Rugby Reloaded

Flankers playing at scrum-half? This week's'Rugby Reloaded' talks to rugby union journalist Rhiannon Garth Jones about how union's new positional flexibility seems to reflect the way changes in rugby union are leading it down the same path that league took 100 years ago. Is it merely borrowing from league or is union changing more fundamentally? For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

In the divided nation of Ireland, rugby union seems to offer a unique form of unity, with one national team representing two countries. This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Dr Liam O'Callaghan about the roots of Irish rugby and the reality behind its apparent national unity between North and South, and Catholics and Protestants. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

To celebrate International Women's Day this week we talk to journalist and broadcaster Joanna Lester about her amazing film 'Power Meri', which charts the rise of women's rugby league in Papua New Guinea and follows the national team, the Orchids, to the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. It's an incredible story about rugby league in PNG communities and how it has helped in the fight against women's oppression. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

To mark the 100th episode of 'Rugby Reloaded' we have a special interview with David Hinchliffe, Labour MP for Wakefield from from 1987 to 2005, one of the founders of the All Party Parliamentary Rugby League Group, and author of 'Rugby's Class War'. We talked about his time in parliament, his attempt to outlaw rugby union discrimination against league, and his thoughts on rugby league today and its 'deference' problem. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes and links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

In 1903 Bradford City became the only club ever accepted into the Football League without ever playing soccer. They had begun as Manningham and were the first Northern Union champions but decided to depart for the greener grass of soccer. Four years later, local rivals Bradford followed suit, but many fans rebelled and formed what would become today's Bradford Bulls. What lay behind Bradford's Great Split, and how did it spark the creation of what would become Leeds United? For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

What really happened in Vichy? The new ‘Rugby Reloaded’ discusses new research on why French rugby league was banned in 1941 with Dr Melissa McMahon (@batsyblog). She analyses why league was singled out and how amateurism became weaponised as part of the Vichy government's attempts to return France to a reactionary past. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

The Six Nations is back - and this week's 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to rugby journalist and historian Huw Richards about the tournament in the inter-war years. Why did England and Scotland dominate the 1920s? Why were the French expelled? And what impact did rugby league have on Wales? Settle in for a deep dive into rugby union history! For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

It's the 25th anniversary of Super League, and this week's Rugby Reloaded catches up with former St Helens CEO Sean McGuire to take a deep dive into the lessons and legacy of rugby league's biggest leap since 1895. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

This week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ talks to Ryan Bodman about his forthcoming book on the social history of rugby league in New Zealand. As Ryan explains, league in NZ has always been a game of the excluded and dispossesed: industrial workers, Maori and Pacific Islanders. He talks about the links between the sport and the labour movement, discusses how anti-Catholic sectarianism saw Irish Catholics come into the game, and how NZ schools even today are a battleground between league and union. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

This week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ chats with Dr Kevin Moore, former Director of the National Football Museum in England and author of a new book, 'What You Think You Know About Football is Wrong: The Global Game's Greatest Myths and Untruths'. We discuss the unquestioned narratives of soccer, such as why did soccer defeat rugby, could soccer have America's national sport, the history of ancient Chinese football, the eventual death of the game, and much more. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (which also has show notes for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony.

This week’s ‘Rugby Reloaded’ talks to Lydia Furse about the forgotten history of Barette, a 12-a-side version of rugby that became popular with French women in the 1920s. Emerging during the tumultuous 1920s, it began to lose ground in the 1930s before being finally extinguished by the notorious Vichy government. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' takes a ten-minute trip back to the time when Australians wondered if they'd ever beat the British, fretted about stopping the player drain to England, and raised money to keep rugby union afloat. The 1920s and 1930s were the time when the Kangaroos were underdogs and today's league world was its mirror opposite. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to Professor Heidi Norman about her work on the history of Aboriginal rugby league in New South Wales. Starting with Jackie Brooks in the early 1920s, she discusses the long and complex story of Aboriginal players, teams and carnivals, and asks what this tells us about rugby league and Australian society. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

The 1905-06 All Black tour was arguably the greatest ever, setting the template for all subsequent tours of Britain. Not only did the All Blacks win all but one match, but they despatched most of their opponents with stunning ease. But beneath the brilliance, Southern Hemsiphere rugby players were at breaking point - and the defining tour of rugby union would be the catalyst for the creation of rugby league in Australia and NZ. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

When was the first organised women's rugby league match in Britain? All is revealed as this week's 'Rugby Reloaded' plus talks to Dr Victoria Dawson about her PhD research into the history of women's involvement in British rugby league. But as the interview reveals, it's not just on the pitch where women have made their presence felt in the game. Dr Dawson is also looking for interviewees for her 'Wembley Women project, so go to www.wembleywomen.wordpress.com for furhter details. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

Lindsay Anderson's film version of David Storey's novel 'This Sporting Life' was released in 1963 and is one of the few movies to portray sport accurately on screen. But did it do rugby league a disservice, or was it aiming at something different? Dig out the popcorn and take a ten-minute intermission while 'Rugby Reloaded' unravels the many layers and complexities of rugby's cinema classic. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

Rugby Union is unique in world sport because of the importance of the penalty goal to match results. But why did the penalty goal become such a crucial aspect of the game? 'Rugby Reloaded' digs back into the history of the game to discover how it emerged in response to new players taking up rugby in the Victorian era.

This special edition of 'Rugby Reloaded' is the second part of the interview with Michael Aylwin about his fascinating book 'Unholy Union: When Rugby Collided with the Modern World'. What does the future hold for rugby union and how does it overcome the cultural baggage of its amateur heritage?

As the British general election was called last week, a think-tank suggested that Boris Johnson's Conservative Party should target 'Workington Man' in areas with 'strong rugby league traditions'. But rugby league was born in revolt against ruling elites and has a long tradition of radicalism. This week's 'Rugby Reloaded' looks at the rebel origins of league and its radical DNA. For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, follow me on Twitter @collinstony and take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com

As the All Blacks enter four years of self-doubt, 'Rugby Reloaded' talks to David Scott about his book 'Return to Rugby Land' and his reflections about the place of rugby union in New Zealand history and society. It's a book that combines his own personal memories with observations on rugby in NZ culture and the position of Maori, Polynesians and Women in the game - and we end with his thoughts on rugby in Sir Lanka where he now lives.