About this episode

The episode discusses the opening weekend of the Nations Championship and Nations Cup, highlighting key matches and team selections.

A brand-new World Rugby era begins, with David Pembroke and Ewen McKenzie teeing up a massive opening weekend of the Nations Championship and Nations Cup, plus the key questions already bubbling away. The headline act is France v New Zealand in Christchurch, with a Hurricanes-flavoured All Blacks spine, Ruben Love at 10, and France leaning heavily on Bordeaux combinations. There’s plenty of heat too: England head to Johannesburg to face a loaded Springboks side, while the Wallabies name a few surprises for Ireland in Sydney, including Josh Nasser at hooker and Jock Campbell at 15. Japan roll the dice without Eddie Jones in the coaches box, starting a fourth-year university flyhalf against Italy. The lads also touch on under-20s results, crowd concerns, and why meaningful windows and better communication matter if rugby wants more eyeballs. Also in this episode: ● Nations Championship launch and why it’s historic ● France v New Zealand selections and key match-ups ● Japan v Italy: Ryunosuke Ito starts at 10 ● Wallabies team debate for Ireland in Sydney ● England v South Africa: power, altitude, bench impact ● Nations Cup fixtures: Uruguay, Georgia, Samoa, Chile, USA PLUS: Why…

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