Rugby: Lions Tour Preview, R360 & The Future of Rugby with Ben Alexander

Welcome to This Sporting Planet, your definitive source for 'The World's View of Sport'. 🌍🎙️ In this episode, our hosts Natalie Sawyer (UK), Kate Allman (Australia), and Suhail Chandhok (India) dive into rugby's biggest debates. Wallaby legend Ben Alexander joins us to preview the British & Irish Lions tour of Australia and discuss the future of the sport as a whole. Here is a breakdown of the main topics: Lions Tour Preview: We hear from Wallaby great Ben Alexander about the tour's immense importance for Australian rugby. The team debates whether the Wallabies can overcome the favoured Lions and what a clash of styles means for the series. The R360 Debate: A discussion on the proposed breakaway rugby league. Is this the innovation the sport needs to survive, or a flawed and delusional concept? Rugby's Global Growth: Our hosts discuss the development of rugby in emerging markets, with Suhail providing an exclusive look at India's new Rugby Premier League. Beyond the Rugby: The hosts also find time to celebrate Suhail's surprising table tennis championship win and Natalie’s genuine sadness over Thomas Frank’s departure from Brentford. Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction & Weekend Highlights 03:15 - Suhail's Table Tennis Championship 05:51 - The Thomas Frank & Ange Postecoglou Drama 11:31 - British & Irish Lions Tour Preview with Ben Alexander 27:57 - The Growth of Rugby in India 32:00 - The R360 Breakaway League Debate 41:38 - Coming up next time! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices