game right now and a topic I enjoyed talking about in this episode. Theo who is just 24 years old has been recommended to give up the game that he loves, due to concussion symptoms which is not an easy decision. An England age grade representative, who also debuted for London Irish at just 17, Theo had a huge future ahead of him in the game!
The man they call Boris for telling boring stories, will surprise many of his peers in this one as he shares some classic yarns from his rugby career. As you'll hear, Boris is a great lad and someone who will be very missed in rugby. In saying that, he is also someone who will be extremely successful out of the game in whatever he chooses.
If you enjoy this episode please share it, especially with anyone who has suffered or is suffering from concussions.. this might just help.
Also head over to www.whatalad.com and support the podcast by getting yourself some Lad merchandise, What a Lad Coffee or some PureSport CBD. It's all very much appreciated!

John Plumtree - What a Lad

The current All Black assistant coach and absolute lad John Plumtree joins me this week on What a Lad to go through his incredible career to date.
Plum has a very impressive CV, where he represented Taranaki, Natal Sharks, Hawkes Bay and even the South Africa 7s side. As for a coach it's even more impressive, having coached Swansea, Wellington, the Sharks, the Hurricanes, he was also the assistant coach for Ireland and Japan and now of course he is with the mighty All Blacks.
Plum gives some great insight into the selection process for the All Blacks, the pressure that comes with coaching them and gives some great advice to any aspiring coaches. He also shares plenty of good stories from his time in the game and as you'll hear in this episode he is an absolute lad so it was a pleasure having him come on.
If you enjoy this episode please give it a share and if you're keen to help the podcast grow, head over to www.whatalad.com and get yourself some Lad merch, What a Lad coffee or some puresport cbd. Any support is very much appreciated!
 

Brendan McKibbin - What a Lad

With Super Rugby Trans Tasman underway I thought it was a great time to get an Aussie great on What a Lad and who better than the lad himself Brendan Mckibbin.
Brendan had a very successful rugby career having played for the Queensland Reds, he won the Super Rugby with the Waratahs, he became a London Irish legend, as well as that he got as close as you can get to becoming a Wallaby! 
There's so much in this episode, Kibbo loves a yarn and he shares some absolute classics in here. He also gives some insight into his mindset throughout his career around the fear of failure which is a huge part of rugby and something I found really interesting. 
As you'll hear, Kibbo is a great lad, unfortunately his mic was playing up a bit but the yarns were too good to not post it. If you enjoy this episode or any of the What a Lad episodes go help the podcast out by get yourself some Lad merch, some What a Lad Coffee, a straight face razor or some Pure Sport CBD all is very much appreciated.

Ben Lam- Prank

After the recent episode with Mark Abbott where we spoke about a few pranks, I thought it was a great chance to play one of my favourite pranks that he did during his time in the Hurricanes info committee. 
This prank is on the legendary Hurricanes try scorer and absolute lad Ben Lam. Those who know Blam will know he's a pretty low key kind of guy and very switched on customer so it was always going to tough going. However for this prank we follow a similar format to many of the other pranks, where we find a product with the same name as a player and see if we can form some sort of a partnership. For Ben Lam who else other than NZ Beef and Lamb.
If you haven't heard the pranks involving Fletcher Smith, Pita Ahki or Dalton Papali'i yet, make sure you scroll the archives and give those a listen. If you enjoy this episode then please give it a share.
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TJ Perenara - Announcement

This is it, the moment you have all been waiting for (until it got leaked haha) but that's all good because in this episode we have one of the best lads in the game on the podcast, talking in depth about a huge decision in his career.
TJ Perenara is without a doubt one of the most influential players in rugby, you only have to look at the impact he has had with the Red Hurricanes in the Top League to see that. It's no wonder that there were plenty of teams wanting him on their books and plenty of fans wanting him to be apart of their team.
I guess it was the interest from the Sydney Roosters in the NRL, that made the whole decision even more interesting. The idea of TJ playing in the NRL got everyone talking and giving their opinion as to how he would go. In this episode he talks about just how close he did get to making the switch and he shares his own thoughts as to how he would have gone.
At the end of the day TJ has made the decision on what best suited him and his family and it was really cool to hear the whole background to his final decision.
As you'll hear, TJ is an absolute lad and he has come on the podcast before, so if you haven't heard that one, make sure you scroll back through the archives and listen to his full journey as well. 

Mark Abbott- What a Lad

It was great to get me old mate Mark Abbott aka Jared on the What a Lad podcast and go through the big marns journey.
After being let go from the Canterbury Academy, Jared decided to back himself and move up to Hawkes Bay a move that instantly paid off. He made the Hawkes Bay ITM Cup squad and after just 5 games he got a phone call from Mark Hammett who was keen to get him involved with the Hurricanes. Jared went on to have a very successful career at the Hurricanes and he was a massive part of the sides culture. 
Jared then moved to Japan taking up a contract with the Coca Cola Red Sparks and he gives a great insight into what life is like in Japan on and off the field. He also shares his insight into the Japan Top League and what that competition is like.
As you'll hear Jared is a champion lad who has a great sense of humour so it was awesome to get him on What a Lad. If you enjoy this episode please share it on any social media platform you use., it's much appreciated!