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Transcript

Rugby Direct - Episode 162 · Rugby Direct

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from News Talks EDB. Follow
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: this and our Wide Ranger podcast now on iHeartRadio, Strike
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: down the Middle.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Try try these pocket.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Inside the game from every angle. It's Rugby Direct with
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Elliot Smith and Liam Napier powered by News Talks EDB.
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: Welcome into Rugby Direct powered by Habit Health, tackling all
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: your aches and pains from sports and work back for
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: another week after a few days extra to dissect and
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: digest the round that was in Super Rugby. But first
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: and foremost big welcome back to Liam Napier after Magic Round,
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: et cetera.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Have you recovered I have needed fixture days to recover
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: and rumor has it Ellie you need a future days
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: to recover from that Crusader's defeat.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Dear idea, We'll get to that in just a second.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Speaking of Magic Round, I guess Super runs the mirror
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: to that. What did you take away from that experience
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: apart from you know, a few healthy jugs of four X?
• 1:17
  Speaker 4: I'm sure yes. Look it is a fantastic event.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: The Brisbane Wider Brisbane City do it brilliantly and it's
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: a perfect setting for Super Round, Magic Round, whatever it
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: is you've got Cackson Street. They're a good a two
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: minute walk from sun Stadium, which is the best viewing
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: venue in Australasia for rugby and rugby league. And they're
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: just very fluid with it. You can come and go
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: from the stadium as you want, watch one game, leave,
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: come back, go to the pub and they do.
• 1:57
  Speaker 4: It really well.
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: So before a Warriors game they have a designated bar
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: where all the you know Warriors fans go. They roll
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: out former players Mark Tukey, Kevin Campion and the like.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: So it's just a really well run events. Lots of
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: punters come in from New Zealand's, lots of expats kiwis
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: and yeah, it really does.
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: Set the bar for that sort of concept.
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: And it's been a success in Brisbane for a long
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: time and it's staying there for the foreseeable future. And
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: yeah I went three years ago, went back this year
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: and will needs another year to recover. But yeah, I
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: would encourage anyone to get amongst that and look super
• 2:42
  Speaker 3: around hasn't worked, has it? For Super Rugby? At the
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: Plunking in Melbourne? Purely from a financial perspective, didn't work,
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: So let's make it work somewhere yeah.
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: And I've just been in christ Church for the weekend
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: and I can tell from my people on the ground
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: there that the drums are beating very loudly that they'll
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: host super Round in twenty twenty six. Nothing confirmed as yet,
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: I should add, but the drums are being This room
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: has been around obviously, new stadium coming next year, but
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: it's going to be completed by April. The theory being
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: that maybe they open it with a Crusaders Game of
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: the Week prior and then the week after that or
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: two weeks after that, whatever it might be, super Round,
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: Maybe it's over a long weekends ends that weekend, whatever
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: it might be, and you have it to I guess
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Christen the new stadium, which will be pretty special.
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: It would, and it makes a lot of sense on
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: the face of it in terms of the proximity of
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: the stadium to the city short walk and you're back
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: in the heart of the city, bars, restaurants, whatever it
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: may be. Yeah, and I'd encourage Rugby to have that
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: flexibility to allow people to come and go and what
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: a venue that that is going to be for Chrush.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: That's gonna really you put it on the map and
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: indore brilliance and yeah, you know it'll be hopefully great
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: to see the Crusaders rebound from another disappointing campaign.
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: Right before we get into that, Black Ferns on the
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: weekend kicking off their World Cup year thirty eight twelve
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: winners over Australia. Fairly comprehensive and not everything we went
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: to plan. But I thought for our first hit out
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: of the calendary year, it was pretty good. Braxton sorrens
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: and McGee makes her deburg gets a couple of tries
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: for me. I mean, I think it was the obvious
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: choice anyway, but she has to be the starting fullback,
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: first choice for this team. Some good signs for the
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: Black Funds, but plenty to work on as they face
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: bag a challenges, including Canada this weekend, who beat them
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: last year in the mirror competition.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, probably expected a wee bit more from the Black fans,
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: but as you say, it is their first hit out,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: so rusters to be expected. Tougher challenges await. But what
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: a story Braxton Sirenson McGee is coming from outside the
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: Blue squad really debut Super Rugby season and saw her
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: talking postmatch about how easy it was stepping into the
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Black Ferns because there's a number of Blues players in
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: that team. But also so I guess the level of
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: competitiveness and competition. She looks born for that arena, doesn't
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: she a young woman with the world at her feet,
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: great talents and her feet on the ground as well.
• 5:21
  Speaker 3: But yeah, the Black Ferns, it's a starting point, isn't it.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: And it's a massive year for them, so they'll build.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: And I know they had Wayne Smith in a couple
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: of weeks ago, so good to see the Professor still
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: keeping his hands in the mix there because he was
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: such an influential figure in the last World Cup.
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: Trump that's right, and I'm sure he's imparted all sorts
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: of wisdom and knowledge into that camp. But interesting to
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: see how they integrate the Sevens players from this weekend
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: that have now arrived in camp in christ to head
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: of that game against Canada Georgia and Miller recy Pouldy Lane,
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: Stacy Wackets. That's going to be fascinating to see how
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: Alan Bunting begins to integrate those players into the mix
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: who haven't played a lot of fifteens in recent times.
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: But as I say, start for the start for the
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Black Ferns, big games and bigger challenges to come right.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: I've put her off for too long. Crusaders Chiefs Saturday night,
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: I went down and called this game for gold Sport
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: and Nightheart Radio. Crusaders lead nineteen three in about the
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: thirty ninth minutes, and from the inn it just unraveled
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: at a rate of knots and you could feel the
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: momentum turning even before halftime when and Modey Nadawa scored
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: that try gob By to nineteen ten. At the break,
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: the Chiefs went in with their tails up and they
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: hadn't been able to play a lot of rugby. I
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: felt to that point the Crusaders had defended well forced
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: Eras and the Crusaders had scored some tries of their own.
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: But just after halftime, the Chiefs soaked up all that position.
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: They didn't allow the Crusaders to get an inch innet
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: opening fifteen twenty minutes. It felt like the second spell
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: and they took the game away from them. And that
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: was there's bigger the momentum switches I can see in
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: the game. The Crusaders went out of sight, but they
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: unraveled really really quickly. What did you make of that game, Lem.
• 7:04
  Speaker 4: There's a lot to unpack there.
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: I think at nineteen three the score probably wasn't reflective
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: of the contest. The Chiefs had a lot of chances,
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: made a few mistakes, the Crusaders took theirs, and there
• 7:16
  Speaker 3: was a couple of things that swung that game. Will
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: Jordan's absence was massive, and you shouldn't be reliant on
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: one player alone, but it's clear in his absence just
• 7:26
  Speaker 3: how much of an effect he's had on that team
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: this year. Didn't play last year, He's played every game
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: this year and he's been huge for their attack and
• 7:35
  Speaker 3: helping guide some young tens. I thought it was a
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: stark contrast, and it's not solely fair in any way
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: to pin the loss on him, But Rivers Rayhanna his
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: performance compared to the Highnders when everything was going the
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: Crusader's way, they had the front football, they're rolling and
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: he had an arm tier rides. But when in the
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: second half, in particular, when the Chiefs pat got a
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: role on, You've got Someersoni, Takyajol coming off the bench,
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: some of Penny Female as well. Wallace a Titi massive
• 8:08
  Speaker 3: performance in his first start of the year.
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: Jeez. That's some power.
• 8:13
  Speaker 3: That they have, and when they get a roll on,
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: they're incredibly difficult to stop. They scored thirty two unanswered points.
• 8:20
  Speaker 3: The Crusaders really didn't have any answers, couldn't swing that
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: momentum that you talk about. And one of the chief
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: strengths is not just that power, but their ability to
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: play second phase. Their big men use the ball, they
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: create space and when they give Damien McKenzie that platform,
• 8:39
  Speaker 3: he is lethal. That the little switch move to come
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: back and score that try. That was a real dagger
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: blow and it was a real statement from the Chiefs
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: because let's not forget they came off a loss to
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: the Hurricanes and CLAYT McMillan savvy move to turn the
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: music off in the sheds and make his team listen
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: to the Hurricanes' brilliant team song. It must be said,
• 9:06
  Speaker 3: stew on that loss, jump on that just fishing out there.
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: It's due on that loss, and he got the desired reactions.
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: So big statement performance from the Chiefs, and while they
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: have a buy, it does put them in the box
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: seat to finish first and have home advantage for the playoffs.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: It does one of The telling statistics for me was
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: the Crusader actually had more percent position in the second
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: spell than the first, which it didn't really feel like.
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: They had.
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: Fifty two percent in the second spell can be to
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: thirty nine in the first spell. The second half, though
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: they spent just thirty six percent time in Chiefs territory,
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: the Chiefs had sixty four percent. They couldn't plain the
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: right areas of the park, and that's on rivers, Rayhanna.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: It's on their game drivers to get them out of trouble,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: and they were just a little bit at sea. Couple
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: of por chosen kicks from David h Villi Noah Hootham
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: at times put them on the back foot and the
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: Chiefs took full advantage. And I think it was a
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: reminder to the Crusaders how not fine the margins can be.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: But you you just got to be on when you
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: play a team like the Chiefs, is that you nineteen
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: three up. You might have a bit of an advantage
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: in your pocket, but that can be whittled away really quickly,
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: and that momentum can swing wildly, and it swung wildly
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: in favor of the Chiefs. And to not score a
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: second a point in the second spell was really damning,
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: I thought for the Crusaders.
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, big time, and the Crusaders in their past two games,
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: I think they've made something like four hundred and eighty
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: eight tackles and that's a credit to them, but it's
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: also not sustainable. You're not going to win a competition
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: taking that much fatigue. So the kicking game does need
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: to improve because that was punished big time leader Leroy Carter.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: What a breakout try.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: The Chiefs are lethal on the counter attack, as they showed,
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: and yeah it is on those game drivers, particularly guys
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: like David Hevilly, who's a senior figure in that back line.
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: I thought Quintupia outperformed heavily in a.
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: Not an all black trial.
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: But those sort of matchups what Scott Robinson, the selectors
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: will set up and take notice of. No hope them
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: has been very good for the Crusaders this year, but
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: a couple of costly kicks from him and yeah, you've
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: just got to be better. You've got to be more astute,
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: more accurate. And it was quite staggering, wasn't it to
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: watch that unfold? You were there, there must have been
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: a real dim of silence come over that crowd, A
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: bit of bewilderment in the second half.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Well there was yeah, nineteen ten up at halftime. Game
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: wasn't done by any stretch of the imagination. But just
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: when the chief scored those two quick tries to set
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: up the first spell, I sorry early in the second
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: spell to level the game then go aheads, it felt
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: like the year had been sucked out of the stadium.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: And even at that point, ten minutes into the second spell,
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: it felt like, even though the Crusaders were I can't
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: read the exact score line, but not far behind on
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: the school board, it felt like it was a long
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: way back. That whatever the lead was made well have
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: been fifteen points at that stage. Because the momentum had
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: changed so wildly. It was actually hard to see the
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: Crusaders getting back into the contest, and they never did.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: The Chiefs played extremely well. I thought Wallace the titi
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: was outstanding. I think it was twenty two carries, one
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: hundred and thirteen meters he scored that great try.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: What power and strength and knowledge of where he was
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: in relation to the tri line.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely, and that try the Chiefs scored where they
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: basically went from inside their own half and just plotted
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: their way up the field. I thought was great. Chiefs
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: Rugby and Damian McKenzie back as well. He'd missed the
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: last couple of weeks the Force and the Hurricanes loss
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: with that injury that was fairly minor hand injury, but
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: just his ability to stand up after halftime, I thought,
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: and direct this team around the paddock I thought was expert.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: And this is the kind of performance when you look
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: at Super Rugby title victories that can really propel you forward.
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: It can, and the Chiefs have to a degree, you
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: had the Crusader's number in recent years. Obviously the Crusaders
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: went to Hamilton and got the one that mattered in
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: the final, but the Chiefs and round robin play have
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: had a lot of success against the Crusaders.
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: If we take a step back and.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: Look at this in the context of the year, a
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: loss like this, particularly at home, can have deep psychological scars.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: Do you still believe the Crusaders can win the title
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: this year?
• 13:29
  Speaker 2: I think they can, but they're clearly second favorite, we
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: even third favorite perhaps for the title. Now obvious they've
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: slipped the third behind the Brumbies. They have to go
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: visit the Brumbies in the final round. That the Wartas
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: away this weekend, which has not been a happy hunting
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: ground for them. Even in the Scott robertson ero of
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: the Crusaders, they dropped a couple of games over there.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: I think he's the only Australian team that scrolls and
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: lost to his entire tenure for recoll rightly. And they've
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: got the Highlanders in the middle of that at home,
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: a game they should win, So in theory they can
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: win all three of those games. And they've got more
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: games on the table compared to the Chiefs and the Brumbies,
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: so in theory they could still finish top. That home
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: advantage could be key coming to the playoffs if they can
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: run the table from here. But the thing with that
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: kind of lost like that, it just brings those doubts
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: into your mind. And they've got to rebound this week
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: against the Warritas. If it was one off game in
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Hamilton or in christ Church. I think they could still
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: go up there and beat the Chiefs. They did it
• 14:26
  Speaker 2: last year when they were atrocious. They beat the Chiefs
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: in Hamilton, so I think the last five games heading
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: into that one on the weekend had been five and
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: five split between those two. The Chiefs hadn't had a
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: lot of success in christ Church in recent times, but
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: I think a one off game they can still win,
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: but they need Will Jordan back and the good news
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: is out of that it sounds like he's perhaps two
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: or three weeks away from returning, which is a lot
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: better than maybe people had feared.
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I would go as far to say if Will
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Jordan was gone for the year, that's the Crusader's not done,
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: obviously being the playoffs and could well make the final.
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: But he has been so influential for them this year
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: and it does sound like he'll be back for the playoffs,
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: So you're looking maybe three four weeks, which is great
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: news for the Crusaders and the All Blacks because nobody
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: is in cooey of in terms of form fullbacks. So
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: very interesting to see how they navigate the last three
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: weeks without them, because it's not an easy stretch.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: As you point out.
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: Let's go back to Friday Night and the Blues beat
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: in the Fiji and drew a thirty four to five
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: in Suva, and look, I don't really what to say
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: about this game other than that the Blues continued their
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: march and their improvement for the Drawer were really disappointing,
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: and it's hard to know what we learned about the Blues.
• 15:48
  Speaker 2: And I've said this in a couple of weeks in
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: a row now around that because the Blues are banked wins.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: But again this week AGA's more Wana. There'll be a
• 15:55
  Speaker 2: test for them. They've got the Waratahs after the by
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: final round. But again I don't know what we learned
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: about the Blues because I didn't feel like the drawer
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: fired a shot. Now, whether that was because the Blues
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: were so good, whether the Drawer just didn't turn up,
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: I don't really know. Obviously, the Drawer had that horrible
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: news before the game around one of the former sevens
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: players passing away in a tragic car crash. So it's
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: hard to know what to take out of it. What
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: did you take out of that Blues game.
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: I think it showed you can't write the Blues off.
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: They will be in the playoffs and no one will
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: want to play them. They are still very limited in
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: the way that they approach the game, but they have
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: recaptured the authenticity their DNA of Verncotterer and it is
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: very effective when it's done well and it's set peace strength,
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: it's direct, it's powerful the outside back see very limited ball.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: Boden Barrett's playing very well and he is reveling in
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: that sort of game plan because a lot rests on
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: his shoulders to direct a lot of that. But I
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: agree with you that you can't take too much out
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: of that. The Dria have been very poor this year,
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: even at home, and they rocked by that news pre match.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: But the Blues did what they have had to do.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: It was methodical and it was largely impressive, and I
• 17:16
  Speaker 3: think they'll get a few bodies back in the coming weeks.
• 17:19
  Speaker 5: Kate.
• 17:19
  Speaker 3: You put Caleb Clark and Mark Tala back in that team.
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: Stephen Petefetter perhaps in the next couple of weeks as well.
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: Nobody's going to want to play them in the playoffs,
• 17:29
  Speaker 3: even if it's even if the Blues are away from home.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was clinical from the Blues and those conditions
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: can be tricky, even at night in Fiji. But they
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: rolled their sleeves up, got the job done, left with
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: the five points and I think Vancotta will be pretty
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: pleased with what he saw at Anton. Signa coming off
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: with an injury. But apart from that, I think it
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: was a case of job done for the Blues and
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: they've got an eight down turn around as they played
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: more onea Pacifica this week which in the context of
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: both of their campaigns, the Blues and Fifth Majana on
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: the outside of the Plows at the moment looking in
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: big game at North Harbor Stadium this weekend.
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Blues did it fairly easy in the first local
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: derby with Moana, but I think it will be a
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: different prospect going to Albany. Moana's played well this year
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: there and Ardi and co. Will have a bit of
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: confidence after beating the Landers, so yeah, it'll be a
• 18:24
  Speaker 3: pretty special occasion. You'd think over the Bridge in I
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: guess a bit of a neutral venue in some respects.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: That's right, So interesting ploth makes at the moment, isn't it.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: Chiefs out on top on forty one points, Brumbies and
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: second thirty nine, the Crusaders on thirty seven. Crusaders with
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: three games to play, the Chiefs and Brumby's with just
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: two reads in fourth on thirty two, Blues and fifth
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: on twenty seven. Hurricanes in Sex on twenty six Mowana
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: twenty four, Wartars twenty two, Force twenty two, and I
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: think we can roll that behind us and draw certainly
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: making the Plovs. Where do you see the Plovs over
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: the last next couple of weeks? Can anyone Mowana Warritars
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: make their way in on the basis of what we're
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: looking at.
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: No, I think the top six stays as it is.
• 19:05
  Speaker 3: It's just a matter of who finishes where.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: Chiefs as it was standing, we play the Hurricanes first up.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: Brumbies have played the Blues Crusaders. I think the Crusaders
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: might be quite happy about that if they play the
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: Reds first week.
• 19:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you would be happy with that. But
• 19:22
  Speaker 3: you want to play the Cane train. They're just coming
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: in some form.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Well we'll see about that. Kenna hollow as well.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: Gone for the year for the year, Yeah, big blow
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: that because he was really starting to hum. But the
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: Hurricanes have found some form and it's on the back
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: of Riley Higgins and Billy Procter coming into the midfield.
• 19:41
  Speaker 3: Ruben Love going to number ten. He was very good
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: prior to the Buyer and their win over the Chiefs,
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: and I think actually signaled that's his future and longer
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: term as a real prospect of the All Blacks for ten?
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: What implications does this have for the All Blacks? And again,
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: I guess if Ruben Love's at ten, for someone like
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: Stephen Peter Fett to say, do you include Ruben Love
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: as a ten and All Blacks? Does it give you
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: some free to take another player elsewhere? If you've got
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Ruben Love, I mean he could play ten, he approplay
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: right wing, you can play fullback. But would you select
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: them as a ten option in that squad right now?
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: I think he should play ten for the Canes and
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: then be versatile for the All Blacks. I don't think
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: he needs to be pigeonholed as a ten. Look around
• 20:27
  Speaker 3: the world Thomas Farramos, Damien Willimpson and closer to home,
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: Bowden Bart, Damien McKenzie, the all interchange between ten and fifteen,
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: and I think Ruben can do that for you know,
• 20:39
  Speaker 3: the next couple of years. Ideally, I think I would
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: like to see him at ten for the Canes for
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: the foreseeable future. But for the All Blacks I think
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: obviously you've got Bowden and Damien and Richard Wong a
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: coming back next year, so he's not really going to
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: get a looking and that's the same case for Stephen Petefetter.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: So I can see a scenario where Stephen Peterfetter gets
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: a bit fed up and goes to Japan, and maybe
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: you're looking at post World Cup reubend Love becoming a
• 21:10
  Speaker 3: real prospect team for the All Blacks. That gives him
• 21:13
  Speaker 3: a couple of years to develop, to mature, to have
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: time in the saddle, to learn through experience. But he
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: is of the consummate professional. He works really hard behind
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: the scenes. He's been mentored by TJ. Petinara. He's only
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: twenty four years old, he's resigned to twenty twenty eights.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: He's got a big future.
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: He certainly does that All Black squads are obviously to
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: be named next month. That'll do us. The first half
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: of the Rugby Direct podcast with our friends at Habit Health,
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: tackling all your aches and pains from sports and work
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: back with the final four, our Tipping and Bryce team
• 21:46
  Speaker 2: joining the pod as well recently retired Blues player on
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: the way.
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: This is Rugby Direct, a podcast for real rugby fans.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: Every try try as sixty second, every tackle tackle, Get
• 22:02
  Speaker 2: up again, afore.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: Haf time it's Rugby Direct Ladies.
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: And one Welcome back to Rugby Direct, pound by Habit
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: Health tackling all your inks and pains from sport and work.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: Second half of the podcast, Price team retired Blues midfielder
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: on the way as well. Time though for the final
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: four four rugby topics Liam and I debate them Let's
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: get into Themre's plenty around This week Liam and the
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: New Zealand under twenties winning the Under twenty edition of
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: the Rugby Championship, beating South Africa forty eight forty five
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: in the final draw against Australia. First up big win
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: against Argentina and then wrapping it up with a win
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: over South Africa, promising signs that. I guess it's hard
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: to tell. The World Cup itself is coming up later
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: in the year. But to go and beat a South
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: African team on South African soil, putting forty eight points
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: on I saw the highlights of this, I should say,
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: pretty entertaining stuff. Defense might be a work on before
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: the World Cup itself.
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, very high scoring match, wasn't it? Defense optional to
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: a degree? But like you say, to go to South
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: Africa and get that win and I think defend the
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: title in terms of the rugby championship concept. And it
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: is great that this concept has been brought back because
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: I think you did see the under twenties, particularly in
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: New Zealand, fall away compared to the Northern Hemisphere who
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: had their six Nations edition. So I'm always a wee
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: bit weary about how much these results translate in terms
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: of senior men's rugby, but it is a good indication
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: and there are some very promising players in that team,
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: likes of Dylan Pledger half back I think he signed
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: to the Highlanders, looks the goods and a number of
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: other guys in that mix. So they'll take a lot
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: of conference from that, and yeah, let's hope they can
• 23:52
  Speaker 3: bring home the Under twenties World Cup.
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: Fingers crossed top number two. The Lions squad British Nish
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: line squad announced last week. Marotoji the captain. I mean,
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: I guess fairly predictable, Henry Pollock, who was having a
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: great young career at this stage, and I guess still
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: an unproving quantity at test level. But Andy Farrells punted
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: someone like him, very very young, very very raw, and
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: he may well may well be the making of him
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: in terms of his career by going on this line sto,
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: he's going to be carrying around the mascot, I'm sure,
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: and being in charge of that. So it's convenestioning there
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: how he progresses, but by and large relatory, predictable apart
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: from one name and that was the injuring news that
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: developed what forty eight hours or thereabouts before the squad
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: was named, and a big blow not having Kaitlin Doris there.
• 24:38
  Speaker 2: What was your reaction to that team?
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, massive blow losing Doris. He has been one of
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: the form loose forwards and will rugby for a number
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: of years now. I think Maro probably would have been captain,
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: but Doris was certainly a strong candidate for that. Pollock
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: one headline inclusion Finn Smith another from Northampton. The team
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: that went to Dublin and upset. I won't call them
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: Jordy Barrett's leinster because he's only there for.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: Six months off the bench as well of that game.
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: Shocking election call that was Leo Cullen's been roasted for that,
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: but yeah, I think a reflection of form and also combinations.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: I think there's fifteen Irishmen in that squad twelve Englishman,
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: eight Scotts and two Welsh. So that does reflect the
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: balance of power I think in those home nations, and
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: there is a lot of combinations that Andy Farrell and
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: his coaching team can turn to. But it does really
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: spark enthusiasm for that tour. The Lions tours magic. Aren't
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: they touring fans and Australia. It's going to really put
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: rugby on the map. Give me an early prediction.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: I think the Lines win two one. I know there's
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: been a little bit of hyph about the Wallabyes and
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: their improvements. Yes they have improved, but I still think
• 25:57
  Speaker 2: the Lions when they come together will be too good
• 25:59
  Speaker 2: to test. I think the Wallabies will snag one. Ideally,
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: you know it's one all heading into the final game
• 26:04
  Speaker 2: we get a cracking decider.
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I agree. I think the Lions have a really
• 26:07
  Speaker 4: good leading.
• 26:09
  Speaker 3: They play Argentina and then they have that match against
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: the ANZAC combined New Zealand an Australia team as well
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: as Super Rugby, so they're not going to be coming
• 26:19
  Speaker 3: in colds.
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: They play.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: The first Test is in sun Court, which is a
• 26:22
  Speaker 3: traditional stronghold for the Wallabies.
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: I agree.
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: I think they'll get what the Wallabies will get snagged
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: one test, but the balance of the Lions squad, the depth,
• 26:33
  Speaker 3: it's a strong coaching team.
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: I think the lines get it done.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: Top of number three in the final four. An exclusive
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: from friend Christy Dorian, friend of the podcast last week's
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: deducing that the Western Seaward of the United States has
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: been lined up as a twelfth home for a super
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: rugby team and then the twenty thirty Nations Cup potentially
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: final but potentially being held in New York. I guess
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: on a super rugby front, Liam, what do you make
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: of that?
• 27:01
  Speaker 3: No? Thanks, yeah, Look, I fully understand and appreciate the
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: financial of the States. If you crack one percent of
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: that market, got your maid. And that's why the Rugby
• 27:17
  Speaker 3: World Cup will be held there. That's why the All
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: Blacks will play on in Chicago there and they've played Fiji,
• 27:23
  Speaker 3: and why other nations are going there. The state that
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: the NRL has taken their opening weekends at to Vegas.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: So it's very attractive financially, but the rugby depth is
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: not there, and a startup team makes me very anxious,
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: very nervous. We've seen the pitfalls of that. With Super
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: Rugby in the past, it's just finding its feats. It's
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: been a brilliant competition this year. I don't want to
• 27:49
  Speaker 3: see the mess with that.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: I don't either. I don't think this is what the
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: public is crying out for. And they talk about putting
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: fan first and fans centric everything like that. No one,
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: apart from maybe a few rugby fans in America, are
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: crying out for a US Super Rugby team.
• 28:07
  Speaker 5: I would prefer to.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: See the return of the Hawaidis, which brings its own
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: logistical complications, but at least you can probably guarantee there
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: from the get go they are going to be competitive
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: and going to bring some rugby value to the competition.
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: I just do not see what value this American thing has.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: And they're desperate strymake at work, because there are reports
• 28:26
  Speaker 2: week or two back that they were considering flipping the
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: World Cups around from the twenty thirty one, which is
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: when they're supposed to the Men's Rugby World Cup, to
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: twenty thirty five, and putting the United Kingdom in Ireland
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: in for twenty thirty one. That's not going to happen,
• 28:41
  Speaker 2: but they're desperate to make it work, but no one
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: seems to really know the answer, so they're throwing shit
• 28:45
  Speaker 2: at a wall and going, oh, super Rugby team work
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: a Nation's Cup final. I don't really care about the
• 28:49
  Speaker 2: Nation's Cup final. That's fine, I can abide with that.
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: But the Super Rugby team is a long term investment.
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: We've just got Super ud back to a point where
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: it can build from the last thing it needs is
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: having you know, the La guilteenies or someone back in
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: the comp and pulling it down again. And you've got
• 29:07
  Speaker 2: eighty yearal blowouts every time you go and play in
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: La or wherever it might be. I just think this
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: is a misstep. They're desperate to make America work, but
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: no one's really knowing, not sure how it can actually work.
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: Super Raby doesn't need to be a sacrificial lamb for
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: those World Cups. And yeah, there are grave concerns for
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: the Men's World Cup in particular and the interest that's
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: going to generate and the revenue needed to fund particularly
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: Tier two nations, but that's not Super Rugby's problem.
• 29:36
  Speaker 4: That's World Rugby's problem.
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: And yeah, you can't manufacture a team overnight, and there
• 29:45
  Speaker 3: aren't direct flights to Argentina, there are to the west
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: coast of the States, so that makes sense. But from
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: a competitiveness point of view, when this year's competition has
• 29:55
  Speaker 3: been engaging the jeopardies there, Australia's stepped up, there's been upsets.
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: It's everything you want from a competition. Don't take that
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: away just as it's finding its feet.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: That's right. I think we're an ingredients on that one topic.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: Number four. In New Zealand rugby post a nineteen point
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: five million dollar losses but record levels of revenue. This
• 30:20
  Speaker 2: probably came is not really a surprise, but you know
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: it's a flashing figure up in lights.
• 30:25
  Speaker 5: Is it?
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: Nineteen point five million dollar loss? Not a good scenario
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: of New Zealand rugby? Who I think it posted three
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: consecutive losses in a row. Now we know the money's
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: coming in, it's where it's going, is the question mark.
• 30:42
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's a bit to unpack here. Some of that
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: loss is due to the Enios sponsorship and they pulled
• 30:51
  Speaker 3: money out of the States and lost on the currency
• 30:56
  Speaker 3: the timing of that. But it is concerning and one
• 30:59
  Speaker 3: of the concerns is the massive investment that they made
• 31:02
  Speaker 3: in New Zealand Rugby plus the platform itself. I think
• 31:06
  Speaker 3: something like eleven million dollars has gone to that over
• 31:08
  Speaker 3: the past two and a half years, maybe even more,
• 31:11
  Speaker 3: and I would argue haven't seen a return on that investment.
• 31:15
  Speaker 3: So the other concern is money going out the door
• 31:20
  Speaker 3: to Silver Lake and the percentages that the players and
• 31:24
  Speaker 3: the provincial unions take. Those figures aren't sustainable and like
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: you say, when you're bringing in record revenue, you should
• 31:32
  Speaker 3: be in a better state. So there's going to be
• 31:35
  Speaker 3: a bit of a come to Jesus moment in the
• 31:37
  Speaker 3: near future for New Zealand rugby arounds where their money
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: goes because they're still spending more than they earn essentially members.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: Last time you logged into insit up plus the World Cup,
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: so what's that two years? It's Look, we are coming
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: from a different perspective than a fan. We're coming through
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: as broadcasters and journalists into it. But I just don't
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: see the value proposition there for fans. I guess it's
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: being modeled on the Premier League sort of things. You've
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: got me United TV and then Liverpool Plus and all
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: those sort of things, and they pump out a lot
• 32:13
  Speaker 2: of content and you feel connected to the club and
• 32:17
  Speaker 2: there's a real fandom that I just don't know that
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: New Zealand Rugby has that same proposition as a Premier
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: League club or the connection there, And that's always going
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: to be the issue for getting sign ups and getting
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: people logging in and watching these things, is that there's
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: no real three to sixty five day days a year,
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: twenty four to seven connection like you do with a
• 32:39
  Speaker 2: Premier League club and that sort of fandom.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: You're not really driving traffic on a regular basis, and
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: I think the only real way to do that is
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: if they were streaming live games and packaging content around that,
• 32:51
  Speaker 3: whether that be shows or news or those sorts of
• 32:56
  Speaker 3: things need to complement it because what they are currently
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: producing is not going to bring in the audience.
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: That's right, and live games well, then money comes from
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: broadcasting rights, so a lot of the money. So they're
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: not going to put these games up for free. Whatever
• 33:10
  Speaker 2: it might be. It's stuck putting a rock and a
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: hard plays. I just don't know where it goes to,
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: and that's going to be the fascinating thing. Maybe in
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: the new visual broadcast deal, there's no NPC on Sky
• 33:22
  Speaker 2: or design or whoever picks up the rights and maybe
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: ends it up. Plus can broadcast in partnership with some
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: of these unions and you get a bit of go
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: forward there. That's maybe an avenue down the track, but
• 33:31
  Speaker 2: at the moment it feels like it's treading water.
• 33:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 33:35
  Speaker 3: I think whether it's NPC or New Zealand, MALDI or
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: or Blacks fifteen or something, I think there needs to
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: be some form of live component or something to drive
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: greater audiences, because otherwise it's not going to get off
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: the ground.
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: Let's get into our tipping in. Look a shopping week
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: for you. Nick Neuly put in the tips for you
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: word with Nicole, the drawer, the Tars, the Crusaders. There
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: might have been some noop. You can go listen back
• 34:03
  Speaker 2: and stitch up to fit the Brumbies though, So you
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: did get one that week, thirty five points and a
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: half year on, I picked all four, so that's good news. Blues, Reds, Chiefs, Brumbies.
• 34:13
  Speaker 2: So I've got a forty three and a half score
• 34:15
  Speaker 2: at eight point lead.
• 34:16
  Speaker 4: Lucky.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: The Crusaders are timing their tank, so I'll be catching
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: up soon enough.
• 34:21
  Speaker 2: Friday night, the Hurricanes do the Highlanders derail the cane
• 34:25
  Speaker 2: train at sky Stadium.
• 34:27
  Speaker 4: No they did not.
• 34:28
  Speaker 3: I think even now resident Highland as man Paul Cully
• 34:31
  Speaker 3: might have even given up way with the white flag,
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: given up hope for this one.
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: I think it's hard to see the Highlanders winning that.
• 34:38
  Speaker 2: I'm going to Hurricanes Waratars Crusaders nine to thirty five
• 34:42
  Speaker 2: in Sydney, both teams missing their first choice fullbacks. Joseph
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: of course, I saw Elite you out for the war Retars,
• 34:48
  Speaker 2: will Jordan out for the Crusaders. Crusaders haven't done too
• 34:52
  Speaker 2: well in Sydney in recent times. Do they bounce back?
• 34:55
  Speaker 3: Look, I've always liked the Tars Elliott, but I am
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: gonna tip the Crusaders.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: I am as well. I picked the Blues are task.
• 35:03
  Speaker 2: I think it will be I think it will be tight.
• 35:05
  Speaker 2: I think it will be to it was tight last year.
• 35:07
  Speaker 2: They blew it after the siren with the the conversion
• 35:10
  Speaker 2: of where it was Fiji and drew hosting the Force
• 35:13
  Speaker 2: on Saturday afternoon. The Drawer seems to have had a
• 35:18
  Speaker 2: real run of home games in recent times, and they
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: will entertain the Force at Churchill Park in Lataka.
• 35:24
  Speaker 3: I think the Drawer because it's in Lawatoka afternoon game
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: and they just have to produce something at some point,
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: don't there.
• 35:33
  Speaker 2: They do match around from the new Zalm perspective. Anyway,
• 35:36
  Speaker 2: mo Waa Pacifica against the Blues five ye seven, Big
• 35:39
  Speaker 2: playoff implications at North Harbor Stadium, the home of Mowana Pacifica.
• 35:45
  Speaker 2: Brie will be going on before the game.
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: It will be happening and the Blues are going to
• 35:49
  Speaker 3: crash the party unfortunately American.
• 35:51
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go Majana for an upset to get
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: the playoff mix rolling again and Brumbies and Reds around
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: us out for around fourteen on Saturday nights.
• 36:02
  Speaker 4: I'll go to Brums at home.
• 36:05
  Speaker 2: I'm going to go the Reds for an upset Liz Kis.
• 36:08
  Speaker 2: Because we trust Kiss, we trust MVP Medal voting time.
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: I'll remind you the lead artist save he has a
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: six point buffer. Indeed he does in the official Super
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: Rugby's medal standings as well. Boden Baron on thirteen, Will
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: Jordan on nine your three two ones Limb.
• 36:24
  Speaker 4: I'm going to go Wallace to Tt Elliott's.
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: He was very very impressive in his first start with
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: there for the Chiefs, Hoskins the two too. I think
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: he's starting to really build in some form that that
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: Blues loose Ford trio, Dolden Popo Leese Yes starting to
• 36:39
  Speaker 3: come to the four as well. And Quenter Payer I
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: mentioned earlier. I think he uppointed David Havilli, so he's
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: had a breakout season. I think it's been three years
• 36:50
  Speaker 3: since he played for the All Blacks and as it
• 36:53
  Speaker 3: stands with events on Leonard Brown aw the MIXX, he
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: bear my ole Black squad.
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: Well, there you go, that's a bit call. We need
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: to do our All Blacks squad at some point as well,
• 37:01
  Speaker 2: do it in the coming weeks before we wrap up
• 37:03
  Speaker 2: things though. Great pleasure to be joined on rugby derick
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: by Bryce Heem Blues midfield who announced it retirement a
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago from the professional game, had any
• 37:13
  Speaker 2: number of clubs. He played forty two games for the
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: Blues in the end, but started his career at Auckland
• 37:17
  Speaker 2: in the NPC, then played for Northland Tasman, had a
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: stint with the Chiefs, back to Auckland after that the
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: Worcester Warriors too long, then to the Blues for that
• 37:26
  Speaker 2: forty two game stint rounded out his career with Auckland,
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: had a stint with the New Zealand seven side. As all,
• 37:31
  Speaker 2: Bryce Heam has done it all and we chatted with
• 37:34
  Speaker 2: him Bryce team big welcome to rug pea direct thanks
• 37:36
  Speaker 2: for coming in, no, thank you for having me. Happy
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: to be here. Well a few days or a week
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: or so since you announced your retirement to Cappy in
• 37:43
  Speaker 2: your decision and enjoying retired life.
• 37:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, you know, it was a I guess, tough
• 37:49
  Speaker 5: decision to come to. In the end, my hand was
• 37:52
  Speaker 5: kind of forced, no pun intended for the rest of injury.
• 37:57
  Speaker 5: But yeah, enjoying retirement, gone into mortgage broking and enjoying
• 38:01
  Speaker 5: the new gig, enjoy not waking up sore every morning.
• 38:04
  Speaker 5: And yeah, yeah it's been good so far. Nice.
• 38:08
  Speaker 3: I think you had fourteen years, three countries, seven teams.
• 38:14
  Speaker 3: You've got got around.
• 38:19
  Speaker 5: Thanks for putting it so kind.
• 38:23
  Speaker 4: It's obviously hard to boil that down. But what are
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: are you general reflections of your career?
• 38:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess, yes, somewhat of a journeyman, but I
• 38:38
  Speaker 5: don't look back on the career with any regrets of
• 38:41
  Speaker 5: you know, staying in one place and because yeah, the
• 38:45
  Speaker 5: people I got to meet were amazing, especially you know
• 38:50
  Speaker 5: overseas as well, a lot of foreigners as well, and
• 38:55
  Speaker 5: you know, like minded people coming together to in a
• 38:59
  Speaker 5: foreign space and then you know, having that in common
• 39:02
  Speaker 5: and you know, I guess developing some pretty special relationships
• 39:06
  Speaker 5: is pretty cool stuff that you wouldn't get if you
• 39:09
  Speaker 5: just stayed in New Zealand. And then you know, getting
• 39:13
  Speaker 5: to fully immerse yourself into different cultures as well, which
• 39:17
  Speaker 5: is which is pretty special and something that me and
• 39:19
  Speaker 5: my wife always wanted to go and do. But yeah,
• 39:24
  Speaker 5: it's taken me all over the show of my career
• 39:26
  Speaker 5: and yeah, I've got no regrets when I look back
• 39:28
  Speaker 5: on it now.
• 39:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, obviously New Zealand, France and England.
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: I want to I see about France in particular because
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: it is a very different rugby experience, particularly with the
• 39:39
  Speaker 3: you know, like the ownership model and you're at too
• 39:42
  Speaker 3: long with what's his name?
• 39:45
  Speaker 4: Probably yeah, but that pronunciation, but.
• 39:50
  Speaker 3: Either but yeah, I'm not sure if you there when
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: Jewels was there, but just you know, if you compare
• 39:58
  Speaker 3: it to New Zealand, and we do have private investment,
• 40:00
  Speaker 3: but it's very hands off. But when you've got one
• 40:03
  Speaker 3: owner quite demanding, come in the sheds and barat players publicly.
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: Sometimes what's the environment like and how different is it
• 40:14
  Speaker 3: both stylistically and in terms of having a hands on owner.
• 40:20
  Speaker 5: I guess for me, when I came into Toulon, Mourad
• 40:24
  Speaker 5: was sort of on the way out and there was
• 40:26
  Speaker 5: a new owner coming in and so I didn't get
• 40:29
  Speaker 5: to I guess really experience everything. I guess that the
• 40:35
  Speaker 5: that was advertised about Maurad, especially everything that happened with Jewels,
• 40:39
  Speaker 5: and when I got there, Jewels was still there. Mauraud
• 40:41
  Speaker 5: was on the way out, so it all sort of
• 40:43
  Speaker 5: died down by the time I got there. Then with
• 40:46
  Speaker 5: the new owner, he was amazing. I had a great
• 40:51
  Speaker 5: experience there, and I think when I look back at it,
• 40:55
  Speaker 5: we were pretty lucky that he did come on board
• 40:59
  Speaker 5: with COVID and everything that came up, because a lot
• 41:03
  Speaker 5: of clubs went under or when getting paid and things
• 41:07
  Speaker 5: like that, whereas he, you know, he honored the contracts
• 41:10
  Speaker 5: and and kept paying us and there was that was huge.
• 41:14
  Speaker 5: And yeah, I would put the house on it there
• 41:18
  Speaker 5: if Miratus saw there, they wouldn't.
• 41:21
  Speaker 2: How did that move come about? Because you're at Worcester
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: at the time and then went across to Toulon.
• 41:25
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I had done about four and
• 41:30
  Speaker 5: a bit years in England and and loved my time there,
• 41:33
  Speaker 5: loved the club. You know, we went that successful on
• 41:37
  Speaker 5: the field, but off the field, we we got after
• 41:39
  Speaker 5: it and we had a lot of fun and and
• 41:42
  Speaker 5: you know, met some great people, made some great mates,
• 41:45
  Speaker 5: and I think we were just ready for a change.
• 41:49
  Speaker 5: And we've always wanted to try and learn a new
• 41:53
  Speaker 5: language and and go into a different a different culture.
• 41:56
  Speaker 5: And you know, France was always quite appealing to us,
• 41:59
  Speaker 5: and there was an opportunity to go there and play
• 42:02
  Speaker 5: rugby and you know, and and some good money and
• 42:05
  Speaker 5: and you know, enjoy a different lifestyle. We were all
• 42:09
  Speaker 5: all up for it. So something came across across my table,
• 42:12
  Speaker 5: and yeah, we jumped at it. It was awesome. It
• 42:15
  Speaker 5: was awesome. You know, forty five minutes from Sentrepez on
• 42:20
  Speaker 5: the in the south coast of France. It doesn't doesn't
• 42:23
  Speaker 5: get better.
• 42:23
  Speaker 4: Yet, it sounds right, how good?
• 42:28
  Speaker 3: Fourteen years it's a it's a lifetime in many respects.
• 42:32
  Speaker 4: You know, you grow up.
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: From a boy to a man, you travel with the world,
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: you start a family, what are some of your big
• 42:42
  Speaker 3: lessons big takeaways from that time? And I guess life
• 42:47
  Speaker 3: in the spotlight, because growing up in the spotlight is
• 42:50
  Speaker 3: not easy for everyone. You know, you make a lot
• 42:53
  Speaker 3: of mistakes. Well, some people make mistakes. We all no
• 42:55
  Speaker 3: one's perfect. What what what would be some of your
• 42:58
  Speaker 3: big lessons big takeaways from from I guess life around Rugby.
• 43:05
  Speaker 5: No. I guess I was lucky in the censor as
• 43:07
  Speaker 5: I wasn't like and such a big spot as to
• 43:11
  Speaker 5: some other guys. You know that they're a lot, a
• 43:13
  Speaker 5: lot more successful anti Eureko's and and people like that,
• 43:17
  Speaker 5: for example. But I think the best thing you can
• 43:21
  Speaker 5: do in that sort of environment, especially right if you
• 43:25
  Speaker 5: are a global superstar, is such a young age. Then
• 43:28
  Speaker 5: that support network around you is probably the biggest thing,
• 43:33
  Speaker 5: because yeah, you got young, young shoulders and the young
• 43:36
  Speaker 5: head on them, right, and there's there's just so much
• 43:41
  Speaker 5: that you don't know. There's so much that's unknown, and
• 43:44
  Speaker 5: you need one a good agent, I think, to help
• 43:48
  Speaker 5: you out, help navigate contracts, decisions, all that sort of stuff.
• 43:53
  Speaker 5: And then good good family, good friends around you as well.
• 43:58
  Speaker 5: That's probably the biggest biggest thing for me and I was.
• 44:00
  Speaker 5: I was very fortunate in that department with my agent
• 44:04
  Speaker 5: and Dan Kane and and then with my family and
• 44:07
  Speaker 5: my partner as well, So that would be the biggest
• 44:12
  Speaker 5: one for sure. And I guess try not to get
• 44:20
  Speaker 5: caught up in the hype of it all, if that
• 44:22
  Speaker 5: makes sense. I constantly had to remind myself why I
• 44:28
  Speaker 5: I wanted to do this and why I loved playing rugby,
• 44:31
  Speaker 5: And it always comes back to their grassroots footy. You know,
• 44:33
  Speaker 5: you're playing with mates, you enjoy beer after the game,
• 44:36
  Speaker 5: and you're all about trying to win something together and
• 44:40
  Speaker 5: enjoying each other's company. And sometimes it's easy to get
• 44:43
  Speaker 5: caught up into maybe like the politics of footy and yeah,
• 44:50
  Speaker 5: and forget sort of why you started playing. And I
• 44:53
  Speaker 5: think that goes to everybody as well, you know, coaches included,
• 44:57
  Speaker 5: not just players. And yeah, from the start, I always
• 45:01
  Speaker 5: told myself, lif if it came to it and you
• 45:04
  Speaker 5: started to not enjoy the footy, then it was time
• 45:06
  Speaker 5: to walk away. So I always made sure that I
• 45:08
  Speaker 5: enjoyed my craft, enjoyed going to work every day, and enjoyed,
• 45:12
  Speaker 5: you know, putting in the hard yards as well for
• 45:15
  Speaker 5: the team.
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: If we get back to the start of your career.
• 45:17
  Speaker 2: You played a bit for the New Zealand seven So
• 45:19
  Speaker 2: I was that on the radar when you first got
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: into professional rugby or was it do you get the
• 45:22
  Speaker 2: shoulder tap from Titch? Did you wanted to play sevens?
• 45:27
  Speaker 5: No? I guess I'd always wanted to just do fifteens.
• 45:30
  Speaker 5: Sevens never never really crossed my mind. I guess I
• 45:32
  Speaker 5: always watched it, you know, and so many legend of
• 45:35
  Speaker 5: the game have gone through the avenue. It wasn't until
• 45:40
  Speaker 5: I think I played my first game against the New
• 45:44
  Speaker 5: Zealand Barbarian Oh no, for the New Zealand Barbarians against
• 45:46
  Speaker 5: New Zealand Maldi. And it was pretty much after that
• 45:49
  Speaker 5: game that Titch gave me a call and said, do
• 45:52
  Speaker 5: you want to come over? Come over go. I never
• 45:56
  Speaker 5: thought about it. I jumped at the opportunity and GZL
• 45:59
  Speaker 5: was an awakening. What is this?
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: What were training sessions of the famous as his training sessions?
• 46:05
  Speaker 2: You know how much he'd put the players through? What
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: would they like render us?
• 46:10
  Speaker 5: You know? But as bad as they were, then they
• 46:13
  Speaker 5: they make you resilient. Yeah, you can never be broken
• 46:20
  Speaker 5: mentally after after you endure a camp with touch for sure.
• 46:25
  Speaker 2: But fifteen's was yourmate goal because you finished sevens went
• 46:28
  Speaker 2: to the Chiefs.
• 46:28
  Speaker 5: Is that right? Yeah, Yeah, that's right. Yeah, And I
• 46:31
  Speaker 5: guess I always wanted to go traveling as well. I
• 46:34
  Speaker 5: always wanted to go live overseas, and I guess in
• 46:38
  Speaker 5: terms of playing footy overseas, sevens isn't really something you can,
• 46:42
  Speaker 5: I guess, make a career out of unless you get
• 46:45
  Speaker 5: to travel with New Zealand Sevens and whatnot. But it's
• 46:47
  Speaker 5: not the same when you know, you get to fully
• 46:49
  Speaker 5: immerse yourself into another culture and live there. And so
• 46:53
  Speaker 5: I guess that was probably one of the main drivers.
• 46:55
  Speaker 5: And yeah, when when it did come about, yeah we're
• 47:00
  Speaker 5: we're all ready to go.
• 47:01
  Speaker 3: It was pretty exciting, one hundred percent sure on this.
• 47:04
  Speaker 3: But watch you, sir, they still around.
• 47:08
  Speaker 5: They are just about to make a comeback, right. I'm
• 47:11
  Speaker 5: not too sure what division it is, but yeah, things
• 47:15
  Speaker 5: back on the move too. You had to come back
• 47:17
  Speaker 5: into footy.
• 47:19
  Speaker 3: Yeah right, so they collapsed and potentially coming back. So
• 47:23
  Speaker 3: obviously you spent time there, what did you stay in
• 47:28
  Speaker 3: touch with people? You know during that time? And I
• 47:31
  Speaker 3: guess it is a pretty challenging climate for rugby They're
• 47:34
  Speaker 3: not alone with Wasps, you know, Glamour Club in England
• 47:37
  Speaker 3: going under and other clubs around the world. So what
• 47:41
  Speaker 3: was it like for people you knew and having been
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: in at a club like that to watch a club
• 47:46
  Speaker 3: go through that experience.
• 47:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah, it was pretty It was pretty sad, to be honest,
• 47:50
  Speaker 5: because mainly for that community as well, like rugby was
• 47:55
  Speaker 5: so big to the town of What's you know, you'd
• 47:57
  Speaker 5: get twelve to fifteen thousand every game and for that
• 48:01
  Speaker 5: just to disappear for them would have been heartbreaking because
• 48:04
  Speaker 5: there were such loyal fans. And then in terms of
• 48:06
  Speaker 5: the players, a lot of them came out okay there,
• 48:12
  Speaker 5: you know, there were decent enough players and they've got
• 48:14
  Speaker 5: contracts elsewhere. A lot of them went to Bath. A
• 48:16
  Speaker 5: lot of my close mates went to Bath. But then
• 48:21
  Speaker 5: a lot of other guys ended up just just going
• 48:24
  Speaker 5: and starting there the next next job, the next venture,
• 48:28
  Speaker 5: I guess, which was yeah, pretty gutting after especially if
• 48:34
  Speaker 5: you're a young kid and you've worked so hard and
• 48:35
  Speaker 5: gone through the academy and you've promised all these different
• 48:38
  Speaker 5: things and then all of a sudden it just comes
• 48:40
  Speaker 5: to an end. Yeah, it was pretty Yeah, just sad,
• 48:44
  Speaker 5: I guess, because yeah, like I say, you work hard
• 48:48
  Speaker 5: for something and then it's just taken from you and
• 48:50
  Speaker 5: it's completely outequate or your control.
• 48:53
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I guess we can feel a bit insulated from
• 48:55
  Speaker 3: it here, but you look around the world with wasps
• 48:58
  Speaker 3: and wacestern Melbourne Rebels and the States, it's a lot
• 49:03
  Speaker 3: more common these days, so pretty hard to watch on talking.
• 49:06
  Speaker 4: I've talked to Brad Shields.
• 49:07
  Speaker 3: About has experience as well, and yeah, a lot of
• 49:11
  Speaker 3: those guys got left in the lurch, so not good to.
• 49:14
  Speaker 5: See, no no, And then I guess it becomes a
• 49:18
  Speaker 5: flooded market too, and then so then yeah, it becomes
• 49:22
  Speaker 5: a lot harder for everyone to get jobs playing footy.
• 49:26
  Speaker 5: And I think a lot they were renegotiating contracts. We're
• 49:31
  Speaker 5: getting a lot less than what they were, you know
• 49:34
  Speaker 5: originally on just because they could get you know, whoever
• 49:37
  Speaker 5: it might be for a lower prices. Does the job
• 49:41
  Speaker 5: just as good.
• 49:42
  Speaker 2: When you came back to New Zealand, were you expecting
• 49:46
  Speaker 2: to play rugby and New Zealand again because you left
• 49:48
  Speaker 2: too long for family reasons came back to New Zealand.
• 49:50
  Speaker 2: Was it always on the agenda that you wanted to
• 49:52
  Speaker 2: play in New Zealand again and play for whether at
• 49:54
  Speaker 2: NPC or Super or.
• 49:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess I well, I actually I think once
• 50:00
  Speaker 5: I was in France, I was like, Okay, let's you know,
• 50:04
  Speaker 5: it's going to be a good life here. Let's let's
• 50:06
  Speaker 5: just finish up here. And that was the plan. But
• 50:08
  Speaker 5: then yeah, my old man got lung cancer and so
• 50:12
  Speaker 5: so wow, there's no point hanging around because you know,
• 50:15
  Speaker 5: it's just never know what's going to happen with lung cans,
• 50:18
  Speaker 5: even though it was only stage three at that stage,
• 50:21
  Speaker 5: and it's just yah, a no brainer to come home.
• 50:24
  Speaker 5: And so when I left, I didn't have a contract
• 50:27
  Speaker 5: to come back to. I was just like, I'm just
• 50:29
  Speaker 5: going to get home and I'll figure it out. Yeah.
• 50:31
  Speaker 5: And I was lucky enough to have a good relationship
• 50:36
  Speaker 5: with with Lea McDonald and I messaged him and I
• 50:38
  Speaker 5: was just like, hey, mate, I'm coming back to New Zealand.
• 50:43
  Speaker 5: I'll be around if you need him one to jump
• 50:45
  Speaker 5: in for trainings or whatever. And then yeah, he was like, oh,
• 50:49
  Speaker 5: Jim might have a spot. I was like, oh jezus bloody. Also,
• 50:55
  Speaker 5: because as it worked out there, I was lucky that
• 50:57
  Speaker 5: I had a MiQ spot which was horrendous as well.
• 51:01
  Speaker 5: We did two weeks in a small little hotel room
• 51:04
  Speaker 5: with my twenty month old little girl. It was like,
• 51:07
  Speaker 5: oh yeah, it was terrible. Felt like a prisoner. You'd
• 51:12
  Speaker 5: get let out for for some yard time and go
• 51:15
  Speaker 5: walk around unitech and in a paddock which was which
• 51:19
  Speaker 5: was so weird. Yeah, back into the cage. Yeah yeah. Yeah.
• 51:24
  Speaker 5: The only good thing was you didn't have to cook
• 51:27
  Speaker 5: meals delivered, so yeah, that that that was what happened.
• 51:31
  Speaker 5: I think it was choc o'batas from Argentina. Yeah, he
• 51:36
  Speaker 5: was meant to come over but he couldn't get it
• 51:38
  Speaker 5: in my Q spot and then so I probably owe
• 51:41
  Speaker 5: him a few beers. Yeah. Yeah, that was a little
• 51:47
  Speaker 5: mailbik for um for sure. So yeah, it all sort
• 51:51
  Speaker 5: of just worked out my clockwork in the end. But yeah,
• 51:54
  Speaker 5: when I left, I had no idea what was going
• 51:57
  Speaker 5: to happen.
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: To be honest, how do you look back at that
• 51:59
  Speaker 2: Blues experience because you came back obviously with it, not
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: knowing you'd be playing again to effectively becoming their first
• 52:05
  Speaker 2: choice in the midfield, you know, and you rose at
• 52:08
  Speaker 2: the ranks really quickly. How do you look back at that,
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: I guess that stage of your career.
• 52:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess I'm pretty pretty proud of it, to
• 52:16
  Speaker 5: be honest. I guess when I left New Zealand, I
• 52:18
  Speaker 5: only had a year of super under me, and I
• 52:23
  Speaker 5: guess while I was away, I always sort of wondered
• 52:25
  Speaker 5: if I could keep up with the pace of the
• 52:27
  Speaker 5: game back here and still compete with the boys back here,
• 52:31
  Speaker 5: And I guess after doing it, I'm yeah, I'm happy
• 52:35
  Speaker 5: that I got that opportunity and the way that everything
• 52:38
  Speaker 5: worked out to come back and finish at home in
• 52:41
  Speaker 5: Auckland around friends and family and just to sort of,
• 52:44
  Speaker 5: I guess, get that monkey off my back in a
• 52:46
  Speaker 5: way as well. And yeah, and then winning a title
• 52:52
  Speaker 5: pretty very awesome and get chills now just thinking about it.
• 52:57
  Speaker 5: So yeah, awesome.
• 52:59
  Speaker 2: Did you feel you're close to All Black selection in
• 53:03
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty three at all, because it felt like you're
• 53:05
  Speaker 2: playing some outstanding rugby that year and there was all
• 53:07
  Speaker 2: sorts of questions at the it's midfield. Did you feel
• 53:10
  Speaker 2: like you were in the mix? U? No, No, not really.
• 53:15
  Speaker 5: I think I always knew that my my age was
• 53:17
  Speaker 5: always going to play against me, no matter how well,
• 53:20
  Speaker 5: I played, and I get that, you know, I guess
• 53:23
  Speaker 5: I had my chance to hang around and try and
• 53:27
  Speaker 5: make All Blacks and whatnot, and I chose to go overseas. So,
• 53:32
  Speaker 5: you know, as much as I loved the hype around
• 53:36
  Speaker 5: it and you know, and hearing people say such nice
• 53:38
  Speaker 5: things about me, I said, always knew in the back
• 53:39
  Speaker 5: of my mind that it was probably never gonna happen.
• 53:43
  Speaker 3: You didn't play for the All Blacks fifteen though, that
• 53:45
  Speaker 3: that would have been you did, right, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
• 53:48
  Speaker 3: A nice experience.
• 53:49
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, that was awesome to wear, you know, another
• 53:53
  Speaker 5: black jersey and you'd go away and travel as I
• 53:57
  Speaker 5: think I was the oldest player about seven years or something,
• 54:01
  Speaker 5: but I was happy to be there. And I think
• 54:05
  Speaker 5: I i Leon again for that one as well, maybe
• 54:09
  Speaker 5: just to bring an old head along just to I
• 54:11
  Speaker 5: don't know, get the young boys and.
• 54:15
  Speaker 3: Get them homework, talk us through the Blues title because
• 54:23
  Speaker 3: it was a ride was twenty years and yeah, you know,
• 54:28
  Speaker 3: think twenty one year. Leon came in and certainly improved
• 54:32
  Speaker 3: the team drastically, and then Vyn comes in and wins
• 54:36
  Speaker 3: it in his first year. But just the culbination of
• 54:40
  Speaker 3: leading up to that winning the title, the celebrations, the
• 54:44
  Speaker 3: monkey off the back, what what was that like?
• 54:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah? Yeah, So I came back in twenty one and
• 54:52
  Speaker 5: I think we won the Trans Tasman that year, and
• 54:56
  Speaker 5: I think for everyone, like it was awesome to win something,
• 54:58
  Speaker 5: but it didn't feel like a championship, I guess, and
• 55:03
  Speaker 5: it seemed like no one else counted that as well.
• 55:08
  Speaker 4: As fans.
• 55:10
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, prime example. But yeah, and then I
• 55:19
  Speaker 5: guess to continue form and to keep competing well as
• 55:24
  Speaker 5: a team. We knew we were thereabouts and what we
• 55:29
  Speaker 5: needed to do, but then for whatever reason, just kept
• 55:31
  Speaker 5: falling short. And yeah, like you say, Leon was a
• 55:33
  Speaker 5: big part of getting the team to to where it was,
• 55:36
  Speaker 5: and then then came in and just perfected a few
• 55:38
  Speaker 5: things here and there with a different, different mindset, I guess,
• 55:42
  Speaker 5: which got us across the line. And yeah, to keep
• 55:46
  Speaker 5: falling shorter, bloody kept hurting, especially that year where we
• 55:50
  Speaker 5: pretty much went undefeated, and then to get pummeled in
• 55:54
  Speaker 5: the final was pretty hard because I don't think any
• 55:59
  Speaker 5: of us in that team thought we were going to lose.
• 56:03
  Speaker 5: And then, yeah, the Crusaders just kept tipping us over
• 56:06
  Speaker 5: and you'd be happy as punishing. What lessons did you
• 56:12
  Speaker 5: take then from from twenty two and twenty three when
• 56:15
  Speaker 5: you did fall short as a team into twenty four
• 56:18
  Speaker 5: with the valuable lessons about what it meant to play
• 56:20
  Speaker 5: finals footy or semi final footy that you could put
• 56:23
  Speaker 5: into that campaign that eventually came. Right. Yeah, I guess
• 56:27
  Speaker 5: that the what's happened before counts for nothing, you know,
• 56:32
  Speaker 5: and whatever was done then needs to be intensified, you know,
• 56:38
  Speaker 5: by a thousand to get the job done. You can
• 56:42
  Speaker 5: never write another team off and just expect that it's
• 56:44
  Speaker 5: going to go the way that it did before. And
• 56:48
  Speaker 5: I guess that's sort of what happened last year as well.
• 56:52
  Speaker 5: We knew that we were never there through the season.
• 56:57
  Speaker 5: You know. It took us, I guess, to all the
• 56:59
  Speaker 5: playoffs to really figure out our game and how we
• 57:02
  Speaker 5: were going to play it and what teams really struggled with,
• 57:07
  Speaker 5: and to perfect it in the final was amazing, you know,
• 57:12
  Speaker 5: And granted, you know, the Chiefs were pretty banged up
• 57:14
  Speaker 5: from their semi final, but still it was a pretty
• 57:17
  Speaker 5: convincing win. And I don't think there was a player
• 57:21
  Speaker 5: on that field that didn't play well for our team.
• 57:24
  Speaker 5: Everyone just knew their role, nailed it, and I guess
• 57:27
  Speaker 5: that was a difference in the end, everyone just nailing
• 57:29
  Speaker 5: their role inside and out.
• 57:32
  Speaker 2: Really, do you feel there are parallels to the season
• 57:34
  Speaker 2: because there has been the Blues best season so far,
• 57:37
  Speaker 2: But as it stands, with a couple of two or
• 57:38
  Speaker 2: three weeks to go, they're right in the playoff mix
• 57:42
  Speaker 2: again despite probably not hitting their straps yet over the
• 57:45
  Speaker 2: course of the season. Do you feel that this campaign
• 57:48
  Speaker 2: might be able to be similar to last year?
• 57:49
  Speaker 5: Yeah, well, they've given themselves a chance, right, and yeah,
• 57:53
  Speaker 5: it hasn't not by any means, been a pretty season.
• 57:58
  Speaker 5: But then, like I just said, playoffs is a different beast, right,
• 58:02
  Speaker 5: They've still got a two more games before the playoffs
• 58:06
  Speaker 5: to really nail everything else. It looks like, you know,
• 58:09
  Speaker 5: things are staying to come together. You know they've been
• 58:13
  Speaker 5: They've had horrific injuries all through the team throughout the
• 58:16
  Speaker 5: season and to try and get like a consistent twenty
• 58:21
  Speaker 5: three together it has been quite quite difficult. But at
• 58:25
  Speaker 5: the same time, it's been awesome to see some of
• 58:26
  Speaker 5: the young boys come through and do really well and
• 58:29
  Speaker 5: put their hand up So you know that only does
• 58:31
  Speaker 5: wonders for a club as well, especially when you're going
• 58:34
  Speaker 5: into playoffs and you need everyone in the team. So yeah,
• 58:37
  Speaker 5: I've got big hopes for them, and it looks like
• 58:40
  Speaker 5: things are staying to come together. So let's hope that,
• 58:43
  Speaker 5: you know, it could be a back to back, but
• 58:44
  Speaker 5: we'll see.
• 58:46
  Speaker 3: Can you give us a bit of an insight, take
• 58:48
  Speaker 3: us inside the sheds, you know what it is like
• 58:51
  Speaker 3: to win a title, particularly when it's been that long,
• 58:53
  Speaker 3: when there's players in that team, coaches that have managers
• 58:56
  Speaker 3: that have been there through it all, you know, Friby
• 58:58
  Speaker 3: and the like, and what did it mean to you?
• 59:02
  Speaker 3: And we did at rank and all the next few
• 59:06
  Speaker 3: days like.
• 59:09
  Speaker 5: Oh yeah, I guess it's up there, you know, at
• 59:12
  Speaker 5: the top for me in terms of achievements in my career. Emotionally,
• 59:17
  Speaker 5: it was awesome to do it for everyone like you mentioned,
• 59:20
  Speaker 5: you know, Richard Frye, our manager has been there for
• 59:22
  Speaker 5: I think this is eleventh year, and all those other boys,
• 59:27
  Speaker 5: you know, Rico one hundred odd games, Paddy Akira, all
• 59:33
  Speaker 5: those boys that have been there for so long, and
• 59:35
  Speaker 5: I guess especially in the hardy years as well, where
• 59:39
  Speaker 5: you know they they weren't nearly as good as what
• 59:42
  Speaker 5: they were when Leon came through, and they've done all
• 59:45
  Speaker 5: those hard yards and so to finally have something to
• 59:48
  Speaker 5: show for it, it was awesome to be able to
• 59:50
  Speaker 5: give to them, to give to the club and mainly
• 59:52
  Speaker 5: the fans as well. I reckon those ones that have
• 59:54
  Speaker 5: been loyal with us over there twenty one year drought
• 59:58
  Speaker 5: and finally get it back. It was amazing. The celebrations
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 5: were unbelievable. I think everyone just felt like a huge relief.
• 1:00:12
  Speaker 5: The aftermath, I won't go into too much. I don't
• 1:00:15
  Speaker 5: that I could remember too much either.
• 1:00:19
  Speaker 3: The Highlands party at Tony Brown's party recoas maybe.
• 1:00:25
  Speaker 5: Like that.
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 2: You weren't playing at the time, but obviously it was
• 1:00:29
  Speaker 2: your last Blues game. So is it special in the
• 1:00:32
  Speaker 2: way that that was the last time you wore the Blues?
• 1:00:35
  Speaker 2: Juicy on a Parker is winning a championship?
• 1:00:38
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, one hundred percent. I guess you know,
• 1:00:40
  Speaker 5: you couldn't have written the narrative any better really, And then,
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 5: funny enough, my last game total was Upper Northland at
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 5: the tunny Fow and that's where I played my first
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 5: one against New Zealand Maldic So that was pretty cool. Cool,
• 1:00:57
  Speaker 5: But you had to finish with the championship. It was
• 1:00:59
  Speaker 5: a massive Yeah one d you can look back at
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 5: it and be happy.
• 1:01:04
  Speaker 2: The hands was always you're hoping to get back out
• 1:01:07
  Speaker 2: this year or just did you know?
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 5: Or I sort of knew, like there was so much
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 5: uncertainty around it. I guess, so meeting with the specialists
• 1:01:18
  Speaker 5: the surgery that was required, there was no guarantees that
• 1:01:22
  Speaker 5: it was going to be successful. They had a pretty
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 5: low success rate. And then during NBC, I was trying
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 5: to keep playing, and I was on having to take
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 5: painkillers for training for games, and I had the seroid
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 5: injection as well, and still having to take painkillers, and
• 1:01:39
  Speaker 5: I say, oh, this, this just isn't really a way
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 5: to live. And yeah, I guess maybe if I hadn't
• 1:01:49
  Speaker 5: won that title, it might have tried to push a
• 1:01:52
  Speaker 5: bit harder to try and get back. Maybe that's hard
• 1:01:56
  Speaker 5: to say, No, it's hindsighted, yes, but sorry, where was
• 1:02:02
  Speaker 5: I the the risk? Yeah, I guess just didn't you
• 1:02:07
  Speaker 5: have any s into around my ability to come back
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 5: and play, and the quality of life just wasn't there.
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 5: And so in the end, I guess it was kind
• 1:02:16
  Speaker 5: of an easy decision because, yeah, young kids and all that.
• 1:02:23
  Speaker 5: So I've got to think about them as well and
• 1:02:25
  Speaker 5: put them first. And it's nice now not to be
• 1:02:28
  Speaker 5: sore every day, and you can play with them the
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 5: way that I've always wanted to and with less aches
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 5: and pains, So that's always good as well being.
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 3: If we talk post career transition, it can be scary
• 1:02:42
  Speaker 3: intimidating because it's not just the playing and the camaraderie
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 3: that you lose, but there's a lot of wrap around
• 1:02:50
  Speaker 3: support for a rugby player, whether it be nutrition or
• 1:02:53
  Speaker 3: you know, gym. Everything's organized from a travel perspective. And
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 3: then the taps turned off almost overnight, Right, So how's
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 3: that been for you?
• 1:03:05
  Speaker 4: How have you navigated it?
• 1:03:06
  Speaker 3: And how long we planning your post career transition?
• 1:03:12
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I guess I had been. I sort of always
• 1:03:15
  Speaker 5: knew that I needed to do something or have something
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 5: in the pipeline for when rugby came to an end,
• 1:03:20
  Speaker 5: and I guess I didn't really know what I wanted
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 5: to do until I came back to New Zealand and
• 1:03:23
  Speaker 5: after meeting with a few people. I always had always
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 5: been interested in property, but didn't have enough money to
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 5: be a developer. Yeah, especially an awkward so that was
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 5: ruled out pretty quickly. I didn't want to do real
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 5: estate because I wanted to have weekends back after fourteen
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 5: years of not having any for a while. There's a
• 1:03:46
  Speaker 5: long time. And then I met a few people that
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 5: were in the finance industry doing mortgage broking, and you know,
• 1:03:54
  Speaker 5: they sort of painted the picture to me, and I
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 5: really liked the sound of it. You know, the ability
• 1:03:58
  Speaker 5: to have been able to help people get into first homes.
• 1:04:03
  Speaker 5: You know, if they get into trouble with debt, you
• 1:04:06
  Speaker 5: can help them consolidate back into their home if they
• 1:04:10
  Speaker 5: need it, and all just like these different ways that
• 1:04:14
  Speaker 5: you can, I guess, help help people. And that was
• 1:04:17
  Speaker 5: a big, big motivator for me. And then also I
• 1:04:22
  Speaker 5: guess my time being away overseas whenever I was trying
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 5: to buy a property back here, just so far out
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 5: of the loop when you're not living in the country,
• 1:04:30
  Speaker 5: and then I guess, yeah, I thought that could be
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 5: a cool, a cool way to help the other boys
• 1:04:37
  Speaker 5: that are living overseas and if they needn't help, I'm here,
• 1:04:40
  Speaker 5: I've been through it and sort of help people learn
• 1:04:42
  Speaker 5: from my mistakes that I had made in my property journey.
• 1:04:47
  Speaker 5: So that was a big part of the career choice
• 1:04:50
  Speaker 5: after footy. The transition is pretty scary, Like you say,
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 5: you know, everything's sort of provided for you, and then
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 5: the TAP's just turned off, and it's still scary now,
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 5: even though you know I'm in the job and things
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 5: are going well and I'm enjoying it, it's still yeah,
• 1:05:07
  Speaker 5: it's STI pretty nerve.
• 1:05:09
  Speaker 3: It's a big, big changer at fourteen years and then
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 3: then it's.
• 1:05:13
  Speaker 5: Gone, yeah, yeah, one hundred. But also the Blues have
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 5: been really really supportive as well. You know, they've tried
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 5: to introduce me to different people to help grow a
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 5: network and talk to different people about you know, their
• 1:05:29
  Speaker 5: learnings from their business adventures and and all all that
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 5: sort of stuff. So it's they haven't just left me
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 5: in the dark and said goodbye, you know, though they're yeah,
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 5: they're they're always there to to pick up the phone
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 5: and call and help. So they've been amazing in the transition.
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 5: So the tap you know, is still dripping a little,
• 1:05:50
  Speaker 5: which is great.
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 2: You the kind of person that wants to put your
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 2: hand in coaching or media or anything like that, and
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 2: in terms of rugby or are you happy to draw
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 2: a line under it and you're playing careers.
• 1:06:03
  Speaker 5: I don't know if i'd ever go into try and
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 5: go professional coaching. I think I've seen the guys you know,
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 5: and it's it's a full time job. You take it
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 5: home with you, it's it's never ending, and I think
• 1:06:19
  Speaker 5: I'd enjoy having the breakaway from it completely. I'd love
• 1:06:23
  Speaker 5: to be able to give back to the community at
• 1:06:26
  Speaker 5: some stage, the rugby community, whether that's going back to
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 5: club and coaching there or helping out around the local
• 1:06:32
  Speaker 5: rugby club or something like that. That'd be awesome. But yeah,
• 1:06:35
  Speaker 5: in terms of a professional scense, I don't. I don't
• 1:06:37
  Speaker 5: think that's me. But I still try to stay connected
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 5: with all the boys, go on and every now and
• 1:06:43
  Speaker 5: again and say hi, and it's awesome to have the
• 1:06:47
  Speaker 5: connection still because yeah, like you said, Liam, there would
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 5: be the biggest part that you miss is that camaraderie
• 1:06:54
  Speaker 5: and you know, all the friendships that you've made and
• 1:06:56
  Speaker 5: all the stuff you've been through as well. But yeah,
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 5: there's I don't think there's a future for coaching for
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 5: me anyway.
• 1:07:05
  Speaker 2: We've got a few final ones to finish up on.
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 2: Who would you label the best coach you played under
• 1:07:11
  Speaker 2: professional amateur whatever it might be.
• 1:07:14
  Speaker 5: Um ooh, I think my time in the Chiefs was
• 1:07:21
  Speaker 5: pretty pretty awesome. You know, that was my first super
• 1:07:26
  Speaker 5: rugby team, and they taught me a lot. In terms
• 1:07:29
  Speaker 5: of Dave Rennie and Wayne Smith. You know, I guess
• 1:07:33
  Speaker 5: everyone's got amazing things to say about Wayne Smith, and
• 1:07:36
  Speaker 5: I agree with every one of them, because yeah, he
• 1:07:38
  Speaker 5: has a different a different beast. Really, the way he
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 5: thinks about the game and the way he approaches it
• 1:07:45
  Speaker 5: to get you to think about it as well is
• 1:07:47
  Speaker 5: pretty special. So yeah, I learned a lot there and
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 5: I think that helped put me in good stead for
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 5: the rest of my career.
• 1:07:56
  Speaker 3: Double banger hair our favorite teammate and will go hardest opponent.
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 5: Oh, hardest opponent. I'd probably go Joshua toosover Man just
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 5: raw power, unbelievable skill. Yeah, but then like you can't
• 1:08:19
  Speaker 5: be angry at him because he's the nicest guy. Yeah, yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah,
• 1:08:26
  Speaker 5: he'd be up there so hard to tackle, so strong,
• 1:08:31
  Speaker 5: and you know he can beat you so many different ways.
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 5: You know, step here, you can run straight through if
• 1:08:37
  Speaker 5: you want.
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 3: You played fallback, wing, center, reckon, you can play loose
• 1:08:43
  Speaker 3: forward as well.
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 5: Maybe not the same way that Josh or Bodier do.
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 5: Favorite player that I've played with, teammate, favorite teammate. Oh geez,
• 1:09:02
  Speaker 5: that's hopefully none of them listening really put me on
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 5: the spot.
• 1:09:08
  Speaker 4: You can have two if you like.
• 1:09:10
  Speaker 5: I think I think I'll go with Angus Tarvel's up there.
• 1:09:15
  Speaker 5: You know, he's he's been awesome for me since coming
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 5: home and since he came to the Blues, you know,
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 5: because I guess we're similar age, so it's nice having
• 1:09:23
  Speaker 5: someone that's in the same space of life with you.
• 1:09:27
  Speaker 5: And then he's just awesome to have around the team.
• 1:09:28
  Speaker 5: You know, he's always happy, he's good at motivating the boys,
• 1:09:33
  Speaker 5: and it's always keen to have a laugh, which I
• 1:09:35
  Speaker 5: really enjoy as well. We don't take ourselves too seriously,
• 1:09:39
  Speaker 5: and neither does Angus, you know. And yeah, yeah, Angus Tarvel.
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 5: There you go, mate.
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 2: And finally, we're two and a half years out, but
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 2: give us a prediction for the twenty twenty seven Rugby
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 2: World Cup. Who do you think wins it?
• 1:09:54
  Speaker 5: Oh? Tough, tough. I'd like to think the All Blacks do.
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 5: But then I don't think you can write off the
• 1:10:04
  Speaker 5: likes of France and having played with some of those boys,
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 5: you know. I like what I see. They're quite similar
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 5: to South Africa in that respect as well, like big
• 1:10:16
  Speaker 5: forward pack and very skilful packs. So yeah, if it's
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 5: not the Abs or lock in France.
• 1:10:22
  Speaker 2: Nice Well, Bryce, I really appreciate you coming in and
• 1:10:24
  Speaker 2: having a chat with us. Best luck with the post
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 2: retirement career and congratulations on a great career.
• 1:10:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah, thank you very much, thank you for having me on.
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, thanks, look forward to seeing you down in the
• 1:10:33
  Speaker 3: local Auckland club breg we Seene in a couple of years.
• 1:10:36
  Speaker 5: Yeah yeah, yeah, coaching head on, maybe carrying some.
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 4: Waters right afterwards, a few snags.
• 1:10:44
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 2: It's good to catch up with Bryce. He's got a
• 1:10:48
  Speaker 2: few jerseys, I'm sure in the Cup doesn't.
• 1:10:51
  Speaker 3: He does Commonwealth Games silver medal and lots of jerseys
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 3: and plenty of fans and a very popular member of
• 1:10:59
  Speaker 3: the Blues. I think they called him uncle and cardor
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 3: towards it towards the end there. So yeah, I know
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 3: some of our friends and colleagues. He's had a lot
• 1:11:09
  Speaker 3: of hype around hem hive, so great to chat to him.
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well you mentioned that he didn't think you in
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 2: the back of his mind he was in the All
• 1:11:14
  Speaker 2: Blacks mix, but twenty twenty three in particular is playing
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 2: some very very good rugby. I don't know if he
• 1:11:20
  Speaker 2: was ever, you know, the All Blacks fifteen, maybe he
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 2: could have made the All Blacks, but great tales nonethelessons
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 2: Great to have Bryce on the podcast with us first week.
• 1:11:27
  Speaker 2: More interviews on the way here on Rugby Direct and
• 1:11:31
  Speaker 2: that'll do us for another week. Great to have you
• 1:11:33
  Speaker 2: back on board, Liam, and thanks to as always to
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 2: Last and Bars English were producing and Friends a Habit
• 1:11:38
  Speaker 2: health tackling all your aches and pains from sports and work.
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: For more from news talks ed B Listen live on
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
• 1:11:50
  Speaker 1: you go with our podcast on iHeartRadio