On this week's episode I talk to David Goldblatt about his new book 'Injury Time: Football in a State of Emergency' published this month by Mudlark.
It's a look at English soccer over past decade, examining its response to Brexit, Covid and climate change, and looking at the rise of the women's game and the changing role of the sport in society.
In our wide-ranging discussion, we talk about how football has become the new soap opera, the impact of social media, differences between the men's and women's game, and what the future holds for the game.
If you want to find out more, 'Injury Time' is available from https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/injury-time-football-in-a-state-of-emergency-david-goldblatt?variant=55169175650683
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200. Rugby Union and Concussion
Today's episode is an edited version of a talk about rugby union's concussion crisis which I gave to the North of England Medico-Legal Society in Newcastle in April 2025, for which I'd like to thank Alex Littlefair for the invitation.
It looks at the history of concussion in men’s rugby union, examines how it has changed over the past fifty years, investigates the impact of professionalism, and looks at the weight of cultural traditions which have held back the sport’s ability to deal with the crisis confronting it.
As well as looking at the evolution of its attitudes to concussion, I also look at how rugby union’s hyper-masculine traditions - inherited from its founders in the mid-nineteenth century - have shaped its understanding of injuries and have remained essentially unchanged over almost two centuries.
Perhaps we can find the roots of the problem not only in today’s hyper-professional sport but also in its roots as the symbol of nineteenth-century manhood?
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199. Nan Halafihi, the Tongan Trailblazer
This episode talks to Dr Nick Halafihi about the life and career of his father, Nanumi (Nan) Halafihi, the first Tongan to play at Wembley and the first-ever Tongan to play professional rugby league.
This is a fascinating story of how Nan travelled with his brother Sione, a world-ranked cruiserweight boxer, and family friend Sam Felatu, and made a home in the north of England. He began his career with Doncaster in 1958 and then moved to Roy Francis’s Hull, where he established himself as attacking left-centre and played in the 1960 Challenge Cup final at Wembley.
This is about much more than rugby talent - it’s a tale of crossing hemispheres and cultures, of the warm welcomes he received but also of the racism he and his family faced. Most of all, it’s about someone whose career who paved the way for hundreds of other Tongan rugby players who would follow the path laid down by Nan Halafihi.
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198. France's Expulsion from the 5 Nations (part 2)
We travel back to the 1940s and 1950s to look at how France came back into the Five Nations following its expulsion in the 1930s. As you will hear, it was a difficult return to the rugby union fold for the French, as controversy flowed and led the game to to the brink of another split.
But ultimately the fear of rugby league and further international isolation led to a compromise between France and the British rugby union nations which forever removed the threat of a new split.
For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony
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197. Harry Jepson: A Life in League
In Richard Hoggart's classic book 'The Uses of Literacy', he describes the scenes in May 1934 when Hunslet returned triumphantly with the Rugby League Challenge Cup followed by thousands of young boys. Harry Jepson (1920-2016) was one of those youths.
This is an interview I did with him in 2009 about his extraordinary life in rugby league. Born in Hunslet at the start of the 1920s, Harry became a teacher while at the same time serving as secretary of Hunslet RLFC, before moving to Leeds to become a key figure at Headingley in the 1970s and 1980s. His list of achievements and honours in the game are far too extensive to list here but his Wikipedia entry (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Jepson) does justice to his life.
It's a long listen at 100 minutes but entirely worth it for anyone with an interest in rugby league or the social history of Leeds and Hunslet.
New Zealand