Rugby legends show their good side
Mike Tindall and James Haskell prepare to hit the road
What happens on tour stays on tour’ is the maxim of sports personalities as well as musicians, but those times playing away from home – matches that is – are often the basis for the hilarious banter in The Good, The Bad And The Rugby.
Having kicked off, perhaps inevitably, in mid-2020, the weekly series has grown into one of the most successful sports podcasts thanks to the repartee between its hosts – former England Rugby heroes Mike Tindall and James Haskell, alongside former Sky Sports presenter Alex Payne.
It’s the latter who is responsible for mediating between The Bad (Haskell) and The Rugby (Tindall) as they share their tales from on and off the pitch – though he is as likely to be the butt of the sporting duo’s jokes.
Since its launch more than 3 million listeners and 20 million-plus viewers online have been added to an audience perhaps initially starved of sport, but who have remained loyal to the trio of rugby experts.
Episodes of the podcast have featured glimpses into each of the men’s lives – earlier this year, Tindall announced his son’s dramatic birth on the bathroom floor, while guest appearances from some of the rugby world’s biggest stars are a regular feature.
Famous names such as Will Greenwood (above), Jeremy Guscott (far right), Jason Leonard and
Stuart Hogg manage to prove that while fans can gain insight into the workings of the sport, it’s not just for rugby heads since as well as some very human stories, the shows are peppered with hilarious anecdotes
While Payne, with 20,000 hours of broadcasting under his belt, is
an experienced helmsman for the weekly episodes where the trio “put the world to rights”, his accomplices are by no means media novices. Since retiring in 2014 Tindall – a former England captain and
an MBE – has been a finalist on both The Jump and Bear Grylls: Mission Survive, as well as a pundit on more familiar subjects i.e. rugby across TV and radio.
Similarly, Haskel – 77-times capped for England and the younger / more recently retired (to his obvious amusement) – will be a familiar face and voice to viewers of I’m A Celeb, The Chase, A League Of Their Own, and A Question Of Sport.
And for anyone now hooked on the merry band’s tales of life on and off the pitch, the podcast is to be made flesh, so to speak, with a 15-date across the UK next spring. As Tindall says: “We’ve all become even closer, through the stories we’ve shared ourselves and the stories our guests have shared. Now we can’t wait to get on the road.”
If they choose to reveal what happens off-mic, those tales will doubtless be fuel for a future podcast.
The podcast, and tourdates, can be found at goodbadrugby.com.