What a Lad

Brad Shields- What a Lad

Two English greats back to back! How good! This time I've got the great lad Brad Shields on to take me through his story and what a story it is!
Brads a player who I felt was playing well enough to be an All Black for about 3 or 4 years back to back, while consistently putting in dominant performances for the Wellington Lions and the Hurricanes. That moment obviously never came, so to see him end up playing International rugby for England was pretty awesome to see and it's interesting to hear how that all happened.
Like all professional sports people Shieldsy has had some massive highs, as well as some lows throughout his career, and dealing with the injury that made him unavailable for the RWC was obviously one of those. It was awesome to hear him share how that effected him so honestly and great to hear some advice for anyone else out there battling through it.
As you will hear from this episode Shieldsy is a great lad, very inspiring and a good sense of humour. Make sure if you enjoy this episode please share it and extra points if you tag in What a Lad on whatever platform you use.
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Lewis Moody- What a Lad

Not many people know this but todays guest Lewis Moody, is not only an English Rugby great and an absolute lad who is doing amazing things in this world, but he is also my brother in law. So it was awesome to finally get him on What a Lad, to go through his journey to becoming one of the greats.
I had so much to talk to Lewis about for this one, obviously he had a very successful rugby career winning Premierships and Heineken cups with Leicester Tigers, winning the 2003 Rugby World cup with England, captaining them at the 2011 Rugby World Cup and representing the British and Irish Lions. All massive achievements!
He's also doing amazing things with his foundation https://www.thelewismoodyfoundation.org/ which is supporting people and growing awareness around brain tumours. A massive killer! I urge you to go and check out that website and donate if you can. It's a non profit organisation, who are making a massive difference in peoples lives. They also do all sorts of crazy challenges around the world which would be an amazing experience to get on one of those.
Lewis also gives about his thoughts around concussion which is something that I found really interesting. He more than most knows concussion, as his fearless and reckless regard for his body was tested over 300 times at professional level. It's fair to say the game is going the direction with concussion after hearing some of his stories!
Anyway as you'll hear from this episode, Lewis is such a good lad doing great things. If you enjoy this episode please share it, they are all very much appreciated.
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John Hardie- What a Lad

The legend of John Hardie joins me for this one and he does not disappoint! Currently with the Newcastle Falcons, Hardsauce is probably better well known as the Scotland international, the Highlander great or arguably the greatest Southland Stag of all time! Not only is he a great player but he is also a great lad, one who has plenty of stories to share from throughout his journey. Hards is also responsible for one of the greatest videos on the internet as he interrupts a news interview so he shares some insight into that scenario.
Hards has had an amazing career with plenty of highs and also a fair amount of setbacks. It’s cool to hear how players ride the rollercoaster that professional sports brings!
If you enjoy this episode as much as I did listening back to it then please give it a share! It’s all much appreciated! Head over the www.whatalad.com for all the details you need to purchase from our partners or check out what’s going on with the podcast.

Austin Hay - What a Lad

I'm mixing it up a little bit with this one, going deeper in to the very important topic of mental health. For this episode I'm lucky enough to get on Austin Hay, a young English rugby player who has recently had mental health struggles of his own. Austin is a champion lad who was really keen to open up and talk about it, to potentially help anyone else out there feeling the same.
Austin aka the Seal is a guy I knew at Irish, as a real friendly bloke who always seemed happy so hearing he got to the point he wanted to take his own life really shocked me. It just emphasises how important it is to check on people, even the happy ones and just let them know you are there. 
It's not easy to come on a podcast and open up like this so I really appreciate seal for coming on and you can tell what a lad he is by being willing to talk to anyone out there who might want someone to talk to who has been through it.
If you enjoy this episode or know of someone who may benefit from hearing this one please share it.
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Loni Uhila- Prank

With the Joseph Parker fight this weekend, I thought it was a perfect chance to release the Loni Uhila aka The Tongan Bear prank. This prank was done in 2016, just before The Tongan Bear was about to fight the Brown Butterbean on the undercard for a Joseph Parker fight. So we got prank expert Reggie Goodes to call him as someone from Ducco Events, basically to see if we could get him the fight Joseph Parker for 25k. 
Anyone who knows the Tongan Bear will know he's one of the best characters in the game, such a funny guy but he is also confident in the ring. Hopefully we can make this fight happen as it would be a great fight and it’d be great for Loni to get his 25k.
If you enjoy this episode then please share it, thanks for all the shares to date and helping to grow the What a Lad podcast! 
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Jebb Sinclair - What a Lad

I've held off getting this guest on as long as I could. I know you need to time your big names well, so I think now is a great time to take the podcast global and get on an international sensation, who has the self acclaimed best banter in world rugby, Jebb Sinclair!
Jebb has represented Canada at two world cups, he's also represented them on the 7's circuit, he's played Super Rugby with the Stormers, he's won the Curry Cup with the Western Province and he's also a legend of the great club London Irish. He's obviously had a very successful career and some of the stories along the way are classic. Hearing how his Super Rugby career came about being one of the greats.
Everyone who's played with Jebb will know what a character he is, and it's fair to say he's very well known for 2 things, banter and fights. He does not let us down here with either as he shares plenty of stories about both of those topics.
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Richard Watt- Prank

We are back with a prank, it's been a long time! This one was found deep in the archives which takes us back to 2015 when a young Mark Abbot calls Hurricanes forwards coach Richard (hard parts) Watt. 
The situation for this one was, Watty had flown up to Auckland for an appointment and unfortunately his flight back to Wellington was cancelled due to fog. The Hurricanes had training the next day so Watty decided to hire a car and drive back himself. So we thought it'd be a great chance to jump in and see if we can wind him up somehow.
As anyone who knows Watty will know he is one of the best lads you'll meet, however he does have a short fuse which has seen him clock up roughly 65 red cards during his rugby career. 
Anyway I hope you enjoy this one and as always if you do enjoy it please share it with a friend or on your social media platform and help grow the podcast. Any love is much appreciated!
 

Mark Stafford- What a Lad

The beauty of a podcast, you think you know someone well, then you sit with them on the podcast and you are absolutely blown away with their story. That is exactly how this episode with the great man Mark Stafford aka Staffy went. 
Staffy has had an incredible journey to become the face of the TAB and the face of sport here in NZ but he certainly had a few bumps along the way. He shares some mind blowing stories in this episode including one how he died in a car crash but was brought back to life, in an event that ended his rugby career. 
Staffy also gives some unreal insight in to what goes on behind the scenes at the tab and some unbelievable match fixing stories.
I loved this episode as it has a bit of everything in it and you can hear what a genuinely great lad Staffy is!
If you enjoy this episode as always please share it, this is a great one to share with anyone who is having a tough time. 
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Blair Cowan- What a Lad

In this episode I catch up with the Scotland international and London Irish star, Blair Cowan. 
I found this an interesting yarn hearing that Blair was someone who never really took rugby that seriously, he just loved playing the game. However when he did play the game he went hard! He has always been a player who just gets stuck into everything and he still is to this day.
The man they call Steeve, also talks about the time he missed out on the Scotland RWC squad, which is a real eye opener into how brutal being a professional rugby player can be on you mentally.
I loved my time at London Irish playing alongside this legend, he's top lad on and off the field, loved the banter and always delivered on the field!
If you enjoy this episode please share it on your social media platforms it's all really appreciated. It's awesome to see What a Lad growing so thanks for all the support to date!
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Robbie Flynn- What a Lad

Man this episode with Robbie Flynn got me good, it is the classic case of talent vs discipline but with so much more to it. Robbie Flynn really should be a household name. He should be known as a rugby player who played at the highest level, with the natural talent that he had. Unfortunately, Robbie blew chance, after chance, after chance, as he struggled with self discipline and like many talented kids, he just kind of expected things to happen.
Hearing Robbie talk about his upbringing was incredible and to say he had a tough start to life would be a massive understatement. His love for rugby throughout the episode is clear and self confidence that he has is refreshing to hear.
Now Robbie is still playing in Italy with the club Vincenza at the age of 35. He can look back on his career and realise what a great opportunity he missed out on but he also wants to help anyone out there who's in the same position.
Anyone who knows the man they call Megatron, will know he's a real character, who loves a good time so it was awesome to have him on What a Lad. I hope you all find this episode as inspiring and funny as I did and if you do know someone who would benefit from hearing this episode please share it with them.
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