W.R.R.A.P.

A packed show this week starts with the positive news about the womens game - is the WRU actually starting to get its act together?

We review the weekends performances in the URC - there were some close games and some encouraging performances but not enough to get anyone over the line.

Off the back of the Ospreys game, we discuss head injuries and how Morgan Morris was treated on the weekend - this wont be the last time we discuss it.

Then we touch on the Ospreys/Ealing merger and the need for honesty from Y11.

We finish up with our expectations and predictions for the Italy game - see our Bonus pod for a more detailed discussion.

We were joined by Marcello Cossali-Francis who is not only an excellent sports editor but also has a keen interest in Italian and Welsh rugby. With the battle of the basement looming, the Italian team are feeling positive and confident while the Welsh camp couldn't be further from that. Marcello talks us through how this has been building over the last few years, who to watch out for, why and who they fear on the Welsh side.

The longer we went on, the less confident we were of a Welsh victory on Saturday and the more we spoke about 'the performance'. 

We ended with a chat about the demise of the Worcester Warriors and what Welsh Rugby can learn from it.

 It was a pleasure talking to Marcello and you can follow him on Twitter @mcossalfrancis.

Our guest was Dragons, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Ynysddu legend Jason Tovey. We started by discussing the Wales game before moving on to the perpetual helter skelter slide of excrement that we call Welsh rugby, contracts, reality, the effect on players and expectations for the future. We then make our predictions for this weekends URC before looking forward to the big one Ynuysddu V Talywain in East D2. It was a busy show with lots to cram in - enjoy.

Squidge rugby joined us for a chat about all things rugby, good and bad - but mainly bad, the state of Welsh rugby and Austin Healey.

In one of our most interesting podcasts yet, we discuss the problems within Welsh rugby, the games from last weekend, how poor the Ospreys were and why, the rumours of mergers, the prospect of compass regions, how to play Toby Booth bingo, the most positive man in Welsh rugby, how to analyse the off feils goings on at the WRU and who should be playing at 10 for England - plus a load of other stuff.  Enjoy this one - we did. 

What a week it has been in Welsh rugby - the threat of player strikes, walkouts from sponsor dinners and a constant flow of news stories about players in a predicament!  Lee and Jamie discuss all the key issues, the causes, the culture and the way forward for Welsh rugby with Huw Jones from the CF10 trust. Huw is one of those men who has been involved at the highest levels of Welsh sport and knows all there is to know about Welsh Rugby.

We were joined by Jonny McGinty from the Scottish Rugby Podcast to discuss all things rugby from last weekends six nations games but somehow we ended up discussing the best live music venues in Cardiff and how to draw a penis in your latte!

We did manage to go through the weekends action, paying particular attention to the Scotland v Wales game and we made our predictions for round 14 of the URC. All the usual stuff is in there - enjoy!

We get the thoughts on the Wales v Ireland game from Irish rugby legend Girvan Dempsey as we talk through all of key talking points from Saturdays game and we delve into the future with his thoughts on the rest of the tournament.

Then (after drink of the week) we talk through the Irish game and where we need to improve against Scotland before selecting our team for that game and talking through other interesting bits!

We spoke to Simon Muderack, Executive Chair of the Scarlets about all things rugby. We discussed the turbulent week that Welsh rugby has experienced, some of the reasons behind it and what type of person needs to come in to that position now.  It is refreshing to have people at the top of the game in Wales having open and honest conversations with fans and Simon is very much a part of that.

We discuss all the games from the weekend and the turnaround in fortunes at the Scarlets and Cardiff.  With no URC games to predict this weekend, we turn our attention to selecting our Welsh team to face Ireland and we face a difficult score prediction section!

We also let you know about some of the more light hearted things that we will be running on social media over the #6Nations period.

We welcomed David Buttress, Chairman of the Dragons to this weeks pod where we discussed the state of the game in Wales, finances, the WRU and the future of the game in Wales.  David gives an open and honest account of where the game is today and what he would like changed.

Then we move on to the usual stuff with possibly the strangest beer to ever make drink of the week - and a moment of history when we come to predictions!

A quick bonus pod to talk through the Wales squad announcement, including Ken as Captain, the type of game we can expect from this squad, the interesting inclusions and what it means for those left out.

In a rare episode - we have victories for all four regions to discuss!  Plenty of positives to be taken from each game so maybe - just maybe, Welsh rugby is starting to turn  corner?

All the normal stuff is also in there including our predictions for the week ahead.

We talk through the weekends actions, starting with the Dragons and Bulls, moving on to Cardiff v Scarlets and finishing with Ospreys v Leinster. Plenty to discuss and a few beers to get the chat going!

As always we make our predictions for this weeks games and we finish off with our Wales squad predictions for the upcoming six nations.

Your comments and feedback are welcome as always. 

We have a very civilised conversation about rugby matters, including the Cardiff v Ospreys game and the Scarlets v Dragons game, Thankfully we could talk mainly about the rugby!

We also discuss the Dean Ryan announcement and Iuean Evans new year message.

The boxing day derbies were over shadowed by referee's - so is this weeks pod.

We talk through a cracking weekend of European rugby and the joy of watching Welsh regions performing well, unless of course you are a Dragon - in which case, Jamie has another classic rant for you.

We also take a look ahead at the Christmas derbies and hope that the standard of performance remains high.

Our guest this week is renowned author Luke Upton who joins us for drink of the week and a chat about his book 'Rugby's greatest mavericks' which is a cracking read. Luke talks us through researching the book and some of the amazing people he spoke plus a couple of others that he couldn't and a few that wouldn't.   Keep an eye out on our socials for a competition to win a copy of the book as well.

We also discuss a bit of rugby and rugby related stuff.

Rugby in South Africa, predictions for europe, Pivac, Gatland, Garcia, De Niro, Regions agreement with WRU and other stuff.

The one and only Rupert Moon joined us to chat through the Wales Australia game and the difficulties that Wales now face.

Rupert gave us his advice on how ordinary fans can affect change within the WRU and just how difficult that is to do.

Most importantly, we talk through the Llanelli v Australia game in November 92 and where THAT celebration came from.

We all agreed that Rupert is a bloody nice bloke - we need more people like him in the game. 

We begin with a chat about Doddie Weir, a great man that will be sorely missed.

Then, Rhys wanted to talk about the Cardiff and Sharks game - regardless of what everyone else was talking about, so we humoured him for a while - but he kept going on!  To be fair, we were all quite complimentary about each others performances from last weekend - it all felt a little unusual!

We discussed all the Welsh regional games from the first weekend in South Africa and made our predictions for next week - and we spiced up our 'Drink of the week' feature - Rhys is bricking it already!

This weeks guest is a creative legend from the 80s and 90s, Mark Ring. 

We talk through the Georgia game and the fall out from that one, plus Mark gives us his thoughts on how to begin to solve the problems in our game and he offers his predictions for the Australia game.

If you are a coach or a parent of young players, you will want to hear what Mark has to say about developing creativity and skills in young players.

Then your usual crew, minus Babysham boy, get stuck in to the Georgia game and everything around it, finishing with their predictions for the Australia game.

You will be pleased to know that the lucky pants have been washed and their replacement has been revealed.

Possibly the nicest rugby bloke you could talk to - Mike Rudduck gives us his thoughts on the Argentina game and his expectations for the Georgia game, we ramble through his thoughts on the game today, the future, the effect of Welsh fans and his thoughts on the state of the game today.

If you listen carefully, you will discover how two men jumping naked into a duck pond is connected to an awkward incident at a funeral.

Plus we do the other stuff as you would expect.

As well as all the important bits such as a decent front row, picking players on form, older players who need to retire and the back row balance, we also tackle key issues such as 'drink of the week', how to keep your dog quiet, wearing your lucky pants and why Carwyn missed the recording!

Your comments and questions are always welcome.

The less said about the performance of Welsh teams in the URC last weekend the better - apart from Jamie who could have done the whole show on  his own about the Dragons!

TMO's and ref's get a going over - the worst part of the URC this season.

We preview the #WalvNZL game for this weekend and introduce our first drinking game.

Finally, we do a serious bit about the WRU election of an independent chair and why it is important.

We discuss all the important rugby related stuff from last weekend including the Scarlets against Connacht, Cardiff v The Stormers and Dragons v Ospreys.

We also discuss the choice of Tipuric as captain of the Wales team and the implications for team selection.

Finally and most importantly, we pull together our Ginger XV after Bradley Roberts got called up to the national squad.

As always we discuss last weeks Welsh Regions performances - two wins, a draw and a second place to go through.

We also venture off into what the game means to people, Welsh weather, connecting with supporters and then we head down the rabbit hole that is the Welsh squad for the autumn internationals.

Enjoy listening coz we really enjoyed recording this one - then tell your mates!

We aim to discuss the games of all four Welsh Regions but sometimes we get stuck in one place and we drift around it a little! This week we discussed - Scarlets v Cardiff, where do both teams go now and is it as bad as some people are saying;

Ospreys v Ulster and then we had a chat about club v country;

We have a little run through of some of our selections for the Autumn Internationals and then we try to discuss the Dragons Benetton game;

We have a crack at predictions and then Jamie starts talking about the Boxing Day game of 2014!

Join us again next week for more of the same.

Your family of hosts is now complete, Lee, Carwyn, Rhys and now Jamie from the Dragons!

We can't promise that everyone will be here every week - or even that everyone will have a strong enough broadband connection to stay for every episode but it is great to finally have everyone here.

We show the usual levels of disrespect for each others teams and their performances last weekend, plus we have a little chat about referee's in the URC and how good we feel the WRU are at running the game in Wales.

And - if you are wondering what we had to edit out that last bit - we really can't tell you!

Lee and Rhys discuss Carwyn's inability to cope with a bit of a cold,

the Dragons win and the supporters reactions

Cardiff's performance and the ref

the Ospreys desire to shoot their feet

the Scarlets lack of defence and the ref!

And we touch on the sensitive subject of the Gallagher Premiership

A belting first week of the URC - we discuss all the interesting bits including Dean Ryans comments, Cardiffs revival and the West Wales derby.

Plus we start the Flag Challenge but can find anyone from the Dragons to do anything?

We pay tribute to Eddie Butler - discuss the WRU's handling of last weekends fixtures - and we preview the URC week 1 fixtures for week 1 - and we manage to squeeze in our end of season league predictions. 

Plus, we introduce a way for you to get involved with future podcasts.

We take a look at the off season activities of the Welsh regions and what we expect to happen in the coming season - including our predictions for end of season finishing places.