Amateur Rugby Podcast

#197 - Jack Vas - An Englishman in Toulouse

My guest this week is Jack Vass, a young English rugby player who grew up in Kent, came through the Saracens Academy and is now playing with the Espoirs at Toulouse. Jack

CLASSIC - It's about flow - Dave Phillips - #21

Dave Phillips - 'Mr Dartfordians' has been a member of the Dartfordians club since leaving school and has held almost every role within the club over 50 years. This int

#196 - Alan Zondagh - Why Rugby Needs To Coach The Chaos

My guest this week is Alan Zondagh, a veteran coach and rugby educator whose career has taken him from South Africa to England, France and beyond. Alan has worked with

CLASSIC - You either fight back or you don't! - Peter Short - #20

Peter Short, the former Leicester Tigers, Narbonne and Bath lock forward is my guest this week. Shorty and I caught up in December of 2019 in Dorset, where he now works

#195 - Kennedy Tsimba - Who wins the race to react first?

My guest this week is a former Bath, Cheetahs and Zimbabwe fly-half who has gone on to become a coach at The Bulls in the URC. Kennedy Tsimba has had a fascinating jour

#194 - Will Simpson - I need to be the genesis of my own momentum

My guest this week is former pro rugby player and now a Major in the British Army - Will Simpson. We talked about: Will's dream to become a pro player The steps and o

#193 - Suzy Rook - Rugby's got a place for everybody

My guest this week is former Scotland International and now wild swimmer, Suzy Rook. We talked about: The highs of her international career How far the Women's game h

CLASSIC - And that was the moment I fell in love with rugby - Greg Curtin - #19

'Curtin' and I are Nomad friends, we met at a big floating conference on a cruise ship in the sea. We then spent 3 weeks living on a beach in Brazil with a load of other

CLASSIC - This is it. I'm going to watch my Dad get killed now on a rugby pitch! - Stephen Corlett - #18

'Taff' and I played together for many years - bound up in the front row for both Old Colfeians and Kent. This interview was recorded November of 2019 in Amsterdam, wher

CLASSIC - And I worked out, I'd played for the only gay rugby team in LA! - James Griffiths - #17

My guest this week is Hollywood Movie director - James Griffiths. Griff was also my team-mate and captain at Old Colfeians but being a Hollywood Movie director sounds som

CLASSIC - Retiring on your own terms - Geoff Griffiths - #16

Geoff and I met while playing for Esher RFC, one of 4 Championship clubs he represented. Geoff was a powerful three-quarter and played a lot of 7's also. This interview

#192 - Chris Moore - We're lucky that we're all really good mates

My guest this week is Heath RFC's Chris Moore. We talked about: - Heath RUFC's rampant success in recent seasons. - How the club is run in a sustainable and fun way.

CLASSIC - The game cannot survive without the Bruce's of this world - Colm Hannon - #15

Colm and I are former team-mates at Esher RFC and both fully paid up members of the front-row union. He is one of the most interesting and engaging characters that I have

CLASSIC - Rugby gives you that camaraderie that lasts for years after the fact - Ben Mercer - #14

Now, Ben and I have never actually met, but he came with a very strong recommendation from a former team-mate of both of ours Geoff Griffiths. Ben has experienced all dif

#191 - Glen McLellan - You've got to create a community around your club

My guest this week is Orkney RFC's Glen McLellan. We talked about: The travel challenges of playing rugby on a remote island Long away trips every other weekend! The

CLASSIC - Rugby is about people - Dave Townsend - #13

Former Cheltenham RFC President - Dave 'Towner' Townsend was my coach for Cheltenham Colts back in 1995/96 and is also the father of Matt Townsend from Episode No.2. Sa

#190 - Autumn Internationals Match Reports - Week 4

The 2025 Autumn Internationals are in full swing, and the fourth weekend of fixtures did not disappoint. Join me as I discuss Ireland vs South Africa and England vs Argen

#189 - Autumn Internationals Match Reports - Week 2

The 2025 Autumn Internationals are in full swing, and the second weekend of fixtures did not disappoint. Join me as I discuss Scotland vs New Zealand, England vs Fiji and

#188 - Autumn Internationals Match Reports - Week 1

The 2025 Autumn Internationals have started and it was a decent first weekend of fixtures. And as usual, I got a load of special guests to add some wonderful insight for

CLASSIC - We want players to believe that we're normal people. - Phil Watters - #12

Hello Amateurs! We're back with another Classic episode and this one is with my former Cheltenham RFC team-mate and Prem Rugby Assistant Referee - Phil Watters. This i