
The Ruck is the journalists' rugby podcast from The Times & The Sunday Times.
Join Alfie Reynolds, Alex Lowe, Will Kelleher and a selection of guests every week as they provide insight and reports throughout the season, including big-name interviews and forthright analysis.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
| Publishes | Twice weekly | Episodes | 529 | Founded | 9 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | Sports NewsRugbySportsNews | |||

The Ruck has a South African flavour this week as we interview Springboks hybrid hero André Esterhuizen, the centre who can also play back-row. We talk about that innovation, the Boks' fine 2025 and the upcoming Champions Cup clash between his Sharks... more
Following the end of the Autumn Internationals, Alex Lowe and Elgan Alderman review the action. We look at South Africa's 73–0 mauling of Wales, as well as the late-game incident involving Eben Etzebeth.
Elsewhere, Alex and Elgan discuss the latest i... more
Following the end of the November internationals Alfie, Alex, Will and Barnsey are back in studio to review the action.
In 2025 South Africa have cemented themselves as the number one side in the world but who are their closest challengers? Is it En... more
It's the final weekend of the November internationals (apart from Wales and South Africa who play each other next week!).
So, Alfie, Will and Elgan are once again at the England training base to look ahead to their match against Argentina. After a ... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Send him back to football, he offers nothing about rugby
I enjoyed the Will solo episode on Saints. Makes a nice to change to hear from those involved in the game rather than just the journalists (ditto the recent episode with Simon Gillham)
I don’t usually write reviews but was astounded to see the ‘low’ average rating as this is the best and most comprehensive rugby podcast on the market. Friendly, measured and knowledgeable journalists who aren’t afraid to tackle difficult issues surrounding the game.
Alex and Will, expertly chaired by Alfie did a great job down under. Good content with insight and always timely best competition hands down. Only blot was one early episode with Stephen Jones when he was downright rude to his copresenters and frankly to a big chunk of the listeners..
Have enjoyed this podcast in the past but listening to 3 former English schoolboys speaking on behalf of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland feels very one-dimensional and lacking serious analysis. One example is speaking of the “Jockography Six” or whatever terrible coinage is at play here. Lots of chuckles from the boys but not serious analysis. In summary, a good listen if you enjoy being subordinate in the showers at a middling fee-paying school. If you prefer your podcast hosts to have mat... more
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #6 | |
Apple Podcasts | #7 | |
Apple Podcasts | #9 | |
Apple Podcasts | #139 | |
Apple Podcasts | #19 | |
Apple Podcasts | #22 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
This podcast offers in-depth commentary and analysis on the latest happenings in international rugby, engaging listeners with expert insights and lively discussions. It covers various competitions, notably the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup, alongside matches featuring major teams like England, New Zealand, and South Africa, discussing team strategies, player performances, and match outcomes. The hosts often bring on notable guests, including former professional players, to enrich conversations with personal experiences and nuanced perspectives, making it a prime destination for rugby enthusiasts and sports analysts alike. With its combination of journalistic integrity and passionate discourse, the podcast appeals to fans looking for a... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Ruck. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Ruck and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Ruck, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Ruck, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Ruck has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Ruck:
1. The Telegraph Rugby Podcast
2. Rugby Union Weekly
3. The Rugby Pod
4. The Good, The Bad & The Rugby
5. For The Love Of Rugby
The Ruck launched 9 years ago and published 529 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Ruck from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Ruck. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Ruck include:
1. Richie McCaw
2. Stephen Kitshoff
3. Phil Dowson
4. Fin Smith
5. Tommy Freeman
6. Tom Kershaw
7. Simon Massie-Taylor
8. Morwenna Talling
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.