The Indy Rugby Podcast: Gatland-Schmidt Legacy, Rob Howley’s howler, and All Blacks vs Springboks
Join Jack de Menezes and Samuel Lovett in Japan for the latest episode of The Independent's rugby podcast as the World Cup finally gets underway
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After what feels like an eternity, the Rugby World Cup is finally ready to get under way as Japan take on Russia in Tokyo to open the 2019 tournament.
With the jet lag subsiding and feet firmly settled on the ground, Jack de Menezes and Samuel Lovett catch up in the Far East, where they are based in Sapporo and Yokohama respectively ahead of the opening weekend of fixtures.
With Samuel set to cover both Wales and Ireland at this year’s event, he talks up through a feature on Warren Gatland and Joe Schmidt, the two Kiwis who will leave their jobs after the World Cup and have eyes for the All Blacks job. In particular, Samuel will discuss the legacies that they will leave behind and how Japan 2019 could affect that, as well as analyse their hopes of World Cup success.
They’ll also reflect on what has been a difficult few days for Wales following the Rob Howley scandal, with the Wales assistant coach sent home from Japan after allegedly breaching betting rules that has rocked the tournament before it’s even got going.
In part two, Jack and Samuel will look ahead to the opener between Japan and Russia and assess how the home nation is getting behind the Brave Blossoms, as well as Saturday’s crunch encounter between the All Blacks and the Springboks.
Download the episode here as well as on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Acast or wherever you listen.
Episode five will follow the opening match of the World Cup as the boys react to Friday’s match in Tokyo, and will look ahead to Sunday’s Pool C encounter between England and Tonga.
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