Current North Harbour Head Coach and former All Black and Super Rugby winner Ben Afeaki joins the podcast to discuss his incredible journey.

A story that saw Big climb through the ranks and become one of the most promising front-rowers in New Zealand, until a cruel injury halted him from reaching the heights he deserved, forcing him into medical retirement and leaving the game that he loved.

But his story doesn’t finish there – with his eye for detail and ability to create genuine connections and culture within team environments, he was approached to take on a coaching role with his province, which saw him return to Rugby Union, but this time as a coach. The success he's already been able to create in his coaching career to date is nothing short of impressive!

Yarns in the Episode Include:

• What it was in his childhood that contributed to him having an unbelievable work rate as a Big Marn!
• How he nearly got snatched up by another province coming out of school
• What it was like for him debuting as a 19-year-old in the NPC
• Discusses his success in the NZ U/20s and how he played with some of the Greatest All Blacks and what he noticed were some of their key traits they displayed as young men
• How he had to move to the Chiefs for opportunity and how he grabbed it with both hands
• His opinion on Dave Rennie as a coach during the Chief's title reign
• What it was like competing with Ben Tameifuna when he burst onto the New Zealand Rugby scene
• His dream debut for the All Blacks in Auckland
• His career-ending injury and how he navigated through the struggles of battling with it for years
• How he climbed the ranks as a coach, going from an assistant coaching in the NPC to a forwards coach for an international side leading into the 2019 Rugby World Cup
• Who he believes is the next upcoming superstar in Super Rugby

And so much more!

Available in the bio wherever you get your podcasts.

'I don't care, I'll share all my secrets'

We get newly capped Wallaby Carlo Tizzano onto the podcast as he prepares for the 2025 Super Rugby season. Having personally known Carlo from the beginning of his Rugby journey I wanted this episode to dive into his psyche and allow for him to elaborate on why he goes about his business the way that he does.

If you enjoy learning about professional athlete's mindset and psyche - the detail that Carlo goes into throughout the episode about the lessons he's learned and the processes he undertook to get their are fascinating.

Yarns in the episode include:

• Who instilled his competitor's mindset in him growing up and how he draws on it for inspiration
• We talk to some of Carlo's mentors and closest friends to see what their experiences with him were actually like
• Carlo breaks down his goal setting and planning that he says created his successes
• Discusses the media stories between him and Michael Hooper
• How he was perceived at Ealing and how he challenged the culture at the club
• Who he believes is the next big thing coming out of Western Australia
• How the lead into his dream match against the Springboks @ Optus Stadium was one of the most challenging weeks in his career
• Which period of his career he found the most enjoyable and why
• How he deals with the pressure of preparing to perform after his break out season

and so much more!

Available in the bio wherever you get your podcasts

MLR vet and newly capped USA Eagle Sean McNulty joins us on the podcast this week to chat about everything American rugby.
The MLR is one of the newest and most exciting competitions in world rugby, and Sean provides us with an insight into what his experience within the competition has been like. Throughout his career, he has played for the New England Free Jacks, Rugby New York, Los Angeles Gilitinis, Seattle Seawolves, San Diego Legion, and most recently, the Miami Sharks.
For any MLR fans, or if you're curious about what the competition is like, tune in to this!

Yarns in the episode include:

• What it was like debuting for the Eagles this year and what he envisions for this team as they build towards a home World Cup in 2031.
• How the MLR trade system works and what his personal experience was like with it.
• What it's like sharing training facilities with Messi.
• Winning the MLR Shield in 2021 with the Gilitinis and the stories that came with that whirlwind season.
• How the competition has evolved over the years.
• Advice for anyone wanting to venture into this exciting competition.

And so much more!

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did

Samoan International and Moana Pacific player Sama Malolo gets in the mixer to share his incredible journey up to date. Sama made a name for himself during the 2023 World Cup, with only having 1 super rugby cap to his name and coming from the MLR in his rookie-international season he did more than hold his weight against some of the best sides in the world.

Sama's journey was anything but easy leading up to this moment and throughout the episode he's brutally honest and raw about it all. For any athlete that is on the cusp of cracking it or has aspirations to chase the dream, I highly recommend listening to this. As Sama shares his hardships, barriers and lessons learnt that moulded him into the player and man he is today.

Yarns in this episode include

• Sama's World Cup experience - how he went from the fourth choice hooker, to starting against England
• What his mindset is going into games
• How he fell out of love with the game twice and temporarily retired
• What the contributing factors were that resulted in his break out season in 2023
• His experience's playing for the Rebels, Suntory, Utah Warriors and San Diego Legion
• Becoming close friends with one of the GOATS in Rugby Union and how he helped him get his shot for Samoa
• Explaining how important mentors are in a professional's career and how he formed the relationships with his
• What it was like being at the Force when they were cut from Super Rugby
• His full circle moment when he earned his Super Rugby contract with Moana Pacifica and how his mindset on everything had changes

and so much more!

I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did

We have another 2 for 1 special getting one of the all-time father -son duo's in John and Nic Mayhew. John is New Zealand sports medicine royalty having served as the team doctor for the All Blacks and Warriors close to 30 years. Nic is John's youngest son and had the childhood that every rugby nause would dream of, which eventually saw him become a professional rugby player himself. His career took him to throughout New Zealand, Australia, Japan, England and Japan.

They both have an art for story-telling and had me in stitches for majority of the episode. With them both having recently retired they reflect on all the memorable moments

Yarns throughout this episode include:

• What it was like for John as the Director of Medical during the 1995 Rugby World Cup
• The unique relationship the Mayhew's had with Jonah Lomu & how Nic found out how he had an unexpected cameo on his most recent documentary
• How John had to train with the All Blacks during the early years of his appointment
• How Nic got picked up by the Harlequins as a 21 year old & the culture shock that came with it
• John recalls the famous 'Buck Shleford' incident and his hilarious experience with it
• Nic compares the difference between New Zealand and Australian Super Rugby programs and some of the worst training sessions/ army camps he's been involved in
• Why John changed allegiances to the Warriors and what the major differences he noticed between the rival codes
• Nic explains how winning the MLR for New York resulted in one of the best Mad Mondays he's ever been involved with & how he even featured in Time Square
• John reflects on some of the greatest players that he's ever been involved with & what set them apart from the rest
• The boys both reflect on their time involved with North Harbour and some of their most memorable moments

and so much more

I hope you enjoyed this one as much as I did

The big marn joins us from Urayasu as he prepares for his first season in the Japan Rugby League One competition as a coach!

Rossy has just retired from a 19 year career that spanned across three countries and I was fortunate enough to get the play by play with him on all of it.

Yarns throughout this episode include:

• How it was growing up with both his Mum & Dad being All Blacks/ Black Ferns and how he navigated the pressures of being the first ever 'Baby Black'
• Discusses what it was like being traded by the Crusaders in his first year of playing for the club
• What his relationship with Brad Thorn was like
• What the major contributing factors were that resulted in his All Blacks selection in the 2009 season
• How he dealt with the hardships the following year and gives an intimate insight into what it's like being put in a bad light by the New Zealand media
• What it's like being a decade long player at a Japanese Club
• How close he was to becoming eligible for playing for the Japanese national side
• His transition as a player-coach in the USA & insight on the intricacies of what it takes to be a successful professional coach
• Why a trip to Mexico should be on all aging athletes bucket-list

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and much more!

Hopefully you enjoy this episode as much as I did

We have another 2 for 1 special for this episode having international front-rowers James Lay (Laser) & Karl Tu'inukuafe (Karlito) jump on the pod to share some of their most significant chapters of their journey.

The boys are both well respected and loved members throughout the rugby community, who are both good for some unbelievable stories

Yarns throughout this episode include:

• Laser's immediate impact on the Moana Pacifica Super Rugby franchise and how he was asked to be captain of the team in his first season with them
• Karl's unbelievable rise through the ranks which saw him signing 2-week contracts all the way until he was playing for the All Blacks
• Laser compares the 2 world cups he's been involved in with Manu Samoa
• Karlito discusses his love for Kava and how this passion has influenced every team environment he's been apart of
• The boys share some of their best touring stories
• Plus we nause out at the end of the episode and dive DEEP into the dark arts of the front-row. Which eventuates in the boys assembling their 'dream team' front row

and much more!

Hopefully you enjoy this episode as much as I did

Big Pasilio Tosi sits down and reflects on his whirlwind 2024 season which saw him shine for the table-topping Hurricanes, which then lead to his inclusion in the All Blacks squad. He provides an in-depth insight into how the year was for him and how his journey has been that lead to him up to this point.

Yarns throughout this episode include:

• Pasi's schoolboy rise and how he was nearly poached out of the 15 man game
• His unorthodox switch from the backrow to the frontrow and how it has benefited him in the long run
• His stint in Southland and why he decided to venture down to the deep south to go and make a name for himself
• Featuring in an asain-based club that lasted one game which created his opportunity to join the Bay of Plenty
• How he was approached by the Hurricanes and how he nearly joined a rival club before that

• What the contributing factors were to his breakout 2024 season
• Discusses the All Blacks environment and provides a breakdown of emotions and his thought process around some of the key moments he was involved in throughout the year

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and much more!

Hopefully you enjoy this episode as much as I did

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