Between Two Beers podcast: Ric Salizzo on dealing with Marc Ellis, Jonah Lomu and SportsCafe

Ric Salizzo joins the Between Two Beers podcast. Photo / Photosport.co.nz

Ric Salizzo is New Zealand sports broadcasting royalty – journalist, television presenter and producer – turned rugby consultant in New York.

After starting his career as a journalist with TVNZ he became the All Blacks' first ever media liaison officer in 1992. Prior to that he pioneered sports media coverage producing the behind-the-scenes documentary The Good, the Bad and the Rugby which kickstarted a series of follow ups over the years.

After four years inside the All Blacks camp he then created, and hosted the wildly popular Sports Café, a cult hit which ran for 11 years creating some memorable TV moments and turned Marc Ellis and Leigh Hart into household names. He then moved behind the camera as the executive producer of The Crowd Goes Wild, which has been running for 16 years.

Now based in New York working in Major League Rugby, Ric shared some of the best bits from his career.

We talk about dealing with Marc Ellis' antics on Sports Café, why former All Blacks coach Laurie Mains hated him – and how he won his respect back, dealing with media requests for Jonah Lomu at the '95 Rugby World Cup, the genius of Leigh Hart, The Good, the Bad and the Rugby, why the Crowd Goes Wild has stood the test of time and what he's doing now.

Show notes | Episode 88 | Ric Salizzo

1.47: Rugby New York and the realities of Major League Rugby

6.10: Moving to the US to "get away from rugby" and what the All Blacks can learn from US sport

13.26: Sport in New York

18.20: Newsreader Ric at TVNZ in the 80s

25.10: The first ever All Blacks media liaison officer

31.19: Inside the All Blacks camp

36.03: Jonah Lomu and the 1995 Rugby World Cup

41.18: The original All of Nothing series: The Good, the Bad and the Rugby

45.24: The origins of Sports Café: "…after being the media liaison officer everyone hated me…"

50.09: The genius of Leigh Hart

58.03: The perfect end of Sports Café and the brief return in 2008

1.01.00: Sugar Shack: "one of the most important things I've ever done"

1.03.43: Going behind the camera with The Crowd Goes Wild and letting go

1.08.14: Last words from Steven, Seamus and Ric