139. Mark Evans – State of the Rugby codes in 2020, part 1

This week’s episode is the first of a wide-ranging two-part interview with Mark Evans, the former Harlequins and Melbourne Storm CEO who is now head of Global Rapid Rugby, the Asia-Pacific rugby union competition. This week we look at the state of the rugby codes in the southern hemisphere, starting with the emergence of rapid rugby, then examining the consequences of the end of Super Rugby, before looking at how the NRL has come out of the pandemic better than its rivals. Along the way, we look at how the historical cultures of the different codes have shaped their decision-making today – and why we can’t unwind 1895.

For more on the history of rugby and the other football codes, take a look at www.rugbyreloaded.com (where you can find the links for this episode) and follow me on Twitter at @collinstony