The Ruck

On the opening weekend of the 6 Nations Scotland lost against Italy to heap pressure on Gregor Townsend, Ireland lost to France who produced a statement performance and England hammered Wales.Alfie Reynolds is joined by Owen Slot and The Times' new signing, Charlie Morgan, to look back on all the action.The boys discuss whether Townsend departing seems inevitable, whether Andy Farrell has done a poor job in regenerating this Ireland team and whether Thursday night 6 Nations rugby works.Plus, they look ahead to round two which includes a massive Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh, Ireland hosting Italy in a game which could go either way and Wales taking on France which could be in front of a half empty Principality.

England got their 6 Nations campaign up and running with a ruthless 48-7 victory over Wales who endured a torrid day at Twickenham.Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look back on all the action and discuss whether the result actually could have been worse for Wales who saw four players yellow carded. And, where do Steve Tandy's side can go from here as they welcome France to Cardiff next weekend? They look ahead to England's trip to Edinburgh to face Scotland, chat about who impressed the most including Henry Arundell who scored a hat-trick and debate if the current Wales side are worse than the Italian team who went on a 30 game 6 Nations losing streak.

What chance do Wales have of beating England at Twickenham this weekend in the opening round of the 6 Nations? The bookmakers have them as huge outsiders so from the England team hotel Alfie Reynolds, Will Kelleher and Elgan Alderman look ahead to the weekend.They chat about whether Wales can harness the passion and spirit of the country to lift their performance. How will England deal with the expectation that they will compete for the title? And, is the big shock on the opening weekend going to happen in Rome?

The 2026 6 Nations is here!Who are the favorites to win the championship? Is it France as the defending champions or a resurgent England?Alfie Reynolds, Elgan Alderman, Alex Lowe and Mark Palmer look ahead to the opening weekend of fixtures. They ask whether Scotland will benefit from flying under the radar? Could Wales win a match? And, who will play fly-half for Ireland?Plus, they chat about a massive Calcutta Cup fixture in week two in Edinburgh, whether England need to reach Paris on the final weekend with a chance of winning the title and if Antoine Dupont and Matthieu Jalibert can work as France's half-backs.

Alfie and Will welcome Mark Evans back onto The Ruck having returned from his time as the CEO of the Fijian Drua.They chat about the latest developments in Welsh rugby with Y11, the owners of the Ospreys, becoming the WRU's preferred bidder for Cardiff and ask whether there is a danger that rugby in Wales might become like cricket in the West Indies.Mark also gives his views on two of his former clubs Saracens and Harlequins, after it was announced Mark McCall would step away from his role with Sarries at the end of the season and fans at the stoop left early following another disappointing defeat.Plus, Steve Borthwick has named his England squad for the upcoming 6 Nations and was in a very confident mood when Will went to chat with him last week.

Following the All Blacks sacking head coach Scott Robertson, Alfie, Will and Alex are joined by the New Zealand Herald's Liam Napier to explain why he's been given his marching orders just two years into his tenure. Was it down to losing the dressing room? Or was he not suited to the spotlight which comes with the role?They also look back on the final round of the pool stages in the Champions Cup and explain why the format, despite its issues, is here to stay. They breakdown the last-16 and route to the final which could serve up some cracking ties and also look ahead to Steve Borthwick naming his England 6 Nations squad on Friday.

Following another weekend of action in the Champions Cup Alfie, Elgan and Alex look back on all of the big stories.With only one round of matches to go until the knockout stages they explain why, despite some great games, the competition continues to have structural issues. They ask what is going wrong at Toulouse who have lost twice already in the pool stage and discuss which teams are in the running to go on to be crowned champions. Plus, Henry Pollock, as always, was in the headlines after an impressive performance despite Northampton losing to Bordeaux and Bristol produced an incredible result in beating the Bulls in South Africa.And, they round off the pod by chatting about the possibility of the 6 Nations going behind a paywall, the latest developments in Welsh rugby and Newcastle Red Bull's recruitment drive for next season.

Henry Pollock had a remarkable 2025!Breaking through with Northampton Saints, making his England debut, beating Leinster in Dublin, a Champions Cup final appearance and being named on the British & Irish Lions tour.So Will and Alex have made the trip up to the East Midlands to chat with Henry Pollock and his director of rugby Phil Dowson. How does the youngster reflect on the past 12 months? Does he enjoys ruffling feathers or care about people's perceptions of him? Plus, what are his aims for 2026?

At the midway point in the Prem season Harlequins find themselves in a crisis. They're 8th in the table, having only won two of their nine games, including a 66-21 defeat to Northampton at the weekend.So, Will Kelleher and Alex Lowe are at The Stoop to chat with the Quins CEO Laurie Dalrymple. They discuss the coaching upheaval in the summer and the knock on impact to the clubs current struggles, player retention and why so many academy products have departed South-West London, as well as the importance of keeping Marcus Smith and the clubs financial situation in regards to an aim of breaking even.