It’s the Christmas special!

This year, the boys are joined by Bristol Bears flyer Gabriel Ibitoye, bringing some extra holiday cheer and rugby chat. And, of course, to give it that Fijian flair—because we are the official unofficial Fiji podcast—Ryan’s old team mate and friend of the show, Niko Matawalu, is back (just about) to add to the festive fun!

From worst Secret Santa stories to Niko’s Christmas chaos, there’s no shortage of laughs. Plus, Marc brings his signature touch with some curious venue and gift decisions!

Tune in for some epic exchanges, hilarious banter, and a whole lot of Christmas spirit. Whether you're listening or watching on YouTube, this is the perfect episode to get you in the holiday mood. Merry Christmas to one and all!

Use the code MON10 at absoluterugby.co.uk for 10% off

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Head to absoluterugby.co.uk for all your Christmas rugby needs, with the code MON10 for 10% off.

We're delighted to be joined by Saints and England star, Tommy Freeman, fresh off the plane from a fabulous win in South Africa over the Bulls.

The flying winger talks us through the altitude, King Troll Henry Pollock, some serious niggly play, hearing some pretty harsh heckling, how enjoyable the win was but also just how beautiful South Africa is.

He also runs us through his England experience so far, looking ahead to the Six Nations and what its been like having so many of his Saints mates in the squad with him.

We also dissect the Bristol Bears Champions Cup clash with La Rochelle and how it went for Max when he was supposed to just be a substitute..... the mindset shift and joking around with Will Skelton. Also what was that Jack Nowell finish?!?

What did they get up to after the match and which players led the charge in La Rochelle....

Ryan was non stop punditing at the Champions Cup... what was it like watching Max in a Dublin pub... and how did Benetton manage to hold on for the win over Bath trying to do everything to lose that!

The boys also give a full round up of the Champions Cup including the failure of all the South African sides to pick up a win. Do they want to be in this competition? Do they care? Is it better than Super Rugby for the Saffa sides?

We hear all the hot takes from the fellas.

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It's a very special episode of Maul or Nothing with the boys all making their way to Bristol for the Bears Champions Cup clash with the mighty men of Leinster.

Max is starting and Ryan is as close as you can be to him working as a pitchside pundit/reporter. The boys manage to have a lovely interview together before the battle commences!

While the game doesnt go Max's way he does score Bristol's opening try and generally puts in a barnstorming performance, earning several scrum penalties against his international calibre opponents.

Post match we can humbly say that the boys tread the fine line between annoyingly persistent and endearingly pushy to perfection securing interviews with several stars including Jordie Barrett, Ilona Maher, Harry Randall, Harry Thacker and Mike McCarthy. Without a doubt the highlight of the day (citation needed) for each of these lovely people.....

And then the boys are finally reunited together in the same room to take us through the rest of the Champions Cup results while seemingly unable to contain their excitement at being back together doing what they do best.

Enjoy and as always... We love you!!!!

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With the Autumn Internationals done and dusted its back to the league clashes as Max's Bristol Bears put on a delicious display or running rugby to outshine Joe Marler on his big day.

But what about the build up, how do rugby players get ready for such big matches? Nandos? Did you say Nandos?

In any case the game was amazing but what happened between Gabi Ibitoye and Joe Marler? We break down a fabulous contest at the Stoop.

We also put the final test match between Ireland and Australia under the microscope. Have Ireland peaked? Who was the Wallabies Man of Tour? Can Prendergast and Crowley ever emulate Johnny Sexton? Do Ireland deserve to make up the bulk of the Lions? Questions that need to be answered.

Then it's onto a round up of the Premiership with some big couple of results while over in the URC, Edinburgh almost blow a 35 point lead... Plus friend of the show Adam Hastings suffers a nasty injury, which makes us sad.

Then the big one.... It's the Maul or Nothing Champions Cup Preview and there are some seriously tasty ties to look ahead to... From a biased perspective none more so than Bristol vs Leinster where the boys will finally be reunited.

We even have a chance to discuss the RFU Bill Sweeney pay scandal.

Lots of lols and lots of love for listening and watching. We love you!

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We're delighted to be joined by Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu to discuss the big result of the weekend as Scotland saw off a resurgent Wallabies to end their Home Grand Slam dreams.

We hear all about the surprise appearance of Scotlands newest star.... Sione's granny, who flew in to surprise him.

Also what about that hit from Joseph Suaalii.... "felt like someone had climbed through my body" and there was a serious load of spiciness out on the pitch with serious amounts of niggle.

Whats it like for Sione to play the country where he grew up and how did he become the chatter in chief against many of his friends on the Wallaby side.

We hear from Ryan who was at the game as a pundit and the celebrations after the match.

We round up all the Autumn Nations matches from the penultimate weekend and provide a state of the union for the different countries... South Africa are the worlds most dominant team..... what about a hypothetical match with France?

What can Wales do next? Fiji feelings after a the tour... Sam Cane's last match, the most passionate captains, Australia's stand out performers and plenty more.....

And what about England? What have we learned, let's see how Max can describe their current status in the most eloquent way of course...

Above all thank you for listening and watching and don't forget to like and more importantly comment!!! We love you!

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We've got the biggest rugby player in the world, literally, Emmanuel Meafou to take us through that record equalling 3rd consecutive France win over New Zealand.

What was that Haka like, why did their requests for jersey swaps get turned down and how tough a match was that?

Emmanuel also takes us through his incredible journey from Australian rugby reject to France's superstar second row. He also explains why he turned down the NFL, why he's so grateful to be putting on the french jersey and how even a last minute call from Eddie Jones wasnt going to change his mind

Legend of a man!

The boys also take us through the rise of the Wallabies as they deconstructed Warren Gatlands Wales and turned them into statistically the worst Welsh side of all time.

Whats gone wrong? Who's to blame?

Conversely they also dive into whats gone Tom Wright for the Wallabies and how good its been seeing a bounce back in the step of the Aussies.

There's a good chat on Ireland's controversial win over Argentina.... is it the end of the green northern hemisphere domination or just a blip.

Plenty more as well as usual including Max's fiercely contested Wolfcraig Autumn Nations team of the week....

Enjoy and as always thanks for listening and watching. We love you!

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Holy hecker what a lot to unpack on an absolutely packed out show.

We are delighted to be joined by All Black superstar Caleb Clarke to take us through beating Ireland in Dublin, how quickly Rieko threw the burn of the century on the Irish but what he actually thinks of Johnny Sexton.

He also gives the All Black insight on how the haka leader gets picked and why it had to be Rieko Ioane.... also which did he enjoy more beating the English or the Irish....

As if that's not enough we then have Wallaby wonderback Tom Wright on that phenonemal win for Australia over England....

What did the Wallabies think when Jamie George is captured on big screen grinning as it looked as though England had won the match at the death... We find out about wonderkid Joseph "Sue" Suaalii...,. Apparently he'd never picked up a rugby ball before Saturday which made his performance all the more fascinating....

Tom relives that last passage of play and how far theyve been pushing Sue and Angus Bell's buttons on tour...

Also will with real Joe Schmidt please Stand up....

So much to talk about and so little time to do it in.... the boys talk through Wales amateur hour, Fiji being awesome and a missed opportunity for Scotland but then again The Springboks don't really ever lose when it matters right.... As always thank you our wonderful fans for supporting us. We love you!

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Sorry we've been away for a week but all will be explained in the pod.... The boys are back to break down the utterly fascinating clash between England and New Zealand as well as a far more one sided affair as Scotland and Fiji went head to head at Murrayfield.

So, what do the fellas think of all the mud being thrown at George Ford? Is it warranted (it's not) what positives can this team take from another loss to the All Blacks. Is Steve Borthwick to blame for the defeat by trying not to lose rather than trying to win with his substitutions?

What about New Zealand, is there a slipperier winger in world rugby right now than Mark Tele'a. How will the kiwis deal with taking on Ireland on Friday?

Lots of hot takes on the early England celebrations (surprise surprise Ryan and Max disagree vehemently), whether the new trial laws are working and above all the hooha from the Haka controversy.

Up in Scotland it was a much easier ride for the hosts, who thrashed an out of sorts Fiji team that had Ryan Willisonni as conflicted as you'll ever see him... especially as he was spotted in the official Fiji Autumn Internationals team photos (WTF?!!?)

The new duel between the double DD's..... Duhan van der Merwe and Darcy Graham.... the record extenders and also an absolutely filthy piece of skill from our old pal Adam Hastings.

But what next for Fiji, will the big guns returning manage to reunite our favourite second nation?

and how about the Danny Care book spilling all the beans on the Eddie Jones era.... we'd heard a few anecdotes on the show but what do the boys think about all the revelations?

Lots of fun to be had, we hope you enjoy it and as always, thanks for listening and watching we love you!

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