We keep saying The 2025 Rugby Championship is the tightest one yet, and so it remains after four rounds. Everyone has two wins and two losses. Everyone has won and lost at home, everyone has won and lost away.
Brett & Harry ask the key questions in this TRC week off before we resume for Round 5 next weekend. But how will Australia and New Zealand bounce back after stinging losses? And how confident are Argentina and South Africa right now?
This week's key questions:
Q1. How deep is the Wallabies fallout from the Argentina loss in Sydney?
Q2. Is it nearly as deep as the All Blacks fallout from the Boks loss in Wellington?
Q3. Everyone has two wins + two losses. Who wins the TRC from here?
What do you think? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below!
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The Rugby Championship is officially nuts. After four rounds, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, amd Argentina all have four wins. Brett McKay and Harry Jones try to make sense of it all on another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
In Sydney, Los Pumas scored the two point-win they perhaps should have claimed a week ago, though Australia now lead the tournament courtesy of double bonus points in a loss and the worst forward pass miss in a long time. In Wellington, the Springboks handed the All Blacks a thumping that didn’t just eclipse their worst loss on home soil, they more than doubled it.
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
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the 8/9 Tap & Go: Who on Earth wins this weekend?
If the 2025 Rugby Championship is the tightest one yet, Round 4 this weekend looms as the hardest to pick yet. Australia and Argentina have both rung the changes to their teams, forced and not, New Zealand appear to have beefed up their pack but snuck a debutant on the wing, and South Africa have named such a young side that Rassie may well be now operating two RWCs ahead.
Brett & Harry ask the key questions ahead of this weekend’s 4th Round of TRC matches in Sydney and Wellington. Can Argentina bounce back from the heartbreak of Townsville? How much do South Africa have left to find a win in NZ? And could we finish the weekend with everyone on two wins?
This week's key questions:
Q1. If NZ were to be beaten, why would it happen?
Q2. If OZ were upset, what’s likely reason?
Q3. Of those two upsets, which likeliest in your opinion?
What do you think? We'd love to hear from you!
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Ep.80 – Finally, a Rugby Championship with Marcello Bosch
It is officially the tightest Rugby Championship anyone can remember and former Argentinean centre Marcello Bosch joined Brett McKay and Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast to flip a coin in an attempt to work out what happens this weekend in Round 4.
Certainly, the rise of the Wallabies has helped, but the rise of Los Pumas cannot be ignored in that conversation. Marcello can’t be more impressed with the evolution of Argentina under Felipe Contepomi, and believes there’s no coincidence that the lift in form from both Argentina and Australia can be traced back to Irish influences on their respective coaches.
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #internationalrugby #Wallabies #TheRugbyChampionship, #Springboks, #AllBlacks, #LosPumas
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
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TRC Post-Mortem: Wallabies ball, ABs stand tall
The Wallabies have found another comeback win and the All Blacks’ Eden Park fortress remains intact and impenetrable, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones delve into another TRC Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast.
In Townsville, the Wallabies came from 21-7 down at halftime, and turned down three penalty attempts after the final siren to find an 86th winner, to beat Argentina 28-24 in the north Queensland sunshine, while the All Blacks did everything right early to lead 14-0, holding on for dear life as South Africa threw everything at them in the second half to no avail, winning 24-17 in Auckland. Two proper Test Matches, make no mistake, and no guarantees for the return Round 4 next weekend.
Features an Eden Park cameo from friend of the pod, Jamie Wall!
#rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #TheRugbyChampionship #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #LosPumas
Find us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@8-9Combo?sub_confirmation=1
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1BcKhb24YOtwQhKc0S3sDm
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-8-9-combo-rugby-podcast/id1729575866
Social media: #89Combo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/89combo
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/89combo.bsky.social
Find Brett and Harry on both Twitter and on BlueSky: @BMcSport + @HaribaldiJones
Music: "Stalling" by Topher Mohr & Alex Elena (via YouTube Creator Studio)
Voiceovers by Chookman + Sean Maloney
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Harry Jones, the grizzly old no.8, and Brett McKay, the unremarkable schoolboy no.9, unite for the short-side set-piece combination you didn't realise you needed in a rugby podcast.
A couple of hosts who came together on a whim in 2022 have become arguably the best - and maybe the only - South African-American-Australian rugby podcast combination in the rugby world, blending the perfect combination of passion, humour, nonsense, and genuine insight. Tune in every week to find out where on earth Harry is podding from, and how on earth Brett keeps it all flowing as they enjoy great rugby chats with an incredible array of guests.
South Africa