Steven Kitshoff: Life threatening injury, France vs Springboks and bomb squad beer
The Ruck
Reynolds Alfie
3.4 • 566 Ratings
🗓️ 3 November 2025
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Alfie, Will and Owen Slot are back to review all the November internationals over the weekend and preview the upcoming round of fixtures.
They are joined by double world champion Springbok, Steven Kitshoff, who looks back on that epic world cup quarter-final in 2023 between France and South Africa and looks ahead to the sides meeting again in Paris on Saturday. He also chats about his life threatening and career ending neck injury which forced him to retire earlier this year and his new business ventures which includes bomb squad beer, named after the famous Springbok replacements. He gives his view on England's own attempt at the bomb squad and the rise of Henry Pollock.
Plus, will Scotland's autumn be defined by how they get on against New Zealand? Could we really see Ben Earl start at centre against Fiji? And will that clash in Paris determine who is the best side in the world?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome back to the Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from The Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 0:20.2 | We are in studio following the opening weekend of November internationals. Another pack fixture list coming up this weekend. So as always, lots to get into. I'm Alfie Reynolds, Will Kellarher, back alongside me. How we doing, Will? This is quite fun, isn't it? We're in a nice, shiny new studio. With Ruck branding around. You'll see videos come out about this. |
| 0:38.9 | This is really fun, isn't it? |
| 0:40.1 | Yep, go on Will's socials to see the studio. |
| 0:42.7 | It looks all quite professional and slick in it, doesn't it? Look at us growing up. Yeah, exactly. It's taken us long enough. That's what everyone will be thinking. Also, back on the pod to mark such a momentous occasion. |
| 0:52.3 | It is the people's favourite, Owen Slot. |
| 0:54.9 | Come on, guys, you can't say that. |
| 0:57.3 | Why not? |
| 0:57.7 | I don't know what. to mark such a momentous occasion, it is the people's favourite, Owen Slot. |
| 0:54.9 | Come on, guys, you can't say that. |
| 0:57.3 | Why not? |
| 0:57.8 | I don't know what to say. |
| 0:59.4 | I was just saying to Will beforehand, I listened to the excellent Ruppost game, |
| 1:04.3 | and at the end of it, Will and Alex were saying that they've got an exciting new guest coming on Monday. |
| 1:10.2 | Oh, that's so sweet. But anyway. Shall we reveal who the guest is? Yeah. It's not me, guys. You are one exciting guest, Slossie. But coming up on the pod, we have the double World Cup winner. Stephen Kitsoff is going to be chatting to us, Will. It's going to be good fun. The spicy plum, as he's nicknamed, apparently, because of his ginger hair. |
| 1:29.1 | Yeah, amazing career, obviously, 83 caps, two World Cup wins, all sorts of else besides. |
| 1:36.3 | But also a horrible story, really. |
| 1:39.2 | Because about this time, last year, he popped his neck in a scrum and as he will explain, |
| 1:45.7 | had a horrendous neck injury and then had to retire in February this year. |
| 1:49.7 | So lots to talk to him about and particularly because it's France, South Africa this Saturday, |
| 1:55.0 | which is definitely the best of the Autumn Nations games coming. |
| 1:58.3 | And was such an epic that both of you guys were at at the |
... |
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