b-side bois: a rugby podcast by B-Side Bois
🎙 Episode 159: State Championship Preview + International Updates
🎙️ Episode 158 is LIVE!
Join us as we cover IAYRA Girls updates, Interview with Norwalk Girls Head Coach and Iowa Rugby Union President Bryant Reynolds, Senior Side Updates, College Updates, USA Updates, MLR Updates, and so much more!
Episode 156 brings a new twist with guest host Sam Hendricks of the West Des Moines Wombats, stepping in for his audition phase. You might know him as the Wombats’ #8 or recognize his voice from the spring live stream of the Iowa High School Selects against the NW Missouri Bulls.
In this episode, Mr. Gray is finally reunited with International Correspondent Eric Nichols, making his long-awaited return after more than two months away. The two catch up and jump right into some big news, kicking things off with a look at the newest inductees into the University of Northern Iowa Rugby Hall of Fame. Then they hop on the phone with Iowa Rugby Union’s own Bryant Reynolds to get the latest updates from around the state and preview what’s in store at the upcoming Summer Annual General Meeting. To wrap things up, Nichols takes us on a whirlwind tour of international test matches, world rankings, and all the biggest rugby stories from across the globe—sprinkled with plenty of laughs and classic Nichols commentary along the way.
In this jam-packed episode, we sit down with Iowa State Men’s Head Coach Ant Frein to hear all about Lucy’s Legion Lu’au — his special charity tournament he’s organizing to help others that have experienced the loss of a child. We also catch up with Casey Hansen to chat about the Bremer U14 squad, Iowa Selects high school boys, and the standout Waverly-Shell Rock girls making waves this summer.
Join Mr. Gray and Andrew Ridgway as they drive from West Des Moines to Chicago for the Thunderbird Cup! They recap all things Iowa Rugby Union, IAYRA State Tournament, MLR, and so much more!
Philly V is back with Mr. Gray to break down all the exciting happenings of rugby related to Iowa in this episode! Exciting MLR Debut for the Chicago Hounds, Iowa Rugby Union All-Iowa Tournament Recap, and our preview of the IAYRA Boys' State Championships and SO MUCH MORE! Join us!
It's another quick episode with Mr. Gray! There's so much going on from high school, to college, to senior side, to MLR, to USA Eagles, to crowning champions to the B-Side Bois talking about themselves! Join us for a quick update on all things rugby!
A quick episode updating you on the IAYRA season and some other news and notes!
Join us as we recap Week 3 of IAYRA Boys action and preview Week 4! We are also joined by IUP's Head Coach Seth Erwin as he looks to lead his program to another national championship while offering his rugby knowledge to us! We cover all sorts of other topics in Iowa, Midwest, Nationally, and Internationally as well!
Join Mr. Gray & Philly V as they have special guest Victor Wong in studio! Vic is the 1st year head coach of West Des Moines Valley and a member of the West Des Moines Wombats! They break down all the action in the IAYRA Boys Spring Season along with some fun stories along the way. Then the Bois are joined by Mossy from The Top of The League Podcast as they pick back up from their break as well as grinding away with the South Pitt Hooligans on their way to D3 Men's Nationals! This, and so much more in this episode!
Mr. Gray is solo to bring you all updates with the Iowa Youth Rugby Association Boys' Spring season. He recaps Week 1, he previews Week 2, and he has some BREAKING NEWS! He also recaps the happenings of rugby in Iowa, the Midwest, and Nationally! Being an only child helped prepare him to bring you this episode as he's had a lot of practice talking to himself as a kid!
In this episode of The B-Side Bois: A Rugby Podcast, we sit down with Talan Nelson of the Iowa Rugby Report to hear about his new social media platform dedicated to highlighting high school rugby in Iowa. We also preview the IAYRA boys season, which kicks off this Friday, and run through all the latest rugby happenings across the state. Plus, we take a deep dive into the thrilling conclusion of the 6 Nations Tournament and so much more!
This week on the B-Side Bois, the crew is joined by Iowa Rugby Union President Bryant Reynolds for an in-depth conversation about all things rugby in Iowa and the Midwest. They break down key updates from the Midwest Annual Grand Meeting in Detroit and discuss what’s ahead for the region.
In this jam-packed episode of The B-Side Bois: A Rugby Podcast, the Bois dive into the world of women’s rugby in the U.S. with two incredible guests. First, we chat with Rachel Ehrecke, USA Women’s National Team player, Foundational Five member of WER Denver Onyx, Penn State alum, and former IAYRA State MVP from Iowa. Then, we sit down with Jenny Dillon, President of the Women’s Board for Quad City Irish Women’s Rugby, to discuss the growth of the game at the grassroots level.
🎙️🏉 New Episode Alert!
B-Side Bois: A Rugby Podcast – Season 4 Premiere!
Join us for our last episode of the 2024 with our Season 3 Finale! A lot of fun as we are joined by Alex Goff of Goff Rugby Report to get his view on rugby in Iowa, USA Rugby/NCR split, and how he's able to produce top level rugby reporting. We also finish our Top of the League Podcast Celebrity 15 with our wings, fullback, and coach! We make bold predictions for 2025 while looking ahead to what to watch for. We end the episode hearing from Trey Gaudet of Northwest Missouri Boys High School Rugby program and how they just started yet have already won a Nebraska state title!
We've got an OG episode of the podcast today with only Philly V & Mr. Gray! They cover the happenings in the Iowa Rugby Union, College Rugby Updates with Bowl Games & National Tournaments. A little Major League Rugby Talk. We outline major events for 2025 and preview next week's season 3 finale episode! Episode ends with a great interview with the brand new head coach of the Valley Tigers Boys Rugby Club, Victor Wong! Join us for a fun episode!
Join us for a jammed packed episode where we talk all things international rugby from the past month of test matches. Whose stock is rising, who is falling off a cliff, who surprised us, what's going on with the USA Eagles? We also discuss some local college news as well as updates from the Iowa Rugby Union! Check out BBP Sport for their new special on team kits!
A quick episode where we run down lots of local rugby happenings before Thanksgiving. We’ve got new teams in Iowa Falls & Mineral City. Interview with Colter Johnson of Mineral City. Lilly Stough makes the USA Rugby women’s u18 7s squad traveling to New Zealand. UNI Men’s rugby looks ahead to the NCR Final Four while UNI Women end their great season in the Final Four. Iowa Women have a bowl match with Texas. And more fun banter!
Join us for a playoff recap extravaganza! We recap the Iowa State vs Iowa Heart of America championship match. We check in on UNI Men and UNI Women as the march into the playoffs. We run down the scores of the Midwest Rugby Union championship matches as well as special interviews from the Red River Ruffians from Fargo, North Dakota. We then hear from Gator of the South Pitt Hooligans and one of the hosts of the Top of The League Podcast! More fun banter to follow! Join us!
A jammed packed episode with THREE huge interviews of people doing big things from local clubs on a national level! We hear from Lilly Stough from WSR Girls rugby and her experience winning the IAYRA state championship as well as her time out in Chula Vista for the U18 Rugby Pathways 7s High-Performance Camp. We check in with Nick Marker from UNI Men's Rugby and hear about their season and their mindset ahead of the D2 NCR National Playoffs. We also check in with Iowa State Men's Head Coach Ant Frein ahead of their Heart of America Conference Championship Clash with the University of Iowa! We also have other MLR news, international news, and some fun! Join us!
We check in with the University of Northern Iowa women’s coach Meghan Flanigan to hear about the IAYRA State Girls Championship, UNI’s success, and the WER. We also cover college and Midwest playoffs as well as international and professional news! Check it out!
Join us as we talk rugby in the USA. Joined by Producer Kress of the Top of the League Podcast!
The Bois record from SingleSpeed Brewing Co. in Des Moines as they are the playoff sponsor for the West Des Moines Wombats. Hear from bar manager Ben as well as multiple Wombats as we recap the happenings of IAYRA girls rugby and look ahead to the Midwest playoffs! Join us!
Join us as the Bois recap the past couple weeks for local college rugby, senior side rugby, high school rugby, and chat about the happenings of rugby world wide! A fun episode with no guest this week!
Another episode with the Bois where we recap the Iowa Youth Rugby Association Girls Week 1 action from Monday night. We hear from Norwalk Girls Rugby Assistant Coach Bryant Reynolds. We also recap college rugby matches, senior side matches, international matches, and we pick our #6, #7, #8 players in the Top of the League Podcast Celebrity Top 15 Challenge! And plenty of silly banter in between! Join us!
Join us for our Iowa Youth Rugby Association Girls' preview show with special interviews from Casey Hansen of Waverly-Shell Rock, Salty Thompson & Kelsie McDowell of EIRA! Girls' 7s High School Season starts Monday and then on next Wednesday there is an EIRA High Performance Identification camp in Des Moines! We also break down all the college, senior side, and international rugby action! Join us for a fun one!
Join us for a great episode with ALL FOUR BOIS IN STUDIO for the first time in 8 weeks! Great banter and some rugby news to share with you! Here's a rundown:
We are BACK! Well, kind of. It's just Mr. Gray & Nichols recapping summer and looking at the kickoff of all the fall rugby seasons!
HUGE Episode as we talk to Brand New Head coach of the NEWEST D1 NCAA Women's Varsity program, Kelsie McDowell of La Salle University. We also check in with great friend of the podcast, Erik Frana, to hear about his time this past weekend at the Mid Summer Classic as a part of the Iowa High School Selects Coaching Staff! Then we talk about a bunch of rugby stuff including MLR Playoffs, Rugby 25 the Video Game, International Matches, U20 Matches, and other rugby fun stuff! Join us!
Massive episode today as have two HUGE interviews! First we talk to Taylor Isberner from Des Moines Women's rugby (18:42-51:56) then Samuel Ciancutti of Barstool Rugby and Toledo Celtics (55:58-1:20:56). We also check in on the Iowa Hawkettes playing for the Midwest Thunderbirds, Iowa Summer 7s Series, Iowa City Block Party 7s, Iowa State Men's CRAA All Americans, MLR Playoff Picture, International Playoff Matches, International Friendlies, USA Player Selections for Men's and Women's teams, NCR Selects playing in France and so much more!
Join us for updates all about the Iowa Rugby Union with the President, Bryant Reynolds
Join us for another installment of the podcast as the Bois interview former UNI Women's Panther and current Tampa Bay Krewe player, Molly Douglas as we hear from her experience on winning the D2 Women's National Title a couple of weeks ago. She gives us some great insight on how they did it as well as some ideas for how to make women's rugby in Iowa better! Other topics covered include:
Join us for our next installment of the show with our widest range of topics as we cover from Iowa High School Rugby to Major League Rugby to Women's International Rugby to Collegiate Rugby and so much more! A very special interview with Mason Koch of the New England Free Jacks in Major League Rugby along with his former high school coach Josh Flammang of the Iowa City Trojans! A great behind the scenes look at how the Iowa City Trojans operate and a look how Mason was able to go from Iowa City to Dartmouth to Major League Rugby. We also cover many new college signings for boys and girls from the IAYRA looking to be the next in line to make the jump to the next level! Check it out!
Can you believe it? We're still going after 2 years, 3 seasons, 119 episodes, 150+ guests, and countless laughs! We catch back up with our first ever guest and producer of the show, Javier Sanchez who is now in Houston! The Iowa Central product catches up with us. Then we recap the IAYRA Class 1A Boys' State Championship Tournament followed by an inclusive interview from Gimli as he connects with State Champion Landon Cory of the Bondurant Blue Plague! We then go over new World Rugby law trials and take a look at some international professional club matches and upcoming test matches for USA Rugby! It's a jammed packed episode with celebrations, laughter, and information! We've got a little bit of everything! Thank you all for giving us a listen!
The Bois recap their live-stream experience of the Class 2A IAYRA Boys' State Championship Tournament and recap all the matches from last Friday night. Then they are joined by State Champions and Elite All-State Award Winners Kaedyn Smith, Chase Gilber, and Ian Murra (State Tournament MVP) from Cedar Falls Rugby who finished their season with a perfect 15-0 record! There's exciting news also around Iowa Selects, Bremer Youth Rugby, Wombats Rugby Youth Academy, and Iowa Hawkettes. Get ready for summer 7s and the Iowa City Block Party which is coming soon! A really fun episode celebrating all the things that make rugby great in Iowa!
A shorter episode today but a great look ahead to senior side club nationals, a recap of the Iowa Rugby Union All-Iowa Tournament, a recap of the NCR CRC, a recap of Iowa State's National Title match, an interview with Landon Sanders who was a massive part of the planning and running of the All-Iowa Tournament, and a few other fun rugby stories. Join us!
HUGE Episode as we preview the 1A and 2A State Championship Tournaments for the boys' IAYRA spring rugby season! We also catch up with Casey Hansen, coach of Waverly-Shell Rock and the Iowa High School Selects. A lot of information in this one! Join us Friday night as we will be live-streaming from Southeast Polk for the 2A State Championship IAYRA Tournament!
A fantastic episode with an in-studio interview of a guest we've had on our wish list since the start of this podcast. The legendary Paul Damge stops by the Wombat Den to share part of his rugby story and thoughts on the current state of rugby in Iowa and more! We cover the NCR CRC7s brackets, some updates with senior side rugby, and Thudnerbirds and Iowa Rugby Union Select side updates as well! You do not want to miss this episode!
Week 4 Recap of the Iowa Youth Rugby Association and an interview with the head coach of Cedar Rapids Washington Boys' Rugby! We have updates to the Iowa High School Selects and the Hawkettes with some exciting college signings of a few of our high school athletes! Updates on the ACR 7s Nationals and ACR 15s National Championship with Iowa State University! Check it out!
Join us for a jammed packed episode with TWO awesome interviews! Here's a rundown of the show:
Join us for a massive and fun episode of the podcast! Quick hits of what's to come:
MASSIVE EPISODE ALERT! We've got everything, don't believe us, check out this run down:
The Wombats are on the road to Nashville for the 2024 Nashbash Tournament! To pass the time and get some good road trip and Nashville stories, Mr. Gray brought the mics and recorded this episode on the road with the fellas! Join us!
We are BACK again to recap what we've missed in the last month while also diving into the high school boys' IAYRA season. We interview one of the top seniors in the state, Ian Murra of Cedar Falls Rugby, and Aiden Lewis, head coach of Ames Atomics and scrumhalf for Iowa State University. Eric Nichols checks in and recaps the 6 Nations. We preview Nashbash a little while also dissecting some issues we have with the logic of The Lion King. Join us!
A very fun episode with the Bois where we talk with Marc Blong who is the head of the brand new Ambassadors League Committee! Learn all about this new venture. The Bois also dive into some upcoming 7s news, stories about Nashville, and we check in with Eric Nichols on 6 Nations updates!
A throwback episode with just Philly V & Mr. Gray as they interview the brand new President of the Iowa Rugby Union, Bryant Reynolds. Bryant is also a member of the Des Moines Rugby Club and a coach for the Norwalk Girls High School team. We discuss all of the exciting things that are happening behind the scenes to make sure our union has a fantastic year of rugby in 2024. This includes the creation of brand new committees to work on special projects like the Iowa Summer 7s Series, All-Iowa Tournament, Women's Development, Select Side Teams, Ambassador League, and so much more! The Bois also discuss the 1st Round of the 6 Nations, some exciting World Rugby news, opportunity to grow the game with the L1 coaching and refereeing certification clinics, and exciting news out of the Northeast Wisconsin Rugby Foundation! If you want to know what's happening in rugby in our area or want to be involved, you do not want to miss this episode!
Season 2 Finale with a great interview with legendary Iowa High School coach Brent Wheeler or Cope as many people know him as. He has some breaking news regarding his coaching future for us! A couple of news and notes about rugby in Iowa and updates for the show going into 2024! Thanks for listening everyone! Cheers!
Who saw this coming? 100 episodes of the B-Side Bois Podcast! We use this episode to take a break from checking in on the world of rugby and instead we invite some of our oldest rugby friends to share stories of from our rugby days while also take a look forward how we can continue to impact the game through coaching and refereeing. A lot of fun, a lot of laughs, a couple of good ideas, a lot of cut content, but a good time had by all! Join us for this special episode! Thank you everyone who has made this possible! Here's to 100 more! This episode features our hosts Mr. Gray, Philly V, Gimli, International Correspondent Eric Nichols, and our guests, Grant Steffen, Erik Frana, Jeremy Newman, Ben Villim, and Tyler Dailey!
New episode this week featuring an interview with Iowa Central alumni and current Chicago Hounds Academy player, Aiden Farrell. We also take a look at breaking news in the MLR with the announcement of the Toronto Arrows suspending operations which leads us to Gimli's Nugget about the history of Canadian Rugby and the parallels to United States Rugby. Updates from around the Iowa and Midwest as well! Join us for episode 99!
A little delay on this week's episode but it's worth the wait. We hear from a legend of rugby in Iowa, Jeff McHenry. He's currently coaching the Des Moines Women's team and has been involved as a player, coach, and ref for over 20 years. We also take a look at UNI Men's Rugby's run in the NCR Nationals Tournament. Iowa State Men's Rugby is hosting a FREE coaching clinic this January. We also take a look at some USA Rugby news, MLR News, and a new segment with Gimli! Lots of laughs in this one, you don't want to miss!
A jammed packed episode where we finally hear Eric Nichols thoughts on the World Cup Final, we check in with Ian Klein of Iowa State Men's rugby who had a great weekend winning the Heart of America Conference for 2nd year in a row. We have updates with Iowa Men's Rugby, UNI Women's Rugby, Iowa State Women's Rugby, and UNI Men's Rugby. We also take a look at the Senior Side's Midwest Championship matches. We look at the USA vs Brazil match as well as many other updates!
Join us for 3 great interviews as Andrew Ridgway recaps his first season as a referee for the Iowa Youth Rugby Association, Elliot Gaul as Dubuque Rugby hosted some men's Midwest Rugby D3 and D4 playoff matches, and Patrick Lausen to recap the entire IAYRA Girls' State Tournament! So much more in-between as well to keep you updated on what's happening in rugby in our state! Join us!
Great in person interview with reoccurring guest and friend of the program, Adam Falk! Get inside the mind of one of the best referees in the Midwest as he's had some huge opportunities to get involved with the Chicago Hounds of Major League Rugby as well as USA Rugby against Stade Toulousain and so much more! We touch base on the Iowa Youth Rugby Association's Girls' State Championship and the World Cup, but next week we will gather more information and do a deep dive on both! Join us for another fun episode with the Bois!
Another episode of rugby information relevant to you in Iowa and the midwest from high school, to college, to senior side, to the World Cup, we try to cover it all and laughter is included! Two awesome interviews with 2 people who are making a difference in the high school scene as we talk to Annie Myers of Roosevelt Girls Rugby Jason Diedrich of Farm Boys Rugby!
A MASSIVE EPISODE, with a new introduction this week, as we interviewed Iowa State Men's Head Coach Ant Frein to catch up on their great season and to preview their Alumni Weekend coming up. We also have Eric Nichols in the Wombat Den to recap and preview more World Cup action. Jeremy Newman also joins us in the Wombat Den to give us his takes on all things rugby! We recap senior side rugby, college rugby, high school rugby, and share many silly stories. An episode that was mapped out for an hour ended up being two and a half hours, so join us for the fun! Want to be on the show, have a story that needs to be shared, or have an idea of how to grow rugby in Iowa? LET US KNOW!
Huge episode this week as we recap all the Senior Side action, the Collegiate action, mention high school action, recap the World Cup action, and we brainstorm ideas for the Iowa Rugby Union Annual Grand Meeting! Interviews with Tom McClimon of Bremer County and Cooper Isaacson of UNI Men while both their programs are on hot streaks! We also dive into the World Rugby Law Book! Join us!
We are BACK! And we have so much rugby to cover including an interview with an up and coming rugby player in Iowa, Bernard Mcintyre of the West Des Moines Wombats. Here we go!
RUGBY IS BACK! We recap all the action in the state and have 5 interviews for you!
A fun episode just with the B-Side Bois where we look at the USA Men's National teams for 15s and 7s, an update to England's Owen Farrell's Red Card Situation, the Major League Rugby Draft, the best cardio workout for rugby according to Ruck Science, break down the D3 Iowa League Opening Weekend, and so much more! Join us!
World Cup preview with Eric Nichols
Massive episode recapping Iowa Irishfest, interviews with Mike Isaacson of Denver Rugby, Todd Becker of Bremer County Rugby, and Rizzo of Badger Kings Rugby, preview of the fall seasons all around, lots of USA Rugby talk, MLR talk, PR 7s talk. Just so much great stuff in here. Check it out!
A jammed packed episode with in studio guest Brendan McConville "Gimli" and interviews with John Schwarte of Wayne State College, Tyler Gast of Iowa Selects, and Marc Blong of Intracity 7s. We talk about a bunch of other rugby stuff too. Check it out!
The Bois are BACK! After a little summer break we've got a massive episode highlighted by an interview with Brent Nelson who will be coaching the Iowa High School Selects this Saturday against Alliance Rugby in a high performance high school 15s match at Tiger Field in West Des Moines at 1pm! We will be live-streaming the action on our Facebook page. In this episode we also cover big events that have happened this summer such as:
Impromptu Episode! Toys for Tots 7s is this weekend and we get the preview from Des Moines Rugby Club President Nate Tystahl. Then, on social media this past week, Blackhawk Rugby announced that they are BACK! We hear from Pauldo (Kel) Musa on how he's making it happen! This episode is brought to you by Roder Epoxy and Convergence Acquisitions, LLC. The interviews are brought to you by Tighthead Brewing Company! Thank you everyone! Also, buy an official podcast shirt from our merchandise partner Bully Brand Performance at B-SIDE BOIS – BBPsport.com
Big time episode from a couple of big time guests! Here's the rundown:
HUGE EPISODE! After a week off we come back to one of the busiest weekends of the summer for rugby in Iowa! Here's what we cover:
We get an inside look at the Intracity 7s Rugby Series up in Mason City from our brand new correspondent, Jake Kazos of Bremer County Rugby. We ran into Jake multiple times because this guy is everywhere and loves the sport of rugby. Playing every chance he gets, he's the perfect person to check in with to get the full recap from last Wednesday's Week 1 and to help us look forward to Week 2 on this upcoming Wednesday! We also hear how he got involved in rugby and Mr. Gray pesters him to begin his coaching career! A fun look at a fun series from a fun guy! Check it out!
It's the Intracity 7s draft recap episode you've all been waiting for but first we have a great interview with one of UNI Men's Rugby's newest alumni, Gabe Santoiemma. He talks about his decision to join the draft pool for Intracity 7s, what he's looking forward to for the summer, and recaps his time at UNI with some of his favorite memories. Also, in this episode we recap the USA Rugby U20s win over Cananda's U20s squad, USA Club Rugby National Championships, U23 Midwest Thunderbirds women's tryout, Wombat Rugby Youth Academy, local referee and president of the Society of Iowa Rugby Referees Adam Falk Assistant Refereed his first MLR match, Gus Sokol joins PR 7s Loggerheads, and so much more! Join us for a fun episode!
Late release on the holiday weekend, but here is the Iowa State Men's Rugby 7s National Championship Celebration episode! Head Coach Ant Frein joins us in studio and we give his assistant coach and former player Owen McGuffin a call, and we call senior playmakers and captains Wes Cummings and Tyler Cahill! It's a fun episode but it's not all about Iowa State! We also talk about potential ideas for high school boys 15s as well as updating you on all the happenings in the state of Iowa for this summer! Don't forget, if you want to celebrate with Iowa State in person, join them at Des Moines Rugby's Clubhouse on Saturday June 3rd from 2pm to 5pm.
Another jammed packed episode from the B-Side Bois with in-studio guest Parker Cziper Head Coach of West Des Moines Valley Boys' Rugby, and phone interview with Marc Blong of River City Rugby as he hypes up year 2 of Intracity 7s! Also:
A very special edition of the B-Side Bois where Mr. Gray interviews the BACK to BACK to BACK to BACK 1A State Champions, Waterloo Columbus Catholic players Mason Knipp, Connor Knudtson, Mason Burr, and head coach Kaleb Boleyn. Hear how this season compared to other seasons and also and inside look at what makes this team special. Really great interview from these kids who represent themselves so well on and off the pitch. Great to hear from the coach and UNI Alumni Kaleb as well. He gives us great insight on what it takes to prepare for a brand new team year after year and to stay at this level. Thank you to our interview sponsor Tighthead Brewing Company for making this possible and our show sponsors Convergence Acquisitions, LLC. and Roder Epoxy.
Join us for a in depth recap of the All-Iowa Tournament, discussion on how to keep this tournament growing. We have a fantastic interview with Eddy Tapia as he went to the CRC 7s to referee and came back with great experiences and stories. We look at rugby through the lens of a referee and the huge impact they have on our sport. We then review Iowa State Men's National Championship Appearance and preview the IAYRA Boys' State Championship Tournament! This is a great episode you don't want to miss! One of our favorite's so far!
The Bois talk to one of their newest sponsors, Bruce Dir of Tighthead Brewing Company! He is the founder, owner, and master brewer as well as our sponsor for all interviews on our show! Hear his story on how he got into brewing beer, how he founded Tighthead Brewing Company, what they're up to now, and how rugby has impacted his life! The Bois also recap the National Collegiate Rugby CRC 7s Tournament and look forward to the All-Iowa Tournament this upcoming Saturday. Also, good luck to the Iowa State Men's University as they are also competing on Saturday for a D1AA USA Rugby National Championship in 15s in Boulder, Colorado. Thank you to our newest sponsor of the show Convergence Acquisitions, LLC as well longtime sponsor Roder Epoxy for supporting the show!
We are back to our regularly scheduled programming with both Mr. Gray and Philly V talking about all things rugby related to Iowa! We have an interview with Landon Sanders of Iowa Falls Rugby, brought to you by Tighthead Brewing Company, to talk about All-Iowa and how he has helped grow Iowa Falls this spring. The Bois also take a look at the NCR CRC 7s as well as the IAYRA Boys' Standings! Join us for this episode presented by Roder Epoxy!
Another special episode of the podcast where we interview University of Northern Iowa Women's Head Coach Meghan Flanigan. She fills us in on the prep and gameplan for the girls heading to the National Collegiate Rugby CRC 7s Tournament in Washington D.C. Meghan has been pretty prepping her team as well as returning to play for the Twin Cities Amazon Rugby Club as well as being inducted into the Iowa Rugby Union Hall of Fame. Always great to chat with a friend of the program! You can watch their matches on The Rugby Network and Youtube this Friday through Sunday! This interview is brought to you by Tighthead Brewing Company and the episode is brought to you by Roder Epoxy! We couldn't do this without their support! Thank you for listening!
Join us for another special National Collegiate Rugby CRC 7s preview episode as we check back in with the head coach for the University of Iowa Women's team, Kathleen O'Neill! She's got some time on her hands as she's in between flights in Chicago on her way with her team to Washington D.C. Lots of great insight on what makes this team so special and why we'll be rooting for them starting Friday on The Rugby Network and Youtube! This episode is presented by Roder Epoxy and the interview is presented by Tighthead Brewing Company. We couldn't do this without our great sponsors!
Special National Collegiate Rugby CRC interview with Spencer Daves of Central College as they head down to Washington D.C. to compete in their 3rd straight Small College CRC Tournament. We thought it was time to shine the spotlight on one of the men's college programs in Iowa that doesn't always get the attention they deserve. A great look inside a very unique program. Interview only this episode! And this interview is brought to you by Tighthead Brewing Company! Make sure to catch all the CRC action on the NCR Youtube page or on The Rugby Network!
Join Mr. Gray and Jeremy Newman as they commentate the matches from 4/21/23 in Week 4 of the Iowa Youth Rugby Association Boys' 7s Season. Reminder, they are not professional and are just winging it. They talk about the action, which you can watch on our Facebook page, and also talk about rugby in Iowa and in general. They are joined throughout by multiple guests who share their insight! It's a way different episode, but you can listen to rugby, and we had the content so we thought we'd share in this format too!
Welcome to the Mid-Season Premiere Episode of Season 2! After 3 weeks of recovery from Nashville we are BACK! We have an amazing show for you with 3 fantastic interviews. Here's the run down:
Huge episode this week as we recap some of the rugby happenings in the state of Iowa. Lots of news with the Iowa Rugby Union Select Sides for Senior Men and U23 Women. UNI Men hosting clinics for high school kids, Twin City Amazon Rugby hosting college women for a clinic. Then we have one of our biggest guests on the show Tavius Sykora-Matthess of the American Raptors. He details what it's been like playing on contract for the Raptors, how he got involved with rugby with Cedar Rapids Washington, and shares some of his times at Iowa Central Community College. Then we have Conor Hutchison, president of the Iowa Hawkeyes Men's team to talk about their Iowa Rugby Collective Outing. Click here for more info! https://iowa-rugby-collective-golf-fundraiser.eventlify.com.
Niko Felice stops by the Wombat Den to talk with the Bois about his vast experiences with rugby! He started his career in high school with Southeast Polk High School under the guidance of Iowa Rugby Union Hall of Fame member and coach, Brent Wheeler "Cope," then continued in college at the University of Northern Iowa then finished at the University of Iowa. As a senior men's player, he played for the Bremer County Bucks and helped in the foundation of the West Des Moines Wombats. Niko also coached Cedar Falls High School Boys' Rugby while in college as well as a 2 year stint in New Zealand in Wellington with Johnsonville Rugby Football Club and then on contract with Tairua Rugby. We barely scratched the surface the surface, so expect a part two in the future, but this interview is full of great stories and insight on how Niko has seen different rugby clubs operate.
Spring is here! And even though we may have gotten snow all across Iowa, that's not stopping all the rugby action. The Iowa Society of Rugby Referees added new referees this weekend while the Iowa Youth Rugby Association added new coaches at the Quad Cities USA Rugby Developmental Courses. Also, on Saturday, the Iowa AGM took place! We talk to Kelsie McDowell as she fills us in on the Iowa Rugby Union Hall of Fame nomination process as well as an update with the Iowa Hawkettes Tryouts from Sunday. River City Rugby has brand new updates to their very successful IntraCity 7s program. Then we talk to Daniel Petefish, longtime rugby guy in Iowa, as he discusses an idea for the podcast to help clubs find ideas to become more sustainable and successful! Lastly, we recap the weekend results for 6 Nations, American Raptors, USA Rugby Hawks, and Major League Rugby. Thank you again to Roder Epoxy for making this episode possible! Thank you for the new Roder Epoxy koozies!
Attention High School Rugby Players and High School Rugby Coaches, if you want to play at a high level during high school and beyond, this is the episode to listen to! Ethan Pougnet, the founder and head guy in charge of Rebel Rugby Academy, joins the show with one of his coaches and talent scouts, friend of the program Casey Hansen. They explain what Rebel Rugby is, why it's beneficial to you, how to get involved, and other fun rugby stories! Other topics, presented by our good friends at Roder Epoxy, covered include:
In the Wombat Den, Jacob "White Rice" Sunde joins us for 90 minutes of great rugby talk! As one of the top young players in the Iowa Rugby Union, Jacob had the opportunity to go to a Premiere Rugby 7s combine and was selected to be a part of their player draft pool. We also talk about the changes and growth being made at his home club, Des Moines Rugby. Many fun stories about his college days starting at the University of Iowa and ending with Iowa State University and one of the most famous summer 7s teams, the "Ankeny Sevens Side Hang Out Like Every Saturday." As the kids say IYKYK. Always great to talk to Jacob! This is a fun episode you don't want to miss!
