The Breakdown

By The Australian

Australian rugby once had $40 million in the bank. Crowds over 100,000. TV audiences of 3 million. Today the Wallabies have sunk to their lowest world ranking ever. Off the field rugby is a "war zone" with a $20 million deficit last year alone.

The Breakdown is a gripping podcast investigation from The Australian, exploring just how far "the game they play in heaven" has fallen - and why. Jessica Halloran and Claire Harvey have interviewed everyone from ex-PMs and billionaires to Wallabies legends, boardroom insiders and the volunteers battling to keep the game alive. Raw and emotional, The Breakdown is the new binge-listen everyone will be talking about.

The Breakdown can be heard via The Australian's app right now. Search for and download The Australian's app to hear The Breakdown first.

Host: Jessica Halloran, Chief Sports Writer - The Australian

Producer: Claire Harvey, Editorial Director - The Australian

Production: Dylan Adams

Guests:

David Campese - Australia’s greatest ever try-scorer

Teki Tuipulotu - President of the Blacktown Scorpions

Khoder Nasser - Player agent of Quade Cooper and Sonny Bill Williams

Nick Farr-Jones - Former Wallabies captain

John Eales - Former Wallabies captain and long-time ARU board member

John Howard - Former PM and devoted Wallabies fan

John O’Neill - Former ARU CEO

John Coates - President of the Australian Olympic Committee and Chair of the Australian Olympic Foundation

Mat Rogers - Dual code star

Justin Harrison - Former Wallaby and RUPA boss

George Gregan - Former Wallabies captain

Phil Kearns - Former Wallabies captain

Alan Jones - Former Wallabies coach and broadcaster

Andrew Forrest - Billionaire and Western Force owner

Michael Cheika - Former Wallabies coach

Ann Sherry - Former ARU board member

Stephen Moore - Former Wallabies captain

Hamish McLennan - Current Rugby Australia chair

Colin Smith - sports broadcast rights expert

Gary Flowers - Former ARU CEO

Jeff Messitt - The Wavers Falcons rugby club secretary

To read about The Breakdown and dive deeper into the multimedia experience take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdown or download The Australian app at your app store

Episodes

Introducing: My Sister's Secrets

My Sister's Secrets is the gripping story of one woman's quest to get justice for her sister - and along the way, to uncover the hidden places in her family, and all our families. In this first episode, you meet Alexandra Tapp who died at just 32, haunted by the predators in her own family. Now her sister is on a quest for justice. My Sister's Secrets is The Australian's newest podcast. Presented by Virginia Tapscott and Steve Jackson. Search for My Sister's Secrets in your favourite podcast app to listen to Episode 2 now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

06/02/22•38m 45s

Introducing: What Really Happened in Wuhan

Investigative journalist Sharri Markson goes deep into the secret history of Covid-19. In a series of exclusive interviews - from Donald Trump and Mike Pompeo to intelligence chiefs and Chinese dissidents - Markson takes us inside the investigation behind her bestselling book and documentary, to explore what really happened in Wuhan and beyond. In this first episode, Sharri Markson has a frank and freewheeling conversation with the former US president in his first Australian sit-down interview on China’s “gross incompetence” and the mysteries still unsolved. “There were body bags outside of the lab. And people were saying there are a lot of people lying down on the streets of Wuhan and there were body bags … you're going to have to figure that out and you probably will be able to do it, knowing you.” Go to theaustralian.com.au/wuhan for more on What Really Happened In Wuhan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

19/12/21•41m 4s

What now?

The never-before-told story of how rugby nearly died altogether, the voices of those people keeping passion alive at the grassroots, and the sharp reality facing rugby if it is to ever recover in Australia. To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13/04/21•49m 37s

Folau and the First Lady

How rugby lost its golden player, featuring exclusive words from former Prime Minister John Howard, and a glimpse inside the locker room where Michael Cheika reveals how he handled the fallout with his players. For the first time, we reveal what really happened inside the boardroom. To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

06/04/21•48m 29s

Where'd the money go?

Billionaire Andrew Forrest and the frantic battle to reshape the game, amid roiling uncertainty at head office and looming disaster on the field. To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30/03/21•57m 39s

The Kick

A heartstopping England field goal broke Australian rugby’s heart in 2003 - and precipitated a terminal slide. We explore how union headhunted league’s superstars, hear ex-Wallabies shed a tear for what’s been lost and tell the ripping yarn of a rugby-related burglary at The Lodge. To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23/03/21•22m 48s

Partying at the Lodge

For the first time, Olympic boss John Coates, rugby ex-supremo John O’Neill and the leading lights of Australian sport talk about the schoolboy rugby game that triggered mayhem, the futile efforts to reform the code and the seeds of today’s chaos. To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16/03/21•36m 55s

The Breakdown

How has rugby fallen so far? Why isn’t the Wallabies’ greatest-ever try scorer coaching in Australia? Why do even private school kids struggle to name a Wallaby? Why are foreign coaches dominating the game? What happened to the $40m World Cup windfall? Why are clubs closing? Can anyone save rugby union? To listen to all six episodes of The Breakdown first, read the journalism and take the multimedia experience search for and download The Australian app at your app store. Or take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdownSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

09/03/21•41m 59s

Preview

Search for and download The Australian's app to hear The Breakdown first. To read about The Breakdown and dive deeper into the multimedia experience take out a subscription at theaustralian.com.au/thebreakdown or download The Australian app at your app storeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

23/02/21•3m 13s