The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast

• Ep.71 – Brumbies give the Lions a headache with Pat McCarry

  The ACT Brumbies gave the British & Irish Lions their sternest test on tour, but how many questions have they answered for Joe Schmidt? Irish Sportswriter, Producer and Playwright Pat McCarry joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week for the pulse check on the Lions, little more than a week from the First Test in Brisbane. Which Lions enhanced their chances in the 36-24 win? How close was that Lions side to the First Test team? And role will the AUNZ Invitational XV game in Adelaide this weekend play, almost certainly pitting the Lions’ non-Test players up against an intriguing collection of Australian and New Zealand players – the first time a combined trans-Tasman team has played since 1989. Games of the Week – it’s all International from here! • New Zealand v France, Wellington • AUNZ Invitational XV v British & Irish Lions, Adelaide • South Africa v Italy, Gqberha • Argentina v England, San Juan #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #British&IrishLions #Lions2025 #internationalrugby #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

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• Weekend Post-Mortem: Wallabies survive Fiji + Did Harry fire up the Waratahs?

  ‘Twas a weekend of just scraping through, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones pull apart the first full weekend of July Internationals on the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Wallabies needed 79 minutes to beat Fiji, the Lions saved their worst performance on Tour for a Waratahs Harry and most other writers has written off, a French 3rd XV described as ‘disrespectful’ pushed the All Blacks way further than the narrative suggested, and even South Africa were left to lament a mostly “frustrating” performance in beating Italy. Plus, hear direct from the Waratahs on how Harry fired them up to face the Lions in Sydney. He definitely hit a nerve! #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #WeekendPostMortem #InternationalRugby #LionsTour #Wallabies #AllBlacks #Springboks #Argentina #England #Italy #France #Fiji #BritishIrishLions 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

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• Ep.70 – When you're gassed, you can't think with Ben Darwin

  The British & Irish Lions on tour present the ultimate test of talent v cohesion. Gain Line Analytics know an awful lot about cohesion and how teams benefit from it, and co-founder and former Wallabies prop Ben Darwin joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast this week to get into the nuts and bolts of it. So how do the Lions build the cohesion they need? And which positions can be most affected by a lack of cohesion? And what is the best way for the Wallabies to overcome the very abundant levels of experience overflowing from whatever XV the Lions name for the Tests? It’s a great chat, we hope you get lots out of it. Games of the Week – it’s all International from here! • New Zealand v France, Dunedin • South Africa v Italy, Pretoria • Argentina v England, La Plata • Australia v Fiji, Newcastle #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #British&IrishLions #Lions2025 #internationalrugby #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

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• Weekend Post-Mortem: Lions survive willing contest and terrible fontage

  The British & Irish Lions Tour of Australia in 2025 in finally underway, as Brett McKay and Harry Jones rip into the first Lions Tour edition of the Weekend Post-Mortem for The 8-9 Combo Rugby Podcast. The Western Force asked plenty of questions of the Lions for as long as they could in Perth, before the tourists’ class and experience rose to the top, sealing the 54-7 eight tries to one win to open their Australian tour with a win. Plenty of really good performers amongst then: Dan Sheehan, Joe McCarthy, ‘bellend-issimo’ Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, and the unflappable Finn Russell. Darcy Swain from the Force did his chances of a Wallabies recall no harm, too. Plus, the French Top 14 and US Major League Rugby Champions have been crowned as well, and the Springboks raised the bat against the travelling Barbarians in Cape Town. #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #UnitedRugbyChampionship #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby #LionsTour 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

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• Ep.69 – Super Rugby wrap-up… then Lions LIONS! with Geoff Parkes

  Acclaimed crime and rugby author and notable weekly columnist Geoff Parkes joined Brett McKay & Harry Jones on The 8/9 Combo Rugby Podcast (briefly) to wrap up the Super Rugby Pacific Grand Final, where the Crusaders proved way too strong for the Chiefs in Christchurch. And Geoff was supposed to join the 8/9 as we slip firmly into Lions Tour mode, too, only for a network outage in New Zealand to rule him out of what still was an interesting discussion, as Brett & Harry turn their attention to the 2025 Briish & Irish Lions Tour of Australia, which begins this weekend in Perth. Plus, it’s the long awaited Top 14 Finale in France, and it’s the Championship Final in Major League Rugby in the States. Games of the Week: Top 14 Finale: Toulouse v Bordeaux; Stade de France, Paris MLR Final: New England v Houston, Rhode Island International Rugby! • Japan XV v Maori All Blacks, Tokyo • Western Force v British & Irish Lions, Perth • South Africa v Barbarians, Cape Town #rugby #rugbypodcast #89Combo #SuperRugbyPacific #URC #Premiership #Top14 #JapanRugbyLeagueOne #MajorLeagueRugby 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

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