The Second Captains Podcast

Eoin is feeling sore after England's women's rugby team trampled on his dreams and Ken thinks Tiger's mum may have sent him some mixed messages.In the wake of a heavy semi final defeat to England we discuss success, failure, the end of a generation and future prospects for women's rugby in Ireland with team captain Fiona Coghlan.US Murph talks to us about the post Tiger era in America, Rory's tv charm and the Nascar disaster involving Tony Stewart and the young driver Kevin Ward. And Benny Dunne and Christy O'Connor explain why they are both going for Tipp this weekend Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin and Ken talk about Arsene Wenger's optimism, Aaron Ramsey's dynamism, and Liam Brady's pessimism about the future of Irish football. Jonathan Wilson tells us whether this really is going to be Arsenal's year. And Henk Ten Cate joins us to talk about what he's learned in a football life that's taken him to Ajax, Barcelona and Chelsea among many other clubs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory McIlroy showed that he could tough it out in the majors when he took the USPGA title again last night. We discuss the remarkable performance, where Rory goes from here & the slow play of Mickleson and Fowler with Dave Hannigan and Malachy Clerkin.Nicky English will dissect yesterday's dramatic match at Croke Park between Kilkenny and Limerick and Anthony Moyles and recently retired Meath footballer Seamus Kenny join us in studio to painfully discuss the seemingly unbeatable Dubs.We'll also talk uncomfortable Sheikhs, awkward cameramen, Fun Robbie Keane and a new edition of Ken Early's Women's Rugby World Cup Crystal Ball. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran discuss the new MOTD panel, the attractiveness of the Celtic job and the pre-season sourness of Pep Guardiola. Alex Massie joins us to talk about the Hearts team of 1914 who volunteered en masse to fight in the First World War.And with Liverpool having already spent about £88m on new players this summer, Tony Barrett assesses whether even more investment is needed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Irish women's rugby team's defeat of New Zealand on Tuesday evening was a monument to hard work, belief, and skill - we speak to Ireland's most capped player and friend of the show Lynne Cantwell about where she thinks this team can go in the tournament. Do Limerick have it within them to beat Kilkenny this weekend - at least one member of the Second Captains is willing to stake whatever's left of his reputation (admittedly not a lot) on the men in green. And Kildare's Emmet Bolton joins us to talk about what the week after you're knocked out of the championship is like for an inter-county footballer, and whether Monaghan have what it takes to beat the Dubs. World War 1 documentaries, the world's leakiest media ban, and the return of Ken Early's World Cup Crystal Ball all in the mix too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran discuss the perils of commentating off tube and the difference between upward and downward communications. Andrew Mangan of Arseblog joins us in studio to talk about the growth of football in the US and Arsenal's smooth, suave pre-season. And John Brewin analyses the state of Manchester United after they shook up the world by beating Liverpool 3-1 in The Game America Wanted To See. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Early makes his triumphant return to studio after a week of foam parties in Playa Des Ingles, and there's plenty to discuss. Aindriu Mac Lochlainn and Karol Mannion tell us why we need more pre-match WWE-style grandstanding by GAA managers, and we add further fuel to the vile anti-Colm Cooper propaganda currently sweeping the nation. Rory McIlroy is back at number 1 in the world rankings, and is on a molten hot streak ahead of start of the US PGA championship this Thursday. And with Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods absent for different reasons, he looks well set to put 3 wins back to back. And we have Ponies, donkeys, deer-antlers, and other hooved quadripeds all featuring prominently. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everyone said they'd like to be the man AFTER the man chosen to replace Alex Ferguson at Manchester United - Louis van Gaal is the man in that enviable position now, and he appears not to have put a foot wrong. He's winning friendlies, glorying in the comparisons between him and Moyes... the only dark cloud on the horizon for him is that at some stage the Premier League season is going to have to start. And Irish football legend Kevin Sheedy joins us to talk about a stellar couple of days for Everton, with Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley both committing themselves to the club. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The action in the gaelic football and hurling championships is now focused solely on Croke Park, and with four games this weekend, Oisin McConville and Anthony Moyles tell us about how the stadium itself elevates this to another level of competition altogether. Conor McGregor's win in the UFC in the o2 was one of the most talked-about sporting events of the year so far. We talk to his coach and the Godfather of MMA in Ireland, John Kavanagh, about how the hype helps McGregor, and what McGregor has to do for his achievements to catch up to his acclaim. And we talk about the bloodiest challenge matches ever played, fulfilling the siege mentality quota for one summer, and a tradition as old as the GAA itself - pinning up hostile articles on a dressing-room wall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the basis of yesterday's double-header in Thurles, hurling is in crisis. Can we stand idly by and watch the demise of our national sport, or was it maybe just a case of hurling finally having a disappointing day after 2 years of consistent soaring excellence? Malachy Clerkin and Maurice O'Brien separate the hurling from the hyperbole, discuss Daly's future with Dubs and why Tipp are over rated.Galway won an extraordinary game of football against Tipperary on Saturday evening - when the goals stopped going in and the mental arithmetic finished, it was 4-17 to 4-12, we talk to man of the match performer, Galway's corner-forward Michael Martin.And why do we get our backs up about the Commonwealth Games? Tom English, an Irishman working for the BBC explains why this is the biggest love-in in Glagow's history. Plus there's Murph's Ferris Bueller moment, Wexford's entourage, north Galway's Youtube sensation and lulled somnambulants wandering around mid-Tipperary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.