We left Ollie Hoskins having moved from Western Force to London Irish, and in floods of tears in the changing rooms after a disastrous return to action following the Covid lockdown.

However, soon he would be hitting rugby’s pinnacle and showing the world that all his work and sacrifices were paying off.

The good times didn’t last though and in June 2023, after months of rumour, his club London Irish went out of business. It left him trying to understand what had happened to a team that was re-establishing itself in the capital which meant he and many others from the club were scrambling around for new jobs.

It worked out in the end when English champions Saracens came calling, but the pain of seeing a club he had grown to love go to the wall lingers and there are questions galore, not least who exactly were the US consortium interested in buying the Exiles?

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Growing up in Perth, Western Australia, Oliver Hoskins wanted to do one thing – play rugby. It turned out he was pretty good at it and when Perth was given the licence for Australia’s fourth Super Rugby team it appeared that he wouldn’t even have to leave home to play professional rugby.

Hoskins soon found out that his path to the top wasn’t a simple line, with ups and downs pockmarking his young career and in the end, he left his home town club.

Eventually he made the move to London Irish, where he found a mentor who helped turn him into a powerful tight-head prop, and a regular Premiership starter.

He talks about how he dealt with struggling to make the step up to professional level, the overwhelming feeling of imposter syndrome, and getting to grips with life in London. 

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What’s the worst thing that can happen to you on a rugby pitch? How about nearly dying?

John Fenlon doesn’t need to imagine that because that’s what happened to him during a veterans match one cold Friday evening.

Swift action by teammates and the opposition meant he ended the night in hospital, and he is now back to full health, chasing his children around and even putting his boots back on now he’s received the all clear.

In this chat he recalls his memory of the night, how reality brought him back to earth quickly, and the debt of gratitude he owes those who kept him alive.

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Zainab ‘Big Zee’ Alema is a lady with a dream, a dream of becoming the first Muslim woman, wearing a veil, to play for England.

The Londoner stumbled into rugby union thanks to a PE teacher, but she quickly fell in love with the sport and took to playing it with gusto.

Since then, she has become one of the sport’s leading influencers, worked tirelessly to bring Muslim girls into sport, and continued to give her all for Richmond.

Zee talks about the challenges she has faced as a Muslim woman, the conversations she has had with her teammates, her previous career as a neo-natal nurse, and how she has incorporated her family into her rugby life.

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Sam Stanley made headlines when he went public with his homosexuality in The Sunday Times in 2015.

The former England 7s, Saracens and Ealing Trailfinders player hails from a rugby dynasty, headed by his uncle, ‘Smokin’ Joe Stanley, who won the inaugural Rugby World Cup with New Zealand.

Sam looks back on a life where rugby played a huge role, but where he felt he couldn’t give his best and also kept his true self hidden for so long that he considered suicide.

He talks about how the trust of a long-time friend and his partner led to him letting people know the real Sam, how his teammates reacted, and what the fallout was (spoiler, it features Elton John). 

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Sara Orchard is the BBC’s leading voice on women’s rugby, as well as a familiar voice on the radio commentating on major matches in the Six Nations, Champions Cup and Premiership.

She has worked hard to reach the top, and now she is among some of the leading female broadcasters, and a widely respected figure in rugby union.

Along the way she has faced challenges, namely sexist comments, and balancing life as a mother with that of a commentator on the road most weekends, but she has faced them with the determination that nothing was going to get in her way of what she wanted to do. 

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Mark ‘Ronnie’ Regan reached the top of rugby union – 2003 World Cup winner, 1997 Lions test series winner, and 1998 European Cup winner – but he did it all despite being profoundly deaf.

Very few people knew about his condition, and in a candid interview, he explains why he told no one during his career, not least his coaches, how he found ways around the problem of not being able to hear his teammates, and what his advice would give to players in a similar situation today.

The former Bath, Bristol and Leeds hooker takes us from his young days when rugby was his driving force through a week of struggling at school, his rise to international recognition, his regrets along the way, and how he worked his way back into the England squad to reach a second World Cup Final, this time one he started.

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The All Ears Podcast ventured to the 2023 Women’s Six Nations launch to speak to the captains about issues that surround the sport.

Chief among the talking points was Ireland’s decision to play in navy shorts to alleviate period anxiety, how Wales and Scotland’s growing professionalism is helping players fulfil their potential, and how women’s rugby is growing in Italy and attracting a new wave of players to the sport.

We also hear from England’s Alex Matthews about what the Red Roses did to recover mentally from the disappointment of losing the 2022 World Cup Final.

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