The Lekker Rugby Pod!

Franco Smith has coached Italy in the Six Nations and now leads Glasgow in the URC. In this episode he explains what has changed in Italy’s structure, why Scotland enter the Calcutta Cup under pressure, and how coaches analyse games beyond surface reaction.We go into tight-five development, lineout mechanics, aerial contest adjustments, kick-chase organisation and the difference between club preparation and Test-week execution. This is a detailed look at how elite rugby is built, how small margins shape outcomes, and how scoreboard pressure forces tactical decisions at the top level.

Is Jacques Nienaber really at the heart of Ireland’s problems, or is that a lazy conclusion?Rugby writer Charlie Morgan joins the Lekker Rugby Pod to unpack how the Six Nations is already shifting after round one, and why the debate around Jacques Nienaber, Ireland, and Leinster has become unavoidable.We step back from the scorelines to look at the deeper trends shaping the tournament, including Ireland’s struggle for clarity, France’s growing comfort in the modern kicking and transition game, and England’s increasingly coherent identity. The conversation focuses on systems, player profiles, preparation time, and how international rugby is being reshaped in real time.This is not a blame exercise and it is not a hot take. It’s analysis for people who want to understand what actually changed in round one, and what it means for the rest of the Six Nations.

Ireland went to Paris with trepidation. They left overwhelmed. In this instant reaction, Harry Jones and Pat McCarry unpack a night where Ireland walked into a ruthless French trap and never found a way out. From collisions and tempo to selection and control, this is a raw first response to a performance that turned quiet fears into loud questions.

Ireland arrive in Paris without the certainty that defined them for the last five years.This episode of the Lekker Rugby Pod uses France vs Ireland as a way into a wider conversation about pressure, transition, and how quickly confidence can thin at Test level. With Irish writer Pat McGarry, MW Welman and Harry Jones unpack Ireland’s current state, shaped by a Six Nations played without Andy Farrell last year as he prepared for the British and Irish Lions, and the knock-on effects that are still being felt.The discussion moves through a young and exposed Irish pack, front-row risk, and the subtle shift from control to apprehension that has crept in since last November.It’s a Six Nations conversation, but not a parochial one. For South African viewers, the tournament functions as a scouting window. Every Six Nations side sits on the Springboks’ schedule in the new Nations Championship, making these games the clearest reference point for who is settled, who is vulnerable, and where transition may already be underway.Paris sharpens all of that. Ireland remain talented and dangerous, but for the first time in years, they look jittery. And that makes this night, and this tournament, worth watching closely.

Who would’ve thought jail could be such an apt analogy for the Bulls?Harry’s back after a slightly mysterious absence and, before we know it, we’re talking about everything from leadership and belief to why some teams survive pressure and others panic. It takes us a while to get there, but that’s kind of the point.There’s a listener letter in this episode that made us stop and sit with it for a bit. Rassie comes up, as he tends to, and so does Johan Ackermann, the Bulls, and what happens when a team finally decides how it wants to behave when things get uncomfortable.We also get into the Stormers, two rough weeks against the Sharks, and why being good on paper doesn’t always help when someone throws the first punch.This isn’t an instant reaction or a neat summary. It wanders, it circles back, and eventually it lands.If you’re listening from somewhere far away, you’ll probably know exactly why.