{"podcast":{"title":"Rugby Union Weekly","slug":"rugby-union-weekly-443156","podcast_index_feed_id":443156,"rss_url":"https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p04q5p2n.rss","website_url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04q5p2n","image_url":"http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/3000x3000/p0lwzd23.jpg","author":"BBC","episode_count":334,"summary":"Rugby Union Weekly is presented by Ugo Monye, Chris Jones and Danny Care. Between the bickering and tangents they'll bring you special guests and cover the biggest stories in the game. Get in touch with the pod via 5 Live Sport on social media or email rugbyunionweekly@bbc.co.uk , and remember to leave us your ratings and reviews!","last_synced_at":"2026-07-21T08:18:49.557524+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rugby-union-weekly-443156"},"episode":{"title":"Women’s Six Nations: Smaller balls and bigger crowds","slug":"women-s-six-nations-smaller-balls-and-bigger-crowds","published_at":"2026-05-06T21:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rugby-union-weekly-443156/women-s-six-nations-smaller-balls-and-bigger-crowds","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rugby-union-weekly-443156","url":"http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0njqzxz","audio_url":"http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0njqtdk.mp3","summary":"Should the women’s game be using smaller balls? The debate is back on the agenda after Zoe Harrison’s interview with Sara about the decision to use size 4.5 balls at this autumn's WXV Global Series. Kat Merchant and Philippa Tuttiett give their views on ball trial, and discuss whether it is a backwards step for the game. We also examine the state of the women’s game in Italy as they prepare to face the Red Roses after an impressive victory over Scotland. Ticket sales for Ireland’s big date at the Aviva continue to fly off the shelf. Can Wales build on their bonus point against England and cause a big upset in Belfast?","meta_description":"Should the women’s game be using smaller balls? The debate is back on the agenda after Zoe Harrison’s interview with Sara about the decision to use size 4…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2599,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/rugby-union-weekly-443156/episodes/women-s-six-nations-smaller-balls-and-bigger-crowds/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/rugby-union-weekly-443156/women-s-six-nations-smaller-balls-and-bigger-crowds.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}