Passion, performance and good old
'Mr Reliable'
In five years The Good, the Bad & the Rugby podcast, sponsored by Continental Tyres, has gained a cult following among supporters. In a crowded market, it stands out as a market leader, and this is largely down to the relationship and interaction between its three hosts: former England players Mike Tindall, James Haskell and presenter Alex Payne, who tries to keep the pair in check.
Here, we speak to the three of them ahead of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2025 and get their verdicts on who will bring the passion, the innovation and all-round performance (all key values to England Rugby and Continental Tyres) to this year’s championship.
As excitement for the Guinness Six Nations builds, rugby legends Mike Tindall, James Haskell and Alex Payne tell us what it takes to bring home one of sport’s biggest prizes
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– what makes a winning rugby team, by those in the know
Who strikes you as the most passionate team or
individual playing in this year's tournament?
What does the Guinness Six Nations mean to you?
Alex Payne: It is the one thing that gets any rugby fan through January, February and March. For me, I remember the England team of 1991 and 1992 and all they achieved. And I remember crying in 1990 when they blew the Grand Slam!
James Haskell: For me it encapsulates rugby at its best with the fan passion and the historical rivalries between the countries. It just creates magical moments. I just love it. It really warms your rugby soul, if you have one.
Mike Tindall: I love where we are internationally at the moment, how close all the teams are. The Guinness Six Nations over the past four years has really excelled in terms of quality. You never know what's going to happen. There's a great balance between all the teams and I think there’s real jeopardy for each country. From my own experience it is the greatest tournament in rugby – with the audience it brings, the passion, the viewpoints, the controversy – everything that comes with it.
What’s the most passionate you've ever felt about a Six Nations game?
MT: My first cap. Mine was at Twickenham. We won against Ireland, and I scored. Then I go back to 2003 and the Grand Slam games. In Ireland we were standing on the wrong side at the line ups, and Johnno [Martin Johnson] wasn't moving. The crowd gets its back up against you, and you know that you have to rise to that occasion and meet the challenge.
JH: My debut in 2007, Millennium Stadium, with the roof closed. It was the first game there. The Welsh sang their national anthem and I was looking up at the crowd, thinking: “Wow, this is addictive. This is the best emotion I've ever felt. This is what I want more than anything. I can understand why I make all the sacrifices.”
That moment was just magical.
Look at the French teams of the past:
they had all the passion but none of the game plan so that was their undoing. Emotion with no structure is pointless.
James Haskell
Paul Ackford catches the ball in the lineout during the 1991 Five Nations Championship against France at Twickenham
Is passion alone enough to win a championship?
You can win games on emotion and passion without playing well. But if they both come together that can make a team unstoppable.
Mike Tindall
I don't think passion is necessarily what will win you the title. If you're looking at a team that's going to win the title, of course you need passion, you need to be totally sort of bought into it, but it's about far more than just playing with your heart on your sleeve.
Alex Payne
I'm going to say Ireland. When that team has something to hang on to – a party to spoil – they’re incredible. I was lucky enough to play in that first game at Croke Park in 2007. The anthems that day… you know Ireland’s Call is going to be loud but both anthems were huge that day. When they have an emotional driver Ireland can be very hard to stop. They play on that a lot more than most teams. Individually it's hard to look past those Saracens boys, Maro Itoje especially. He is constantly in everyone's face. You can't say he doesn't put his body on the line. He’s talked about how England is his spiritual home.
Mike Tindall
Alex Payne
Ireland’s Peter O'Mahony is someone who plays with his heart on his sleeve. He gets the crowd behind him. But from an England perspective, probably someone like Ben Earl. You've got no doubt what it means to him to play for England.
Who strikes you as the most passionate team or individual playing in this year's tournament?
James Haskell
France’s passion has been re-ignited. They went through a big dip but now they're back with a vengeance. You look at the Stade de France and you can feel the emotion and the passion in the way they play – it’s incredible. In the past they sometimes tipped over and lost their heads because of their passion. But now they really embrace that and bring the danger and excitement that comes with it. In terms of England, Ellis Genge is the one who shows incredible passion for his country.
Who strikes you as the most passionate team or
individual playing in this year's tournament?
James and Mike, who were your most passionate team-mates and most passionate opponents in the Six Nations?
MT: Robbie Fleck, the former Springbok centre who I played with at Bath. His passion was off the charts and difficult to control! I played against him and with him for Bath when he was literally trying to destroy people. He would completely forget systems, and what he was doing, because he was too busy trying to get into his opposite number.
JH: Lawrence Dallaglio. Traditionally English people don't really talk about their emotions and feelings. We’re apologetic. We're always labelled the most arrogant nation, but actually we’re not. I think we're kind of embarrassed about our past. But Lawrence had a Churchillian way about him. He could speak, he could motivate, he could understand the emotional temperature of the room and deliver what was required, but he also led from the front. He was highly emotional as a person. You’d see him well up. You'd see him cry. He'd had a really rich life with all the bits and pieces that he'd gone through, including the tragic loss of his sister. It created, in this crucible of a person, the perfect emotional being who – when you were wanting to go over the top – he was the one you followed.
Who do you think will be the ones showing
innovation this year?
MT: I think France have a plethora of attacking options that can cause carnage. You can't look past what Antoine Dupont does. The French team at the moment is just a joy to watch.
JH: Look at Andy Farrell and his analysis of the game and what he will do with the interplay between the forwards and backs. When a team is absolutely cooking with gas like that, then you’ll see that interplay. So Ireland would be right up there for innovation for me.
AP: Italy under Kieran Crowley were quite loose. Under Gonzalo Quesada, they're tightening up a little bit. I think Italy are a really interesting team to watch in their development at the moment. I'm not sure they're going to win the title but they are definitely always trying things.
MT: Marcus Smith will be using his pace and guile, Finn Russell uses his hands more than anything else, along with his brain. Then Antoine Dupont has all of that: brains, speed, strength and an eye for a gap.
How important is it to have a player
of that calibre in your ranks?
AP: Hugely valuable. Defences are so well organised and there's so little space that you need people like that. Innovation in some ways is the same as being able to make the right decision based on what's in front of you and to execute under extreme pressure. There are all sorts of words that get thrown around, but ultimately, innovation is the ability to make the right choice at the right time with absolutely everything coming at you.
MT: When you have someone in the team like that, it's about them understanding the pictures that they like to see and then being able to run the lines that allow there to be more in those pictures so they can take advantage of them. I think that's what England need to get better at, so that when line breaks happen, we do finish them off.
JH: Every team you talk about has an innovator. They set the standards, they set the level of excellence, Owen Farrell did it by leadership and ability. Marcus Smith does it by driving standards but more importantly he does it with his performance.
Jason Robinson did things that I hadn't seen anyone do – he could mesmerise you with his feet. In terms of the back row, George Smith, with his mindset, confidence and delivery, was just next level and an inspiration.
James Haskell
'I think Italy are a really interesting team to watch in their development at the moment'
Mike Tindall
Who was for you the most innovative player you played with or against?
You have to look at Jonah Lomu. He was the first global superstar and innovator. He changed the game. I think he's still the greatest of all time.
Mike Tindall
James Haskell
Age 39
Born Windsor, Berkshire
Position Back row
Clubs
Wasps (210 caps)
Stade Francais (48)
Ricoh Black Rams (11)
Highlanders (12)
Northampton (5)
England caps 77
England points 20
Round two
Italy v Wales
England v France
Scotland v Ireland
Guinness Six Nations
fixtures 2025
Round one
France v Wales
Scotland v Italy
Ireland v England
Round three
Wales v Ireland
England v Scotland
Italy v France
Round four
Ireland v France
Scotland v Wales
England v Italy
Round five
Italy v Ireland
Wales v England
France v Scotland
Immanuel
Feyi-Waboso
Age 22
Club Exeter Chiefs
England caps 10
England points 15
INNOVATION
PASSION
Mike Tindall
Age 46
Born Otley, West Yorkshire
Position Centre
Clubs
Bath (108 caps)
Gloucester (181)
England caps 75
England points 74
'People say Ireland might
have been found out. It comes down to mind set'
James Haskell
And on the flip side – who's going to be 'Mr Reliable' for each team this year?
MT: Right now it’s Maro Itoje and Ben Earl for England. Since the start of the World Cup, Ben has been Mr Consistent. He leads from the front, and he does so much work. Ben is England's best player at the moment.
JH: I think Maro. He has had moments where he’s given penalties away but actually those were anomalies in comparison to what he can deliver for the rest of the 75 minutes.
AP: It’s about the scrum halves for me. If your No 9 plays well you've got a really good shot at winning. I think Alex Mitchell was missed by England in the autumn. If your No 9 is reliable you've got a great shot.
How important is it to have Continental Tyres sponsor the Schools Cup?
AP: It’s hugely important. Everyone knows exactly what we're talking about when we say the Continental Tyres Schools Cup. It can be a really good way of reinvigorating a level of the sport that needs attention. James and I had a brilliant day at the final itself at Twickenham. Harrow won and some of the kids in that Harrow team signed professional papers off the back of it. Charlie Griffin has now gone straight through and he's had one appearance for Bath and has linked up with England A. It goes to show that at the top, top level of schoolboy rugby how talented some of these kids are. Continental Tyres has done a brilliant job. I hope that this is just the start, and I really hope that there is a lot more that can be done with the competition.
JH: The Schools Cup was my first taste of rugby on a bigger scale – my first trip to Twickenham to be playing for meaningful silverware. It was what made me fall in love with rugby. It's a massive opportunity for players. Reaching a Continental Tyres Schools Cup semi-final or final is a huge moment. For some people it's their Everest. Continental Tyres’ sponsorship has brought it to a whole new level. I think that can only benefit and engage, and encourage players to want to get involved in rugby.
MT: My fondest memory of schoolboy rugby is playing for England Schoolboys. Playing at Twickenham in that England Schoolboys team was my best memory of schoolboy rugby.
What’s the best team performance you've been part of in the Six Nations?
MT: I think I'd go back to 2003, winning in Dublin 42-6 in the winner-takes-all game after losing a Grand Slam twice in the preceding years. It was arguably one of our best-ever performances. It was tight at half-time and then we blew them away in the second half.
JH: The 2017 Six Nations. Scotland came to Twickenham thinking they were going to win. We put 60 points on them and Jonathan Joseph ran riot and scored a hat-trick of tries. It was one of those perfect Six Nations performances where you go, “Wow.” We sent them packing. All the magic came together.
Now let’s talk about trust – how important is that?
MT: Trust on the pitch is massive, mainly from a defensive side. You've got to trust the guy inside and out of you, because you've got to have an understanding of whether he's going to make a tackle or not. If you don't trust that guy who's supposed to be covering across, you'll make a different decision and then that different decision could expose you. You're trusting someone to make you not look like a fool.
JH: It is essential to everything you do. We all know players, and I won’t name names, who the team didn’t trust and ultimately couldn’t be relied upon to do the right thing. You need to know someone physically is going to turn up and make a tackle for you and be there. And I've sat in huddles where I've looked at people and thought, “You don't want to be here. You haven't got what it takes.” I've seen players in finals come on and I've just rolled my eyes. One player I shouted at didn’t have the desire. He apologised to me later in life because he bottled it and I knew he was going to bottle it.
'You need to know someone is going to make a tackle for you'
James Haskell
Which team will be the safest and most reliable in defence?
MT: Ireland will probably be the most consistent defensive unit. They pride themselves on that. They just make every breakdown a nightmare, which makes defending much easier when you do such slow rucks.
JH: People say Ireland might have been found out. To activate a defence like theirs, it comes down to mindset and, again, the passion. And I think if you're slightly undercooked - as Ireland were against New Zealand recently, having not played a warm up game of any sort - or if you are emotionally not at that level, that's where things can fall apart. They'll come into the Six Nations on a level playing field with everybody else.
AP: If you're talking reliability though, the fact that Ireland don't have Andy Farrell there, who is one of the best coaches in the game, throws a little bit of a question mark over Simon Easterby. Can he do his own thing? Is he trying to implement what Farrell wants? There’s absolutely no doubt that they can easily find the answers, but there are questions to answer.
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So who will be the showstoppers in this year’s Six Nations?
AP: Immanuel Feyi-Waboso. He’s a Lion in waiting, a kid in a hurry, almost Robinson-esque. David Flatman said in commentary he can fall down and stand up faster than most people can fall down. I think he's a very, very exciting talent for England.
JH: France’s Louie Bielle-Biarrey. He's 21, he's got all the skills, he's scored some tries, he’s exciting – and I think he has all the ability of an unknown quantity. I think he will have that mercurial first Six Nations season.
MT: If you’re looking for someone who is going to produce a showstopper moment, it’s Duhan van der Merwe. The tries he’s scored last year against England! He always seems to score at least one cracker in the Six Nations. I think Sam Prendergast could be interesting as well. If he gets his opportunity, can he take it?
RELIABILITY
Duhan van der Merwe
Age 29
Club Edinburgh
Scotland caps 44
Scotland points 150
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Age 21
Club Bordeaux
France caps 14
France points 50
Sam Prendergast
Age 21
Club Leinster
France caps 3
France points 17
*All stats correct at start of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
Continental Tyres and
England Rugby - a partnership with a passion to win
TRUST
*All stats correct at start of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
*All stats correct at start of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
*All stats correct at start of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
Who strikes you as the most passionate team or individual playing in this year's tournament?
Who strikes you as the most passionate team or individual playing in this year's tournament?
Continental Tyres and
England Rugby - a partnership with a passion to win
Sam Prendergast
Age 21
Club Leinster
France caps 3
France points 17
Louis Bielle-Biarrey
Age 21
Club Bordeaux
France caps 14
France points 50
*All stats correct at start of 2025 Guinness Six Nations
Duhan van der Merwe
Age 29
Club Edinburgh
Scotland caps 44
Scotland points 150
Immanuel
Feyi-Waboso
Age 22
Club Exeter Chiefs
England caps 10
England points 15
'I think Italy are a really interesting team to watch in their development at the moment'
Mike Tindall
Above: Antonie Dupont
Above: Marcus Smith
Below: Marcus Smith
Left: Antonie Dupont