Ep 191- Bears Women special - interview with Dave Ward and Tom Luke plus preview of the semi-final play off at Queensholm
This week we focus on the Bears Women's upcoming semi-final play off with Gloucester-Hartpury on Sunday 2nd March at 3pm. Not only do we invite a proper dual season ticket holder onto the pod as a special guest but we also have an exclusive and in-depth interview with Dave Ward and Tom Luke. They give us a behind-the scenes deep dive into the season so far as well as their thoughts on how they will plan and prep for the play-off. It's a fairly lengthy and interesting chat after which we discuss a few of the issues that it throws up before previewing the game itself and offering our score predictions. We finish off by discussing Dave's excellent punditry performance on TNT Sports on Friday night having been warmed up nicely by our interview the day before and then finally sign off for the night. It is a bit of a long one again but to help you navigate your way through it here is the running order: Introduction: Start - 9:10: Pre-amble and a brief chat about the England A game at Ashton Gate Dave and Tom interview: 9:10 - 12:04: Motivations for this season after last year's final defeat 12:04 - 13:41: How the Women fit into the HPC set-up alongside the Men 13:41 - 15:26: How Dave and Tom work together 15:26 - 17: 10: Coaching on match days 17:10 - 18:55: Shaftesbury Park vs Ashton Gate as home venues 18: 55 - 20: 28: How they plan and prep for games 20:28 - 23:00: Managing squad rotation and selection issues 23:00 - 26:50: New player recruitment pathways 26:50 - 29:39: Tracking and signing established players 29:39 - 34:23: How Tom signed Ilona Maher 34:23 - 37: 36: D ave's thoughts after the Loughborough Lightening defeat 37: 36 - 39:49: How they will prep for the semi final 39:49 - 42:14: Messages to the traveling fans 42: 14 - 45:41: Tom's failed attempt to sign Fury the Gladiator and a vote of thanks Post interview: 45:41 - 55:15: Our thoughts on the chat 55:15 - 65: 53: Semi-final preview 65: 53 - 70:15: Score predictions 70:15 - the end: Dave's punditry trousers Let us know what you think!