#39 URC Race to 8, Doping Scandals & Rugby Reset Rumours

The Rugby Pod

The Ringer

Sports, Comedy, Rugby

4.7 • 5.3K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2026

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s a massive week as the lads react to the URC quarter-finals being locked in, Glasgow’s statement win in Belfast, Cardiff’s huge result over the Stormers and Connacht emerging as dark horses. We look ahead to the Champions Cup final in Bilbao and whether Leinster can topple Bordeaux. We also ask whether rugby has a growing drug problem after major bans in Georgia and South Africa. We dive into South Africa’s club rugby future with rumours they may be dropping out of Champions Cup, the potential URC-Prem merger, Eddie Jones’ suspension, England’s new-look training squad and the Premiership chaos after Saints put 94 points on Bristol. Sign up to NordVPN by going to https://nordvpn.com/rugbypod to get a Huge Discount off your NordVPN Plan + 4 additional months free. It’s completely risk-free with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Pod, pod, pod, rugby pod.
0:07.4	Hello and welcome back to the rugby pod where it's been probably one of the most eventful weeks we've had for a while suspended coaches and athletes, drug bands, doping scandals and potentially
0:23.9	ripping up the whole rugby playbook and starting from scratch. There's a lot going on.
0:28.2	Yes, we'll also be tackling some of the toughest topics in rugby this week, which will be
0:33.7	more tackling than featuring in some of the games this weekend from Bristol. Bristol's don't tackle. We'll also have a look at our quarterfinals, which are locked in for the URC, and looking ahead to a massive Champions Cup final next week in Bilbao. So without further ado, settle back, enjoy, and make sure you subscribe. Where, boys? Spotify. We're in the studio. We are in the studio.
0:54.2	It's great.
0:56.2	This episode is brought to you by NordVPN, who are giving all our RugbyPod listeners
1:01.5	four months free access and a 30-day money-back guarantee by visiting NordVPN.com forward
1:09.5	slash rugby pod.
1:11.2	So if you travel, use a public Wi-Fi or watch sport abroad, this one is for you.
1:15.7	Yep, there's nothing worse than landing somewhere and your subscriptions just don't work.
1:20.8	One click with NordVPN and you're back to full access.
1:24.6	Plus, it keeps you safe online and protects your identity.
1:29.7	Just go to NordvPn.com forward slash rubypod right now. You'll get a discount, plus four months
1:36.3	for free using our link and by signing up. You'll also be supporting the pod as well.
1:42.4	Because you bought your robot vacuum on your Barclay card,
1:45.7	you got 0% interest for up to 24 months,
1:48.8	which makes watching it,
1:50.3	hypnotically sweeping up your crumbs,
1:52.2	even more satisfying.
1:53.7	Oh, Mr. Bit.
1:55.2	What you buy is your business.
	...

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