#31 Springbok Verdict on Six Nations | Domestic Rugby Returns, Glasgow Go Top & Bath Dominate

March 24, 2026·1 hr 26 min·7 clips

Jean de Villiers reveals his post-career shoulder surgery is entirely self-funded, exposing rugby's failure to support retired players.

The pod starts at full pelt. Domestic rugby is back, and the lads move quickly through Glasgow beating Leinster, Leicester beating Bristol, Gloucester adding to Harlequins' misery, and Exeter climbing. The hair rubbing survives, of course. Scotstoun comes across edgy and chaotic, with Glasgow winning while carrying an injury list that sounds almost like a separate squad. Bath then take over. The panel tees up Saracens with skid-mark ribbing and salary-cap jabs, making Bath the loud domestic storyline before John pulls the room somewhere more serious. He talks about supporting injured rugby people, especially at schoolboy and amateur level, where the professional game's safety structures do not reach as far. The wheelchair-accessibility point is blunt and practical. A small step in a house can become a huge barrier, so looking after people means thinking about homes, transition, and the basic business of getting through a day. Then the pod swings back to the Six Nations. John calls it absolutely brilliant and says their show had it down as probably the best ever. In his view, the weather helped. Dry grounds and clear conditions let teams play, and the tries made a lot of defensive moaning feel thin. He wants jeopardy, not polish for its own sake, and every game still mattering until Thomas Ramos's final kick is his proof. Around that, the panel keeps its pub-table energy: nicknames, regional needles, fast scoreline recall, and a serious player-welfare spell that still feels part of the same rugby chat. The close goes grassroots with York under 13s, resets Prem and URC, and leaves Champions Cup waiting.

As heard by us

A lively rugby round-up with domestic bite, Bath as the big talking point, and a Springbok guest raving about a brilliant Six Nations.

Domestic rugby is back and The Rugby Pod treats it like a proper weekend again: Glasgow edging Leinster at Scotstoun despite a battered squad, Leicester moving up to third, Gloucester adding to Harlequins' misery, Exeter climbing into the top four, Newcastle nearly nicking it at…

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