What a Lad

We're trying something a bit different with this one and giving you a Marshall brother preview Super Rugby Pacific. We preview the games and highlight a key member from each team. We also give our predictions for top try scorer, niggle goat and Lad o...

Was it a try, or did he drop it? That has been the question that has followed Elliot Dixon since his incredible try to win the Highlanders their first ever Super Rugby title. However, the great Southern lad is much more than one try! He's has an outs...

Professional sport always sounds like the dream lifestyle but as you'll hear, in this episode from Denny Solomona, it does come with it's challenges. The honesty that Denny speaks with in this episode is so admirable and refreshing. It was crazy to h...

Most fans will know Victor Vito as the big physical beast, who is big fast and strong and has all the skills in the world. The Victor Vito you are about to hear is the very well educated, absolute lad, who gives a very open and honest breakdown of hi...

Season 3 of What a Lad is here and there is no better way to start the new season, than with one of the biggest lads to walk this earth, the great Ethan Blackadder! So many of you have been requesting Ethan to come on and for good reason, as he is th...

James Lowe has had an incredible journey to becoming the Irish International winger!  The kid gifted with size, speed and skill, was always going to have a successful sporting career. However, getting there wasn't without some significant bumps in th...

The lads just keep coming and honestly they don't get much bigger than Ardie Savea. The man who is leading the way for NZ athletes on and off the field, inspiring many, including myself, along the way. It was awesome to get Ardie on, who is no strang...

Jordie Barrett, yes the great Jordie Barrett, has come on what a lad and as he has always done on the field, he has well and truely delivered with this yarn! I throughly enjoyed listening back to this episode and we spoke about so much that it's hard...

There aren’t too many players who make the game of rugby look as easy as Will Jordan does, his speed and acceleration look effortless as he often leaves opposition scrambling. His rise to the top of international rugby has been special to watch.On to...

Pari Pari Parkinson is one of the most unique characters in NZ rugby. From his unique hairstyles on his 2.08m frame, to his often painted toenails and just his unique personality which he owns and doesn't change for anyone, makes him a lad! On the fi...

The legend that is Damian Mckenzie joins me this week on What a Lad and geez what a lad he is! In this episode we talk about his recent signing with Suntory in the Japan Top League, which I personally think is a very astute purchase from them. We als...

This week I am joined by not just one great lad on the podcast but two of them! Who better to get on as a duo than All Black 7s stars, key Tasman Mako members and best mates Regan Ware and Andrew Knewstubb. Both lads have joined the Tasman Mako mid s...

New Prank Friday is back with a very familiar prank for What a Lad listeners, "Dougie" from TVNZ has already got Tasman Mako Jacob Norris on board for his new TV show. So his next step is to get his brother, Chiefs and Waikato Star, Ollie Norris on. ...

The recent Moana Pacifica signing and Tasman Mako, Willie Havili joins me on What a Lad this week. Its awesome to see Willie back playing at the level that he is, after taking some time away from rugby to find his love for the game again. The honesty...

Luca Inch may not be a household name just yet but this lad is without a doubt one of the biggest characters in NZ Rugby. At just 20 years old, the big front rower has had a massive year, having starred for the NZ u20s side and now playing for his be...

The legendary Jason Eaton is one of the most recognisable lads in Rugby. The long flowing mullet, the big bushy beard and the big 2 meter frame. Combine that with the personality of one of the biggest lads going around and this is what you get. A tru...

Liam Squire was one of the most feared players in world rugby, he had an incredible ability to throw his body into contact with zero thought of self preservation. While that approach created Liam Squire the player, it's taken a serious toll on the bo...

Macca Springer is one of the most promising young rugby talents in the country, having  just turned 18 years old and has already made an impact at the Provincial level with the Tasman Mako. It's not often you have players so young, look as comfortabl...

There's a new TV show about to launch called "Brother Battles". It's a show where some of the most famous brothers in the country go head to head in all sorts of challenges. With the catch being they'll be doing all of the challenges naked. As the ma...

Joseph Sullivan, the Olympic Gold medalist in rowing, the 2 time Americas Cup winner with Team NZ and an absolute lad! This really is an incredible story of someone who wasn't built to be an Olympic rower, who went on to become one of the greats. Pur...

One of the greatest loose forwards in All Black history, @jeromekaino is on What a Lad this week and what a lad he is! The humble enforcer who has had an incredible rugby career, having played for Auckland, the Blues, Toyota Verblitz, Toulouse and of...

Grateful to have the king lad Isaac John on What a Lad and man there was plenty to talk about in this one! Starting with Isaac's successful NRL career, where he played for the Warriors, Panthers and Manly. He also got picked for the Kiwis from playin...

One of NZ best comedians and NZ today host Guy Williams joins me this week for an absolute classic yarn. The local Nelson legend himself, has had a very eventful career and has never been shy to put himself out there. Which is great for us, as it mea...

The man who possesses one of the deadliest side steps rugby has ever seen, Nehe Milner-Skudder, joins me this week on What a Lad to go through his rollercoaster journey. It's so easy to talk up Nehe because he is such a champion lad, who throughout h...

There is no game without the man in the middle, so it was awesome to get one of the best referees in the world, Ben O' Keeffe on What a Lad to give an insight into one of the hardest jobs in the world.  Ben, who at the age of 32 has quickly gone thro...

It's been a long time between pranks but when you have a young lad like Luca Inch around your environment, a prank was never far away. Luca is one of the most promising front rowers in the country, having recently played for the NZ u20s and is also i...

One of the great personalities in sport, Kurt Baker becomes the 100th guest on What a Lad and there's no better lad to raise the bat with! Kurt's had an amazing career in the game and like most careers he's had his fair share of ups and downs. He's w...

Straight back from the Tokyo Olympics as an Olympic Silver Medalist, I was lucky enough to get the great Scotsman and the All Blacks 7s coach Clark Laidlaw on this week. Clarky has an impressive coaching CV having coached Taranaki, The Hurricanes, Lo...

The proud Southern man, Jamie Mackintosh aka Whopper, joins me this week to go through his eventful career to date.  During his time in NZ, Whopper was a highly rated school boy who played a record number of games for the NZ age grade sides, making N...

Imagine a Super Rugby team made up of 2021 NRL players, the best players in League swapping codes, to compete in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition. That's what we have done here in this podcast, so if you enjoy the NRL then this episode is for...

He's back! Tom Marshall, the Tasman Mako legend has returned to the province where it all started for him. I was lucky enough to get him around to the What a Lad Studio, to talk about his return and also where he is off to next! Many of you would hav...

One of NZ rugbys biggest names is off! Liam Mitchell the Hurricane and Manawatu Turbo legend, has decided to head off shore with a deal that no one saw coming. He tell's all exclusively to the What a Lad podcast just because he is an absolute lad.  M...

Youth suicide rates in NZ are out of hand and something needs to be done about it, so it was awesome to get the legend Solomon Alaimalo on What a Lad to openly share what he has been through. Even though he is so called 'living his dream' as a profes...

The legendary lad Otere Black is off! Absolute heart break for NZ rugby, as he leaves NZ shores straight after guiding the Blues to their first Championship in a long time! The beauty of him coming on the podcast is that you get the whole picture for...

Unfortunately I can't release the Otere Black announcement episode I had planned, just yet. However I jumped on this podcast last week, which was hosted by Nelson College students Wil Thornalley and Ollie Inch. Both of these young men are very talent...

Man I enjoyed this one with one of the Highlanders greats, Lima Sopoaga! Lima has had a very successful rugby career, having started with the Wellington Lions at just 18 and then moving down to the Highlanders not long after. He's also played for the...

Alex Malcom may not be your house hold name but if you do enjoy your rugby, then you probably know his Facebook page 'The Legend of Marty Banks'. His page is of course named after one of What a Lad listeners favourite guests, Marty Banks and to hear ...

Reed Prinsep is a great lad who has always enjoyed wearing his Speedos. So what we've got here is an old prank from the archives, where our What a Lad prank expert Mark Abbott, calls a young Reedo and offers him the deal of a life time to team up wit...

Not many people had a crazier 2020 than the great Scott Steele. After being let go by London Irish just before Coronavirus hit, he found himself back at his parents house in Scotland, looking for a job, wondering if he will play professional rugby ag...

Beauden Barrett is one of the best players in world rugby and one of the best lads you'll meet. It was awesome to get him on What a Lad and go through his journey to date as his journey is one of the greats! In the episode we talk about everything, f...

I was shocked last week to hear that one of Englands most promising young players had to retire due to concussion. It was therefore great to get young Theo Brophy Clews on the podcast and hear how it all happened. Concussion is a huge topic in the ga...

The current All Black assistant coach and absolute lad John Plumtree joins me this week on What a Lad to go through his incredible career to date. Plum has a very impressive CV, where he represented Taranaki, Natal Sharks, Hawkes Bay and even the Sou...

With Super Rugby Trans Tasman underway I thought it was a great time to get an Aussie great on What a Lad and who better than the lad himself Brendan Mckibbin. Brendan had a very successful rugby career having played for the Queensland Reds, he won t...

After the recent episode with Mark Abbott where we spoke about a few pranks, I thought it was a great chance to play one of my favourite pranks that he did during his time in the Hurricanes info committee.  This prank is on the legendary Hurricanes t...

This is it, the moment you have all been waiting for (until it got leaked haha) but that's all good because in this episode we have one of the best lads in the game on the podcast, talking in depth about a huge decision in his career. TJ Perenara is ...

It was great to get me old mate Mark Abbott aka Jared on the What a Lad podcast and go through the big marns journey. After being let go from the Canterbury Academy, Jared decided to back himself and move up to Hawkes Bay a move that instantly paid o...

We're trying something new for this one, I've got 3 absolute lads on who have all been on before, Marty Banks, Jackson Garden Bachop and Tom Marshall as we try to pick an NRL side out of 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa players. Switching codes has been a h...

I’ve been looking forward to getting the great Willis Halaholo on What a Lad for a while now and man does he deliver with this one! From life as a troubled teenager, surrounded with the wrong crowd. To becoming a Six Nations  Champion with Wales! I l...

Crossing codes seems to be a hot topic at the moment, so who better to get on What a Lad than one of the greatest to ever do it, Will Tupou. Will was a NRL sensation at a young age playing on the wing for the Cowboys in the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Who...

Stoked to have one of the great lads, Iopu Iopu Aso join me this week! Some players just can’t catch a break, in 2015 Iopu was in career best form, he had just signed with the Hurricanes and then injury struck. Not once, but 5 injuries in a row and 2...

In this episode I catch up with the Irish legend himself, Jamison Gibson-Park and geez what a lad he is! The kid who was raised on Great Barrier Island, is one of those guys who is good at literally everything! He is still talked about almost everyda...

The man many of you have been waiting for, the lad, the All Black, Jeremy Thrush joins me for this one! Thrushy has it all, a great mo, a great laugh, a great jaw, an amazing voice and of course possesses incredible rugby talents. As he approaches hi...

The recently crowned Six Nations winner, Johnny Williams joins me on What a Lad this week and what a lad he is! At only 24 years old, the current Welsh international has had a rollercoaster career to date, with some incredible highs and some really l...

Angus Ta'avao, what a lad he is! Man it was a good laugh to get one of the real characters in the game on What a Lad and go through his unbelievable journey!  One thing I admire about big Gus is his ability to be himself in any situation, he's one of...

Tim Bateman has probably been one of the most under appreciated rugby players in New Zealand. He's someone you don't really notice how much he does for a team until he's in your side. He has a massive influence on any team that he is involved with! H...

Here is an absolute treat for you, Conrad Smith, the All Black great, the Hurricane legend and genuinely one of the greatest lads I've come across throughout my career. He is here on What a Lad! The man commonly referred to as Snakey, takes us on his...

Two English greats back to back! How good! This time I've got the great lad Brad Shields on to take me through his story and what a story it is! Brads a player who I felt was playing well enough to be an All Black for about 3 or 4 years back to back,...

Not many people know this but todays guest Lewis Moody, is not only an English Rugby great and an absolute lad who is doing amazing things in this world, but he is also my brother in law. So it was awesome to finally get him on What a Lad, to go thro...

The legend of John Hardie joins me for this one and he does not disappoint! Currently with the Newcastle Falcons, Hardsauce is probably better well known as the Scotland international, the Highlander great or arguably the greatest Southland Stag of a...

I'm mixing it up a little bit with this one, going deeper in to the very important topic of mental health. For this episode I'm lucky enough to get on Austin Hay, a young English rugby player who has recently had mental health struggles of his own. A...

With the Joseph Parker fight this weekend, I thought it was a perfect chance to release the Loni Uhila aka The Tongan Bear prank. This prank was done in 2016, just before The Tongan Bear was about to fight the Brown Butterbean on the undercard for a ...

I've held off getting this guest on as long as I could. I know you need to time your big names well, so I think now is a great time to take the podcast global and get on an international sensation, who has the self acclaimed best banter in world rugb...

We are back with a prank, it's been a long time! This one was found deep in the archives which takes us back to 2015 when a young Mark Abbot calls Hurricanes forwards coach Richard (hard parts) Watt.  The situation for this one was, Watty had flown u...

The beauty of a podcast, you think you know someone well, then you sit with them on the podcast and you are absolutely blown away with their story. That is exactly how this episode with the great man Mark Stafford aka Staffy went.  Staffy has had an ...

In this episode I catch up with the Scotland international and London Irish star, Blair Cowan.  I found this an interesting yarn hearing that Blair was someone who never really took rugby that seriously, he just loved playing the game. However when h...

Man this episode with Robbie Flynn got me good, it is the classic case of talent vs discipline but with so much more to it. Robbie Flynn really should be a household name. He should be known as a rugby player who played at the highest level, with the...

Many of you will be wondering who is Jacob Atkins? Well I can tell you right now, that he is a very talented rugby player and an absolute Lad who just loves code! Although the man they call Snakob may look like a man coming to the end of his career, ...

For the first episode of season 2 I knew I had to get one of the biggest lads in the game on! Good news, I have got one in the form of the absolute lad himself, Marty Banks! Banksy, who has built a cult following throughout his career due to his ladd...

I've just squeezed in an extra episode (solo) before the first episode with Marty Banks is released tomorrow, just to update you all on the plans for What a Lad going forward. In the episode I talk about... Where I'm at with rugby. What I'm up to now...

Here we are, the last episode of season 1! For this one I felt the pressure to bring you one of everyones favourite lads and I think I have come up trumps here, with the champion lad and unbelievable player Brad Weber! Brad has had an incredible jour...

Get ready for this one as the GOAT lad Andrew Goodman joins me, as we go through his journey as well as some classic yarns along the way! Goody in most known for being the Tasman Mako legend he is, having played 55 games, including captaining the sid...

In this episode I catch up with the hardest player on this planet to tackle, Ngani Laumape. Unfortunately the audio quality on this episode is not great but Ngani certainly makes up for that with his chat and it was awesome to go through the journey ...

In this episode I catch up with All Black legend, Aaron Smith. In 2007 both Aaron and I missed out on the NZ u19s and I clearly remember sitting in the room with him afterwards both gutted! Fast forward 13 years and the man is now the most capped All...

Here's a prank from late Super Rugby Aotearoa, where we call one of the best finishers in world rugby, Rieko Ioane. So for this prank, our prank expert Reggie Goodes makes the call, as he is looking to sell more shares in his dodgy adult DVD store, F...

I never thought this day would come, Finlay Christie coming on What a Lad but we did it! It was a pleasure to sit down with this Scotland born legend, as he talks through his pathway to becoming one of the best halfbacks in the country. The man they ...

In this episode I catch up with the NZ Halberg award winner for the best sporting moment of the year 2017 and potentially the decade Mitchell Hunt. Hunty who was born and raised in Nelson, talks me through his journey which has seen him go on to play...

In this episode I catch up with a man very well known for his stories, Hurricanes scrum coach, Dan Cron. Crono has had a pretty unique pathway through the coaching ranks which has seen him involved with teams including the Black Ferns, Northland, Ton...

In this episode I catch up with one of the most talented and most exciting young talents coming through the NZ ranks at the moment, Leicester Fainga'anuku.  Leicester was a school boy superstar, he was just like he is today big, strong and fast! Howe...

With the exciting new partnership What a Lad has formed with Pure Sport CBD, I just had to get on the Co Founder, the self acclaimed journeyman and absolute lad himself, Grayson Hart. So I first met Grayson as an under19 NZ super star, he was one of ...

For this prank we go back a few years to when current All Black assistant coach John Plumtree was coaching the Hurricanes. Plum had just had a back operation mid season from carrying the side, so we got one of the great doctors, Dr Rogan Joshua to ca...

The king of Blenheim joins me for this one, as I sit down and go through the career of Tasman Mako legend Quentin MacDonald. Although Q has only ever played for one Provincial side in Tasman, he certainly has done the rounds with other teams having p...

I've said it before but I'll say it again, you can't have a podcast called 'What a Lad' without getting the best lads in the game on! So the lad himself Tim O'Malley was an absolute must! He may not be one of the biggest names I've had on but he cert...

The setting was perfect, the backdrop of the famous deck which over looks the sea, the shiny new bike just to my right with the sofa seat attached and a cold fortune favours in hand. Podcast settings don't get much better and to share it with Samoan ...

In this episode, I catch up with the one of the most promising players coming through the NZ ranks at the moment, young German sensation Anton Segner!  Anton who was born and raised in Frankfurt Germany has had a very unique journey! As a big kid, he...

When you've been playing Rugby professionally for the past 15 seasons for teams which include, the Crusaders, the Highlanders, the Chiefs, NZ Maori, NTT Shining Arcs and the All Blacks you're bound to have some stories! It doesn't stop either as our ...

In this episode I catch up with the youngest journeyman in NZ rugby Dan Hollinshead. Dan has played for Bay of Plenty since leaving school and has also had stints with Agen in France, the Coca Cola Red Sparks in Japan as well as being involved with t...

In this episode I catch up with Tasman Mako and Chiefs legend Alex Nankivell, who takes us through his journey to date. Its hard to believe but Alex has played the past 6 seasons with the Tasman Mako and is now one of the senior players at the age of...

Anyone who has had the pleasure of playing with or just knowing Otere Black, will know that he is one of the best lads you could meet! One of the greats! So it was awesome to have him come on the podcast and talk about his journey. For someone I thou...

In this episode I catch up with one of the newest All Blacks named in the current squad, Quin Strange. He has been on such a crazy rollercoaster the past few weeks, from being named in the latest All Blacks squad, only to injure his ankle at his firs...