Wrong Side of the Ruck is a rugby podcast made by a pair of friends who love the game and love arguing about it even more. Coming at rugby from the American fan and player point of view, we break down club and international matches the way they’re actually talked about—after training, at the bar, or in a group chat. We cover leagues from around the world with context, history, tactics, and strong opinions, focusing on why matches matter, not just who won. Smart rugby talk, honest disagreements, no studio polish.
We don't claim to be right, we just refuse to be silent.
Bigger Dicks, Sipping Malört and a Pollock does Tocco Things | Prem Rd. 4 2026 Leicester Tigers vs Northampton Saints Watchalong | WSotRS1E37
Pull up a bit of the couch: it's the East Midlands Derby at Welford Road, Leicester vs. Northampton, it's pissing rain, and Henry Pollock is starting (and not starting) some shit in the tunnel. Jones is pretty sure he learned it from Tocco.Jonesy breaks down why a tight head in the better position keeps getting penalized, swears scrums were safer when they were worse, and opens Scrum School to teach the dark art of Scrumaganda. Tocco sips Malört on purpose, Jones compares it to licking black tar heroin, and we finally find out how Cowboy got his name (Rochester PD, a cowboy hat, boots and nothing else). There's a man in a flat cap, a 320 lb mullet straight out of Molly Hatchet, a fight over whether it's autumn, and somewhere in there we decide the show needs to be unlearnable.Confidently incorrect, cold beer in hand and good people to argue with. It's rugby the way you've always loved it. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.Follow us on IG @WrongSideoftheRuck
26 Oct 2026
Pencil-Thin Scrum Halves, Germanic Frenchmen and Hand Job Adjacent | Champins Cup Rd. 1 2026 Bulls vs Stade Français Watchalong | WSotRS1E36
Pull up a bit of the couch: it’s Champions Cup round one at Loftus, we can’t find Stade’s American prop Jack Iscaro, and Tocco thinks we’re broadcasting from Peoria, Illinois.
Jonesy comes in hot when a pencil-thin scrum half starts telling grown front rowers how to hold their body weight and goes on a rant 20 years of playing in the making, a hooker bleeds from his ear for most of the match, and Marco van Staden takes the scrum places no scrum should have to go. There’s a man held together by tape and dreams, a history lesson on the French and the Germans, the Metzstein Files are back, and someone ends up “hand job adjacent.”
Confidently incorrect, half-cocked, and with a cold Negroni in hand. It’s rugby the way you’ve always loved it. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you’ll like it here.
Follow us on IG @WrongSideoftheRuck and email us at wrongsideoftheruck@gmail.com (mailto:wrongsideoftheruck@gmail.com)
0:00 Cold open: tape and dreams3:30 Live from Peoria9:21 Kickoff14:32 The first scrum18:56 Pollard's 50/2228:35 Pronunciation court34:47 Commercial: the East Side Hyenas38:31 Pencil-thin scrum halves45:33 Too aggressive in the scrum53:58 Are the French Germanic?58:42 The Metzstein Files1:01:51 Halftime: Fable and Glen Gouley1:04:20 Second half1:11:54 Botha or Bakkies?1:18:46 Who has it worse in preseason?1:33:38 DIY or die1:35:56 Hand job adjacent1:42:23 The 25 lb kettlebell1:50:02 Next week: Negroni, Scotch and Glasgow1:55:48 Outro
19 Oct 2026
WSotR S1E35: Floppy Cocks, Little Monsters and Somone Goes in Dry (Bledisloe 1, 2026)
The couch lands in Eden Park this week as we polish the Bledisloe Cup up and Jones sits on the edge of his seat in hope. Right out of the gate Tocco looks to go in dry and get this thing fired up.
We debate Mackenzie at 10, get a good yell in at the Ref's for that BS call and watch try after try roll in on both sides. We get lost a bit takling small hookers and nails in the coffin but steer the couch back around to talk the AB's skills in flodding through the line and opening up opportunities.
Confidently incorrect, chaotic calls and good people to argue with. Grab a beer, bring a friend and pull up a bit of the couch.
Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.
Find us on IG at WrongSideoftheRuck
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