Welcome to the Ruck, the journalist's rugby podcast from The Times and the Sunday Times.

Alfie is away, awaiting the birth of his daughter, and Will is off exploring the Norwegian

fjords, I think.

So this week, it's me, Alex Lowe, joined by Elgin Alderman.

Hello, how are you doing, Alex?

I am very well.

Had a good weekend watching Schoolboy Rugby Saturday, Saracen's Bath on Sunday. Did you go to Cardiff?

I was not in Cardiff. I was spared perhaps the new lowest day in Welsh rugby because to avoid

last year's autumn internationals, I scheduled my wedding for the last weekend in November. So I was in

Suffolk for the weekend for my first wedding anniversary. So, uh, wow, congratulations. Thank you very much, yes. I managed to catch the last 20 minutes of the Wales-Sadafka game, including the Ebenezabeth Red Card, which, I mean, didn't quite overshadow a 73-0 win, but certainly became a big talking point out of nowhere towards the end of that picture. Major, it gave everyone an intro at the least, at the principality.

On Saturday, a kind of grotesque event for any number of reasons, and that's a Beth,

eye gouge was the last of them.

We'll get into all of that on this pod.

We have for you an episode packed with news and talking points. Really, as we reflect on the weekend,

we look ahead to the World Cup draw on Wednesday, the start of Europe. Of course, even

at Zabeth disciplinary hearing will be confirmed. I think today, Monday, we'll probably be up

before the beak, Tuesday or Wednesday. And I guess we should start in Cardiff if you were enjoying a much more pleasurable time this

weekend, Elgin, but Wales, the result, the game, the optics, the Dave Reddin, smiling in the

box, the Etzabeth thumb in the eye of Alex Mann, it was, the whole thing was just pretty grim,

wasn't it?

It was.

Dave Redden has made a big point in all of this WIO consultation of wanting people to

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