EFL PodBlog Sport: Recent Episodes
EFL PodBlog Sport
Is the thrill of the crowd worth the ticket price, or does the TV offer the ultimate front-row seat? In this podcast, we dive into the pros and cons of watching live events versus enjoying the action on TV, in other words; Stadium Buzz vs. Sofa Comfort..
Imagine the Olympics without drug testing — well, that’s the Enhanced Games planned to, take place in May 2026. The aim is to allow performance-enhancing technologies without restriction to see how human physical capacities can be pushed to the limit. What do you think? Which words come to mind ? Dangerous? Unethical? Progress? A glimpse into the future? Listen in to hear more.
Football will be in the news for a month during the World Cup 2022.
Are you able to talk "footy"? Do you know the football jargon that we hear around us in the bars? Take the opportunity this month to go to bars and start up a conversation with other people about the football matches, it's a great way to improve your English!
In this podcast Sue puts Chris on the spot when she asks him to explain frequent football words and expressions. You'll hear that they're not big fans of football but they'll make the effort for language learning :)
Give yourself a pat on the back when you understand what these words mean;
To kick off / The coin toss /
A goalie / to save a goal / to mark a player
To score a hattrick
A foul / a tackle / to get booked / to be sent off/ to get a red card
A peno / a penalty shootout
To park the bus
Extra time vs Injury time
.... and the language of TV football commentators
It's a game of 2 halves
To put the game to bed
What a beauty !
They're on the back foot
He's bottled it
It's an open goal / It's an own goal
That's a blatant handball !
"Football's coming home" :)
Then test your memory with this Flash Quiz.
For those of you who want more, try this World Cup Football Quiz full of great vocabulary and amazing facts to entertain even the most football skeptic.
https://english-podcasts.com/the-curious-off-side-football-world-cup-quiz/
Listen to the podcast here.
Are electric bikes considered as cheating ? Do they bring back the pleasure of cycling ? Listen to what Chris says about his experience.
Dave, a West Ham supporter, gives his opinion about England's performance in the Euros 2020 and the harsh criticism that the players received, and also Victoria who runs an equality blog, Feminists of Reading.
Numbers in Sport.
Numbers can be a difficult part of learning a new language.
New learners often confuse "hundreds" and "thousands", "fifteen" and "fifty", "half past six" with "six and a half hours" etc etc etc.
The only way to improve your number skills is with practice.
Start by learning important numbers for you: your age, your address, your phone number.
Then practice well known expressions such as "fifty-fifty", "One Hundred and One Dalmatians".
Also try this podcast in which Sue asks Chris 10 questions about numbers in sport.
You will need to listen several times; the first time you listen your main objective should be to focus on the numbers that Chris gives. Are you clear about 100s and 1000s ? Can you recognize times ? Can you identity money quantities? What about dates ?
For the second time of listening, focus on the questions and for the third time, just enjoy the conversation !
TRY THIS QUIZ IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PODCAST: you will hear the same questions in the podcast as in the quiz. How many numbers can you recognize ? Practice saying all the numbers in the quiz and then listen again to the podcast. Your progress will be AMAZING !
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Numbers in sport After listening to the podcast try this quiz to consolidate your number skills. You can check your own answers with Chris' attempts.
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We are nearing the end of the season and it's hotting up between two great teams: Toulouse (our favourite) and La Rochelle.
Listen as you'll hear how both teams made it to the final and how they are also in excellent positions in the French Top 14 league.
Listen out for typical English expressions we use when talking about sport. Give yourself a pat on the back when you hear them !!
How do you account for the zero? How do you explain the zero ?
To weigh up the opponents. Toulouse often starts slowly because they weigh up the opponents, they try to suss them out, they try to figure them out.
To be over the hill. Is Max Médard too old?
Cheslin Kolbe is a game changer, he has a huge impact on the game.
However, he did look a bit winded at times, he looked out of breath following a hard tackle.
Who would you put money on ? Who do you think will win?
On paper Toulouse look stronger, in theory they look the better team.
Toulouse have their eye firmly on the European Cup, it is their main objective.
In the final no team will run away with it, it will be a very close match.
Learning tip: practice your number skills by making a note of all the scores Chris mentions, it's pretty fast, just like the game !
So who do you think will win ? Toulouse or La Rochelle. In the comments below let us know and why, we would love to know your opinion.
European Champions Cup Rugby Last 16 qualifiers
No Top14 Rugby this weekend and the 6 Nations has finished, but the Champions Cup rugby continues for the next two weeks - this week the last 16 clubs fight for their places in the 1/4 finals, which will be played on the following weekend.
The matches this weekend feature the following;
Leinster v Toulon
Gloucester v La Rochelle
Wasps v Clermont
Munster v Stade Toulousain
Exeter Chiefs v Lyon
Racing 92 v Edinburgh
Union Bordeaux Bèbles v Bristol Bears
Llanelli Scarlets v Sale Sharks
Some great matches to be played - try and predict the scoresor the winners & losers before listening to the podcast to see how good your general knowledge of rugby is.
6 Nations Round 5 Wash-Up
This is the final week of the regular 6 nations tournament, apart from the very last match which pitches France against Scotland on Friday evening.
In this episode we talk about the games that were played on this Super Saturday - Italy v Scotland (not too many surprises there), Ireland v England (completeing a pretty poor show for England) and France against Wales (nail-biting util the very end.
We also look at the final table results of the women's 6 nations and The U20 Six Nations tournaments.
Our next podcast will be about the France v Scotland game as well as back into the TOP14 podcast to take a look back at the matches played in France next weekend.
Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Day 20
This week we talk about the Top 14 day 20 matches took place, and things are again hotting up at the top and the bottom ends of the table, can Toulouse strengthen their hold at the top, or will La Rochelle get back into the running for the top spot?
We also have a look back at the last game of the 2021 6 Nations where France played Scotland in the Stade de France.
We also look ahead to the European cup matches this weekend where Toulouse face Munster in Ireland and to the next TOP14 matches in two weeks time.
Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 5 This week we talk about the Top 14 day 3 matches took place, which were catch-up matches for matches that were cancelled due to Covid-19 and look back at the third round of The 6 Nations tournament In a week where Toulouse play La Rochelle at La Rochelle, where La Rochelle haven't been beaten by any team for 2 years.
Toulouse are 2nd and La Rochelle hold the top spot in the Top 14 as we go into this week's matches - will the order change or will La Rochelle strengthen their hold at the top?
Bayone are away to Toulon, after losing to Clermont 73 - 3, perhaps this is going to be a tough game for Bayonne...
Listen to see what happened this weekend.
Test your language skills with the Scrum Language Quiz.
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Wash-up number 5 Flex your muscles with the Scrum practice language quiz.
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Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 4 This week we talk about the Top 14 day 17 matches and look ahead to the third round of The 6 Nations tournament In a week where Toulouse lost away to Lyon, there were highlights elsewhere in the Top 14 in France, including a thumping win for Clermont against Bayonne.
The top of the table has changed, but how long will it remain so?
Listen up for some of the highlights from the matches played this weekend.
Top 14 Rugby Wash-Up Number 3
OK, its the Six Nations in this podcast, not The Top 14 This week we talk about the second round matches in The 6 Nations tournament and just a few words come to mind: England: strategic cul de sac Scotland : snowy Wales: grind out Ireland: top of the morning France: week in, week out Italy: keep on in there... To find out more tune in to the podcast and after listening you can test your language skills with the Scrum Practice Quiz
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Wash Up 3 Flex your language muscles with this week's Scrum Practice Quiz
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Today we are starting a new weekly podcast about The Top 14 French rugby.
We always chat about the happenings and comings and goings in the Top 14, so we have decided to do a podcast about it, at least during the rugby season.
We can't go to watch rugby matches - it has been over a year since I last saw my favourite local team Stade Toulousain and I can't wait to go back and be in the atmosphere of a rugby match.
But for now, we will just have to watch it on tv and chat about it afterwards.
This weekend we will see the opening matches of the 6 nations championship, so we may have something to talk about next week, but for now, these are my highlights from last week's Top 14 rugby matches.
If you're a non-native English language listener you might like to try the comprehension quiz to help with understanding.
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Wash-up comp quiz DID YOU GET IT? FLEX YOUR LANGUAGE MUSCLES WITH THE SCRUM COMPREHENSION PRACTICE QUIZ
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Rugby, what's it all about? Rugby, what's it all about? I mean, it can't be that complicated can it? Or can it?
Ahead of the RBS 6 Nations Rugby Tournament, here are some questions, sent in by our listeners concerning rugby.
Have we got it right?
Are we on the ball with our predictions?
Can you predict the game scores or the overall winner of the tournament?
It all starts on Saturday 4 February with two cracking matches - it's all getting exciting and we can't wait!
Who do you think will win The RBS 6 Nations tournament 2017? Have a go at predicting the winner.
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Laura Gamesmaker London 2012 As the Rio Olympics get under way, Sue caught up with Laura, a gamesmaker from London 2012 to talk about her experiences.
London 2012 volunteers were called ‘Games Makers’, as they helped to make the Games happen.
The Games Maker recruitment process began in September 2010, with the London 2012 Organising Committee receiving more than 240,000 applications.
Up to 70,000 people were chosen to become Games Makers and they took on a wide variety of roles across the Olympic venues during the Games: from welcoming visitors to transporting athletes, helping out behind the scenes in the Technology team and making sure the results get displayed as quickly and accurately as possible.
"Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Olympic Games and part of the DNA of thousands of people in this country,” said Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, when the volunteer programme was launched.
“The 1948 Olympic Games in London saw the birth of the Games volunteer programme, and we are determined that London 2012 will be a wonderful opportunity for tens of thousands of people to help deliver the most spectacular Games ever.”
The volunteers were easy to spot during the Games thanks to their distinctive uniforms, which drew on British heritage in shades of regal purple and poppy red.
They were influenced by the historic Grenadier Guards uniform and British sporting heritage including the London 1948 Games, the Wimbledon tennis championships and the Henley Regatta.
“The volunteers are the face of the Games and they will turn what could be a good Games, into a great Games,” said Paul Deighton, London 2012 CEO, when the uniforms were unveiled. “They will be high profile in London and in our venues across the UK at Games time and so it’s important they look the part.
“Delivering the Games is hard work and so the uniform needs to be functional, however we also want our teams to wear it with pride.”
Volunteers also play an integral role in the Olympic Movement, with each IOC member representing the IOC in a voluntary capacity.
Fast and Furious Roller Derby Fast and Furious Roller Derby, a sport that is really taking off in recent years.
Roller derby is a contact sport played by two teams of five members roller skating in the same direction around a track.
A game play consists of a series of short match ups (jams) in which both teams designate a jammer who scores points by lapping members of the opposing team.
The teams attempt to hinder the opposing jammer while assisting their own jammer—in effect, playing both offense and defense simultaneously.
Roller derby is played by approximately 1,250 amateur leagues worldwide, nearly half of them outside the United States.
While the sport has its origins in the banked-track roller skating marathons of the 1930s, Leo Seltzer and Damon Runyon are credited with the basic evolution of the sport to its initial competitive form.
Professional roller derby quickly became popular, in the ensuing decades after the 1940s, however, it predominantly became a form of sports entertainment where the theatrical elements overshadowed the athleticism.
This gratuitous showmanship largely ended with the sport's contemporary grassroots revival in the first decade of the 21st century.
Although some sports entertainment qualities such as player pseudonyms and colorful uniforms were retained, scripted bouts with predetermined winners were abandoned.
Listen to Susan interviewing Marie, a beginner in the world of roller derby, at a match in Toulouse, France.
After listening to the podcast try the quiz A glossary of Roller Derby terms and expressions
Kisses from Derby
John - Rowing Coach Listen to Susan, interviewing, John, a rowing coach, on a cold December morning in Nottingham, England.
Modern rowing as a competitive sport can be traced to the early 18th century when races were held between professional watermen on the River Thames in London, United Kingdom.
Often prizes were offered by the London Guilds and Livery Companies.
Amateur competition began towards the end of the 18th century with the arrival of "boat clubs" at the British public schools of Eton College and Westminster School.
Similarly, clubs were formed at the University of Oxford, with a race held between Brasenose College and Jesus College in 1815. At the University of Cambridge the first recorded races were in 1827.
Public rowing clubs were beginning at the same time; in England Leander Clubwas founded in 1818, in Germany Der Hamburger und Germania Ruder Club was founded in 1836 and in the United States Narragansett Boat Club was founded in 1838 and Detroit Boat Club was founded in 1839. In 1843, the first American college rowing club was formed at Yale University.
The International Rowing Federation (French: Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron, abbreviated FISA) is responsible for international governance of rowing and was founded in 1892 to provide regulation at a time when the sport was gaining popularity.
Across six continents there are now 148 countries with rowing federations that participate in the sport.
Rowing is one of the oldest Olympic sports. It was on the programme for the 1896 games but the rowing did not take place due to bad weather.
It has been competed since 1900. Women's rowing was added to the Olympic programme in 1976.
Today, only fourteen boat classes are raced at the Olympics, across men and women.
Each year the World Rowing Championships is held by FISA with 22 boat classes raced. In Olympic years only the non-Olympic boat classes are raced at the World Championships.
The European Rowing Championships are held annually, along with three World Rowing Cups in which each event earns a number of points for a country towards the World Cup title. Since 2008, rowing has also been competed at the Paralympic Games.
Major domestic competitions take place in dominant rowing nations and include The Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta in the United Kingdom, the Australian Rowing Championships in Australia, the Harvard-Yale Regatta and Head of the Charles Regatta in the United States and Royal Canadian Henley Regatta in Canada.
Many other competitions often exist for racing between clubs, schools and universities in each nation.
Luke McAlister Rugby Player Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in Waitara) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He plays first five-eighth (fly-half) and second five-eighth (inside centre). He is the brother of New Zealand women's sevens player Kayla McAlister and son of Charlie McAlister.
Luke McAlister was born in Waitara, New Zealand, and attended Westlake Boys High School, where he played first five-eighth. He played for Silverdale in the North Harbour premier competition before making his provincial debut for North Harbour in 2002 and Super Rugby debut for the Blues in 2004.
He made his international debut for New Zealand aged 21, versus the British and Irish Lions in 2005.
In June 2006, his father, Charlie, resigned his position as head coach of the Manawatu team in the Air New Zealand Cup. Charlie McAlister is a former rugby league player, and Luke McAlister lived in the Manchester area from the age of four to 13 while his father played rugby league for Oldham, Castleford and the Sheffield Eagles, during which time Luke was a member of the Manchester United Academy.
Following the announcement of his inclusion in the All Blacks squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, it was announced on 23 July 2007 that McAlister would be joining Guinness Premiership side Sale Sharks after the World Cup on a two-year deal. It was also reported that he had turned down offers from both Munster and Toulouse to join Sale.
McAlister played in four of the All Blacks' five matches at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, including the 20–18 quarter-final loss to France, in which he was controversially sent to the sin bin for an obstruction. France converted the resulting penalty, and the sin-binning was cited by many New Zealand fans as one of the reasons why their team lost the match. Over the course of the tournament, McAlister accumulated a total of 17 points.
In 2009 after two seasons with Sale in the Guinness Premiership, McAlister returned to New Zealand, where he re-signed with North Harbour and the Blues, with the intention of regaining his place in the national side. He appeared for the All Blacks as a substitute for Stephen Donald against France in Wellington on 20 June 2009.
From August 2011, McAlister plays for Stade Toulousain in France's Top 14 championship.
On his first season with Toulouse, he won the Bouclier de Brennus, in which he played a crucial role in it, marking all of his team's points during both semi-final and final.
The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men's rugby team.
It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and 'classic' teams from France and Australia.
In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's centennial anniversary.
On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.
This interview was done on 7th October 2015 after breakfast, on match day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.
You may find the New Zealand accent a bit tricky, so click on the Transcript link to check your comprehension.
Classic All Blacks Carlos Spencer rugby player Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975 in Levin) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer and most recently the head coach of the Eastern Province Kings.
During his playing days, he played at fly-half (first five-eighth) for the Blues and Lions in Super Rugby and for New Zealand internationally.
He has generally specialised in the position of fly-half, also known as "first five-eighth" or "number 10", although he has also played fullback (number 15) at national and international levels.
Spencer first rose to prominence when he starred alongside Christian Cullen in a Ranfurly Shield challenge in 1991, playing for the Horowhenua team against Auckland. Auckland coach Graham Henry spotted Spencer's talent and recruited him to play for the Auckland team.
He played for the Blues Super 12 team from the inception of the competition in 1996 until 2005, and for the Auckland NPC side.
In 1996, Carlos Spencer played for the Blues in the first ever Super 12-match, kicking off the professional era of rugby union. He went on to score 608 points for the Blues in the Super Rugby competition.
In 2005 he signed to the English club, Northampton Saints, where he stayed until 30 January 2009.
On 3 February 2009 he signed for Gloucester on a 17-month contract.
In January 2010 Carlos Spencer signed with the Johannesburg-based Golden Lions, to play for the team in the 2010 and 2011 Super Rugby seasons. The contract offered to him was said at the time to be the highest ever in South Africa.
He subsequently took up a coaching role with the team, before being released following the 2012 season.
He moved to the Durban-based Sharks for the 2013 season.
In December 2013, he signed a five-year contract to become the kicking and specialist skills coach at Port Elizabeth-based side, the Eastern Province Kings.
He was appointed as their head coach on 20 February 2014.
He was in charge of just one Currie Cup season in 2014, where they achieved just one victory in ten matches. Brent Janse van Rensburg was appointed as head coach for the 2015 Currie Cup Premier Division season with Carlos Spencer reverting to kicking and specialist skills coach. However, Carlos Spencer left the coaching staff a month later.
In 2006, Spencer was named in the Guinness Premiership Awards Dream Team and collected the Player of the Year award for the 2005–06 season at the Northampton Saints annual awards, as voted for by the clubs fans.
He played in four matches for Bob Dwyer's World XV team in 2006, including a match for the Barbarians against England at Twickenham on 28 May and a 30-27 loss to the Springboks at Ellis Park on 3 June.
The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men's rugby team.
It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and 'classic' teams from France and Australia.
In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's centennial anniversary.
On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.
This interview was done on 6th October 2015 after a training session at Stade Mayol, Toulon, prior to the match on the following day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.
Download the transcript for this podcast for FREE
Classic All Blacks Carl Hayman rugby player Carl Hayman (born 14 November 1979 in Opunake, New Zealand) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays at tighthead prop.
Hayman has previously played for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, Otago in the NPC, and Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership, as well as making 45 appearances for New Zealand at international level.
He became the 1000th All Black when he made his debut against Samoa in 2001.
Since then he has established himself as one of the elite props in world rugby.
In 2005, Carl Hayman played for the New Zealand Māori, against Fiji in Suva and against the British & Irish Lions at Hamilton.
In 2006 he was shortlisted as one of 5 candidates for New Zealand Player of the Year.
On 19 April 2007 it was announced that Carl Hayman had signed a 3-year contract with Guinness Premiership side Newcastle Falcons, turning down an offer from league champions Sale Sharks to do so.
On 22 March 2010, it was announced that Carl Hayman would join French club Toulon at the end of the season.
He becomes one of a number of high-profile players that signed for Toulon alongside Jonny Wilkinson, Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Felipe Contepomi and Joe Van Niekerk.
The decision to stay in Europe made him ineligible for the 2011 Rugby World Cup due to the New Zealand Rugby Union's policy of only selecting players who have played in the New Zealand domestic competition.
In 2010, he was selected in the Barbarians squad to play Tonga on 26 November.
In May 2013 he started as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne.
The Classic All Blacks is a rugby union team made up of players from the New Zealand men's rugby team.
It is not an official national team of New Zealand. First put together in 2007, the team has played Japan three times, English Premiership side Leicester Tigers and 'classic' teams from France and Australia.
In 2013 the side played Fiji as part of the Fiji Rugby Union's centennial anniversary.
On 7 October 2015, the Classic All Blacks played Toulon at the Stade Mayol in a match to honour the late Jerry Collins.
This interview was done on 7th October 2015 after breakfast, on match day, which was a very emotional time for the players who played with Jerry Collins in the past.
Tour de France trivia Do you know a lot about The Tour de France? Find out in our Tour de France trivia podcast.
The Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España make up cycling's prestigious, three-week-long Grand Tours.
The Tour de France is the oldest and generally considered the most prestigious of the three.
Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of July.
While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same with the appearance of time trials, the passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi).
The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France.
After listening, try to answer the following questions :
When did the first Tour de France take place? What was the time difference between Greg Lemond and Laurent Fignon in the 1989 Tour? How many teams are taking part in the 2016 Tour de France? When did the Tour de France first start from Amsterdam? Who won the Tour de France in 5 consecutive years? Who does Chris think will win the last stage of The 2016 Tour de France in Paris?
The 10 Weirdest moments from The Tour de France