The Power Pod (00:00.214) I'm so excited to join the Bristol Bears and play Premiership Women's Rugby with and against some of the best rugby players in the world. Just a question, is it gonna be this cold the whole time?

Hello. Well, the eagle has landed. Rugby's biggest global star is coming. It's a loan-a-mar to the PWR. How good is this? Lock up your sons, Bristol. USA Rugby's most eligible bachelorette is coming to the West Country in a huge bit of business by Bristol Bears. We'll get into discussing the arrival of the world's most followed rugby player.

with her new head coach Dave Ward, as well as looking back on the four games from round eight. We've Mo Hunt answering Zoe Harrison's one question, Emily Scarratt two, and hey, look, if we're getting all excited about an international sevens player who makes women's rugby a better place, then we've got our own right here, cause that's Philippa Tuttiet. I'm Nick Heath and this is the Power Part.

The Power Pod (01:07.042) Goodness, well, we finally got here, Philippa. How have you been enjoying this week with the news that Ilona Mar is coming to the PWR? I've loved it. And the battles on the social media. mean, everybody's talking about it. Everyone's putting their little spin on it. It's just amazing. It's so good for not only for the PWR, obviously, but just for women's rugby. You know, I typed into her name into Google, just her name, right?

And the amount of coverage this is getting and not just here in the UK, the BBC, the Guardian, the Times, the big papers, big news outlets, but you've got American channels. even saw Australian channels. It's being talked around.

the world. is huge. Yeah, it is. And you say great for women's rugby. Great for rugby, right? know, rugby's perennial problem for me has been this sort of tall poppy syndrome. well, it's a team game. So it's not about any individuals. But actually, we keep hearing the game needs its global stars for it to take off. And Elona Mar, you know, proved that during the Olympics, didn't she? And her humor, the way she comes across her, her ability to have come second in Dancing with the Stars in the USA.

And I know she wanted to kind of own the opportunity to make the announcement and she was trailing it as she got on a plane and came over to England and everybody was wondering where she was going to go. then there she is over in the West Country. One of the clubs that we knew was rumored and she pops up. We had the chance to actually speak to Dave Ward this week and learned that it was his assistant, Tom Luke, that kind of sent the first message that said, how about...

How about we look into whether we can get after Ilona Mar? And look, we were able to bring everybody the fact that there was that sort of tweak in the rules maybe to how she was going to get her visa or not. The RFU, I know, offered that support as Bristol went for it. It was denied first time, but they then assembled a panel, assembled that, got that together. An alternative visa option, I think, was found in the end. Logistical bit done.

The Power Pod (03:07.526) it's just, it's amazing to have, her on our way and already, you know, visiting here before she comes to the new year. I know. It's just amazing that we're talking so much about a player who actually hasn't even picked up the rugby ball yet. Yeah, she is like, everyone wants to know what she's doing. You know that, the clip of her announcing that she was playing for Bristol Bears has been watched over 6 million times already. That's incredible. Right? That's insane.

Yeah, you can just imagine. I've noticed that Bristol Bears already have an advert out for a three month short contract for someone to support them on social media around Ilona Mar. So she's creating jobs as well already, which I think is impressive. we've covered the logistical bit. What about the rest? Well, you perhaps it's time to have an early crossover to the power line because we have a Powerpal call. Let's hear from Claire.

Hello, Powerpot. Claire Thomas here. Long time reader, first time writer. A question for your esteemed rugby brains. Why do you think that Elona Marce signed for Bears specifically? She's been described as a centre slash wing, but she's going to have to beat some world class athletes to a jersey there. So she might not get all that much actual game time, which considering she's targeting a 15s World Cup is an interesting one. So over to you. What do you reckon was the draw? Geography? Environment?

chance to get revenge on Jazz Joyce for that tackle at the Olympics. P.S. Love the boards. Keep up the sterling work. Well, thank you to Claire, my fellow PWR lead con. So where will she play? She's got to be centre, right? I mean, let's be honest, put her anywhere. She'll do a job for you. But I'm thinking inside centre.

I mean, her athletic ability, so ridiculously fast and agile, yet strong. She runs like a hard line you'd expect from a prop who's four foot high and two foot wide. Like impossible to stop, hard, direct, powerful. put her in at 12, Phoebe Murray outside. Gosh, that's an exciting back line. Yeah, it could be, couldn't it? you know, I think...

The Power Pod (05:11.714) When I had the chance to speak to Dave Ward a couple of days before it was announced, I sent him a message and said there are some quite strong rumours. And I was really privileged that Dave called me and out of respect said, look, keep this under your hat. And I was like, OK, well, where are you going to play? And he said to me,

She's very ambitious, Nick. She's very ambitious. I was like, okay, it might start on the wing, but she's very ambitious. And I was like, okay, I love the sound of this. Like she's clearly coming in saying, these are the places I want to play. I think there's been a conversation with Sione, who's the head coach at the USA as well about where they might find her, whether it'll be that back row, whether it'll be the center. And one of my favorite.

exchanges with Dave Ward, was saying. So obviously there was some chat when she was interviewed a few weeks ago, you where would you like to go? well, to be based in London might be interesting. So I did I did say to Dave Ward, how close to London have you said Bristol is, by the way, who's like 40 minutes by train. So do whatever you can, I think is the answer when you're trying to to sign the global megastar that the Nelona is. And and I guess, you know, the question is,

how good a rugby player is she? Her appeal is that she's a superstar who is great at what she does. But what will Bristol expect from her? What do we all expect from her? And that was a question I asked to her new head coach, Dave Ward. I think she's going to shock people when she plays 15s. I think she's going to be devastating. I really do. And I think you think about someone with the pace of Abbe Dow, with the size of Abbe Ward, with the step of

somebody else called Abby, you know, like, think you've got a fantastic rugby player there. Again, like she kind of tiptoed in skills yesterday, you know, okay, I'll do a little bit, I'll do a little bit. She ended up doing the whole session and she was flying around. She's in great condition. Like she had, you know, obviously she had a medical as well. And like, I think we and Tom weren't shocked, but we were a little bit because we were like, okay, like this is going to be massive asset to our game. It's going to show us a completely different.

The Power Pod (07:15.182) dynamic or wherever she plays. look at the wingers we've got at the moment, you'd probably say we've got three of the fastest in the game with Reneika, Millie and Jazz. I think Alona can match her pace, but then the size as well that comes with it. yeah, I'm really like quietly hoping that she shocks a lot of people in those first few Prem games and it won't be a shock to us. That's all I can say. I don't imagine Suzy Appleby has the keys to the Exeter Chiefs women's Instagram, but certainly

They've shot a couple of shots this morning around, you know, they signed the USA stars and that kind of thing. mean, ahead of this game at the weekend, what do you make of that? Yeah, it's propaganda from Suzy, isn't it? She's definitely got the keys. I think, again, it's just great. They want to ride on the coattails, no problem from our perspective. they're seven from seven. We all know what Suzy's like. It's going to be a huge game this weekend. Add a little bit, you know, I think Gloucester tried to do it last week.

in terms of watching the final at cinema that they've hired. I think they're trying to poke the bear, pun intended, like they want to get at Roy Kent. And I'm just sort of batting it off. We're here to do a job this weekend. We can't wait to play at Ashton Gate. And if there's a bit of spice between me and Susie before the game, even better. He's literally exactly right. Like she is the ultimate athlete.

You know, I mean, you, you know, she's, she's, she's a seventh player for USA. So you know, she's got the world-class handling. She's got world-class fitness and work ethic. It has to be there, but it is that combination of her size, her frame. She should not be that agile and that fast. Yet she is. And if you go on say YouTube or something, put a name in, there's loads of highlights packages, but you watch them.

And you'll see just as many ridiculous try scoring moments where she, breaks on the outside or she steps someone, but equally you'll see her chasing back and making that last ditch tackle. You know, that tackle is not hers where she's in center field, players gone down the wing, but she crosses, she runs that cheat line, corner flags, and she makes that tackle. She honestly, she is everything. The one thing I, so many things I love about this, this player, but you know, all of her antics off the field, right?

The Power Pod (09:24.96) she backs it up on the field, right? She's not just there for that side of which her social media is brilliant. She's hilarious. I love her posts and things, but you just know when she puts that jersey on, when she walks on that field, none of that matters. She means business and she is all about the team. She's the ultimate. Yeah. And I heard that when she was in the first little run out training session that they had this week while she was over,

She said, well, I'll just get in and, you know, throw a ball about a little bit with my new teammates. Ended up doing the whole session. Obviously she couldn't help herself. Fizzing passes off the right and the left, according to Dave Ward. He mentions his absolute flyers, Renika Bonner, who obviously was playing at the Sevens, Millie David, Jazz Joyce. You know, he said, you know, she can match their pace. I mean, they are out and out gas merchants. It's a big call. And yeah, so I kind of love that.

I also just loved him calling out the Exeter social media when I had to ask about that question, because they're all going for it. If you've not seen the other clubs, Exeter Trail Finders have gone for it as well. We will be previewing the Bristol-Exeter game later, but it's lovely to see the other clubs taking their opportunity. absolutely. We are talking about one of the most influential players in the world. It was announced this week, wasn't it? Forbes have done a thing.

30 under the most influential 30 players and she's there. So yeah, absolutely. I mean, we won't lower ourselves that we won't tag her in every single thing we do from now on, will we Nick? No. Not at all. No. yeah, it's brilliant to have it. And look, what about the Alonimar effect? The Bristol Bears social media, their women's account on Instagram was on 23 and a half thousand at seven o'clock on Monday evening.

This is great work by Caleb, our producer. As we record on Wednesday morning, it is pushing 50,000. So that is well over double and the numbers are rising. yeah, they've got their work cut out to keep up, I think, over in Bristol. But isn't that brilliant? Ilona Marr then will be donning the colours of the bears from the New Year until that middle of March period when the season will come to a conclusion. We are so happy to be dancing with the star that is Ilona Marr.

The Power Pod (11:42.554) the new year. Brilliant stuff. All right, let's get into our round eight review. So we saw Saracens taking on Loughborough Lightning. Saracens won that 32 to 21. A somewhat spirited and improved performance from Lightning. Some execution errors ultimately proved too costly. The Lightning midfield seemed a bit more fluid that was disrupted with the departure of Helena Rowland.

which forced Helen Nelson to move to 10. Saracens were better at their execution and created more 22 visits than Lightning. They had 17 visits compared to Lightning's six. Yeah, Lightning definitely getting closer and it was 14 all at half time. Eight penalties at that point conceded by Saracens in that first half compared to four by Loughborough. I was able to get hold of that post match reaction. Nathan Smith saying that there was a bit of emotion from the girls on the full time whistle because they really felt that they'd

They'd missed an opportunity. Alex Osterbri, he said, you know, we found a way. We weren't at our best, but we found a way, which seems to be becoming a bit of a Saracen story over the last few weeks. Sometimes not quite finding their way as well. He said, when we get the collision work right, we're very good and it fuels our defense. When we get it wrong, we start to leak penalties. It was a performance more of character than of top end quality. Would you go with that,

Yeah, I would. I mean, I want to give a shout out. think there was some really good individual performances. thought Zoe Harrison at times, you know, she really had to step up and just get herself on that ball. I mean, she took that quick tap, didn't she, to go for the try right by the try line. Normally you'd be giving that to a forward, but you could just feel this sense of like, right, just give me that ball, I'll crush over, you know? Which sometimes you need from players. Alicia Corrigan getting her first try for Saris as well. She was really good.

But yeah, I totally agree with what Alex Osterbri is saying. That collision dominance is so key. We talk about the set piece and that dominance and how that fuels their game, but those hits that they're just so used to getting players over the game line, that everything comes off that. You can just imagine in training everything they do, the ruck preparation, the lines of running is all off quick ball. And when that is slowed down, which credits to Loughborough Lightning for doing that, that can hinder their play. But yeah, they found a way. They needed that win. They've got it.

The Power Pod (13:59.894) I think it's, you know, shut the book on that and move on. Yeah, fair enough. OK, let's move on to the second game then. Gloucester-Harpry 14, Bristol Bears 19, third win in a row for the Bears and the third loss of the season for Gloucester-Harpry, who last season only lost one match. That was the round 17 clash against Saracens at the Stonics. I think it was just a couple of the season before. So they've now lost the same amount of games that they lost over two consecutive championship winning seasons.

Bristol were 12, neil up at the break. Holly Aitchison was back starting playing with a literal smile on her face. They were discussing that in their team press conference this week. Circus hit back, though, going up 14-12, getting the lead on Bristol Bears again and perhaps, you know, reminding them of how they won that final. But a beautiful Amber Reid grubber set up perfectly for Phoebe Murray.

and the Bears winning that repeat of last year's Showpiece event. You know, at times I thought it was going to be a literal repeat in that, know, Bristol go ahead and then, gosh, second half Gloucester-Harpry come back into it. But like you say, that moment of just experienced calm composure of Amber Reid to put that kick in through. to be fair, it was a little speculative. You know, the fallback was there for Gloucester-Harpry. So wasn't like it was a clear gap, but she knew she just had to do something to try and change. And sometimes,

you've just got to have that gamble and you weigh it up the pros and cons. And in that moment, she's got that experience to weigh up, you know, the what ifs and she went for it. executed it and it was spot on. And you talk about weighing it up. It's actually the weight of the kick, isn't it? Because sometimes you want that to come sort of heavily off the toe so that it really skips through to the, to the try line. But actually sometimes you just want to dink it right off the toe so that it just, it just goes that seven or eight meters that you need to, to be able to get the breakthrough and pick up. I thought, yeah, a lovely bit of skill from

from the World Cup winner. They're 10 points off Exeter now, Gloucester, Hartbury, sat in fifth. And yeah, a little birdie from the circus said to me, actually, you we are now in a few games where we really need to make it happen. yeah, the pressure a little bit on the defending champions. Then it was Harlequins 47 against Trailfinders 26.

The Power Pod (16:10.092) Quinn's faced the Trailfinders for their second London Derby in a row after their win at Sarys. It finished seven tries to four. Quinn's led 33-12 at half time, showing us precisely how well they could dispatch a team like Trailfinders. That said, the visitors did get the four-try bonus point, which saw them switch places with Loughborough in the table, both now level on 12 points. That was Quinn's sixth successive victory.

I'm loving this team. I am loving this team. They're so good to watch. They certainly are. you know, they've, the most meters made this season, the most visits to the 22, most carries, most turnovers won their second on defenders beaten. mean, last season they were fifth or sixth in all of these stats. So it shows attacking better. Also they're the ball back more than, than any other team. They kick more ball as well. So they've got, they've got the balance. They've got the all court game. Yeah, they certainly have.

And it was actually said on the commentary that their pack is completely international apart from your one superstar player, Nicole Wythe. But I mean, we're probably not going to be saying that next season. I dare say we'll be saying it's now a full international pack. But that's just incredible, isn't it? And then they've got the players coming off the bench to impact as well. So Harlequins are just momentum, just fluid, just flowing. Who would have thought it? It's awesome to see.

Yes, certainly is. Congratulations to Queen's. are certainly continuing to play with their tails up. All right, Sail Sharks 17, Leicester Tigers 34. This was the live TNT sports game. what a disappointment this was for Sail Sharks. Five first half tries for Tigers, which was brilliant from them to just the one by Holly Thorpe for the home side. It was Tigers big names standing up. Charlotte Frey, a brace by player of the match, Meg Jones, Julia Immaculay.

Amy Cocaine also scoring. They won the second half, 12 points to five, but damage had already been done. By the way, that is the correct pronunciation of Julia Immaculay. So my thank you to Julia for sending that through. We may discuss pronunciations a little later another time. But yeah, you really wanted sail to just...

The Power Pod (18:32.974) be able to thread it all together, Phil, and it just wasn't happening. No, but I will say, I think that's one of the best Tigers performances I've seen. So in regards to say, they came up against the best. It is their best performance. there you go. Categorically. It's the first time they've ever scored six tries in a PWR game. yeah. Yeah. And when Meg Jones said about tempo.

playing with tempo, gosh, they did. But you know what, it's always risky with a team that's still in their development process when you say to them, play with tempo, there's that risk reward of, and now we're gonna see handling errors because they were playing so quickly yet their reactions were spot on. I think it almost, it suited them. mean, it helps that you've got Meg Jones who just.

seems to pop up everywhere. She's like a magic trick. She's just like there, there she is, round the back, through the door. Well, now she's on the side. If anything, I think their evolution is now going to be using Meg Jones as a decoy because there are times you can see that wherever Meg Jones is, the ball will go, right? But teams are going to start reading that. And now they need to start being clever with that. Yeah. And there was a time actually where I saw sale sharks had triple teamed her. They just lined her up in the line. was like, whatever, whatever we've got to do, we've just got to stop that magician.

you know, pulling another rabbit from a hat. So yeah, mean, know, sale sharks, was just their second time at Salford Community Stadium. They were really excited. Apparently there was huge energy in the team run on the Friday. They were, they were, you know, pretty, pretty giddy and overexcited, lots of excitement from their performance from, you know, against the Chiefs the week before. I just, I don't know whether all the adrenaline was used up almost on the Friday and the Saturday. And by the time they got to the Sunday, they were a bit jittery.

I kind of describe it as a bit like one of those primary school orchestras. There's sort of too many individuals slightly out of tune. And so the collective result was just sort of all over the place. Yeah. But I do think as well, when you're going into a game and you really feel like you're targeting it and it, you know, as they, as they did, and then to, to concede so quickly, that's hard. and then the tempo.

The Power Pod (20:33.154) that Tigers played with just didn't give them a chance to even think about how to get into the game. So I really do want to say it's not so much like a bad performance by Sale as I think it was a really good performance by Tigers. Yeah, congrats to Tom Hudson and co. OK, let's look ahead to round nine then of the PWR. How quickly have we come around to this halfway through the season? Saturday it all kicks off 1230 with Leicester Tigers hosting Saracens at Matioli Woods, Welford Road.

Sail sharks travel to London for a meeting with Trail Finders. No rest for the Bears, who after battling it out with Gloucester-Harprey have to welcome table toppers exit to Chiefs at Ashton Gate. That game will be the live one on TNT Sports Saturday 3.05. On Sunday, Loughborough host Gloucester-Harprey at Sint Stadium at Franklin's Gardens. And it's Queens who have the bye week. What a great time for Queens to have a bye week. I mean, just go out and have a party or something. Just enjoy yourself. Just celebrate what you've done.

Like, what a great position they're in. okay. So on Saturday, 1230 PM, we've got Leicester Tigers who are currently eight against Asari's who are third. So Tigers return home after that first win of the season and have a good reason to be buoyant. Tigers made the most meters of round eight with Meg Jones topping the charts of the round with 162 meters. Ellie Kildon was second, but 40 meters short of that.

Charlotte Frey made the most carries of last weekend with 18, as Tigers made the joint most visits to the 22 as Saracens, their opponents on Saturday. The only round-by-round stat that Saracens topped from last weekend was kicks in play. That's Zoe Harrison with 12. Yeah, I mean if you're gonna play the three times winner Saracen, surely you want to do it at home after you've just gunned your way to five points against your nearest rivals in the table.

I'm not saying there's an upset coming, but you know, Tigers have to target four tries as a minimum, I'd say, you know, they've got the firepower. and look, yeah, you mentioned Meg Jones. I mean, it was quite funny. I was alongside Rachel Burford last week and, you don't want to just talk about the sort of, you know, most firepower name in the team. And then she goes and has an absolute blinder. and Charlotte Frey as well, you know, Tom Hudson, for anyone who didn't, didn't hear my little note on commentary last week, he's been contacted by about three clubs in the last week.

The Power Pod (22:56.29) who all are interested in Charlotte Frey. And he said to me, know, she's now become that rare thing where the performances show how good she is. She hasn't quite stepped up to the point of being part of the big red roses thing. people are like, on a minute. This is the perfect time to strike for a player whose value is up and coming rather than already up there. Not that there's a ton of money sloshing around the PWR, but you know what I mean. So yeah, she is another one. yeah, Saracen's on the road.

Lester Tigers feeling confident. I still think it'll be a win for Saris, but fascinated to see how Tigers go. Yeah, yeah, definitely. The one thing I would say from Tigers, as much as it was lush to see them running with the ball, free-flowing rugby, really creative, you got to sharpen up the defence. The defence was leaky. I mean, it was an entertaining game, you know, but from a coaching perspective, over 30 missed tackles, you cannot afford that against Saris. Yeah.

Yeah, Sharifa Kosolo, Four Sarris talking about defence. 18 Tackles quietly going about her business over there. There was a decent amount of chat between Jess Breach and Harry Scott Monroe, our pal who are doing a brilliant job of bringing us those live streams at Saracens. Harry, who writes the theme tune, sings the theme tune, does the reporting, does the interviews, does the poetry. So we love your work. yeah, May Campbell started that one at Hooker as she was on the bench during that loss at home to Quinn's.

so yeah, there's, talent throughout those teams. And I think actually more talent stepping up through that Tigers lineup, which I think is a really exciting thing about how they're, how they're kicking on. All right. Trailfinders against Sharks is the three o'clock game on Saturday. that one is at the Trailfinder Sports Ground. They'll be happy to be six, but that is three losses in a row. but I think being back at home against bottom of the table Sharks is probably.

ideal timing from that regard. In Grace White, Trail Finders have the play who beat the most defenders last round and is second on the log in that same stat for the whole season. Can you guess who's above her for defenders beaten? Go for it. Emma Singh. Emma Singh. So there's my little quiz of the day. Grace is also fourth for line breaks as well. And for sharks, they've just, they've got to find clarity. They've got to find composure. I actually thought

The Power Pod (25:17.612) Welsh woman, Robin Wilkins really looked good when she came on. But I thought a kind of thread for sale was that sometimes they would make a clean break. They'd get seven or eight meters ahead of the rest of the team making meters. It was just an age before anybody was getting there in support. Yeah. It's almost like they're not used to that, to the line breaks. You know, they weren't used to being able to support that line. Look, I want to give them some crates. think

At times their scrum was being marched backwards yet somehow they managed to get the ball away. They were certainly challenging up in the line out. that, know, they're trying to get in it. And once again, we're talking about, you know, sales sharks scoring in the 11th hour. They don't die off. They stay in the game. But like you say, it still feels like every game is like almost a pre-season game, you know, where you see some good bits. So that's still not quite clicking and you look like a new combination. It's a bit disjointed, bit disconnected.

But there are some moments and it's really good to see Robin Wilkins coming on and making an impact. Lovely kick for their try towards the end of the game. She needs to be a steady Eddie for them. She could have the potential to really lead them and guide them through this season. Yeah, 29 as well, Robin Wilkins. Somehow I thought she might have a few more years on the clock. So actually, I think they could do with leaning on her perhaps a little bit more than they are there. So yeah, it will...

It will be the Sharks heading down to London then to see how they can get on against the Trail Finders. OK, then again on Saturday, we've got Bristol sitting in fourth against Chiefs Top Dogs. This is going to be at Ashton Gate live on TNT Sports with Claire Thomas and Sarah Hunter on comms. Exeter looking to extend their run at the top while Bears want to remain pushing up that log. How much will this week's news of the Bears new arrival be a shot in the arm?

on top of their beating of the defending champions last week. Yes, I think this week it's a case of the PWR's most famous spectator, given that Ilona Mar is hanging around to watch her team for the first time. It's like when Taylor Swift was watching the NFL. The TNT cameras are going to have one job, I think, in terms of picking out their new USA star. But are you ready for my stat of the week?

The Power Pod (27:36.378) It's not a thing. In fact, this is my stat of the season. I'm going, I'm going big on this. Yeah. Okay. I'm going big on this. I've done, this is all my own work. and, and, Caleb doesn't even know what's coming. he said it was going to keep him awake overnight wondering what it is I've discovered. So are you ready? Go. to be totally disappointing now, isn't it? bye weeks. Okay. Okay. So I thought.

I thought, right, okay, you know, Gloucester came back from a bye week. they lost. Actually, Saris played after their bye week and lost to Queens, didn't they? And then I've gone back over the season. Loughborough, Tigers, Trail Finders, Bristol, Sail Sharks, every team after their bye week has lost their next game. that is a good one. Okay, interesting.

going to Exeter Chiefs, going to Bristol on Saturday, new excitement, Ilona Mar, team, you know, who just played well against Gloucester Harpry, coming in after their bye week. They've got to turn around that stat that's going across the season. I'll probably message Susie Appelby later and just go, by the way, this is what you're up against. So yeah, you don't want a bye week. I think the...

The Backstreet Boys put it best, bye, bye, bye, sorry. But yeah. We may need to explain who the Backstreet Boys are to a lot of our listeners to be fair. God, how aged I feel. But yeah, so. is a great start. Is that that people are taking too long to sweat and think about it, to overly focus? Is it better to just be in the routine week after week? Okay, we've trained, now we're in, now we're, you know, I don't know, it's, it's, it's.

It's, think, I think that's, it's one to worry the chiefs a little. Mm hmm. Well, yeah. And you know what? All about the hype for Bristol. would be so interesting to see what their numbers are in attendance watching. Cause this honestly, I, I, I am so excited about the Alonema effect and let's see what happens now. If there's some way that TNT can tell us who's watching as well, that would be really interesting. It's all of a sudden their American viewership gonna, gonna go up. there some way that they could try? I don't know, but.

The Power Pod (29:56.75) It's bound to have an effect on the players. Absolutely. Yes. It's all it's also had an effect on one of the WhatsApp groups of my friends. There've been quite a few people that have already said, okay, shall we try and get down to Bristol in the new year and watch one of these games? So and that's people here. There've been people commenting on Instagram saying, okay, how can I fly over from the USA to watch a game that they are hoping to wheel Ilona out for that Gloucester Harpry game on the 5th of January.

which has just been announced as a switch of game because the game was going to be at Shaftesbury Park. They're moving it to Ashton Gate. surprise, surprise. I know whether that's all about Mar mania. don't know, but yeah. I know expecting a few more people down in the West country. But right now we have a responsibility as well to not just talk about her. We actually talk about the players who are.

playing this weekend for Bristol Bears. We better just say that. Okay, so I do want to give a shout out to Sarah Byrne. She is looking like she is back to her best. She had an epic weekend last round. Really, really good. Evie Gallagher as well. Key turnovers, really stifling play. And then shall we talk about Amber Reid? Yeah, what a lovely kick through. We've discussed that already. And she's been the conductor for many of those Milly David worldies as well, hasn't she? Yeah, she has.

And okay, I've just said, let's not talk about Alona Mar, but I wonder if Alona Mar can get Amber Reid to do a TikTok, because that would be worth its weight in gold. I would love to see that. Not necessarily playing to your natural strength there. think Amber's strengths may be elsewhere. Yeah, well, I think it's going to be all eyes on that. It's definitely one of the stronger contests for TNT to have their cameras out this weekend. So Saturday, 3.05 for that one. Good luck to Claire Thomas and Sarah Hunter on Cons.

All right, Sunday then, the only game Sunday. is three o'clock, Loughborough against Gloucester-Harpley, seventh against fifth at St. Stadium at Franklin's Gardens. They must be pleased. Sadia Cabello's return. Emily Scarrett saying after the game that great to see Sadia back melting a few people. Talking about her first couple of tackles on Saturday. Lightning, they are desperate to get a scalp, aren't they? Definitely getting closer. Back home, they want their firepower slotting in. had Nathan Smith say, you know,

The Power Pod (32:17.006) we're still sort of connecting with each other at this point and welcoming an off-kilter Gloucester Harpry, that's got to appeal. There's going to be no Helen O'Rourke. We did see her go off the field against Saris. All I've been told so far is that she's not available this week, but there is no further news on any depth of what the injury might be at this point. So we hope that it is nothing ongoing. Bristol successfully starving Gloucester Harpry the ball last weekend. They had 58 % of that compared to 42.

And we know the circus like to play, they like to kick tactically as well. Still haven't got any info on the return of Flaky George. So yeah, we kind of touched on it earlier. mean, Gloucester-Harprey in chasing this defense, they're not out of that top four five yet, but they can't really afford to lose another one with the way that Queen's are going. And this run of games to Christmas is so crucial. They're then at home to Saracens and away to Exeter before the turkey is carved.

So, yeah, it's a big challenge. And hey, look, what a love for a make of what's going on. Well, I had the chance to speak to their center. It is, course, rugby world cup winner, Emily Scarrett, who, yeah, when asked about the Cherry and Whites and their tricky season so far, had this to say. It's probably testament to the league and all of the other sides within it that actually everybody's up their game this year. Therefore, there aren't the easy games or the given games or, you know, there's quite a lot of...

competition at the weekend whereby you may have thought one team would win and the other team did win. So I think from a league point of view, it's really good in terms of just the competition that's flying around at the moment. I think from a Gloucester point of view, I think they're frustrated. Obviously they've had a few tight results, a few that just haven't gone their way. And that also happens when you're playing against the really good sides. They've probably not had quite the continuity they would have wanted in terms of players. Obviously had a few injuries throughout the season and stuff, but also there's

like they're the hunted at the moment aren't they? Everybody wants to beat them. They're the team that's won the league two years in a row. So there's always going to be a little bit of a dip within that, you know, those levels that they've maintained for a couple of years now is always going to be really, really hard to maintain, especially when everyone's improving as they have been doing. So yeah, I mean, there's certainly no worries, I don't think, in terms of how they'll progress throughout the rest of the season. I just hope it doesn't kick on this weekend. Yeah, certainly think

The Power Pod (34:41.336) Gloucester, Hartbury, you know, have had a bit of a slow burn into the league, haven't they? mean, Sean Lynn talked early doors about how it was okay. He wasn't expecting bonus point wins early on, but I do think by now he would have expected things to click back in. mean, you mentioned no Claky George still, like she was the out and out starter every single game playing all the minutes and, her missing is having a bit of an effect. You know, those two tries that they conceded early doors last week.

which is communication errors. Like there were players there, but they weren't connected, you know? And, no, I do think that Loughborough should be targeting this. really do. It'd still be a big ask. It still be a shock. Yeah. But this isn't a Gloucester Harbury firing on all cylinders right now. So this weekend we're either going to see a massive retaliation from Gloucester Harbury and be like, there they are. Okay. Now they're back. Or we could see a really tasty game, which

We know, and we keep talking about it each week, Loughborough, Lightning are due. The calibre of players that they have, they should be challenging these teams. Yes, yes. And talking about we should be able to, you know, we could see a very tight game, we'll come on to a Powerpile question about that.

in just a minute. yeah, looking at the table then after round eight, and we're very nearly at the point where everybody has played their bi-week, so that'll be nice to sort of get a full settled look at the table. But it is, it Chiefs up top, Queen's in second, three points behind, then Saracens and Bristol, 26 points, 25 points. Gloucester-Harpry, 23 just outside, that top four as it sits currently.

Then we have that gap down to Trail Finders and Loughborough Lightning, six and seven on 12 points each. Leicester Tigers having picked up their first win of the season on six points and Sail Sharks, unfortunately still with the bagel having not won all season. So I mentioned our Power Pals and the Power Line. We had Rob who got in touch to ask.

The Power Pod (36:44.834) how can we get more clubs to live stream their games? None of us were able to see Alev Kelter's debut in the Midlands Derby. He cited, as it stands, we're not gonna get to see the Loughborough Gloucester-Harprey game in terms of being able to watch it live. We will have access to footage of it afterwards. But I think, Rob, let the club know you wanna see it. think that's the best way. It is gonna require investment from these clubs that I think will feel that...

they are investing in their women's programs as best they can. They would love the money to be used on supporting their athletes and their SNC and all this kind of thing. And I think that's pretty valid. But we do want the product to grow and at a point where the resources aren't such where the TV cameras and companies are spending even more millions on getting full cameras and setups to every game. Then...

It is going to be those clubs that feel like they can, they can stream these things. So I think if you want to watch them, if you, if you want to let your clubs know that you're there as an audience, then, ask them the question. very good point. And, know, even if it was a case of in the, in the early doors, cause a lot of these teams are associated with universities, very good universities and quite a few of them have journalism side of things. know, the, the bucks league, the university and colleges league, a lot of those streams are done by students.

I think it's a brilliant experience, real life experience. It creates an even better connection with your universities, which we know how important that is for player pathways, especially in the women's game. So maybe tap into that. Yeah, nice. Another question that came down the power line, 0788 0716219, was, did you like that? Was Tom Sims, he was asking us who might be on our early short list for breakthrough player of the season.

He said Millie David, Nicole Wythe are two of his suggestions. I like this. think we might, there's a whisper or two that there might be a couple of little PWR awards at the end of this season, we shall see. But yeah, what do you make of, who would be on your early shout for a breakthrough player of the season? I don't know. Sometimes you have to define these things. think in the Gallagher Prems, I think you have to be under 23 or this kind of thing. really?

The Power Pod (38:56.574) me all bets are off. think if it could just be someone that's broken through that might've been around for a little while, but they're really suddenly, suddenly coming through at least that let, that be our criteria. Who would it be for you? well, it's tough to look past Millie David. We've worked lyrical on her pretty much every round. I think Grace White that she really deserves to stand out. You know, a shout out. Sorry. She's been standing up. then of course you're Nicole Wythe.

Yeah, Nicole Wythe, I would agree with Tom. I'd also, I would put Charlotte Frey into that conversation as well. And, you know, I'm conscious it's the week after I watched her live at Tigers, but yeah, real deal there. And I think she's definitely worth a shout. Anyone else? Renika Bonner? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Difficult when Millie Davies is on pitch. That's a difficult one for her. No, those so far, but we still got that, you know.

good chunk of the season to play. So let's keep an eye on that. Okay, it is time for this week's one question. Last week we heard from Zoe Harrison who intriguingly posed the question to Natasha Mohunt about where she would take someone on a first date. Now, P.T. was very interested in whether there was a story attached to this one. So let's cross over to Red Rose Mohunt. Hey, Powerpoint Mohunt here.

Thank you so much Zoe Hyson for my one question. Definitely no story there, so yeah, don't worry about digging, but I will give you my answer, which is probably something like a little bit cute, good music, good vibes, nice lighting, bit of tapas, something like that would be right up my street. And now for my one question, I would like to ask Hope Rogers from Exeter Chiefs. Obviously big news this week, a potential new teammate coming in for the Eagles 15 side.

But if Alona Mar was your ex-to-chief's teammate, what position do you see her playing? Thank you. a lovely bit of tapas there. Lovely suggestion there from what you go to first order on a tapas menu for a patatiate. potato bravas. Spicy chips. Patatas bravas. Love it. I like a bit of chorizo al vino. hello. Very nice. Some albondigas maybe. I just love tapas.

The Power Pod (41:18.85) Just so nice, isn't it? Going for a bit of tapas today, birthday lunch, innit? Right, we are on to, by the way, obviously the opportunity to go and speak to a fellow American, Hope Rogers, about the arrival of a certain Ilona Maher. I don't know if we've talked about her. Yeah, looking forward to that answer on the one question. We are at Any Other Business, Philippa.

Mm-hmm. Okay. I would like to give a shout out to Team GB and Giselle Maither for their first series leg, the HSBC 7 series in Dubai. I very fortunate to be out there, see the girls, see Giselle. You know, this was her first big tournament in charge and they got their highest ever finish in Dubai. I mean, come on now. What an impact straight away. And bearing in mind, no Meg Jones, no Jasmine Joyce.

No, Island Norman Bell, who's really key for the, for the sevens program. So absolutely brilliant effort. Renika Bonner was out there. She got her first debut try as well. So congratulations to her, but yeah, just a brilliant way to start. came fourth. Sorry. I should say they came fourth overall. Their highest ever before was fifth and going into Cape town now this weekend. So see how they can back that up, but awesome start to the season team GB and the men actually did really well as well. So brilliant start to the season.

What do you think was the difference in terms of the women there? Better connection, much more free flowing rugby. It has been a long time since we have had a player, a GB player in the top three try scorers of the weekend. And this weekend we had it. Both Ellie Boatman and Grace Compton actually were fantastic. yeah, just really good rugby to watch. They also use, I thought Jade Shackles really well. She's their sort of more forward dominant ball carrier.

And at times before I used to get frustrated, you wouldn't see her having the impact she should have. I thought they really used her very well this weekend. And yeah, just die hard attitude. Abby Brown is back. gosh, that girl has had such a turbulent year of injury. I saw her at breakfast day one and I just said, how's the body? And she was like, it's good. I was like, right, let's not say anymore. I don't want to jinx anything. I'm not going to wish you good luck. I was like, that's it. Go out there, do your thing. I'll see you at the end. And she did, made a big impact.

The Power Pod (43:36.098) who work right in defense was really stand out. She's not the captain this season. I think, take the armband off her, let her just get back into it. But equally, whenever the ball stopped, the camera pans to her and guess what? She's chatting. She's that type of leader. She'll say what needs to be said, regardless whether she's got that armband. Super. Well, yes, well done to Team GB in Dubai where Philippa was clocking up the MRs once again, struggling on.

Right, we are at the point where it is Philippa's power play. I wonder where this is going to go, Phil. Look, Elona Mar, alright? Elona Mar coming to the PWR. We can't, can we say any more? Yes, we can. She's amazing, she's brilliant, she's going to do wonders for the league. People around the world are now talking about the Premiership Women's Rugby. And also when you think, like, looking ahead, America are going to have that World Cup, aren't they, 2033? I think this is just...

This is brilliant for everyone all around and I just cannot wait. New year, January can be a bit of a, know, flat time, January dark, not anymore. We've got the dazzling lights of A Lone Amar to look forward to. Yes, we have. On a personal note, I really hope that Bristol can wheel her out on that 5th of January game because I'm on commentary. I would love the chance to call that debut. Can I also actually talking about the USA getting into the market, perhaps around the PWR.

I want to give a shout out to PWR Ranger Brad, who yesterday on his stories put out a little sort of guide to each of the PWR teams, particularly where they had USA players in their ranks. And it was just on a story and I messaged Brad and just said, this is worthy of more of a post so more people can see it. So we will try and put the link to that in the podcast description.

so that you can have a look at it. Because if you are new, if you are an American who has tuned into the PowerPod for the first time to go, right, I need to get up to speed in this league that Elona Marr is playing in, you are very welcome. And you can also get a little cheat guide as to what's going on in the other PWR teams. So Brad, well done there. And that's going to be a very useful resource. What's on for you then this weekend, Philippa? Well, this weekend, it's my birthday.

The Power Pod (45:53.046) So I a weekend off. Yeah. It's my birthday. It's actually the first time I'm going to be at home for my birthday in six years. How crazy is that? I know we just always clash with a, with a seventh tournament, but I can't complain. I've had my birthday in Cape town for the past four years. So I've been in lovely places yet, but no, am home. So family, friends, sneaky little bit of rugby on the side, but not working, personal pleasure. Excellent. We love that. It's birthday week for both of us then. That's exciting. Sagittarius.

Yes, saggy hair. See, I knew you're a good egg. I knew you're egg. What date's yours? So I'm eighth. You're the eighth. Excellent. Super. Well, there we go. It's birthday cake all round on the Power Pod this week. Thank you so much for listening and we look forward to you joining us next week as Marmania No Doubt continues. The Power Pod is a level production produced by Caleb Matamba. We'll see you soon.

Bye!