The Ascent Rugby Series miniseries continues. Carl talks to Niel Otto of The Dukes, Den Bosch, before their opening festival in Frankfurt — and the weekend after, when the Dukes host one of their own.

Niel was at Griquas in the Currie Cup. His contract ended at 27 and he had all but decided to stop playing and go into strength and conditioning. He moved to the Netherlands, Googled the nearest rugby club just to meet people, and came off the bench on debut in Amsterdam — in the worst weather he'd ever played in — to score a hat-trick.

On the step between levels: it isn't that the top is more physical, it's that the error rate is lower and mistakes get punished. On the Dukes reaching their first final in ten years and losing one they feel was theirs. And on continuity — keeping a core together season to season — as the thing that got them back there.

Plus a first opponent nobody can scout, young players with a real chance to stake a claim, and the weekend the Dukes host: a rugby day that has turned into a festival, a town built for it, and the thousand people who came back to the clubhouse after they lost the final anyway.

🎟️ ascentrugby.com · 📺 Festival #01 live on RugbyPass, with Carl on co-commentary.

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The Ascent Rugby Series miniseries continues. Carl talks to Dan Gdula, captain of Pogoń Siedlce — back-to-back champions of Poland — before their opening festival in Frankfurt against RC Eemland.

Dan on a squad drawn from five nations, a game plan built on winning the collisions, and why this competition matters far beyond one weekend: Polish clubs have had no European pathway, the Super Cup move never happened, and the domestic league has been the ceiling. He points to Czechia and the Bohemian Warriors as proof of what club rugby in Europe does for a national team.

Also: Poland's promotion back to the Rugby Europe Championship and what it costs a union short of players, coaches and money; the Switzerland lesson; the 68-24 win over Eemland in February he expects nothing like this time; and a club in Siedlce that fills a stadium and wants a festival of its own.

🎟️ ascentrugby.com · 📺 Festival #01 live on RugbyPass, with Carl on co-commentary.

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Frankfurt head coach Byron Schmidt on hosting the first-ever Ascent Rugby Series festival — and how the whole competition started as his idea.

In this episode: how a cross-border youth format became Central Europe's newest senior series; Frankfurt's running brand of rugby and the players to watch; and what fans can expect in Frankfurt on 22 August.

Subscribe on YouTube (youtube.com/@RugbyTTL) · Spotify · Apple Podcasts · rugbyttl.com. ⏱

00:00:00 Welcome to the Ascent Rugby Series
00:00:45 Meet Byron Schmidt, Frankfurt Head Coach
00:01:00 A Dominant Bundesliga Season
00:01:40 Where the Ascent Idea Came From
00:02:00 Building the Brand: Nico, Henry & Felix
00:02:30 Pre-Season Prep and Player Buzz
00:04:00 Why Every Club Treats Ascent as Pre-Season
00:05:00 Giving the Players a Mental Break
00:06:00 Eight Years at the Club and the Dukes
00:07:00 The Amateur Ethos: Rugby After the Whistle
00:08:30 Football Kids Crossing to Rugby
00:10:00 Coaches, Volunteers and Development
00:11:00 German Rugby on the Rise
00:13:00 Talent Coming Through the System
00:15:00 Central Europe's Heineken Cup?
00:16:00 From Parked Idea to Three-Year Plan
00:18:00 Frankfurt's Style: A Running Brand of Rugby
00:20:00 Rebuilding the Senior Section on Fundamentals
00:22:00 Players to Watch: Leo Wolfe Leads the Way
00:25:00 Mates Made at Festivals Like This
00:26:00 Frankfurt Hosts: What to Expect on the Day
00:27:30 On the Fence? Come and Watch
00:28:00 The Miniseries Ahead & Where to Follow

On the Rugby Through the Leagues podcast, Carl speaks with Mitch McGann, head coach of Dutch club RC Eemland, a founding team in the new Ascent Rugby Series beginning 22nd August in Frankfurt and now expanded from six to seven teams, including two Dutch sides (RC Eemland and The Dukes). McGann explains Eemland's identity as a family-oriented club with a strong youth pipeline and a recent shift from a forward-heavy style toward more ball movement and flair, and discusses how playing styles vary by region across the Netherlands. They preview Eemland's pre-season fixtures in the series against Poland's Pogon and Czech powerhouse Tatra, touch on scouting and preparation, highlight key players and new Kiwi signings, and discuss facility challenges, youth development via regional academies, and broader ambitions for cross-border competition and Dutch rugby growth.

Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and Series Intro

00:58 RC Eemland Identity

02:37 Dutch Rugby Styles

04:28 Regional Differences

06:39 Dukes Rivalry Talk

09:22 Preseason and Fixtures

10:44 Pogon Lessons and Plan

14:13 Joining Ascent Rugby

16:00 Players to Watch

19:30 Scouting and Hosting Plans

22:43 Pitches and Facilities

27:59 Dutch Rugby Growth Pathway

32:31 Domestic Pro Vision

34:36 Why Ascent Matters

37:58 Funding and Future Format

42:24 Wrap Up and Tickets

🎟️ Tickets: ascentrugby.com

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This week on Rugby Through the Leagues, Carl sits down with George and Dave from Attica Rugby, the team behind the Aegean Rugby Festival, to talk about growing rugby in Greece through sport tourism. They cover the festival's origins, the vision of showcasing Greece as a sporting destination, and the reality of 2026 — a scaled-back event after travel uncertainty and rising costs forced multiple cancellations, yet still delivered with four men's and four women's teams, strong local support in Crete, and professional refereeing. Then the big one: plans for a bigger early-summer 2027 festival in Athens — rugby sevens, beach rugby, an all-inclusive option, a major closing party, and ideas for youth divisions, touch rugby, rugby tours and future 15s. Plus Andy Powell's sevens story, why legends add credibility, the Greek rugby leadership gap, and the philosophy of show up and build.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Timestamps
(00:00) Welcome & Guests
(00:56) Origins of the Aegean Festival
(03:01) Greek Rugby Growth
(05:22) Festival Vision & the Federation
(09:15) Travel Chaos & Cancellations
(11:01) Pulling Off the 2026 Event
(13:13) Referees & Tournament Quality
(16:47) 2027 Athens Teaser
(18:48) Youth Division vs the Party
(23:12) Future Formats & Rugby Tours
(27:48) Streaming the Format
(28:08) Tournament Week Blueprint
(28:44) Event Weekend Integration
(29:19) The Andy Powell Sevens Story
(31:37) Legends Add Credibility
(33:56) The Greek Rugby Leadership Gap
(38:12) Show Up & Build
(39:37) Celebrities Who Deliver
(43:57) Rugby for Anyone
(47:01) Touch Rugby Expansion
(48:42) Early Summer 2027 Plans
(50:30) Final Wrap & Callouts

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This week on Rugby Through the Leagues, Carl sits down with Xhino, chairman of the Albanian rugby federation, for the story of how a sport almost nobody was playing became a national project. Xhino traces it back to 2010–2012, when a handful of students inspired by YouTube clips started throwing a ball around — through the founding of Tirana Rugby Club to official federation recognition in 2024. He and Carl get into Albania's entirely self-funded growth, the touring sides making the trip out (the European Parliament Rugby Team and Nottingham Police Force among them), and why hospitality, raki and the post-match third half matter as much as anything on the pitch. Xhino lays out the pillars taking Albanian rugby forward: school programmes and touch rugby, building a base beyond Tirana in Durrës, French connections opening player pathways, women's rugby, and the long game — Rugby Europe membership and fixtures against Bosnia, Serbia and Greece.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Timestamps
(00:00) Welcome & Guest Intro
(01:06) Rugby Begins in Albania
(02:18) Tirana Club & Touring Teams
(03:31) Albanian Hospitality & Raki
(06:02) The Road to Rugby Europe
(06:53) Schools & Youth Pathways
(08:02) France Links & Player Opportunities
(13:44) Growing Beyond Tirana
(18:35) Funding & Building an Ecosystem
(20:24) The 5, 10, 15-Year Vision
(22:46) Women's Rugby & the Balkan Schools Cup
(28:21) Rugby League & Learning from the NRL
(31:12) Media Buzz & Upcoming Fixtures
(32:59) How to Connect & Visit
(35:49) Final Thanks & Wrap Up

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German rugby is rebuilding — and new head coach Mike Poppmeier is the man tasked with leading it back.

In this episode, Carl sits down with Mike Poppmeier, the new head coach of Germany and a former Germany international, for an open conversation about Rugby Europe, the national team's future, and the funding gap holding it all back. Mike talks through his South African upbringing, his German/Austrian family roots and 11 years living in Germany, before laying out the real picture: how the lack of a professional environment and funding limits preparation, player retention, staffing and international fixtures.

He explains the value of cross-border competition like the new Ascent Rugby league (featuring Adler XV and Frankfurt), his role with dominant Bundesliga champions Frankfurt, and why Germany sits in the Trophy division while rebuilding its culture, behaviours and pathway by blooding young France-based prospects. Plus his coaching ethos — fitness, tempo and smart rugby — and the practical needs, from video analysis to aligned governance, that could unlock sponsorship and long-term growth.

Real stories from the leagues the mainstream skips.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Welcome & guest intro
00:45 Mike's Germany journey
02:19 Why Germany slipped
04:50 Super Cup & pro pathways
07:16 Ascent Rugby explained
08:00 Bundesliga & Frankfurt dominance
10:43 Adler XV selection plans
13:26 Friendlies & travel budgets
16:07 Rebuild in the Trophy division
19:48 The funding mystery & next steps
22:03 Squad identity plan
22:45 Player release commitments
24:58 Coaching ethos & style
27:40 Prep time & logistics
28:46 Video analysis & tools
30:27 Head coach workload
33:40 Five-year vision
35:37 Funding & alignment
38:59 Curtis Brayford addition
40:25 Final message & legacy

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The Rugby Through the Leagues podcast welcomes Jordan, organiser of Heart of Wales 7s, and Stu from The Flaming Unicorns / Tough Enough To Care, to talk rugby, community and mental health.

Jordan charts the tournament's growth from 16 men's teams to an 11-year event drawing around 1,500 people — with the goal of 6,000 — and the entertainment that's grown with it: Flamingo Bingo, boxing, netball, charity matches and the famous naked run (which may hit 250–300 runners). He opens up on how it all came together: contacts, hard-won logistics lessons, a 10-person core crew, COVID refunds, and a relentless focus on retention, safety and experience.

Stu shares how The Flaming Unicorns began as a charity match supporting mental health after losing two friends to suicide — and how their distinctive branding creates safe spaces for conversations at rugby clubs, with Heart of Wales giving them a major platform alongside celebrity guests and the growth of women's rugby.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Naked Run Cold Open
00:12 Meet the Guests
01:03 Heart of Wales Origins
02:41 Growing Past Covid
04:57 Behind the Scenes Crew
07:19 Entertainment & Traditions
10:38 Flaming Unicorns Join In
12:39 Tough Enough To Care Story
16:00 Why the Partnership Works
18:19 Rugby Stars & Welsh Sevens
22:06 Logistics Lessons & Burnout
26:57 Post-Event Rituals
31:02 Two-Week Build Plan
31:39 Site Setup Week
33:32 Rugby Star Ringers
36:03 Women's Night Magic
39:35 Growing Organically
42:48 Welsh Sevens Series
46:17 Sevens Media Value
49:23 New Format Ideas
52:14 Unicorns Mission
57:36 Final Messages

🏉 Heart of Wales 7s: heartofwales7s.co.uk

💚 This episode discusses mental health and suicide. If you're struggling, you don't have to face it alone — in the UK & Ireland you can call Samaritans free, day or night, on 116 123. Find out more about Tough Enough To Care at toughenoughtocare.help.

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