Hello, welcome back to the Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from the Times and the Sunday times the last 16 of the champions

cup is done and dusted we got the quarter final lineup to look ahead to this coming weekend

plus the start of the women six nations welcome along my name is alfie reynolds alongside me in

studio on a bank holiday Monday look at the work epic you love to see it is Alex Lowe and Elgin

Olderman morning lads morningads. Morning. Good morning.

How are we? Really good. Good, Alex, you look like you've come in like an old-fashioned All-Black's jersey today. Well, I have, actually. For a midweek game against Pontipal Abilateri combined 15. I have. Yeah, it's actually from a company that my... I've got a mate who has started up his own rugby jersey company.

Oh, really?

I wasn't intending on plugging it, but now you've mentioned it, Alfie, old, old novo, and a lot of the jerseys are based on, like, yeah, classic old. Okay, nice. This is just the, yeah, all black. The old black one. No, I like it a lot. Check it out. You guys were both over the weekend at various last 16 games in the Champions Cup. We'll look ahead, as I mentioned, to the quarterfinal lineup, which looks really tasty this coming weekend, the women Six Nations. And we're also going to be having a chat with Mark Palmer. He was at the Edinburgh game in Dublin on Sunday, and he's also there in Glasgow for their win over the balls on Saturday and absolutely torrential conditions as well.

Now you two actually can get out of this one quite easily but last week on the pod because you weren't on myself Will and Charlie were kind of saying we're all waiting for the quarterfinals really in the Champions Cup aren't we?

But were we unfair, Alex?

Did the last 16 go past certainly our expectations, many people's expectations?

I think so.

And I think part of what was so special about this weekend was what it has set up.

So unquestionably, what we're waiting for in the quarterinal weekend is it is part of the conversation.

So the kind of the two best teams in France meeting, the two best teams in England.

Elgin was on a French doubleheader in your socials.

You know, anyone who's been to knock out games in France, the colour, the vibrancy of the colour in Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Like it just reinforces that, A, the Jeopardy,

be the tribalism you get in this competition.

And I thought in the games that weren't close,

so pretty much your Elgin's two games,

the standard of rugby on show from the two French teams

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