Advertise on podcast: Ayrshire Talent Scout & Friends Podcast

In this special episode both myself and Kevin had the pleasure of interviewing All Black legend Zinzan Brooke. Zinzan kindly gave up some of his time to join us at Tony Peters summer house, thanks Tony and also many thanks to Glenn Davis for organising. Zinzan gives us some insight to his early rugby days and life on the farm through to working full time as a plumber/gas fitter whilst playing representative rugby. We get the chance to hear first hand on that drop goal against England and both him and the scout exchange notes on their goal kicking prowess. He also tells us about the charity work he is involved with "SwimHouse" and also his thoughts on giving back to rugby. To finish, we challenged Zinzan with some quickfire questions, (Gav does a good job setting these out).

This afternoon, myself, the scout and Steven, had the honour and pleasure of discussing Marr Rugby Club's rags to riches title winning performance against Currie Rugby Club with 1st XV Captains, Fraser Grant and Conor Bickerstaff, 1st XV Forwards Coach Stephen Adair and 2nd XV Head Coach Keith Dunsmuir. The lads give us some insight into the preparation and build up for the game as well as some of the tactical alterations they made for the game based on their analysis and previous meetings with Currie.  The lads give a big shout out to the support that went through to Malleny Park, in particular the mini section, where they hope to return the favour at the upcoming mini tournament. There is some reflection on the journey from languishing and on the brink of collapse in the early 2000's and elaborate on some of the key influencing figures, eg, John Sharkey, Paul Burke, Craig Redpath to name a few. And finally there was just enough time for a couple of quickfire rounds with Fraser and Keith. Thanks to Kevin Quinn for allowing us to use the clubhouse, (you may hear the log fire in the background).

In this episode we have the pleasure of having Stuart Pratt, Head coach of Kilmarnock Rugby Club, join us for a review on how the season has been going so far and a look ahead to their 5 remaining matches.  The Kilmarnock v Garnock game was a great advert for rugby in Ayrshire and showed the best that a local derby has to offer. Stuart takes us through the planning and tactics they used to finally overcome, what was a powerful garnock side.  We also have a look at the Six Nations games at the weekend, with Scotland getting back to winning ways in Italy with a bonus point win, whilst the Six Nations joint favourites, stumbled to win in their penultimate games.  We finally had a look at some of the buzzwords being bandied about at games these days as our random topic. This could be a new feature!

In this episode we talk through round 3 of the Six Nations, trying to find the positives in what was a very disappointing result for Scotland against France. Statistically Scotland should have done a lot better and we discuss the areas where we hope improvements can be made.   We also have a look at the other two games of the weekend and try to make sense of the law that eventually left Italy with 13 players facing Ireland, which is arguably a hard enough task with 15.  We gloss over the first half of the England Wales game but do discuss another concussion incident that seems to have passed by unnoticed.  There are some interesting club fixtures this weekend and we cast an eye over how the ayrshire teams will fair, with the pick of these being Kilmarnock v Garnock. The slide rule is run over referee interpretations at breakdown and we finally sign off with what will happen with the scotland half backs for the next round. 

We were very fortunate to get stephen Raby, the Head Coach of Cumnock Rugby Club to join us this weekend. We were able to get the inside track on Cumnock's victory down at Wigtownshire which puts Cumnock in a very strong position for promotion to West 1.  Stephen also gives us insights on what Cumnock have been doing to achieve this strong run of results this season and pinpoints some of the key games.  He also casts his eye over the potential key fixtures and derby games, that will await in West 1. We then discuss the Marr v Hawick game which would settle who would get the home semi final.  We also have a look over the remaining club fixtures that managed to  dodge the storm conditions at the weekend.  Finally, the team discuss bus journeys, are they a health and safety issue....you decide.

In this episode we discuss Scotland's frailty in Cardiff and why it's such a problem to back up a big result. we run through the stats from the game and look at what options Scotland will have when they face France at home next week. As always, there is room for optimism. We look ahead to this weeks club games. There are top of the table clashes all through the leagues as we get to the business end of the season. Supporters can look forward to a great weekend of rugby. We finally discuss some of the issues from the weekend surrounding concussions, in particular Italy v England u20's, and the protocols around this. 

We have now entered into season 2 of the ATS Podcast and what better way to start than talk about Scotland's victory over England at Murrayfield on Saturday. The team analyse all the talking points of the game and have an eye on next Saturday's game in Cardiff. The discussion then moves on to look at the other games of the weekend with both the favourites, Ireland and France putting in excellent performances, setting up a mouthwatering clash next weekend in Paris. We then look at the club rugby through the premiership, national and regional leagues and see how the Ayrshire teams are fairing.  Finally, the term "Box Office" is used frequently for players, but what does it mean and who does it apply to. The lads give their thoughts. 

In this episode, the Scout and Gav give their thoughts on Scotland's fantastic victory over a resurgent Australia. They pick out some of the key aspects that gained Scotland their victory keeping one eye on  what South Africa will bring to the party this weekend coming.  The lads also give some thoughts on the other Autumn tests over last weekend, giving a special mention to Damian Penaud and his instantaneous resurrection after running into Julián Montoya, "Argentina of old". The team then go through the week 10 results of club rugby as we go through the mid way point of the season and give an assessment of the Ayrshire clubs performances.  There is time for a chat on what the ATS team believe will be the next adaptation on skill set for attacking a high ball. Gav gives a run through on who is successful on this adaptation currently and Kev explains that forwards actually have this art form already.  Lastly a word on post match attire, representing your club and some of the pitfalls and evolution on this important aspect of a team. 

In this week's episode we have a roving report from the Scout who ventured up to Broomfield to watch two in form sides going against each other with Cumnock entertaining Wigtownshire.  There is debate around the Scotland international against Tonga and the merits of the new caps and have Scotland changed their game plans with 6 tries coming from the Scotland wingers.  We then work our way through the premiership and national leagues discussing the Ayrshire club performances and a look ahead to Saturdays matches.  The discussion moves onto having some thoughts around club culture and how this is developed into the club architecture. both the scout and Snips give their take on culture through their playing experiences. 

In this episode the scout makes a welcome return to discuss the the results and forecasts from Week 7 and looking ahead to Week 8.  We start off with a look at the Gregor Townsend's selection for the autumn internationals and who could fare in the games ahead against Tonga, Australia, South Africa and Japan.  We then review the results across the premiership and the National and Regional leagues with an eye on who are the main contenders.  We discuss the big result for Ayrshire Bulls winning the super 6 competition, built on an outstanding defence.  Finally Kevin then takes us through the merits of the tap penalty and his thoughts on why the pivot will make a return, whilst Steven puts a counter argument across and explains why is firmly against this option. 

In this episode, initially we discuss the merits of both Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby in the second round of the URC. We then look at the results of all the Ayrshire teams performances over the weekend. We have a look into week 6, casting an eye over the forthcoming ties, looking at what could be the best fixtures to see as well as dipping a toe into the water of predictions.  The discussion moves onto Super 6 and the rise of Ayrshire Bulls to the top spot, leading onto a discussion on defence and defensive systems.  Gav takes us through a relatively new option using the "tunnel ball" and how this can help break down tight defenses and if the traditional structured back line moves are potentially phasing out. 

In this episode, ATS HQ discuss the opening games of the United Rugby Championship and the performances of both Glasgow and Edinburgh. We then move onto how the Ayrshire clubs are fairing in their respective leagues with a look ahead to this weekends fixtures. There are some key games identified for supporters to enjoy.  We also have a look at the Super 6 results with Ayr making a surge for the top spot as the league draws to a thrilling conclusion.  As teams are still coming to terms with the new law variations, we have a closer look at the goal line drop out and the options in both attack and defence, before finally having a rant about artificial playing surfaces.