Alex Payne Audiobooks

The Good, The Bad and The Rugby: the podcast phenomenon, unleashed in audio

1 audiobook reviewed

★ 4.4/5 average

353 listener ratings

Who is Alex Payne?

Every good sports podcast needs somebody holding the reins, and on The Good, The Bad & The Rugby that job falls to Alex Payne. Born in 1980, he is a British broadcaster who spent years as the face of Sky Sports rugby union coverage, anchoring Premiership afternoons and international weekends long before a podcast made him familiar to a much larger audience.

His role on the show is the straight man to Mike Tindall and James Haskell, which sounds thankless until you notice how much of the comedy depends on it. He asks the question the listener would have asked, then stands well back while two former internationals wander off into a story about a night out in 2007. It is a genuine skill, and rarer than it looks.

The show has since grown a long way beyond its feed, into live dates and a book, without ever losing the feel of three men talking rugby in a room.

Alex Payne in audiobooks

The Good, The Bad & The Rugby: Unleashed is what happens when three men who talk for a living are finally made to write it down. Seven hours of tour stories, dressing room lore and the sort of detail that never survives a live television interview.

It helps enormously to know the show, though it is not a requirement, because the rhythm of the thing carries newcomers along. Rugby listeners will find the material on Tindall and Haskell’s playing days worth the running time on its own, and the ratings have stayed strong since release, from a large and notably vocal group of listeners.

Seven hours goes quickly in this company, which is about the highest compliment a podcast spin-off can be paid. Have a look at the full listing below before you press play.