The Good, The Bad & The Rugby

Before professionalism swept it away, the Divisional Championship packed out Twickenham and launched international careers. Today, we're bringing it back. Armed with current pros, regional pride, and very little agreement on eligibility rules, our panel drafts four teams - North, Midlands, London & South, and the South West - and puts it to you to decide who'd win.

Joining the show are World Cup winner and Leicester Tigers legend Ben Kay, and cross-code flying machine Martin "Chariots" Offiah - a man who actually pulled on the London jersey in 1987. Together with Payno and Tins, they argue, haggle, and horse-trade their way through the ultimate fantasy rugby draft.

00:00 🛞 Season 6 is sponsored by Continental Tyres
02:06 🌏 State of Origin Idea
03:16 🏉 Selectors and Memories
08:55 📋 Eligibility Rules
10:14 🔁 Back Three Picks
17:47 ⚔️ Centers
23:40 🎯 Halfbacks
32:07 🔒 NordVPN Break
34:45 💪 Front Row Picks
38:43 🏗️ Second Row Pairings
42:09 🔥 Back Row Debates
52:54 🏆 Who Wins?
54:15 🏟️ Choosing Home Stadiums
57:34 🧠 Picking The Coaches
01:00:04 💭 Can This Concept Actually Happen?
01:01:25 🤜 Grip Strength Challenge

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📗 The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unloaded: ⁠https://lnk.to/GBRUnlocked/waterstones
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The Springbok tighthead, the broken grip strength machine, and a bag of homemade biltong. This one had it all. Thomas du Toit sits down with the boys to talk farm life, front row dark arts, Springbok test weeks, and what England can really expect when they rock up at Ellis Park in July. Simply one of the best guests we've ever had.

00:00 🛞 Season 6 is sponsored by Continental Tyres

01:22 💪 Grip Strength Chaos

03:58 🥩 Biltong And Boerewors

12:49 🚜 Farm Kid To Pro Pathway

15:05 🏉 Schoolboy Rugby Rivalries

23:15 🔧 Machinery and Fixing Stuff 

30:00 ↔️ Switching to Tighthead 

32:04 📚 Loosehead vs Tighthead Explained 

34:44 🎭 Scrum Dark Arts Revealed 

39:35 🦸 Scrum Combos and The Avengers Pack 

50:20 🇿🇦 Springbok Selection Ups and Downs 

54:46 ⛰️ England Test - Ellis Park Altitude 

01:00:29 👀 England Front Row Talent Watch 

01:05:55 🛁 Bath Depth and Will Stuart Praise 

01:07:03 🏆 Try Scoring 

01:09:15 🎯 Premiership Goal and World Cup Ambitions 

01:13:30 🤝 Most Respected Opponent

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📗The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unloaded are available: https://lnk.to/GBRUnlocked/waterstones

Welcome to The Good, The Bad & The Rugby with journalist and former broadcaster Alex Payne, England and Lions flanker James Haskell, and World Cup Winner Mike Tindall.
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His coach told him to keep the guns in the holsters. Ryan Lamb never listened. The cult Gloucester fly-half who helped light up the Premiership at just 20 years old joins Alex and Tins for a GBR classic. From locking a teacher in a cupboard to calling Stuart Lancaster "Steve", Lamby holds nothing back. He relives the iconic Bristol promotion playoff, his love-hate relationship with Dean Ryan, why he thought Premiership rugby was "quite easy," and what it's like running Plymouth Albion on their promotion charge. Honest, hilarious, and completely unfiltered - this one's not to be missed.

00:00 🛞 Season 6 is sponsored by Continental Tyres

02:48 🌊 Cornwall Cults & Secret Beaches 

05:01 🎯 The Plymouth Dream & Five Year Plan 

24:05 🔍 The Most Complete 10 in England right now?

24:24 🚪 "I Locked A Teacher In A Cupboard" 

25:27 🚀 From School Trials To Prem Finals

27:10 🔫 Keep The Guns In The Holsters? Never

30:46 😬 The Curse Of Gloucester - So Close, So Many Times

34:30 😤 Ryan’s Cantona Moment

37:55 😤 Dean Ryan's Stress Ball

45:28 🚗 Driving Away From An England Camp

50:16 😱 "It's Happening Again" - That Bristol Playoff 

54:47 😂 Called Him Steve. Never Got Capped

📗The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unloaded are available: https://lnk.to/GBRUnlocked/waterstones

Welcome to The Good, The Bad & The Rugby with journalist and former broadcaster Alex Payne, England and Lions flanker James Haskell, and World Cup Winner Mike Tindall.
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With Bath chasing a historic double and a Champions Cup semi-final looming in Bordeaux, Tins is joined by two proper club legends, and his former flatmates: Matt Perry and Lee Mears. 

Bath Now: The Finn Russell era, a world-class academy at Farleigh House, 9,000 fans watching Bath University games, and a squad that has traded "hope" for "belief."

Bath Then: From Matt Perry earning £1.80 an hour in a tea room to the training-ground fights at Lambridge that led Bath to '98 European Glory.

Plus Lions Tales and why Paul O'Connell begged the 2009 squad to "sacrifice professionalism" to become friends.

00:00 🛞 Season 6 is sponsored by Continental Tyres

01:15 🏆 Bath Legends and Hall of Fame

03:35 🥫 Living With Tins

09:08 🫖Perry Pathway to Pro

18:50 🥊 Training Fights and Culture

22:44 🍷 1998 Bordeaux Glory

28:05 🏉 Bath Today Semi Final Preview

35:08 📉 Why Trophies Dried Up

40:46 🃏 Card School

45:55 🦁 Lions Tour 2001 Lessons

48:28 ❤️ Lions Tour 2009 Culture 

50:57 🤔 Should Lions Change?

01:09:12 💪 Grip Strength Challenge

📗The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unloaded are now available: https://lnk.to/GBRUnlocked/waterstones

Welcome to The Good, The Bad & The Rugby with journalist and former broadcaster Alex Payne, England and Lions flanker James Haskell, and World Cup Winner Mike Tindall.

#Rugby #Podcast
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From stacking shelves at Sainsbury’s to 70 England caps, Joe Launchbury joins Payno and former teammate Hask for an emotional retirement special. He reveals the "heartless" moment Wasps collapsed, the truth behind Eddie Jones’ psychological mind games, and his decision to move to Japan over Leicester. From 2015 World Cup heartbreak to “slosh” banter, this is an unfiltered look at the integrity & resilience of one of England’s most respected players.

01:42 🔥Retirement Decision

02:22 💦 The Story Behind “Slosh”

15:06 🛒 Sainsbury’s Shelf Stacker 

22:49 🐝 Wasps Breakthrough

30:11 ⭐ The Biggest Star Signings

35:04 💔 Finals Heartbreak: 2017 vs 2020

37:45 🥲 The End of Wasps

48:44 💪 Grip Strength Challenge 

56:59 😠 2015 RWC Man of the Match

01:03:05 🔗 Best Lock Partnerships

01:07:17 🧠 Eddie & Steve

01:10:17 🦁 Lions “What If” Scenario

01:11:48 🌅 Life After Rugby

📗The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unloaded are now available: https://lnk.to/GBRUnlocked/waterstones

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