The Telegraph Rugby Podcast

Ben, Charlie and Charles reflect on England's two point defeat to New Zealand at Twickenham, where Steve Borthwick's side played well in spells but ultimately came up short again for the fourth time in five test matches.Have England just been the victims of bad luck to be on the end of such narrow defeats or is there a deeper issue within the squad that is preventing them from seeing out games?One team who has no problems in seeing out games is South Africa, ahead of their clash with Scotland this weekend, we hear from Eben Etzebeth and Ox Nché about how the World Champions always manage to be on the right side of narrow wins.Plus we discuss a huge clash in Dublin on Friday night as Ireland take on the All Blacks and discuss the retirement of England prop Joe Marler.

The Telegraph Rugby Podcast is back ahead of this year's Autumn Internationals!Ben, Charlie and Charles get stuck into England's upcoming campaign which kicks off on Saturday with a clash against the All Blacks at TwickenhamWe hear from England's new senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth on what his new role entails, he also explains why he will always value what he see's with his own eyes over any underlying data provided to him.The guys also attempt to nail down their selection picks in the back row and at half back, and we discuss the recently awarded Elite Player Contracts and if the right people received them.

Ben, Charlie and Charles reflect on the final round of the 2024 Six Nations as Ireland retain their title in Dublin and Wales finish bottom, picking up their first wooden spoon in 21 years.England finished their campaign with a thrilling match in Lyon, losing out to France by just two points. Despite the defeat, there are plenty of reasons for England fans to be optimistic. We discuss how new life was sparked into their attack and how it could develop even further this summer away in New Zealand.We also talk about the future of Wales boss Warren Gatland, who admitted that his attempt to resign was rejected by the WRU and also ask if Italy finally arrived as legitimate Six Nations challengers after their history-making campaign.

Ben, Charlie and Charles reflect on the penultimate round of Six Nations action which saw seismic shocks at Twickenham and in Rome.England defied the odds to produce their best performance since the 2019 World Cup to defeat Ireland and end the visitors hopes of becoming the first Six Nations side to win back-to-back Grand Slams.Elsewhere, Italy produced a shock of their own by coming from behind to beat Scotland 31-29. Harlequins' Louis Lynagh had a debut to remember and he tells us what it was like to pull on the Italy shirt for the first time.And, as Wales lose their fourth game on the spin, we speak to their former winger Louis Rees-Zammit who tells us all about his preparations to make it in the NFL after leaving rugby.

Ben, Charlie and Charles look ahead to the penultimate round of the Six Nations and in particular England's showdown with Ireland at Twickenham.Former England captain Will Carling joins us to offer us his thoughts on England, arguing a 'data straitjacket' is holding them back while revealing he had to argue with Eddie Jones to get current captain Jamie George into the leadership group back when he was a team mentor.The big selection question mark this week surrounds fly-half with Marcus Smith back in contention. Should he be fast-tracked into the starting line-up, or is George Ford or Fin Smith the better option? The guys make cases for each of the three starting on Saturday. Plus, we ask if Wales can turn their good performances into a win against struggling France this weekend, and whether Italy can replicate their heroics from round three when they host Scotland in Rome. 

Ben, Charlie and Charles reflect on Scotland's win over England in the Calcutta Cup, their fourth in a row, and where the defeat leaves Steve Borthwick's side heading into the final two rounds of the Six Nations.We ask if it is time for the England coach to roll the dice with some of the emerging talent, like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, and if it is time to say goodbye to some of the squad's elder statesmen. Whether changes are needed to England's coaching ticket moving forward to accelerate Borthwick's rebuild is also discussed.Elsewhere, we hear from Italy defence coach Marius Goosen who tells us that Paolo Garbisi's last-gasp penalty against France should have been retaken after the fly-half was forced to rush the potential match-winning kick.Ben gives us his verdict from the Aviva as Ireland's unbeaten start continued against Wales.

Ben, Charlie and Charles build up to the return of the Six Nations this weekend and discuss the crucial Calcutta Cup clash in detail.Scotland scrum-half Ben White joins the show to discuss his successful memories of the fixture and as well as his transition from England youth player to Scotland international.We also discuss if Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence could feature this weekend after the pair were recalled, and who will replace Alex Mitchell at scrum-half for England.Plus, we cast our eyes over the rest of the weekend and ask if either Wales or Italy can cause a major shock when they face Ireland and France respectively.

Ben, Charlie and Charles reflect on round two of the 2024 Six Nations where England secured back-to-back wins, coming from behind to see off Wales at Twickenham.There were yet more questions for England's new look defence and, with harder tests to come, we ask if new defence coach Felix Jones will make any amendments for the remainder of the tournament.As for Wales, they could have two victories under their belt but their young team remained winless. How can Warren Gatland turn his sides' near misses into wins?The big talking point of the weekend came from Murrayfield as Scotland were denied a win over France with a last-gasp TMO review not awarding a try that would have won them the game. There is agreement amongst the panel that although a try was probably scored, the right decision was ultimately reached.And can anyone stop Ireland making it successive Grand Slams after Andy Farrell's side put 36 unanswered points on Italy in Dublin.