Wrong Side of the Ruck

Pull up a bit of the couch as Tocco claims he's coming in hot and Jonesey is wound tight the whole episode; which Tocco loves. We're sitting down for Round Two of the Greatest Rivalry as the Springboks and All Blacks square off in Cape Town, stop 2 on our Road to Baltimore.Somewhere in all the shenanigans we fall down a scrum rabbit hole and can't stop chatting about the angles, the prop infighting, and the dark arts. What's not to love? We've got a lot lizard TMO rant that goes sideways, caterpillar ruck bullshit that Jones can't handle, and Craig gets caught in a cacophony he can't seem to shake.It's rugby the way you've always wanted it; slightly unhinged, confidently incorrect, and always with a cold beer in hand. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

The couch is ready this week as the Greatest Rivalry is finally here; the All Blacks and South Africa kickoff in Johannesburg. Come grab a seat as Rugby's Greatest Rivalry finally gets the point of view it needs. The Wrong Side.Things start off strong with Tocco bringing Tacolini to the party, Jones is on it again with the TMO and the South African scrum gets so sexually dominant we can't stop drooling over the front row. There are the usual Craig fuck ups, confidently incorrect reads and a double double negroni that would make the Mayor of Sicily Proud.Cold beer, chaotic reads and just correct enough to make you question why we can be so wrong at times. Welcome to rugby the way you've always loved it. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

The couch is looking a little worse for wear this week; it's the road to Baltimore week 3 and we're stepping into the shark Tank that is Durban to see what Nonu can do against his old teammates.Tocco's trashy Europeaness gets the moment it deserves, Jones has to eat his words about just how young Reuben Love is and should he even be at 10, the TMO gets a stern talking to and a 44 year old man shows up for a Haka that'll put a tear in an eye. His first touch looks good enough to have Jones convinced one more season just may be fine. Barb Jones shows up at the end uninvited, there are a few big hits and Tocco spouts off some hot takes about benching your starters.Cold beer in hand, good people to argue with, confidently incorrect takes you've always loved. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

Welcome back to the Road to Baltimore here on Wrong Side of the Ruck where the couch is nestled somewhere in South Africa and the boys are taking a look at the provincial rugby from Currie Cup. I don't know about you, but nothing screams Saffa rugby more than a bakers dozen of cards.The Bulls hosted their first home game against the Pumas and we actually talked rugby this time. We swear. There was a Purple Cobra, deep chat about the dark arts, hooker shit, and somewhere between an ear pull and a Koenig Special Jones goes on a Pro Dark Arts rant.Half cocked opinions based on almost nothing, cold beer and more scrum talk than actual scrums. It's rugby the way you love it. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck, we think you'll like it here.

Pull up a cozy bit of the couch because it's Stag Day in Invercargill, and the boys are gearing up for the road to Baltimore and South Africa vs. New Zealand. We've got a few beers in hand and are watching NPC rugby's oldest grudge match: Otago vs. Southland.As always, we talk about mostly anything but the match. There's Lee the Stripper, Honry the French Man, and way too much time spent on Saranac and the Hyena Toddlers. Just before we get too deep into scrums, Jones and Tocco compare the NPC to the SEC and try to get a thumb on where this level of rugby sits next to sports in the US.Somewhere in there, there's a flanker try, huge hits, and a full-blown Emu War. Welcome to rugby the way you've always loved it; on the Wrong Side of the Ruck. Grab a beer and join us. We think you'll like it here.

Jones ditches the couch this week to actually play, leaving Tocco alone behind the mic of a potato for a solo call of the Can-Am Rugby Premier Finals between White Plains and your Eastside Hyenas. As Tocco weaves commentary through the lens of a handful of van beers Dribbles nearly throws hands, a squad of 17 year olds humiliate grown men, Negronis finally get the personality arc they deserve and we learn about Tocco's allergies to cats from a Julia Roberts looking woman he barged in on the night before.It's rugby how you've always loved it; cold beer in hand and confidently incorrect. Welcome to Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

The couch saw a lot of action this week as the Lot Lizards wouldn't leave Jones alone as we sat down to watch the Italians take on Australia in Perth for round three of the Nations Championships. Somewhere between teh dark arts and Magnum Itai Perth handed us scrum debates, hat tricks and Jones ranting about languages he can't speak. Tocco went full Italian in the sheeds and we find ourselves in the Circle of Honestly.Grab yourself a cold beer and settle in for what will likely be a confidently incorrect telling of what happened in Perth. It's rugby the way you've always loved it. Welcome to Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

We released the Taco, formally, somewhere between Jones' internet going out for the fourth time and a Trojan sponsorship request that got weirdly specific. Meanwhile, Wales and Argentina went at it down in San Juan and Wales didn't completely disappoint Jones. We talked scrums, ketamine, hair plugs from Turkey and way too many Hooker things to count here.Come peek behind the Aluminum Curtain and grab a bit of the couch while we get through this one. We may be confidently incorrect, but at least the beer is cold here. Come enjoy rugby the way you've always loved it, on the Wrong Side.We think you'll like it here.

The couch pulled double duty tonight as we speed out from Denver and head down to Christchurch for the kickoff of the Nations Championship. New Zealand vs. France. It may have been our second recording that night but we're still not sure what the hell we're doing here. But there was rugby. We saw a new Tater enter the chat, Tocco is thinking about making stomping great again and Jalibert takes a dive that we cannot forgive. Bad mullets, worse Ref's and half cocked opinions based on almost nothing. It's rugby the way it was meant to be. So grab a beer, pull up some couch and welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck.We think you'll like it here.

We've shipped the couch back to Cape Canaveral so we can keep an eye on the US Space program while it enters phase two; Project Hail Fucking Mary. Eagles vs. Portugal in the inaugural Nations Cup. Os Lobos came to play, the US came to actually do something for once and it all comes down to a single kick in the end. We tried to stay calm, but really did you expect us to?Welcome to the B-Side. Expect even less accurate analysis, more shenanigans and at least a handful of opinions no one asked for.Pull up a bit of the couch and bring us all a beer. Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

Look. We had a plan. The couch was in Twichekham, which Jones declared was Welsh adjacent, and we were going to watch George North's last match and Faf do faF things. The plan was good. The match not so much. So by halftime we push that bitch right across the channel and abandon Cardiff for Paris where Tolouse are destroying everything in their path. There are cartoon supervillains, hookers not scoring tries, Tocco delivering hot takes on reffing in broken Sicilian all while we watch dominant scrums. Also a hooker does score. That's important for later.Pull up a bit of the couch as we continue to be confidently incorrect. Even in picking matches. It's rugby the way you've always loved it, slightly unhinged and bursting with bullshit.It's the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

It's finals weekend and the couch is fit to burst. We sat down to watch all three championships in one sitting, and somewhere around the negroni and a half things got weird. Leinster ran roughshod over the Bulls, the Hurricanes put up record-breaking numbers against the Chiefs, and Northampton claimed the Premiership title, and somehow we still found time to debate Prendergast's relation to Tong Po, the return of Mad Sweeney, and the correct use of a safe word. Serves us right for keeping this train going on the wrong side of midnight.Try to find some space on the couch and join us for rugby the way you've always loved it. Loud, beer-soaked and as unhinged as you'd expect.Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

Tocco drives the couch up the M1 this week and bitches about the gearbox being on the wrong side the entire way. Northampton hosted Leicster in one hell of a Premiership Semifinal that had us so locked in this almost became a B-Side. There were chip kicks. There was chasing. There were too many fucking TMO called back tries. Craigory watched from the corner again. Tocco goes full Manson as we talk about what it takes to be a Hyena and somewhere through it all we manage to talk tech on scrums and the actual game. Sort of.Come pull up a bit of the couch cause this week it's rugby how you love it; chaotic. Welcome to Wrong Side of the Ruck, we think you'll like it here.

We take the couch to the land of the rising where Jones and Tocco are in for a hell of a match during the Japan Pro League One Finals. The Kobe Steelers and Kubota Spears give a hell of a game, but we all know we're really just here for Dave Rennie and what he may bring to the All Blacks next year. Like Brodie Retalick, who may have been cast in the next Sling Blade. We talk on how Tocco may still hate the French but he's clearly had enough beers to think that the Top14 is the best league in the world. There were scrums a tight head could salivate over, a side quest into broadcast technology and the old Koenig Special shows up from back in our playing days.So pull up a bit of the couch because this is rugby the way you've always loved id; cold beer in hand, half cocked opinion based on absolutely nothing and good people to argue with.Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

Bilbao delivered with Bordeaux and so did the couch. Though this week is a little different after the shenanigans of last week as Tocco decides to pump the breaks on the Belgian Triples so Jones has to put the wildcard hat on. There are mullet crimes, hobbits and Jones can't keep his eyes off of Big Ben Tamiefuna.We open the mailbag up a bit to field questions about the Nations cup while Bielle-Biarrey gets a comparison to Barry that's either completely right or completely wrong. We've got serious conversations about backs in scrum caps, Jallibert is still sexy as hell and the TMO, once again, is still trash. The couch remains intact.Welcome to Rugby the way you've always loved it; on the Wrong Side. We've got cold beer, a comfy seat and plenty of shit to talk. Welcome, we think you'll like it here.

We tried setting the couch up inside San Memes in Bilbao but security wouldn't let us so you'll have to enjoy us this way. This was chocked up to be a huge match; Ulster with 4 big players out gave them the underdog status that we all knew they could hold, but could they deliver? If you ask their coaches as they walked out early, no. Tocco continues his complex relationship with all things French, we talk a live show coming up while we're in Saranac, Jones can't stop talking about Cormac izuchukwu and his cornrows and the efficacy of old man front rowers. This episode may have been loosey goosey, but we're locked in. Mostly. It's rugby the way you've always wanted it; cold beer in hand, partly right and confidently incorrect.Welcome to the Wrong Side of the Ruck, we think you'll like it here.

The Couch is a little bigger this week as we squeeze in what is really just an XL B-Side parading as a normal episode. We go back into the vault and pull out our watch of the Anthem vs. Legion MLR match from this year. Yea, that one. Anthem get their historic first win on a night where the TMO can't be found, Tocco misidentifies an entire demographic and somehow we get on Willam Dafoe and porn. Either way, we got to witness a scrappy, beautiful little moonshot of a match that could be the launchpad for whatever we're going to get done for the 2031 World Cup. Come join us on the couch and lets watch this bitch take off.Plus, it was Mooneyhan's birthday. Welcome to Wrong Side of the Ruck, we think you'll like it here.

The Waratahs needed this win. The Highlanders, and the boys, needed this one more. None of us needed the TMO reviewing anything during the game and yet they couldn't stop. Caleb Tangitau is back and immediately makes defenders wish he had taken another week off. There's a scrum half we formally recommend to be drawn and quartered, tries that made us stop mid-conversation and a bunker review that made us start several sentences we couldn't add on a more family friendly podcast. Charlie Gamble does flanker things looking like Magnum PI, Tocco still cant work the stream part of this podcast and Jones threatens to burn it all down.It was great. The beer was cold, the rugby was chaotic and the Waratahs 13th straight loss in New Zealand felt so sweet with the boys back in town.Welcome to the wrong side of the ruck. Come grab a seat on the couch, we think you'll like it here.

Strap into the couch today folks because we just got done watching thirteen Leinster players hold off a pissed off Toulon in a Champions Cup semi final. Somewhere between a bullshit TMO call, the second yellow card, and Tocco doing his best Leif Erikson to find Leinster on a map it all goes off the rails. Exactly where you'd expect us to end up. The battering ram theory of physics and tackling gets a full review, Gibson-park has the try of the match, until he didn't, and Jonesey makes too many points for anyone to actually follow. The couch, much like Leinster, is still intact.Welcome to Rugby on the Wrong Side of the Ruck. Yellow cards, new words and the Road to Bilbao. Get in losers, we think you'll like it here.

The couch is back this week and Leicester give us plenty to talk about in their defeat of Bristol. Theirs bonus point tries, cards and Tocco finally nails the tagline for us, twice, while finding out he needs space to run and frolic. We loose the questions for the mailbag, still don't have an intro for it, and Tocco takes on English drinking habits with a hot take that would turn Pollocks hair white. Er. White-er. We've got flanker on flanker crime, scrums so sexual you'll make rutting noises, nostalgic tales of the Vert and a Metzstein file that's still redacted.Come get cozy as we chat, confidently incorrect, about the sport we all love. It's rugby on the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

Grab a spot on the couch as we work to somehow right this ship and proudly come in with absolutely no plan, no prep, and no intention of fixing that. What started as a return to Japan, a full-circle moment back to Episode 1, quickly turns into us questioning how this whole thing ever worked in the first place. MXC didn’t pan out, this did, and we’re still not convinced that makes sense.We talk ex-All Black 9s like TJ Perenara and Aaron Smith and Tocco confidently discovers in real time that Verblitz and “Blitzkrieg Bop” are not, in fact, the same thing. Mullets are flowing, islander bleach-blonde chaos is thriving, and we keep dragging the conversation back to the scrums like it’s the only thing holding this together.This one is even less analysis and somehow more nonsense. Just like your favorite B-Side old boys; all chaos, all scrums, and mostly wrong.Welcome to the B-Side, we think you'll like it here.

Triple A couldn't find us back in 2000 in the DeLorean and Tocco doesn't know a thing about Fusion, so we headed over to Australia to watch the greatest game ever played. Or so we're told.Settle down on the couch because this one gets weird fast. Rapid succession tries from New Zealand in the opening minutes have us questioning WHY this is the greatest game ever played, Harambe comes up and we take a hard left at was Jonah Lomu even that good. Somehow our Swiss fan Bielle-Biarray is still on our minds as we lament the chaos that is this match; Crooked feeds, hits that would get you a bunker review and props that make us believe we could have actually gone pro.The couches are full, the beers are cold and the rugby is...questionable. But this is rugby the way we like it, the way it was meant to be watched.On the wrong side of the ruck. Welcome, we think you'll like it here.

It may have been Super Saturday, and we may have picked an off match, but work with us here. The couch is still cozy and we're getting to all the matches; this one is just for us.Tocco is Sicilian, Jones is Welsh, and sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants. Like a nice Vespa. So while the title was decided elsewhere we caught the highlights first, then settled in and did what we do best; watched the match and talked about almost everything except what was in front of us.There's D1 rugby and a coming of age tale about Boise, Tocco's dad has some swagger that we refuse to elaborate on, and Ferrari the prop gets the full Ferrari treatment. Hot takes about Italy at a World Cup, Bielle-Biarrey makes his way in, and England did England things to Ireland. Just in rugby this time.This may be the end of the Men's Six Nations, but we're just getting started. It's the rugby you've always wanted, just on the Wrong Side of the Ruck. Welcome, we think you'll like it here.

The couch is sitting a little lower this week as we wallow in our self pity in not making the 1st side again. Said pity doesn't last long as beers are had and stories start flying. The Metzstein files get opened again, commercial reads go completely sideways from the start and Jones apparently has amnesia about it. Edinburgh vs. Ulster gives us an excuse to talk about red cards and what the hell is the use in a game like this while we spend most of the time not actually answering the question.We talk Irish Bars in Budapest and the legend of the most Hungarian man ever, Attila, the dark origins of "on the Wagon" and Tocco talks about getting kicked out of bars for things he probably may have not ever done.This one is less analysis and way more barstool. Just like your favorite B-Side old boys; all story, all beer, mostly wrong.

This is a big one. Largest episode yet. We had to break out an extra couch to contain all the rugby. Round 4 of the 6 Nations delivered two huge wins and a...Wales, and we weren't able to just pick one game and try and pretend the others weren't awesome. Scotland did Scottish things and gave us hope, France drops their first loss, Italy puts England down and Ireland handled Wales, but not as handily as you'd think. It's almost any ones 6 Nations going into week 5.Tocco tries math. Jones gets way too excited about a match he knows the ending of, we talk our favorite trainer Krieger and try and explain how this whole thing can end looking like charlie Day with some string and a murder board.The couches are full of friends, the beer is still cold and there's a lot happening. Welcome to Rugby the way you've always wanted it; on the Wrong Side of the Ruck. We think you'll like it here.

The couch is back in action for Six Nations round 3 that has Jones grasping at his chest at what could have been. Wales were up at half 17-5. In Cardiff. And yet we still found a side quest into how to pronounce someones name. There are unprovoked, yet passionate, rants about scrum feeds that Tocco may not be listening to, a potential 70's porn star and Finn Russell doing things in the second half that would make a stripper blush.Come hang out with us as we open up the Metstein files, ensure no beer goes undrunk and we open up the Mail Bag to tell your stories.It's the rugby you always wanted; on the Wrong Side of the ruck. Welcome, we think you'll like it here.

Well thats unfortunate. The team sheet has gone up and we've been dropped from the first team. Good news for you though as we're running with the B-Side today.It all starts with scrums, and we can't shut up about them. Binding technique, head placement and headbutts. You know, the dark arts. The only reason chubby guys like us can even take the field still.This is the B Side. No real structure, no real game plan, just the boys talking ourselves into corners we can't get out of. Tocco launches an assault on Queensland that borders on obsessive, we somehow veer down Mormon Soaking lane and end up at Del Taco somewhere down the line.The couch is comfy this week, the pints are flowing earlier than normal and we've accepted our demotions. Welcome to the third half!

The couch is pulling double duty this week, keeping one eye on the 6 Nations pulse before flying south for the summer and the opener of a landmark season. Thirty years of Super Rugby Pacific and one hell of an opening game.Finn Russell fingers a tap pass that was, frankly, inappropriate. Italy are doing things to Ireland that have absolutely no business happening. Jones gives up on Wales completely and we're not sure he's coming back from it. Then we make the trip to Dunedin; Tavatavanawai is back, de Groot is back, Ta'avao makes his debut and Nareki pulls off the kind of play that makes you remember exactly why you fell in love with this game in the first place.The Boys are Back in Town, the couch is comfy, the beer is cold and we can't wait to share the Highlanders with you.

We're back on the couch this week and it's a doozie; France vs. Ireland, the long awaited 6Nations home opener and a pair of Americans who probably care a little too much.Jones is doing his best to resist the allure of the French, Tocco is making wild claims about English rugby with the confidence of a man who believes he's never been wrong once in his life. Dupont comes out of the sheds and does literally everything while somehow having time to be that good looking. Bielle-Biarrey remains Swiss until proven otherwise, ITV's scrum commercials get a public shaming and we finally find out what a BlueRev is. We've got lineouts arriving exactly on time, scrums collapsing to a Culture Club soundtrack in our heads and the Smith vs. Dupont debate getting out of hand.This is rugby as you've always known it. On the couch, with your mates, beer in hand, and opinions overstated. Wrong Side of the Ruck. Pull up a stool, we're glad you're here with us.

The DeLorean broke down at just the right time and place for Jones this week; Peak Welsh rugby. Have a seat at the bar with us as we relive the Welsh glory days and watch the 2019 6 Nations and talk about it as if we know what the fuck is actually going on. You'll hear about Tocco's triple crown, who we think the Yankee's of Rugby are, the TMO as the good guy for once, Mullets and Tocco's similarities to a lion on a gazelle. It may sound like nonsense, but it'll makes sense the more you listen. So grab a friend, grab a beer and come sit down with us.

The couch is feeling nostalgic this week as we get it up to 88mph and crash right back into 2007; back when rugby was a little looser, hydration meant extra Carlsberg and the dark arts held sway.We're taking a watch at the 6 Nations of old as we prep for this years tourney and digging into Italy vs. Scotland. The one at Murrayfield. Tocco is planted firmly in his Italian roots as he waxes poetically about watching this game years ago and Jones still somehow lets Scotland disappoint him.We've got Castro Giovanni in Dolce and Gabana, old school forwards making us think WE could have been a pro back in the day and somehow Ben Tameifuna is still catching strays.Grab your beer, meet us at Twin Pines Mall and lets all be confidently incorrect together as we relive Italy's glory day.

We're back on the couch for episode 4 where we get a look at Northampton vs. Bordeaux Part 2: the long awaited sequel to last years European Championship final, and somehow we're still talking about Bielle-Biarrey and if he's Italian or not. Pollock's frosted tips, A Tocco cock up that has us wishing we could hit up Twin Pines mall and head back to fix the timeline, this one has it all. We dig into why this rematch carries weight, what Bordeaux learned from last year, how Northampton want revenge, and then immediately get distracted with plenty of side-quests. Welcome back to Wrong Side of the Ruck. Grab a beer and come along.

And it's the 3rd episode already! Pull up a chair and sit with us as we toss on Bordeaux vs. Racing 92 of the French Top 14. We spend an unreasonable time trying to figure out if that player is French, Italian or Swiss, openly drool over Big Ben Tameifuna and draw comparisons to the UEFA Cup that likely only make sense to us.Confident opinions with no facts to back them up, bad analogies, yelling at the TV and Tocco is still trying to convince me that Wales should get dropped from the 6 Nations.It's rugby the way you've always loved it; on the couch, beer in hand, and confidently incorrect.

Welcome back to Wrong Side and Episode 2! This week we sit down over a cold one and dive into this Irish Darby. Watch along with us if you can and enjoy momentum swings, questionable calls, and plenty of moments where one of us is convinced the match is about to flip completely. We talk through what Connacht are trying to build, where Ulster look dangerous, and how quickly confidence can turn into panic when things go sideways. We analyze as we go, pointing out what may matter, overreact when things don't and have way too many side conversations about points we started 30 seconds ago. No polish, no neutral tone, just rugby and the opinions of two of your best friends.Press play, throw the game on and come argue with us. Cause we may not be right, but we refuse to be quiet.

The very first one! Your hosts Tocco and Jones kick off Wrong Side with a watch-along of Japanese League One, reacting in real time and letting the match take us wherever it goes. Expect plenty of talk about what we’re seeing on the field, how the Japanese game feels compared to other leagues, and a lot of side quests about rugby as a whole and how it used to be when we were still young.