Rugby Through The Leagues Podcast

Physio Chris Jenkins, The Rugby Injury Physio, joins The Rugby in Europe Round-Up live with Carl and Pasc. He talks about his Game Ready index for medical rooms, why 4G pitches hit older forwards hardest, why the same knee injury tends to be worse on 4G, the mistakes amateur players make with injuries, why two weeks off is enough in the off-season, the words that get a rugby shoulder seen quickly, the night the invasion of Ukraine ended his time with Russia rugby, and his new book, Rugby Injury Prevention & Return to Play.

Chris is at the Match for Mental Health at Cardiff Arms Park this Friday.

Chris's book: amazon.co.uk/dp/1919373705
Chris on Instagram: @therugbyinjuryphysio

Full episode on YouTube: @RugbyTTL · rugbyttl.com · rugbyttl.app

Welsh filmmaker Mark Hegarty joins The Rugby in Europe Round-Up to talk about Liberia 7-15, his project to take rugby sevens to all 15 counties of Liberia within five years. It started with a choir trip in 2021. Now every player has to complete education on preventing violence against women before they can play, and a meal after training is a big part of why the kids come. We also talk about recording in George Weah's studio, running the project transparently, and what it would cost to run a nation's rugby.

Help Liberia 7-15: whatcanidoo.org.uk
Full episode on YouTube: @RugbyTTL · rugbyttl.com · rugbyttl.app

Arthur Lennon joins The Rugby in Europe Round-Up live, the day after his first start at fly-half for FC Barcelona Rugby, where he scored inside two minutes. He talks to Keith Hammond, Pasquale and Ethan Bradley about the debut, losing at the death with a young squad, seven-hour coach trips in Spain's second tier, and what a successful season looks like for Barça.

Plus London City Sevens with Perpignan, Wales v Spain, the best coaching advice he's had as a 10, and how you recover when you play six sevens games in a day.

Recorded live on The Rugby in Europe Round-Up, Episode 4.

Follow Arthur: instagram.com/arthlennon10 Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com · rugbyttl.app

Carl talks to Max Derbyshire, DotDarbs on Instagram, from a borrowed bedroom in Yerevan. Darbs has hitchhiked from Georgia, where he was filming the Didi 10, to spend time with Armenia's rugby community and the Iran national team.

It all started with a phone that went missing in the post and a cheap flight to Madagascar two days later. There he found what's reported to be the city with the most rugby clubs on Earth: kids playing in the streets with water-bottle balls, fifth-tier games on dust pitches with sticks for posts, and flares and pom-poms on final day. Yet you can't buy a rugby ball in a shop.

Before that, India: coaching in Kolkata, the West Bengal women's sevens, more than a day on a train to the nationals, and the story of Sumit Roy, who walked eight kilometres to training and is now one of the stars of the Indian Rugby Premier League.

Plus "small but quick", the Africa Sevens, cycling the length of Madagascar to raise money for rugby balls, and a bucket list running from China to Iraq.

Follow Darbs: instagram.com/dotdarbs Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com · rugbyttl.app

Rugby TTL exclusive: Arthur Lennon reveals his move to Barça Rugby — with Carl and Pasquale from Game Day Bites.

In this episode: the call from director Javier Soler and why a dropped-down Barça appealed more than the safe option; what new head coach Juan Pablo Socino wants from his fly-half; and what years in and out of Spanish rugby taught a player who arrived mid-COVID without a word of the language.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com & rugbyttl.app

00:00:00 A Rugby TTL Exclusive
00:00:30 Signing for Barça Rugby
00:01:00 Barça's Drop to Elite A
00:02:00 The Sant Cugat Game That Started It
00:02:30 The Call from Javier Soler
00:03:00 Juan Pablo Socino Takes Over
00:04:00 When Barça Come Knocking
00:05:00 Academies & Building the Base
00:06:00 Learning the Language
00:07:00 One-Year Deals & the "One Plus One"
00:08:00 Arriving Without a Word of Spanish
00:09:00 Taking the Plunge Mid-COVID
00:10:00 What Spain Taught Him
00:11:00 The Players Who Never Took the Chance
00:12:00 Natural Talent vs Hard Work
00:13:00 The Pull of La Vila
00:14:00 MVP Days & Memories
00:15:00 Coaching Connections in Toledo
00:16:00 South Americans in the Spanish Game
00:17:00 The Athleticism Gap
00:18:00 The Elite A Format
00:19:00 Contracts & Chances at This Level
00:20:00 Towns That Turn Out for Their Club
00:21:00 What Players Back Home Don't Get
00:22:00 How Barça Want to Play
00:23:00 Recruitment & the Set Piece
00:24:00 Turning Around a Poor Run
00:25:00 Never-Ending Excitement
00:26:00 A Packed Stadium & That Touchline Conversion
00:27:00 One Vision for Spanish Rugby

Two days before British & Irish Expats Rugby play their first ever fixture, Carl talks to the man who built it.

Dan Elsom grew up in Sydney, played Shute Shield, then spent five years in the English national leagues — and came home missing the culture he'd found in British and Irish grassroots rugby. The idea arrived watching the Lions take on the Wallabies. The maths arrived shortly after: there were already dozens of British and Irish qualified players out here playing Shute Shield and Hospital Cup, and nobody had ever put them in the same shirt.

What follows is an unusually honest account of how a concept becomes a team. A DM to Harry Fehily, former Shute Shield Coach of the Year, left on read for two days. Then a coffee. Then a head coach — and only then, players. Fehily asked 35. Three said no.

Dan is clear about the gap he's trying to close: Australia has the Shute Shield, and it has Super Rugby, and since the National Rugby Championship folded there's nothing in between. He's just as clear about the part nobody posts about — twelve months of nights after work, and personal money, with no headline sponsor yet.

Plus Sam Thomson as inaugural captain, a Pacific Warriors squad that made Dan glad he's retired, eight nations in one fixture, and where this goes next: World Cup warm-ups for Tier 2 nations, and Super Rugby pre-season.

🏉 Heritage Cup — British & Irish Expats v Pacific Warriors. Pittwater Park, Sydney, Sunday 27 September. 17:00 AEST / 08:00 UK. Free entry. Live on Rugby TTL with our own commentary.

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A special one before the season restarts. Carl talks to Nathan Mason, the man behind Match for Mental Health — back at Cardiff Arms Park on Friday 30 October, kick-off 19:30, raising money for Tough Enough To Care and Looseheads RFC.

Nathan never set out to organise anything. A conversation about sevens turned into "I've got the Arms Park, do you know any charities?", and he said yes before he'd thought about it. The first edition landed in October 2025 — a few hundred in the stand, Josh Navidi, Dillon Lewis, Alex Cuthbert and Josh McNally coaching, Harry Morgan, Dan Baker, Richard Carpenter and Nico Matawalu playing alongside community lads. He stood still at the final whistle with a tear in his eye, mostly out of relief.

Then the reason the game exists. Nathan is open about his own struggles in 2019–20: the "blips" he learned to spot, using drink to flatten the feeling, and what he built afterwards — writing down what he can and can't control and binning the half he can't, shutting the laptop and walking, being honest with the lads. On what actually helped: therapy, medication, peer support and the physical side. A bit of everything, no single fix.

In between, Welsh rugby gets a proper going over — the regions, the WRU, empty seats against South Africa, age groups falling away at Abergavenny, and why the game keeps watering itself down instead of packaging itself for people who won't sit through eighty minutes.

Looseheads RFC want a mental health lead in every rugby club in the world: 36 countries and 1,300+ clubs so far. Tough Enough To Care run peer support groups across the Midlands and the south. Both split the £10,000 fundraiser target.

🎟️ Tickets: Cardiff Rugby's website (30 October), or the link in the @match4mentalhealth Instagram bio.

💬 If any of this lands close to home, talk to someone today — a mate, your club's mental health lead, or your GP. In the UK, Samaritans are on 116 123, free, 24/7.

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The Ascent Rugby Series miniseries continues. Carl talks to Niel Otto of The Dukes, Den Bosch, before their opening festival in Frankfurt — and the weekend after, when the Dukes host one of their own.

Niel was at Griquas in the Currie Cup. His contract ended at 27 and he had all but decided to stop playing and go into strength and conditioning. He moved to the Netherlands, Googled the nearest rugby club just to meet people, and came off the bench on debut in Amsterdam — in the worst weather he'd ever played in — to score a hat-trick.

On the step between levels: it isn't that the top is more physical, it's that the error rate is lower and mistakes get punished. On the Dukes reaching their first final in ten years and losing one they feel was theirs. And on continuity — keeping a core together season to season — as the thing that got them back there.

Plus a first opponent nobody can scout, young players with a real chance to stake a claim, and the weekend the Dukes host: a rugby day that has turned into a festival, a town built for it, and the thousand people who came back to the clubhouse after they lost the final anyway.

🎟️ ascentrugby.com · 📺 Festival #01 live on RugbyPass, with Carl on co-commentary.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com

The Ascent Rugby Series miniseries continues. Carl talks to Dan Gdula, captain of Pogoń Siedlce — back-to-back champions of Poland — before their opening festival in Frankfurt against RC Eemland.

Dan on a squad drawn from five nations, a game plan built on winning the collisions, and why this competition matters far beyond one weekend: Polish clubs have had no European pathway, the Super Cup move never happened, and the domestic league has been the ceiling. He points to Czechia and the Bohemian Warriors as proof of what club rugby in Europe does for a national team.

Also: Poland's promotion back to the Rugby Europe Championship and what it costs a union short of players, coaches and money; the Switzerland lesson; the 68-24 win over Eemland in February he expects nothing like this time; and a club in Siedlce that fills a stadium and wants a festival of its own.

🎟️ ascentrugby.com · 📺 Festival #01 live on RugbyPass, with Carl on co-commentary.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com

Frankfurt head coach Byron Schmidt on hosting the first-ever Ascent Rugby Series festival — and how the whole competition started as his idea.

In this episode: how a cross-border youth format became Central Europe's newest senior series; Frankfurt's running brand of rugby and the players to watch; and what fans can expect in Frankfurt on 22 August.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱

00:00:00 Welcome to the Ascent Rugby Series
00:00:45 Meet Byron Schmidt, Frankfurt Head Coach
00:01:00 A Dominant Bundesliga Season
00:01:40 Where the Ascent Idea Came From
00:02:00 Building the Brand: Nico, Henry & Felix
00:02:30 Pre-Season Prep and Player Buzz
00:04:00 Why Every Club Treats Ascent as Pre-Season
00:05:00 Giving the Players a Mental Break
00:06:00 Eight Years at the Club and the Dukes
00:07:00 The Amateur Ethos: Rugby After the Whistle
00:08:30 Football Kids Crossing to Rugby
00:10:00 Coaches, Volunteers and Development
00:11:00 German Rugby on the Rise
00:13:00 Talent Coming Through the System
00:15:00 Central Europe's Heineken Cup?
00:16:00 From Parked Idea to Three-Year Plan
00:18:00 Frankfurt's Style: A Running Brand of Rugby
00:20:00 Rebuilding the Senior Section on Fundamentals
00:22:00 Players to Watch: Leo Wolfe Leads the Way
00:25:00 Mates Made at Festivals Like This
00:26:00 Frankfurt Hosts: What to Expect on the Day
00:27:30 On the Fence? Come and Watch
00:28:00 The Miniseries Ahead & Where to Follow

On the Rugby Through the Leagues podcast, Carl speaks with Mitch McGann, head coach of Dutch club RC Eemland, a founding team in the new Ascent Rugby Series beginning 22nd August in Frankfurt and now expanded from six to seven teams, including two Dutch sides (RC Eemland and The Dukes). McGann explains Eemland's identity as a family-oriented club with a strong youth pipeline and a recent shift from a forward-heavy style toward more ball movement and flair, and discusses how playing styles vary by region across the Netherlands. They preview Eemland's pre-season fixtures in the series against Poland's Pogon and Czech powerhouse Tatra, touch on scouting and preparation, highlight key players and new Kiwi signings, and discuss facility challenges, youth development via regional academies, and broader ambitions for cross-border competition and Dutch rugby growth.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Series Intro

00:58 RC Eemland Identity

02:37 Dutch Rugby Styles

04:28 Regional Differences

06:39 Dukes Rivalry Talk

09:22 Preseason and Fixtures

10:44 Pogon Lessons and Plan

14:13 Joining Ascent Rugby

16:00 Players to Watch

19:30 Scouting and Hosting Plans

22:43 Pitches and Facilities

27:59 Dutch Rugby Growth Pathway

32:31 Domestic Pro Vision

34:36 Why Ascent Matters

37:58 Funding and Future Format

42:24 Wrap Up and Tickets

🎟️ Tickets: ascentrugby.com

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This week on Rugby Through the Leagues, Carl sits down with George and Dave from Attica Rugby, the team behind the Aegean Rugby Festival, to talk about growing rugby in Greece through sport tourism. They cover the festival's origins, the vision of showcasing Greece as a sporting destination, and the reality of 2026 — a scaled-back event after travel uncertainty and rising costs forced multiple cancellations, yet still delivered with four men's and four women's teams, strong local support in Crete, and professional refereeing. Then the big one: plans for a bigger early-summer 2027 festival in Athens — rugby sevens, beach rugby, an all-inclusive option, a major closing party, and ideas for youth divisions, touch rugby, rugby tours and future 15s. Plus Andy Powell's sevens story, why legends add credibility, the Greek rugby leadership gap, and the philosophy of show up and build.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Timestamps
(00:00) Welcome & Guests
(00:56) Origins of the Aegean Festival
(03:01) Greek Rugby Growth
(05:22) Festival Vision & the Federation
(09:15) Travel Chaos & Cancellations
(11:01) Pulling Off the 2026 Event
(13:13) Referees & Tournament Quality
(16:47) 2027 Athens Teaser
(18:48) Youth Division vs the Party
(23:12) Future Formats & Rugby Tours
(27:48) Streaming the Format
(28:08) Tournament Week Blueprint
(28:44) Event Weekend Integration
(29:19) The Andy Powell Sevens Story
(31:37) Legends Add Credibility
(33:56) The Greek Rugby Leadership Gap
(38:12) Show Up & Build
(39:37) Celebrities Who Deliver
(43:57) Rugby for Anyone
(47:01) Touch Rugby Expansion
(48:42) Early Summer 2027 Plans
(50:30) Final Wrap & Callouts

🎧 Follow Rugby TTL wherever you get your podcasts — and if you're enjoying it, a rating or review genuinely helps us reach more people.
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📸 Instagram: @rugby.ttlpod
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This week on Rugby Through the Leagues, Carl sits down with Xhino, chairman of the Albanian rugby federation, for the story of how a sport almost nobody was playing became a national project. Xhino traces it back to 2010–2012, when a handful of students inspired by YouTube clips started throwing a ball around — through the founding of Tirana Rugby Club to official federation recognition in 2024. He and Carl get into Albania's entirely self-funded growth, the touring sides making the trip out (the European Parliament Rugby Team and Nottingham Police Force among them), and why hospitality, raki and the post-match third half matter as much as anything on the pitch. Xhino lays out the pillars taking Albanian rugby forward: school programmes and touch rugby, building a base beyond Tirana in Durrës, French connections opening player pathways, women's rugby, and the long game — Rugby Europe membership and fixtures against Bosnia, Serbia and Greece.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Timestamps
(00:00) Welcome & Guest Intro
(01:06) Rugby Begins in Albania
(02:18) Tirana Club & Touring Teams
(03:31) Albanian Hospitality & Raki
(06:02) The Road to Rugby Europe
(06:53) Schools & Youth Pathways
(08:02) France Links & Player Opportunities
(13:44) Growing Beyond Tirana
(18:35) Funding & Building an Ecosystem
(20:24) The 5, 10, 15-Year Vision
(22:46) Women's Rugby & the Balkan Schools Cup
(28:21) Rugby League & Learning from the NRL
(31:12) Media Buzz & Upcoming Fixtures
(32:59) How to Connect & Visit
(35:49) Final Thanks & Wrap Up

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German rugby is rebuilding — and new head coach Mike Poppmeier is the man tasked with leading it back.

In this episode, Carl sits down with Mike Poppmeier, the new head coach of Germany and a former Germany international, for an open conversation about Rugby Europe, the national team's future, and the funding gap holding it all back. Mike talks through his South African upbringing, his German/Austrian family roots and 11 years living in Germany, before laying out the real picture: how the lack of a professional environment and funding limits preparation, player retention, staffing and international fixtures.

He explains the value of cross-border competition like the new Ascent Rugby league (featuring Adler XV and Frankfurt), his role with dominant Bundesliga champions Frankfurt, and why Germany sits in the Trophy division while rebuilding its culture, behaviours and pathway by blooding young France-based prospects. Plus his coaching ethos — fitness, tempo and smart rugby — and the practical needs, from video analysis to aligned governance, that could unlock sponsorship and long-term growth.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Welcome & guest intro
00:45 Mike's Germany journey
02:19 Why Germany slipped
04:50 Super Cup & pro pathways
07:16 Ascent Rugby explained
08:00 Bundesliga & Frankfurt dominance
10:43 Adler XV selection plans
13:26 Friendlies & travel budgets
16:07 Rebuild in the Trophy division
19:48 The funding mystery & next steps
22:03 Squad identity plan
22:45 Player release commitments
24:58 Coaching ethos & style
27:40 Prep time & logistics
28:46 Video analysis & tools
30:27 Head coach workload
33:40 Five-year vision
35:37 Funding & alignment
38:59 Curtis Brayford addition
40:25 Final message & legacy

🎧 Listen & follow: Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/511e8frgzJnY1CWe06GLyH) · Apple Podcasts · YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · rugbyttl.com

The Rugby Through the Leagues podcast welcomes Jordan, organiser of Heart of Wales 7s, and Stu from The Flaming Unicorns / Tough Enough To Care, to talk rugby, community and mental health.

Jordan charts the tournament's growth from 16 men's teams to an 11-year event drawing around 1,500 people — with the goal of 6,000 — and the entertainment that's grown with it: Flamingo Bingo, boxing, netball, charity matches and the famous naked run (which may hit 250–300 runners). He opens up on how it all came together: contacts, hard-won logistics lessons, a 10-person core crew, COVID refunds, and a relentless focus on retention, safety and experience.

Stu shares how The Flaming Unicorns began as a charity match supporting mental health after losing two friends to suicide — and how their distinctive branding creates safe spaces for conversations at rugby clubs, with Heart of Wales giving them a major platform alongside celebrity guests and the growth of women's rugby.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Naked Run Cold Open
00:12 Meet the Guests
01:03 Heart of Wales Origins
02:41 Growing Past Covid
04:57 Behind the Scenes Crew
07:19 Entertainment & Traditions
10:38 Flaming Unicorns Join In
12:39 Tough Enough To Care Story
16:00 Why the Partnership Works
18:19 Rugby Stars & Welsh Sevens
22:06 Logistics Lessons & Burnout
26:57 Post-Event Rituals
31:02 Two-Week Build Plan
31:39 Site Setup Week
33:32 Rugby Star Ringers
36:03 Women's Night Magic
39:35 Growing Organically
42:48 Welsh Sevens Series
46:17 Sevens Media Value
49:23 New Format Ideas
52:14 Unicorns Mission
57:36 Final Messages

🏉 Heart of Wales 7s: heartofwales7s.co.uk

💚 This episode discusses mental health and suicide. If you're struggling, you don't have to face it alone — in the UK & Ireland you can call Samaritans free, day or night, on 116 123. Find out more about Tough Enough To Care at toughenoughtocare.help.

🎧 Listen & follow: Spotify · Apple Podcasts · YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · rugbyttl.com

Former Wales and British & Irish Lions flanker Josh Navidi on the neck injury that ended his career and life after the game.

In this episode: the injury & retirement call; Wales & Lions highlights; the transition out of pro rugby; advice for young players.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱ Add chapters from 00:00.

00:00 Passport Panic Intro
00:17 New Studio Welcome
00:34 Heart of Wales Sevens
01:55 Flaming Unicorns Charity
02:20 Neck Injury Retirement
05:15 Life After Rugby
06:06 England Rivalry Fire
07:27 Welsh Rugby Turmoil
10:04 Money, Depth and Regions
11:34 Player Workload & Burnout
12:45 Cap Rule Abroad Debate
15:35 Signs of a Wales Rebuild
18:26 Gatland Return and Legacy
21:51 2019 Grand Slam Memories
24:10 Alun Wyn Leadership
27:35 Leadership Core Talk
28:03 Gatland Training Intensity
29:24 Brutal Drills Build Edge
30:30 Lions Call-Up Chaos
35:00 Tour Life Under COVID
36:37 Keeping Shirts and Memories
37:03 DJing and Pink Bar Pivot
40:37 Building the Container Bar
43:34 Music Roots and Big Gigs
45:46 Career Moments to Relive
47:56 Heart of Wales Sevens Plug
48:59 Final Thanks and Sign Off

Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@RugbyTTL
Website: rugbyttl.com
Instagram: @rugby.ttlpod

Sam Hollingsworth on swapping the RFU Championship for Spain's División de Honor — Nottingham to VRAC Valladolid, the ACL injury, and what English players should know about Spanish rugby.

In this episode: leaving the English system; standard of the División de Honor; the ACL comeback; advice for imports.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱ Add chapters from 00:00.

00:00 Career Turning Point
00:03 Meet Sam Hollingsworth
02:16 Nottingham and the Championship
03:10 Climbing the Leagues
05:48 COVID and Breaking Through
07:41 ACL Injury Breakdown
09:54 Rehab and the Mental Battle
12:59 Choosing Spain — The Offers
16:09 Spain Level Comparison
19:00 League Consistency Issues
20:37 The ABC Rule and Squad Building
23:10 U23 Pathway Levels
25:35 Loans vs Development
26:39 Spanish Rugby Momentum
27:30 Copa Del Rey Atmosphere
29:15 Spanish Celebrations
29:49 Learning Spanish On-Field
32:49 Family Multilingual Life
34:20 Coaching Vision Online
37:51 Video Analysis Mindset
42:04 Move to Spain Advice
43:02 Final Wrap and Plugs

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📸 Coached by Sam (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/_coachedbysam
💼 LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sam-hollingsworth-7b18791a9

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📲 FOLLOW RUGBY THROUGH THE LEAGUES
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🏷 ABOUT THE PODCAST
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Rugby Through The Leagues tells the stories you don't hear on mainstream rugby coverage — players, coaches and clubs from across the global rugby pyramid. From the Championship and National Leagues in England to División de Honor in Spain, Top 14 academies, Major League Rugby, and every emerging nation pushing for Tier 1 status.

#RugbyTTL #SpanishRugby #VRAC #DivisionDeHonor #ChampionshipRugby #ACLRecovery

Copa del Rey winner Vidal Souza breaks down Alcobendas' 40–39 derby final win over Cisneros and the clutch mentality behind it.

In this episode: the 40–39 final; turning late losses into a title; the Madrid derby; Spanish club rugby.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱ Add chapters from 00:00.

00:00 Clutch Mentality Intro
00:16 Podcast Welcome Guest
00:58 Copa del Rey Thriller
02:24 Winning Tight Games
05:54 Rugby Journey Origins
08:22 Contracts & Club Culture
10:25 Rugby vs Career
12:59 Playoffs Focus: La Vila
14:58 Stopping The Maul
18:50 4G vs Grass
21:20 Wild División Season
24:22 Spain Rugby Rising
27:02 Elite A Closing Gap
30:08 Career Highlights & Farewell

🏉 ABOUT RUGBY THROUGH THE LEAGUES
Rugby Through the Leagues is the home of grassroots and tier 2/3 rugby — bringing you the players, coaches, and stories the mainstream rugby media overlooks. From Spain and Portugal to Uruguay, Brazil, Kenya, Fiji, Samoa, and beyond.

🔔 SUBSCRIBE for more interviews with players and coaches shaping the next era of global rugby.
👍 LIKE if you enjoyed this conversation with Vidal.
💬 COMMENT — who should we interview next from the División de Honor?

📲 FOLLOW RUGBY THROUGH THE LEAGUES

#SpanishRugby #CopaDelRey #Alcobendas #DivisionDeHonor #VidalSouza #RugbyTTL #RugbySpain #Cisneros #LaVila #BrazilRugby #CobrasXV #Rugby #WorldRugby #Tier2Rugby #RugbyPodcast

Rugby TTL hosts Charlie from What's All the Ruckus to debate the future of tier 2 and tier 3 rugby and how to grow the game.

In this episode: why tier 2/3 matters; Rugby Europe & MLR; World Cup 2031/2035; emerging nations.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱ Add chapters from 00:00.

00:00 Podcast Collaboration Intro
00:44 Why Cover Tier Two
01:56 Grassroots Sports Magic
03:12 Guests And Ruck Debate
06:26 Interviewing Finnley Harrison
08:18 Future Of Tier Two Rugby
09:27 Nations Cup And B Teams
13:21 USA Rugby And MLR Reset
15:48 Super Rugby Americas Growth
19:26 2035 Spain World Cup Dream
21:37 Rugby Europe Super Cup Funding
24:31 Restructuring Rugby Europe
26:08 Fixing Tier Two Calendar
27:10 League Model Proposal
28:28 Travel And Notice Boost
29:27 Showcase Friendlies Examples
32:21 Marketing Beyond Rugby Bubble
37:14 Changing Rugby Perception
40:55 Atmosphere Pricing Lessons
43:59 Favorite Guests Stories
47:52 Ultimate Guest Dreams
49:56 Where To Find The Pod
51:47 Final Thanks And Signoff

Fiji great Nikola Matawalu on the Aegean Sevens festival, growing sevens in Greece and the Fijian pathway.

In this episode: the Aegean Sevens project; sevens in Greece; Fiji pathways; moving into coaching.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱ Add chapters from 00:00.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:36 How Nikola Joined Aegean Sevens

01:40 Greece Rugby Revival

02:55 Festival Vibe and Growth

04:26 Crete Connection and Timing

05:13 Masterclass Week Breakdown

06:21 Coaching Confidence and Fun

09:03 Learning Through Mistakes

10:30 Rugby Roots in Fiji

11:58 Village Life Builds Skills

15:43 Community and Youth in Greece

17:08 Tier Two Nations Rising

18:14 Retirement and Drua Dreams

19:20 Why the Drua Matters

20:09 HPU Pathways Rising

21:51 From Camps to Pros

23:01 Greece Sevens Growth

27:01 Fiji Hosting Tier One

28:53 Best Clubs Played

31:41 Coaching and Masters

33:08 Top Coaches Learned

34:43 Finn Russell Genius

38:46 Festival Farewell