Hosts Dallen Stanford & Robin MacDowell are joined by legends Kieran and Nicole Crowley for #RugbyHive Episode 33.

Kieran played in the backline for the All Blacks from 1983-1991 (19 Caps) winning the 1987 Rugby World Cup on home soil. He was also part of the New Zealand team that won the Bledisloe Cup in 1985, 1990 and 1991. Kieran played 199 times for club team Taranaki, scoring 1,723 points, and later coached Taranaki from 1998-2007.

Kieran spent eight years coaching the Canadian Men’s 15s team, taking them to the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups. He then spent five seasons with Benetton in Italy, which is when this interview was recorded during 2020. Since we spoke, Kieran was named Coach of the Year while at Benetton Rugby guiding them to a Pro 14 Rainbow Cup Championship (2021), before being selected as the Head Coach of Italy in May of 2021. He led Italy to a 22-21 win over Wales in the 2021 Six Nations, and then recorded one of the biggest upsets to date for the Azzurri by defeating Australia 28-27 in the Autumn tours of 2022.

Kieran’s daughter, Nicole, also grew up New Zealand until she moved to Canada with her family at 12 years of age. She played for Team BC in 7s and 15s, captaining them to a National Championship. At just 18 years old while completing an internship at Rugby Canada, Nicole got the opportunity to become Manager of the Canada Women’s 15s team. From there she worked on contract with Rugby Canada while finishing her Business degree at the University of Victoria, where she was also a member of the UVic Vikes rugby team. Nicole managed the Women’s 15s side through their 2017 World Cup campaign as well as the Women’s 7s team to the Pan American Games, HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and Olympic Qualification.

Since our interview, Nicole moved North with her partner (who works in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police), living in the remote sub-Arctic in the Northwest Territories, in a town of only 450 people and with no roads connecting it to other towns. Nicole is the Director of Recreation for the municipality where she is highly involved with Special Olympics NT and Sport North, where she works to help disadvantaged and remote kids from communities like hers, access sporting opportunities.

In this episode we talk about Kieran and Nicole’s rugby backgrounds, their accomplishments in the sport, and how they both used rugby as a vehicle to live and work in different countries and experience new cultures.

The Rugby Hive Podcast is brought to you by Gilbert Rugby Canada, Bru’s Biltong, Biltong Canada and EnduroSport.

We hope you enjoy and follow us on these platforms!

Podcast 🎧 anchor.fm/rugbyhive

Website | rugbyhive.com

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Hosts Dallen Stanford & Robin MacDowell are joined by legend Kelly Griffin for #RugbyHive Episode 32.  

Griffin signed a full-time training contract in 2011 with USA Rugby, and along with 7 other teammates to became the first group of professional women’s rugby players in the United States. She played on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series from 2011 to 2016, leading the country in tournament appearances, and was the only athlete of the "original eight" to have remained in residency throughout the four-year in the build-up to the 2016 Olympics.  

Griffin was part of the USA team that medaled at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, going undefeated in pool play, and claiming the Bronze Medal by beating Spain in sudden death overtime. She also competed as part of Team USA at the Pan American Games claiming a Bronze Medal. Griffin made history by captaining the USA Women's Olympic rugby team, which competed in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, the inaugural Olympiad to include women's rugby.  

She has transitioned to a successful coaching career at the University of Santa Barbara, and also the Premier 7s Women’s Loonies in 2021/2022, leading them to the Inaugural Championship title in Memphis, Tennessee!   In this episode we talk about the development of the women’s game in the USA, the Olympic Games, and various dream team players that Griffin played alongside and against. We also look at the Premier Rugby 7s in North America, coaching the game to newer players, and that famous rugby tattoo!  

The Rugby Hive Podcast is brought to you by Gilbert Rugby Canada, Bru’s Biltong, Biltong Canada and EnduroSport.

We hope you enjoy and follow us on these platforms!

Podcast 🎧 anchor.fm/rugbyhive

Website | rugbyhive.com

Merchandise | World Rugby Shop

Instagram | @MyRugbyHive

Facebook | RugbyHive

Twitter | @RugbyHive

#RugbyPodcast #RugbyLegends #RugbyHive

Hosts Dallen Stanford & Robin MacDowell are joined by legend Siviwe ‘Shakes’ Soyizwapi for #RugbyHive Episode 31.

Soyizwapi is the South African 7s (known as the Blitzboks) Captain, who has represented his country on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series since 2016, winning the prestigious Series title in 2017, 2018 and 2021. He captained South Africa to a Gold medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, with the Blitzboks defeating Fiji 31-7. At the time of this recording, Shakes has scored over 130 tries on the Series, the 4th highest try scorer in history for the Rainbow Nation, behind Fabian Juries (179), Cecil Afrika (179) and Seabelo Senatla (230).

In this episode we talk about Soyizwapi’s family, his time in the Eastern Cape at Dale College, and rising in the rugby ranks through the Kings, Stormers and eventually the successful Blitzbok 7s side. We talk about hosting the recent Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town, and Head Coach Neil Powell’s final event after 15 years inside the South African 7s setup.

Soyizwapi reveals his South African 7s Dream Team, plus the best opponents he has ever faced, and cracks us up with some hilarious pranks on tour!

The Rugby Hive Podcast is brought to you by Gilbert Rugby Canada, Bru’s Biltong, Biltong Canada and EnduroSport.

We hope you enjoy and follow us on these platforms!

Podcast 🎧 anchor.fm/rugbyhive

Website | rugbyhive.com

Merchandise | World Rugby Shop

Instagram | @MyRugbyHive

Facebook | RugbyHive

Twitter | @RugbyHive

#RugbyPodcast #RugbyLegends #RugbyHive