Le Rouge Rugby Podcast (Le Rouge Rugby)

The Springboks defeated the All Blacks 12-11 to win their 4th Rugby World Cup! Stu and Derek give their thoughts on the game and the Springboks' place in history. It was a busy week in Major League Rugby with plenty of Canadian player movement, a new Arrows coach, and the news of a change in format for 2024. In Rugby Canada news, the women's team lost to England in round 2 of WXV and the men's team announced the squad for the series in Spain.

The Toronto Arrows battled Rugby ATL to a 34-34 draw under the Friday Night Lights at York Lions Stadium. Stu and Derek take a deep dive into the match including the decision to go for points or the corner, legends reaching 50 caps, and more. Then it's a trip around the league where Michael Smith and Andrew Coe had incredible performances. Finally, it was a big week for Rugby Canada with the sevens, U20s, and a new High Performance Director.

It was a massive week of rugby news and the boys are here to break it all down! Wheelchair Rugby Canada won a silver medal at the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup! Jamie Cudmore is the new head coach of Top Gun, as Cory Hector moves to back to the MLR squad! Canada defeated Wales in the first match of WXV! Sophie de Goede is the greatest rugby player in the world! Stu and Derek reveal their strategies for watching a 2am start vs England on Friday! The new Nations Championship sucks! Oh, and the Rugby World Cup is happening!

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars and we are here to tell you how that impacts the Toronto Arrows season!  Derek and Stu breakdown the Arrows massive 14-10 victory over Rugby New York shouting out some massive performances! Then they take a look at some big MLR news including Andrew Douglas' departure from Old Glory DC and  an unfortunate incident involving the Dallas Jackals. Of course, we also get hyped up for the first Arrows home game in over 1000 days.

For the first time ever, Stu and Derek have TWO(!) Arrows games to talk about! The Arrows Sr. Academy is has played their first match against the New England Independents and the big club battled the Free Jacks on a cold, cold day in Massachusetts. They then take a look at some big tries scored by Canadians around MLR this week, and discuss a major coaching change within Rugby Canada.

Canada defeated the USA 34-21 in the first leg of their RWC 2023 qualifier and the boys are fired up about it! After the match, the boys dive into some Arrows and MLR news!

Cover Image: Jeff Parsons/ Rugby Canada

Stu and Derek open the show by discussing how World Rugby's ban on unofficial content is hurting game. Then it's on to New Zealand where Canada defeated France in the final round of WXV! The Arrows made some big re-signings and MLR made a big signing of their own!

The Arrows earned their first victory of 2021 and the boys are here to break down the game! Before they get to that, it was a big news week in Canadian rugby with Kingsley Jones mentioning that Canada could be playing England, the Emirates Invitational 7s, a league league, and signings. As always, the episode closes out with some predictions for week 4 of MLR. Note: some technical difficulties regarding Stu's mic/video feed. Derek thinks that is just the rugby gods' punishment for picking OGDC last week.

Stu and Derek return to break down Canada's 26-19 loss to England in the Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals. Then they take a look at recently announced men's squad for the European tour, the latest Arrows' signings, and the MLR players' response to the expansion/dispersal drafts.

On this episode, Stu and Derek breakdown Canada's 22-21 win over Chile in the first leg of their Rugby World Cup Qualifier.  After, they take a look at a busy Thanksgiving weekend including the second leg, the Coastal Cup, Premier Rugby Sevens' debut, and some brief MLR news.   Recorded on Oct 5th, 2021

Stu and Derek breakdown Canada's 29-14 win over the USA in the final group stage game of the RWC and look ahead to the rematch in the quarter-finals this weekend. The men's team also returned to action as the battled Chile in a yellow card heavy affair. The Stu breaksdown the laws around the maul and how the women's team has been so effective with it it so far. Finally, we look at the latest MLR news while keeping in mind that this was recorded Monday night.

Test rugby returns to Canada for the first time in far too long! The boys gather to talk about Rugby Canada's broadcast deal with Premier Sports before diving into the big game. They look at the full-roster for the two match series with the USA Eagles before making some outlandishly inaccurate Starting XV predictions (we recorded before the lineups came out).

On this episode, the boys talk a little rugby sevens at the Olympics. They take a look at the Canada's men's performance and make some wildly outdated and inaccurate predictions for the women's tournament. They then look back at the MLR Conference Finals, and make some predictions for the big dance (which thankfully hasn't happened yet)!

The 2022 MLR season has come to a close and we have a new Champion! Stu and Derek are here to breakdown Rugby New York's 30-15 win over the Seattle Seawolves, with special focus on the Canadian performances in the match. Then, they take a look at Kingsley Jones' recent video and look ahead to the summer test series.

On episode 58 we sit down with newly signed Old Glory DC eightman Luke Campbell! We take a look at Luke's rugby journey (00:00:00) from skipping class to play Rugby 08, to the Toronto Arrows (00:08:45), the Rugby World Cup (00:11:18), and the upcoming 2021 MLR season (00:17:34)!

Stu and Derek are joined by Curry Hitchborn and Ralph McRae to discuss their new club, the Vancouver Highlanders. The Highlanders aim to "advance the personal and professional development of the person through Rugby Union". Hitchborn and McRae discuss their Ten Commitments, the Rugby Players Challenge, the setup of the club, and what they are trying to achieve. Plus the origin of the logo, Gladiator, and dream opponents for the Highlanders.

It was a very busy week in the rugby world! Stu and Derek unpack a pair of national team games as the Canadian women fell to France in the Bronze medal game of the World Cup and men defeated the Netherlands in their first of two November tests. Then it's a big recap of all the MLR news including the latest Arrows' signings, the expansion/dispersal draft (is Chicago actually going to be good?), and the 2023 schedule release! 

With no national teams in action, the boys were forced to watch soccer,  tennis, and Black Adam! Thankfully, the Canadian University Men's Rugby Championship is this week! Stu and Derek explain why they are excited for the tournament and make plenty of completely nonsensical and ill-informed predictions.

The boys are back to breakdown all the action from Major League Rugby's week 4! They start with the Toronto Arrows loss to the Los Angeles Giltinis (00:00:00) before diving into the other matchups from across the league (00:41:00). As always, they breakdown the biggest news items of the week (01:12:00) and handle some week 5 predictions (01:18:24). This week, Dan, Derek, and Stu won't just be challenging each other, but a new competitor has entered the Le Rouge Rugby match predictor challenge!

The Arrows drop to 0-2 as the LA Giltinis spoil the return to Canada. Stu and Derek are here to break it all down and look ahead to the match with NOLA this weekend. They also take a look at some of the best Canadian performances from around the league and make some week 3 predictions.

Nate Hirayama is the flag bearer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Dan and Derek could not be more excited! After they freak out, they take a look at Canada's pool and chances in both the men's and women's competitions. Following the Olympics, is the other massive event this weekend; the MLR playoffs. The boys take a look back at some of their favourite moments of the 2021 regular season, discuss the outlook for the clubs that missed out on the post-season, thank Ciaran Hearn for a brilliant career, and preview the two Conference Final matches.

On episode 93, Derek and Stu take a look at Canada's 33-24 loss to Chile in the Rugby World Cup qualifier. How did Chile improve so much in the past two years? How did Canada fall so far in the past 10 years? What does the elimination from the RWC mean for the future of Rugby Canada? What needs to change? They attempt to answer these questions before wrapping up with some news from around North America.

No 6 Nations this weekend so we figured we would give you epsidoes on back-to-back days! On epsiode 60 we dive into the new Toronto Arrows signings, Arrows departures (complete with the first ever Le Rouge Editor's Note), and all the other big Major League Rugby news from the past week!

Jeff Hassler of the Austin Gilgronis joins the podcast from Austin, Texas! He chats with the guys abou this rugby journey and how we started from Alberta gridiron to the Pro 12 in Europe. With stops in two World Cups and in Major League Rugby, Jeff has many stories to tell and we are excited for you all to listen.

The Toronto Arrows were on a bye this past week, but they still kept themselves quite busy giving Stu and Derek plenty to talk about! The Academy picked up a 47-19 win over New York Foundry and they made 4 trades! Stu and Derek then breakdown the 5 MLR games from the weekend and their impacts on the playoff race! It was also a big week for Rugby Canada, as they welcome a new CEO and host the Langford Sevens!

The Toronto Arrows fell to Rugby New York Ironworkers 39-3 as they opened up their new stadium. Stu and Derek are here to break the game down. They get into the evolving injury situation, concerns about the attack, and how the bye week may be a blessing. Despite the loss, there were still plenty of positives and the boys shoutout some impressive Arrows' debuts. Then it is a trip around the league as they highlight some of the best Canadian performances from week 2, discuss George Killebrew's departure, the LA sevens, and week 3 predictions. 

Stu and Derek take a deep dive into the Arrows 57-20 defeat at the hands of the New England Free Jacks. They begin by looking at where thing went wrong for the Arrows before taking some time to praise New England for their exceptional season so far. Then it's a trip around the league before breaking down the best (and worst) of the MLR heritage jerseys!

Derek is back from helping the Glasgow Warriors win the URC Championship! The boys take a look at a busy month in Canadian Rugby! The Vancouver Highlanders played their first two games, the Sevens team fails to qualify for the Olympics, the squad for the Ottawa series has been announced, new kits, a star player is injured long-term, and a recap of the Coast-to-Coast Cup.

Stu and Derek ponder what the Arrows teaser announcement could possibly be and discuss Mike Sheppard's retirement. Then they welcome Arrows' 3rd round pick Monty Weatherall to the show. They discuss Monty's early rugby career, his grandfather's pace, moving to Canada, McGill rugby, playing rugby across Canada, getting drafted by the Arrows, and more!

Le Rouge Rugby reaches the 200 episode milestone and we brought Dallas Jackals centre Mitch Richardson on to help us celebrate!

We dive into Richardson's start in rugby, being a day 1 Arrow, joining the Jackals, playing for Canada for the first time, Call of Duty, and so much more!

Plenty of banter and debate (both actual and hypothetical) in this episode! Derek and Stu pretend to be interested in Dan's Scotties Tournament of Hearts predictions (00:00:00). The G.O.A.T Dan Carter announced his retirement from rugby (00:04:30). Is the new Toronto Arrows Senior Academy logo is the greatest logo in rugby history or sports history (00:19:35)? New digital partnerships for the Arrows and Major League Rugby (00:27:10). Thoughts on no relegation in the Premiership this season (00:46:56). The show closes out with some fun hypothetical debates such as which crazy location would you like to see an MLR game and which non-rugby athlete would you want to see in MLR (01:06:00)?

On this episode, Stu and Derek are joined by Tim Matthews and Jamie Cudmore of the Toronto Arrows Sr. Academy. They take a deep dive into how the Academy is able to continue after the MLR club folded, coaching, recruiting, player evaluation, and more. Then, it's a look at the East Coast Rugby Championship ,which begins with the Academy taking on the Atlantic Privateers this Saturday!

Stu and Derek dust off the mics and return from their holiday break! The boys dive into all the news they missed while they were away including Christmas gifts, the Rugby Canada strategic plan, Phil Mack promoted to attack coach, the sevens series, a wild MLR off-season, kitmas, and all the Canadian player signings!

Major League Rugby is back! As the 2022 season kicks off, Stu and Derek are here to breakdown all the last minute pre-kickoff news. After that, they take a deep dive into the Arrows 21-8 season opening loss to Seattle and look a head to a clash with the Champs on Canadian soil next week.

We are back for the 2nd episode of the week! Major League Rugby dropped the new revised 2021 schedule, the Toronto Arrows will begin the 2021 season based in Atlanta, crossover athletes, and a few new Canadian signings!

Stu and Derek are here to breakdown ̶S̶p̶i̶d̶e̶r̶-̶M̶a̶n̶:̶ ̶A̶c̶r̶o̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶S̶p̶i̶d̶e̶r̶-̶V̶e̶r̶s̶e̶ the Toronto Arrows 48-26 loss to the Houston SaberCats. The boys search for the positives in the match while also trying to determine what positives actually matter at this point in the season. The Arrows Sr. Academy also saw plenty of action this week as they scrimmaged with the Canada U20 squad and played a match against Rugby Quebec. Then, the U20's head south for the the first leg of the series with USA. Finally, it was a big weekend in MLR as the playoff races heat up on the pitch and the players push to unionize continues.

With the Arrows on a bye week, Stu and Derek breakdown the biggest stories from week 3 in MLR action and the Vancouver stop on the Sevens Series. Then they are joined by Arrows' President and General Partner Bill Webb and Vice President and General Manager Tim Matthews. It's a deep dive into the business side of the Arrows including big off-season moves, the Hangar, plans for the academy sides, the partnership with TIRF, what fans can expect from the Arrows' match day experience, MLR expansion, and more!

On episode 90, Stu and Derek try to figure out how to do an intro without Dan. Then they dive into a busy news week including the Toronto Arrows Rugby Rally, Wolfpack 2.0, the Vancouver Sevens, the Coastal Cup, and some MLR signings.

Stu and Derek break down the Arrows trade for Travis Larsen and more of their recent signings. Then they touch on some news from around the MLR before diving into a new segment about the laws of rugby.

In this episode Stu sits down with the two guys leading the Yukon Rugby Federation in Whitehorse - Charlie Feht, and Eric Fekete.

Over the interview, they discuss Yukon Rugby’s unofficial beginnings in 2015, tours to Anchorage, becoming an affiliate of BR Rugby, and their plans to become the first Territory to take men’s and women’s rugby teams to the Canada Summer Games.

Stu and Jeff are joined by rugby player & referee, Edward Pye, as the eyes of the world turned to Vancouver for both the VAN SVNS (where the women competed,) and the Invitational tournament (in which the men competed.)

Then, the attention turns to MLR 2025 - with all teams having played at least 1 game so far, who's standing out, and what do we make of the sides as the season kicks off?

Stu and Derek take a look at the Fire & Ice Cup match between the Arrows and RATL, the Coast-to- Coast Cup, answer some listener questions, Rugby Canada news, and recap all the MLR Week 17 action!

Stu and Derek recap an epic weekend for rugby in North America! There was plenty of Rugby news, but the best part was obviously the games! First the boys look at back-to-back SVNS stops in Vancouver and LA! Then, the MLR returned to action and Canadians were putting on a show!

The Arrows made a triumphant return to Toronto and we assembled an elite cohort of Arrows fans to break it down. Karen Gasbarino, Doug Wilkey, and James Deeley join Stu and take a deep dive into the Arrows' Rugby Rally. They then wrap up the show with a busy week of MLR news, but unfortunately this was recorded before the Kyle Baillie trade!  

Cover photo by Andrew Clowater

Stu and Derek are joined by one of Rugby Canada's most decorated players, Karen Paquin! They take a deep dive into Paquin's career that has included the Olympics, Rugby World Cups, a match with the Barbarians, bobsleds, and more!

Stu and Derek pay tribute to Arrows owner Bill Webb by reflecting on the impact he had on Canadian rugby and sharing stories submitted by listeners.

On episode 77, the boys tackle the Arrows 47-21 loss to the AG's and all the great Canadian performances from across MLR. It was an incredibly news heavy week, so their was plenty to talk about after. The boys dive into Ontario's return to play, Utah's new kit, a USA Rugby World Cup bid, the Rugby Canada traveling roster, Sam Malcolm's return, and week 14 predictions.

Stu and Derek react to Canada's loss to Romania and recap the CUMRC!

Rugby Canada has released their High-Performance Review this past week. Stu and Derek take a deep dive into the document and try to highlight many of the key points raised by the panels.

Stu and Derek react to Canada's losses to Japan and USA at the Pacific Nations Cup

Stu and Derek return to get you caught up on the latest Canadian rugby news including the women's win over Wales, the upcoming RWC7s, the MLR Draft, the Arrows' off-season moves, the Bingham Cup, and more!

Stu and Derek are joined by Arrows' 2023 2nd round draft pick Louis Millet! We cover a wide range of topics including Millet growing up in Toulouse, Thierry Dusautoir, the diferences between Canada and France, learning a new language, Bishop's, Jack Shaw, actually benefiting from COVID, the MLR Draft, becoming an Arrow, thoughts on the future, and so much more!

Dan and Derek breakdown the Arrows' loss to the NOLA Gold. The boys also take a crack at naming the Arrows' starting XV after all the international departures. They then dive into the rest of the MLR matches and predictions for Week 15 (which actually include Stu and the Toonie this time).

The Arrows defeated NOLA 24-23 in an absolute thriller to pick up their first W of the season and Stu and Derek are here to break it all down. Plus, plenty of other great Canadian performances from around the league and predictions.

Stu and Derek breakdown a dominant win for Canada at the Pacific Four Series! They discus Sophie de Goede, Tyson Beukeboom's hat trick, the pack's brilliance, breakdown the tries, and look ahead to the clash with England! The Vancouver leg of SVNS returns! The boys look at the new branding and share some concerns about the new format. Finally, the MLR season has come to a close, which means it is awards season! Stu, Derek and the listeners make their selections for the annual Le Rouge Rugby Awards!

Stu and Derek give an update about the new Le Rouge Rugby podcast schedule! Then, it has been a busy news week in Canadian rugby. The boys get into the Pacific Four Series, a new women's competition, SVNS, wheelchair rugby, the American Raptors, MLR news, Highlanders' signings and more! Finally, Stu and Derek close out this episode with spoiler heavy review of the new Netflix series, Six Nations: Full Contact!

Dan and Derek break down another massive performance from the Toronto Arrows and all the great Canadian MLR performances in week 6! We then dive into some news items such as Seattle's coaching change, the women's sevens program, and Taylor Paris. Please note: recorded on Tuesday April 27, 2021.

We have reached our 100th episode! to celebrate we are joined by former Toronto Arrows and Rugby Canada scrumhalf Jamie Mackenzie. We take a deep dive into Mackenzie's career including playing with (and against) his brother Phil, the first time he met Ben LeSage, and other great moments of his career. We also discus the current state of Rugby Canada and get Mackenzie to breakdown the Arrows' big off-season moves.

On this episode, Stu and Derek sit down with Vancouver Wave head coach Christiaan Esterhuizen and team manager Paddy Watson. We take a deep dive into the Wave's historic 6-0 Coastal Cup winning campaign! Then, they look at a busy week in the MLR off-season and Stu tries to explain F1 in rugby terminology.

The Arrows finally had their home opener last weekend and D'Shawn Bowen stole the show! Unfortunately, Bowen's hat trick was not enough as the Arrows suffered a narrow 29-27 defeat to the New York Ironworkers. Stu and Derek break down the match including Top Gun references, an improved Arrows' attack, Bowen's performance, who else stood out, and more! Then it's a quick trip around the league before making some bold week 9 predictions.

Cover photo: Sam Buschbeck via torontoarrows.com

Stu takes over hosting duties from Dan this week! A hockey game has Derek wondering which rugby game would you show someone who has never watched rugby? Stu and Derek then dive into the Toronto Arrows 19-10 victory over the Houston SaberCats and the rest of the action in MLR over the past weekend! We finish off with some news items and predictions for week 10!

On this episode the boys break down Canada's 38-16 (59-50 on aggregate) loss to the USA in the RWC 2023 qualifier, take a look at some Arrows news, and say goodbye to some Canadian Sevens legends. We then say goodbye to one of our own as we do some reminiscing on Dan's last show. We look back at some of Dan's favourite moments on the podcast and give him one last opportunity to randomly talk about curling and D&D on his podcast that is supposed to be about rugby.

Cover Photo: Travis Prior/USA Rugby

It's the final episode of 2022 and we go out with a bang! Stu and Derek are joined by Toronto Arrows head coach Peter Smith! We take a deep dive into Smith's playing career, including a stint in the Arena Football League and lifting the Shield in Seattle. Then we transition to his coaching career and look ahead to the 2023 Arrows' season!

Stu and Derek both saw Top Gun: Maverick on the weekend and it might be the best movie ever made! Fortunately, they don't let that distract them from breaking down another Gilchrist team being DQ'ed. Despite the drama, the MLR carried on and saw two thrilling Eliminator round matchups! Then it is off to New Zealand where the women's national team had a tough day against the Black Ferns. The show wraps with some MLR predictions, including who may be lifting the Shield in two weeks!

The Toronto Arrows cruised to a 29-5 victory over Old Glory DC in week 4. Stu and Derek take a deep dive into the match, analyzing every try, every controversy, and have a really difficult time selecting a Man of the Match. Beyond the Arrows, there were plenty of great Canadian performances from across MLR this week that are all worth a mention.   

Cover photo: Paris Malone

Down in South Africa, the Canadian Men's Sevens team has been taking part in the Challenger Series, as they seek to finish in the top 8, with a sight to return to the SVNS Series.

Stu, Jeff, and Ed go over the team's progress over the first 2 rounds, both held in Cape Town, as well as discussing some broadcast issues with MLR, and some Canadians on the injury list.

Stu and Derek react to Canada's historic 22-19 win over the Black Ferns to claim the Pacific 4 Series Championship!

Stu and Derek take a deep dive into the Arrows 47-19 loss to the Utah Warriors. They discuss to on-going injury situation, the attack, shoutout to a handful of players that stood out, reienforcements, trades, and more. Then, it's a trip around the league to breakdown an exciting week 6 of MLR and the new City Edition Kits! The Arrows were not the only Canadian team in action as the Women's national team had a huge 66-7 win over South Africa!

With Derek away, Stu gives you a quick rundown on the Dallas Jackals departure from MLR, Canada vs Tonga, and tees up the WXV!

Sam Malcolm scored all 27 points in the Arrows 27-26 win over the Chicago Hounds! Stu and Derek are here to break down every detail of the historic performance, but first they take a look at the equally historic Battle of Thermopylae! After that is cleared up, they dive deep into the Arrows' win including Sam Malcolm's performance, the yellow cards, the brilliance of the pack, the attack, and other big individual performances. Then it's a trip around the league where they dive, Canadian milestones, Canadian tries,  and a huge win for the NOLA Gold.

Cover Photo: BHE Photos

Stu and Derek break down the latest group of Arrows signings and other news from across the MLR! The Rugby Network has a new subscription service, but it may not be in Canada. The Rugby World Cup is expanding to 24 teams. What does that mean for Canada? Finally, the boys predict the quarter-finals of the RWC!

Stu and Derek give their reactions to the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup, the new Arrows logos, and a pair of article discussing the current state of North American rugby.

The Toronto Arrows winless streak continued as they fell to the top ranked San Diego Legion. Stu and Derek are here to breakdown that match, the U20s, and the other MLR games from round 17.

The Toronto Arrows were on a bye, but the MLR still had a full slate of games. Stu and Derek break down the best Canadian performances from the past weekend as well as preferred bye week destinations, drop goals, new MLR records, stadium aesthetics, and more.

On this episode of Le Rouge Rugby, Stu and Derek sit down with the Silver Medal winning coach of Rugby Canada's Women's Sevens team, Jack Hanratty! They dive into how Jack got into rugby, beginning his coaching career out of high school, coming to Canada, the Olympics, the Ottawa Gee Gees, and more!