The Second Captains Podcast

The Jordan Larmour hype train has officially left the station and is picking up speed, and heading towards the 6 Nations. After his wonder-try against Munster at Thomond Park, Leinster's latest superstar-in-waiting scored twice against Ulster to finish off this round of interpro's in style.Eoin Reddan and Gerry Thornley try and come up with one good reason why Larmour shouldn't feature for Ireland this spring, what sort of Joe Schmidt game plan he would fit into, and why Munster have their toughest test of the season coming up in Paris this weekend.There's also old man Bob Henshaw, how La Rochelle have changed the game, the doomed Simon Hick-Tom Brady partnership, and our scumbag of the week poses an important philosophical question. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year everybody! And to ring in 2018, it’s time for one last look at one of the highlights of 2017. Recorded live at Langton’s Ballroom in Kilkenny City for the Kilkenny Cat Laughs comedy festival, here’s our chat with two of Ireland’s greatest comedians Dara Ó Briain and David O’Doherty. Previously only for fully subscribed members, we present it here to the general public, as an indication of the sort of crazy nonsense that goes on behind that beautiful World Service curtain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester City have been making all the other Premier League teams look very ordinary, but how should we feel about the corporate empire that underpins their glorious football? Can we consider the football separately from what lies beneath?We discuss Ferran Soriano’s global vision as detailed to the Guardian’s Giles Tremlett. Is it a vision the rest of us can feel comfortable with?Human rights researcher Nick McGeehan joins us on the line to talk more about the power behind Guardiola’s throne.We also talk about a stunning racial gaffe by Antoine Griezmann, Ederson’s passing ability, and Mark Hughes’ blue. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the second time in a week, all 4 Irish provinces were victorious in Europe - Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley give us plenty of reasons to be cheerful heading into the interprovincial games over the Christmas. Munster capitalised on Leicester indiscipline, while Leinster gutted it out to wear down Exeter in a thriller in the Aviva on Saturday evening. Throw in Ulster's try-fest on Friday, and it was a very satisfying couple of days all round. Ronan Sweeney scored the goal that kick-started an unbelievable comeback for Moorefield in the Leinster club football final yesterday, and he joins us too. Plus there's the Dubs getting shafted, disgruntled club players exacting revenge on innocent inter-county selectors, and the BBC's Mo Farah / Chris Froome problem. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a little cruel but all you have to do is sign up at secondcaptains.com/join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was billed as a classic battle across the Irish Sea, but when three Irish provinces took on the best from the Premiership, the result was 3-0 Ireland. Leinster took care of Premiership champions Exeter on the south-west coast of England, Ulster beat Harlequins in London, and Munster hammered Leicester in Limerick. Gordon Darcy and Shane Horgan are on hand to pick apart a wildly successful weekend for the Irish teams, including what Matt O'Connor the Leicester coach might have learned from Jose Mourinho, why Ulster blow so hot and cold, and why this doesn't necessarily rank among Leinster's best ever European performances. Plus there's the enduring allure of snow games in the NFL, the importance of the vibes man in dressing room lore, Peter O'Mahony pulling rank, and 'curse o'clock'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Manchester City ended Jose Mourinho's hopes of establishing a new unbeaten home record for Manchester United by establishing their own new Premier League record for 14 consecutive league wins in the same season.Was this, as Mourinho suggested, all the fault of referee Michael Oliver, or have City proved beyond doubt that poets do win titles? Are we looking at a second half of the season in which the main interest is derived from waiting to see which one of the Premier League supermanagers trailing in City's wake is first to go into full-on meltdown?Rory Smith of the New York Times joins us to discuss the Manchester derby.And Kieran Canning speaks to us from Madrid to talk about the reaction in Spain to the Champions League draw. Plus there's Klopp's fuse, ace time wasters, the tunnel incident, and Morbo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's European Champions Cup week, and after a barnstorming debut from Leinster's new signing James Lowe and the return from injury of Garry Ringrose, the options ahead of their big match against Exeter ‘Moneyball' Chiefs look impressive. Meanwhile, the dark clouds around Peter O'Mahony's future at Thomond Park are casting a shadow down south - we ask Gerry Thornley how the IRFU factor charisma into their balance sheet. Tiger Woods is back, and he looks happy, he looks relaxed... and he looks like a pretty good golfer. After a solid mid-table finish in a high-class field in the Bahamas on Sunday, Lawrence Donegan tells us where the ceiling is for this latest, re-modelled version of Tiger, and how it might have been the best swing he's seen from him since 2007. There's a welcome, much-sought-after return for David Attenborough analogies, the chipping yips, and playing GAA in the gloom of a December afternoon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The World Cup draw went ahead without Ireland and FIFA President Gianni Infantino left nobody in any doubt that he finds Vladimir Putin very, very funny.Meanwhile, a busy Premier League weekend featured managers learning on the job, Big Sam and Marco Silva already going toe to toe, and an extraordinary admission from former giant of the refereeing scene, Mark Clattenburg.We are joined by Jonathan Wilson and John Brewin to assess the games involving the Manchester clubs ahead of next weekend's derby. Is Mesut Özil, who ran the show at the Emirates, potentially the final piece of Jose's jigsaw?Plus there’s Emre Can the Greman man, Klopp’s updated outdated ideas, the battle of Stamford Bridge and Christmas present “inspo”. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin and Ciaran realise that Ken, who has until now concealed a violent past, is not the man they thought he was. Meanwhile World Service listeners take Ken to task for spreading fake news about Lionel Messi. We discuss the best-paid teams in world sport and how Mohamed Salah is a new species in football: the fox outside the box. Simon Hughes joins us to discuss Everton's increasingly desperate manager hunt. Is Big Sam the big man the good burghers of Goodison are crying out for? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.