SEATTLE, WA – Our newest correspondent is without question, our biggest. Literally. A large man, Tony Ridnell is over 20 hands high. And it was hands high in the air that earned him his legendary status as a lock for Team USA’s Eagles. After hanging up the cleats, he became successful in business but always kept up with “the rugby.” Now, he’s as giddy as a schoolgirl at a One Direction shopping mall meet-n-greet because of his Seattle Seawolves, the first-ever Major League Rugby champions. Moreover, this giant Super Fan gets to rub elbows with Seattle’s players and staff. He’s in Rugby Heaven and to prove it’s not just a dream, we handed over the mic and got him an audience with Captain Shalom Suniula (USA Rugby) and Player/Coach Phil Mack (Ruby Canada legend).
In this segment, Tony, Shalom and Phil talk about:
-Phil playing against fellow Canadians
-Playing in front of the wild Starfire Stadium crowd
-The looming battle between USA Rugby and Canada at the Seawolves’ home
-The extensive travel on the expanding #MLR landscape
-Schedule Advantages/Disadvantages
–Seattle vs Toronto, pitting Canadians against each other.
PODCAST VERSION:
AND DON’T MISS… San Diego Legion star Lou Stanfill and… Steve and Matt with #MLR Analysis, Opinion & Predictions:
NEW YORK, NY – There aren’t many Americans with the rugby pedigree of a Lou Stanfill. Three Rugby World Cups after a championship-ridden career at Cal University and Jesuit High School. Then came retirement. BUT… This thing called Major League Rugby happened and suddenly there was a perfect union; the San Diego Legion needed part-time players that weren’t in it for becoming millionaires and Louis Stanfill needed to play rugby. After playing 80 minutes in each of the Legion’s 1st three matches, Big Lou is back with a bang, sans mullet, and joins our Matt McCarthy and Steve Lewis (whose wardrobe allegedly came from a Liberace estate sale) in this candid Week 82 – and refreshingly unfiltered – Pig N Whistle segment that includes:
–Rob Bouwer’s controversial/dangerous tackle of Mason Pederson
-Being MLR’s Allen Iverson
–Changes in the game since he’s returned
-The SD Coaching Staff
–Juggling family, job and professional rugby
–Legion players to watch
-Tearing R is For Rugby’s pages out
-Being Annoying
-Mixing it up with John Quill and Matt Trouville
–Gorilla’s
–Coaching Kids
-Winning the Car Crashes
PODCAST VERSION:
Major League Rugby Opinion, Analysis and Predictions…
It’s flying by, this Major League Rugby thing, despite the always-tight contests that keep us watching right to the final minutes. But Week 4 is looming and that means we’re a quarter of the way through this crazy, uneven, quirky and somehow charming, league schedule. With that, Steve Lewis and Matt McCarthy take the show on the road to the World’s Best Rugby Pub – the Pig N Whistle on W36th – for this Week 82 installment. Topics Include:
–Toronto’s 1st Win
–Texas Two-Step Stumble
-The Red Card that wasn’t
–Must-Win matches
–NOLA’s Gold Rush
–Pivotal Match-ups
–Dearth of Kicking
NOTE: Due to a hiccup in post-production, the predictions re the Seattle Seawolves hosting the Toronto Arrows did not make the final cut. Our prognosticators differed on this one, though.
Mr. Lewis picked the hometown Seawolves:
“They are a wounded animal, backs against the wall, in their home lair. Always tough facing an opponent in that state, particularly at the raucous Starfire.”
Mr. McCarthy, however, chose Toronto:
“The Arrows will be on target for this one as they get some key reinforcements back. If it comes down to the kicking game, however, the stellar Brock Staller – ironically a Canadian – will be the difference. “
PODCAST VERSION:
Find All We Do Here:
–Web: www.RugbyWrapUp.com
–Twitter: twitter.com/RugbyWrapUp @RugbyWrapUp, @Matt_McCarthy00, @SteveLewis @JonnyLewisFilms, @JunoirBlaber, @JWB_RWU, @Luke Bienstock, @RonanNelson, @MeetTheMatts, @DeclanYeats.
–Face Book: www.facebook.com/RugbyWrapUp
–Instagram: www.instagram.com/RugbyWrapUp
–YouTube: www.youtube.com/RugbyWrapUp
–Apple PodCasts: itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/rugby…d1253199236?mt=29236?mt=2