The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast
Harry Jones, the grizzly old no.8, and Brett McKay, the unremarkable schoolboy no.9, unite for the short-side set-piece combination you didn't realise you needed in a rugby podcast.
A couple of hosts who came together on a whim in 2022 have become arguably the best - and maybe the only - South African-American-Australian rugby podcast combination in the rugby world, blending the perfect combination of passion, humour, nonsense, and genuine insight. Tune in every week to find out where on earth Harry is podding from, and how on earth Brett keeps it all flowing as they enjoy great rugby chats with an incredible array of guests.
51
Ep.37 – Sua’ali’i will save rugby and all Law V...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones go it alone on The 8-9 Combo this week, delving into a couple of topics they’ve wanted to cover off in a bit of detail: the introduction of new and not-so-new Law Variations into the Autumn Nations Series this November, and the arrival and expected impact of high profile league convert and schoolboy rugby prodigy Joseph Sua’ali’i into Australian Rugby and the Wallabies.
63 min
52
Games of the Week 28 – #JerseyTalk
Brett McKay and Harry Jones return with another edition of Games of the Week, where the guys work through the best games from each of the best competitions around the rugby world this weekend, before launching into comprehensive and definitive rulings on the best and worst jerseys running around in the Premiership, the URC, and the Top 14 in season 2024/2025.
25 min
53
Ep.36 – Goal-kicking Mechanics with ‘Rocketfoot...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones get super technical on The 8-9 Combo this week, getting right into the sweet spot of goal-kicking with South African rugby and American football kicking coach and consultant, Wihan van der Riet, founder and professional coach with his Rocketfoot Academy.
69 min
54
Games of the Week 27 – Random Calls in Leicester
Brett McKay and Harry Jones return with another edition of Games of the Week, where the guys work through the best games from each of the best competitions around the rugby world this weekend.
21 min
55
Ep.35 – Couple of French Wingers with James Sli...
57 min
56
Games of the Week 26 – What Have We Learned fro...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back to take a look back at The Rugby Championship for 2024 and discuss once and for all what we have learned about the four SANZAAR national teams from this tournament, and what it might mean for the November internationals in the northern hemisphere.
32 min
57
Ep.34 – Fake Ceilings with Jared Wright
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Plante Rugby writer and connoisseur of stadium security dominant tackles, Jared Wright, for a full look back on South Africa’s thumping of Argentina to wrap up The Rugby Championship for 2024, and what has really made this Springbok team so dominant on their way to their first southern hemisphere title since 2019.
57 min
58
Test Match post-mortem 8 – Weird Welly-Wonka
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones launch into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it any thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on another weird and curious Bledisloe Cup contest in Wellington, where the All Blacks overcame some first half issues to put the Wallabies away 33-13.
27 min
59
Games of the Week 25 – Sick of Insolvency
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with the final Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week, coming after a weekend where the guys survived each other’s close companies, and have emerged out the other side to explore the final weekend of Test rugby in the southern hemisphere for 2024.
30 min
60
Ep.33 – Familiar Frustrations with Liam Napier
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by New Zealand Herald Chief Sportswriter Liam Napier for a trans-Tasman deep-dive into the surprisingly tight first Bledisloe Test of the year in Sydney on the weekend just gone, and what is now likely to eventuate in the return bout in Wellington this weekend coming.
60 min
61
Test Match post-mortem 7 – Wanted: Good Startin...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones launch into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it any thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on a surprisingly entertaining and tight contest between Australia and New Zealand in the first Bledisloe Cup Test of the year in Sydney.
27 min
62
Games of the Week 24 – Selection Speculation
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with another Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week – where this week Harry and Brett are both preparing to make the trip to Sydney for the first Bledisloe Cup Test between the Wallabies and All Blacks.
32 min
63
Ep.32 – Rassie the God with Sumo Stevenson
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by TVNZ presenter, SENZ Breakfast radio star and still the pod’s favourite home baker Scotty ‘Sumo’ Steveson for a proper in-depth look back at all that ills New Zealand Rugby, Rugby Australia, and the game as it stands in both countries heading into the first Bledisloe Cup match of the year.
64 min
64
Ep.31 – How Good with Jamie Wall
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Radio New Zealand sportswriter, author, and new South African travel ambassador Jamie Wall fresh from his tour with the All Blacks for a complete debrief of his two weeks in the Republic.
62 min
65
Test Match post-mortem 6 – Back to Square One
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones launch into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it too much thought, with this week's fulltime focus is on South Africa’s 18-12 win over New Zealand with Harry still there in Cape Town, and Argentina’s record 67-27 thumping of Australia in Santa Fe.
27 min
66
Games of the Week 23 – One-Man Bomb Squad
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with another Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week – where this week Harry has shifted south to Cape Town for the second leg of the Greatest Rugby Rivalry between the Springboks and All Blacks.
26 min
67
Ep.30 – Consistently Inconsistent with Marcelo ...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by former Argentinean centre turned commentator Marcelo Bosch, to recap the Wallabies late win over Los Pumas in horrible conditions in La Plata, which now sets up an enticing return contest in Santa Fe – in much nicer weather – this weekend coming.
61 min
68
Test Match post-mortem 5 – Boks Escape Razor’s ...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones love The Rugby Championship, and what better way to consume the international game than to launch into the Test Match post-mortem before giving it too much thought. This week's fulltime focus is on South Africa’s last-ditch 31-27 win overNew Zealand with Harry still there at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
20 min
69
Games of the Week 22 – the 8-9 Draft
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with the next Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week – where this week Harry is in the carpark of Heathrow Airport in London en route to Johannesburg, to see South Africa v New Zealand at Ellis Park, while Brett is setting his alarm for that blockbuster match, plus Argentina v Australia from La Plata. Two very big games, but for four very different reasons.
23 min
70
Ep.29 – Calling All Locks with Geoff Parkes
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by highly regarded Australian-based rugby writer and author Geoff Parkes, to consider the mouthwatering third round of The Rugby Championship this weekend coming. A belting weekend of Test rugby awaits, headlined by South Africa hosting New Zealand in Johannesburg, followed by Argentina hosting Australia in La Plata.
60 min
71
Ep.28 - Lab Experiments with Jim Tucker
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by renowned Australian rugby writer and author, noted tourist and regular friend of the pod, the great Jim Tucker, to look back on the second round of The Rugby Championship and the lessons learned for the Wallabies, as they gear up for a now very important tour of Argentina.
60 min
72
Test Match post-mortem 4 – Contested then Uncon...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones love The Rugby Championship, and what better way to consume the international game than to launch into the Test Match post-mortem before giving it too much thought.
28 min
73
Games of the Week 21 – Loaded Benches with Matt...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are back with a special Rugby Championship edition of their end-of-week offering, Games of the Week – where this week Harry enjoys a quality chat with world-renowned SuperSport commentator Matt Pearce on the Wallabies-Springboks Test in Perth this weekend, before Brett and Harry also take a look at the return All Blacks-Los Pumas Test in Auckland.
43 min
74
Ep.27 – Transient Hyphens with Riaan Louw
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by South African rugby YouTube sensation Riaan Louw to launch into discussions around the second week of The Rugby Championship, with return legs of the first games to be played in Perth and Auckland.
56 min
75
Test Match post-mortem 3 – Brisbane Boilover + ...
Rugby podcasters Brett McKay and Harry Jones love The Rugby Championship, and what better way to consume the international game than to launch into the Test Match post-mortem before giving it too much thought. This week's fulltime focus is on South Africa’s record 33-7 win over Australia in Brisbane, and Argentina’s fantastic 38-30 win over New Zealand in Wellington.
30 min