What a Lad

RWC Dance in France- Semi Finals

Before we start talking Semi Finals, lets sit back and take in what was the best weekend of Rugby you will see! Some of the most entertaining, competitive and intense games you will see, topped of by an All Blacks v Ireland game for the ages. 37 phases deep playing for the win, it truely was edge of the seat stuff. France v South Africa was in the same boat for intensity and drama! While both Wales v Argentina and Fiji v England both went right down to the wire. There's been lots of complaining about the draw but with that weekend of rugby viewing I am not complaining.
We do also look forward to the Semi Finals in this episode, both Searley and Jacob Atkins share their thoughts for the games after some in depth analysis. I also share made fantasy rugby update and a surprise tactic I'm going to run this week to try and catch the pack.
So much in this one, if you enjoy it as always please give it a share

Phill Jones- What a Lad

Phill Jones is one of the best shooters of a Basketball this country has ever seen. He scored thousands of goals in his 23 year career, which included at least 163 games for the Tall Blacks. The Reefton Kid had plenty to discuss in this one which includes..
Coaching his son Hayden who at 16 is already playing in the NBL (his daughters Maia and Ava are also very talented)
Growing up in the small town of Reefton
His pathway from Nelson College to the Nelson Giants
Some crazy stories about playing basketball in Greece, Finland and Italy
Playing for the Tall Blacks at tournament like the World Champs and the Olympics
Playing against 'The Dream Team' and some of the best players in the world like Lebron James
Scoring 105 points in one game!
And heaps more.
Phill is such a good lad who has had an incredible career, it was awesome getting an insight into the world of professional basketball. After hearing Phill talk it's clear to see how he managed to play at such a high level for so long, he's as competitive as they get. Really enjoyed this one and I know you will too. 
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RWC Dance in France - Quarter Finals!

How good is this Rugby World Cup! You couldn't ask for a more even, hard to predict quarter final games than what we have here. 4 Northern Hemisphere teams taking on 4 Southern Hemisphere teams, with all 4 Northern Hemisphere teams going in as favourites for the first time ever.
So much to talk about in this episode but before we look forward we must look back to the incredible week that has been with Portugal creating scenes winning their first ever RWC game. Ireland putting on an absolute clinic! France and the ABs way to good in their games and heaps more.
Fantasy rugby has hit QF stages too so theres a few things to think about there and this is the toughest week for fantasy rugby yet. Seriously fizzed for this weekend of Rugby!

Charlie Gubb- What a Lad

Charlie Gubb is one of my all time favourite Warriors, not just because of the way he played on the field (even though he was an absolute animal) but more importantly because of how big of a lad that he is off it.
Gubby is the kind of team mate everyone loves to have in the team environment, loves a yarn, loves banter and just loves being around the lads. What I didn't realise before going into this podcast was the incredible journey Rugby League took him on! Some of the interesting points were..
How he made his own highlights package and posted it to all the NRL clubs to get his first opportunity,
How he eventually worked his way into the Warriors and some classic stories from his time with them,
Why he moved to the Raiders (another crazy story that) followed by a move to the UK,
His battles with concussion and mental health,
Why he walked out on his contract in the UK,
and how he ended up starting up Wellingtons favourite porta loo company, Porta Kings.
This is deadset one of the funniest episodes so far. I found myself laughing away through this episode at the time and then in the edit. At the end of this episode you'll realise why everyone regards the great Charlie Gubb as one of the all time great team mates.
 
 

RWC Dance in France Preview- Round 5

The last round of pool play is here and knockout rugby has come a week early for a few teams, which makes for a couple of mouth watering clashes to finish pool play.
Jake the snake and I first look back at the week that was where we talk about the absolute clinic the All Blacks put on Italy as well as all the other match ups from last week. 
I review my fantasy rugby week and how Darcy Graham changed my week and I think it's an easy week for fantasy players this week with some real clear options to get maximum points this week.
Then Searley and I talk through the games for this week, which includes a couple of beauts in the form of the Ireland v Scotland game and the Japan v Argentina game, with quarter finals on the line. It's also the last chance for teams to show us what they've got before leaving the tournament or heading into the quarter finals so a huge week ahead.

Brad Mika- What a Lad

Big Brad Mika was one of those guys I loved watching growing up, an absolute beast with the skill set of a back. Capped by the All Blacks just 3 times, after some outstanding years of Super Rugby, where he played for the Crusaders, Blues and the Hurricanes. He's now transitioned into Coaching where he has been coaching in Malaysia for the last 7 years.
In this episode we go through..
Life and coaching in Malaysia
Growing up doing every sport with his mum having to carry his passport
Playing 1st 5 through most of his school days
Debuting for Auckland at 18 and what the environment was like back then
Being drafted by the Crusaders
Making the All Blacks after one year of Super Rugby
Moving around the different Super Rugby teams and comparing the cultures
His tough time in France
Struggling with knee issues
And heaps more.
It was awesome to get this humble legend on What a Lad because he is just that and I'm sure you will enjoy listening to this one.
 

RWC Dance in France Preview- Round 4 pool play

How good is the RWC, no game for the All Blacks but that didn’t stop the drame, Aussie gone, Dupont with a facial fracture, Ireland win the battle of the giants it was all go! Plenty to get through in this review with searley and snake.
I Also review my fantasy week and give you my thoughts for this weekend. It is a tough week so plenty of thought needs to go into your team for this week.
We then jump into the preview and some tricky match ups this weekend with a few split decisions from the panel and we even look a few weeks ahead to our predicted quarter finals. Those games are going to be incredible and extremely tough picking winners in all 4 of those games.

Sam Matavasi- What a Lad

Sam Matavasi is someone who certainly hasn't had the typical pathway to the top. In this episode we go through his incredible journey of being the young talent who's drinking and poor work ethic held him back from going professional out of school. To where he is now playing for Northampton in the English premiership and of course Fiji at this RWC.
Other things we discuss in this episode are...
The rise of Fiji at the Rugby World Cup An insight into the camp of everyones 2nd favourite team.
Growing up in Cornwell with his 2 brother Josh and Joel.
The devestating loss of his mother when aged 13 and how he eventually dealt with that.
His decision to join the Navy How he ended up in this pro rugby career.
His new Rum he has just launched with his brothers.
And heaps more.
Everyone I had spoken to about Sam spoke so highly of him as a lad and after this chat I can see why, great energy, good yarns and a heck of a journey.
 
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RWC Dance in France Preview- Pool Play round 3

How good is the Rugby World Cup, huge wins from NZ, SA and Ireland. Fiji with a massive win in the context of the competition in one of the games of the tournament. England scoring tries. Last week had everything so the lads are all back on board to talk everything RWC both reviewing last week and previewing the week ahead.
There are some very juicy match up this week with South Africa v Ireland the pick of them and surprisingly we all agree on the winner of that game and it might not be who you expect. Aus v Wales has a split decision here but that's a huge game for the pool and lots more good games to follow especially if you're playing fantasy rugby.
There's some must buys this week for fantasy so tune in to the episode to find out who they are.

Phil Burleigh- What a Lad

Phil Burleigh is one of those lads you just can't not like. A top man who has had a very interesting career which has seen him have the highs of playing internationally for Scotland and the lows of battling through some tough injuries. However he has got through those and remarkably is still going strong today as he fast approaches 37.
In this episode we go through plenty of good yarns which include...
His current situation in Japan with Kyuden
His pathway to professional rugby and why he had to leave Canterbury
His Super Rugby time with the Chiefs and how he then became a Highlander which is a crazy yarn.
Is time at the Highlanders and some funny yarns about Jamie Joseph
His move to Edinburgh which lead to playing international rugby for Scotland
And heaps more.
Such an enjoyable episode this one, you'll understand by the end of it why so many people regard Phil as one of the great lads. If you enjoy this episode, there's 3 thing you can do for me to help. Firstly sharing the episode, by word of mouth or social media it all helps out massively. Secondly make sure you are following What a Lad on Spotify/Apple or where ever you listen to the podcast and lastly get yourself some merch at What a Lad!