8/9 Rugby
The long-ish tradition of Great Rugby Chats continues on 8/9 Rugby with an incredible array of guests, and available on YouTube and wherever you pod every week.
Tune in every week as Brett McKay is joined by a revolving list of well-known guest co-hosts from all corners of the rugby world, combining to blend the perfect combination of passion, humour, nonsense, and genuine insight.
And now in written form on Substack, too! Get great insights from a host of names you know and rugby opinions you respect every week.
151
Ep.50 - Smoked meats, a pony and a mattress wit...
Sandwich tales, a great Australia start to Super Rugby Pacific, and the return of the Six Nations has Stan Sport commentator Sean Maloney excited, joining Brett McKay & Harry Jones in this week’s milestone episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
63 min
152
Weekend Post-Mortem: Super Rugby madness + Zebr...
Last minute wins and a Grand Final get-square headlined the first weekend of Super Rugby Pacific, while successive Zebre upsets is the talk of the URC, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
33 min
153
Ep.49 - One Book is Not Enough with Geoff Parkes
Curious selections for the opening weekend of Super Rugby Pacific, the French Six Nations fallout, and it’s a second attempt at life post-Warren Gatland in Wales, as Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones in this week’s episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
64 min
154
Weekend Post-Mortem: Scotland the meek, Ireland...
Undefeated an ominous-looking Ireland now lead the Six Nations Championship after two rounds in 2025, but England’s late win over France will remain a talking about for a while yet, as Brett McKay & Harry Jones launch into another Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
33 min
155
Ep.48 – Crime and Punishment
Last week was all about the Seven Deadly Sins within the Six Nations, and for the bumper second round of matches it’s Crime & Punishment. Brett McKay & Harry Jones take a look at three individually intriguing games for the latest episode of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
54 min
156
Weekend Post-Mortem: Ireland Patience Outlasts ...
The Six Nations Championship has begun for 2025, with France and Ireland laying down statement wins in Round 1, providing Brett McKay & Harry Jones with the perfect platform to kick off the new Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
30 min
157
Ep.47 – Seven Deadly Sins with Charlie Morgan
There are many deadly sins on the rugby field, but just which of the Seven Deadly Sins broadly apply to the Six Nations teams was pondered by The Telegraph’s Charlie Morgan, who joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for the latest episode of second season of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
86 min
158
Ep.46 - The Plans to Grow the Game with Brett R...
Growing the game globally while at the same time making it sustainable are the big challenges for the new Chair of World Rugby, Brett Robinson, who joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones for the first weekly episode of second season of The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
73 min
159
What’s Coming in 2025?
The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast is back for a massive year of rugby in 2025, and Brett McKay & Harry Jones are here with all the details of what to expect this year. The short summary: more Great Rugby Chats every week!
8 min
160
Best of 2024 – the Guests
Brett McKay and Harry Jones delved into The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast archives one last time for the summer, to pull together some of the best bits from some of their favourite guests from more than forty weekly guest episodes in 2024.
45 min
161
Best of 2024 – Cheers & Jeers
Brett McKay and Harry Jones delve into The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast archives to share and celebrate their favourite Cheers & Jeers from the start of more than forty weekly guest episodes in 2024.
40 min
162
Rugby Year in Review – Gunslingers & Baby Geckos
Brett McKay and Harry Jones come together on The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast for one last time, to wrap up the 2024 rugby year in one big go – by asking simply, ‘How do we sum up 2024 for…?’ each of the top eight international teams: South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Argentina, Scotland, England, Australia.
62 min
163
Test Match post-mortem 13 – Knock-on, Knock off...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into the final Test Match post-mortem of the year with no more thought than usual, with this week's fulltime focus on Ireland’s patience and Australia’s frustrations in the 22-19 result at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, to wrap up the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours for 2024.
26 min
164
Games of the Week 34 – Clash of Style
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the final Games of the Week for 2024, incorporating the final match of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours between Ireland and Australian in Dublin, and which will put Joe Schmidt and his gameplan up against his former assistant Andy Farrell and the same gameplan in what will be a fascinating contest. The United Rugby Championship and the English Premiership are both back this week too.
26 min
165
Ep.42 - Replacing the Snake with Patrick McCarry
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by Irish sportswriter and playwright Patrick McCarry to look back over the final full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, and then to cast an eye forward to the final international fixture for 2024 this weekend coming, when Ireland host Australia at the Aviva in Dublin this Saturday.
59 min
166
Test Match post-mortem 12 – Murrayfield Maul Ch...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into another Test Match post-mortem without much thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on Scotland’s gritty 27-13 win over Australia at a chilly Murrayfield in Edinburgh, the wrap up the final full weekend of Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours.
25 min
167
Games of the Week 33 – Best be Frontrunners
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the final full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tours, the last chance for the Home Nations to save something from the November Tests, and for the southern hemisphere nations to reinforce their claims of global rugby domination.
28 min
168
Ep.41 – Giving Every Ounce with Dan McKellar
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by incoming New South Wales Waratahs coach Dan McKellar, who has put the disappointment of how his Leicester Tigers gig ended, the strong links to his native Queensland, and his storied history with the ACT Brumbies all behind him to get on with the job of restoring the Waratahs to the force Australian rugby needs them to be.
69 min
169
Test Match post-mortem 11 – Greatest Win of All...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones jump into another Test Match post-mortem without much thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on France’s patient 30-29 win over New Zealand in Paris, and South Africa’s well-in-hand 29-20 win over England at Twickenham.
28 min
170
Games of the Week 32 – Itching in the Loafers
Brett McKay and Harry Jones lay out the Games of the Week for the second full weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, where the Home Nations in particular will be seeking responses after all suffering losses of varying degrees of hurt the previous round.
31 min
171
Ep.40 – No Lamb Curries with Charlie Morgan
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by The Telegraph’s senior rugby writer Charlie Morgan to look back over the first full weekend of matches of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, with New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Fiji and South Africa all recording wins in a sweep of southern hemisphere dominance.
70 min
172
Test Match post-mortem 10 – Joseph & the Techni...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into another Test Match post-mortem before giving it any thought at all, with this week's fulltime focus on the Wallabies absolutely stunning 42-37 comeback win over England at Twickenham, as well as looking back at New Zealand’s 23-13 win over Ireland in Dublin on Friday night
35 min
173
Games of the Week 31 – Something Out of the Can...
Brett McKay and Harry Jones push Games of the Week deep into the second week of the November Internationals, where they welcome Australian rugby writer for RugbyPass and The Roar, John Ferguson, along for a proper preview look at the biggest Test Matches of the weekend.
38 min
174
Ep.39 – Facing the Music with Rob Kitson
Brett McKay and Harry Jones are joined on The 8-9 Combo by The Guardian rugby correspondent and surprise new music reviewer (true!) Rob Kitson for a proper review of the first weekend of the Northern Spring Autumn Series Tour, in which New Zealand held out England 24-22 at Twickenham, and Scotland were too good for Fiji, winning 57-17 at Murrayfield.
57 min
175
Test Match post-mortem 9 – Ford Misfires, Macca...
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 fantastic opening to the Autumn Nations Series where New Zealand have hung on – just – to beat England 24-22 at Twickenham.
27 min