The Second Captains Podcast

Last night we helped to launch Richie Sadlier's new book, Recovering, at the Chocolate Factory on King's Inns Street.In this interview, Richie explains how he decided to write the book, discusses some of the personal revelations in the story, and tells us how he feels now it's all out there. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland have been undone at rugby world cups in many different ways over the years - from Michael Lynagh, to 15-man lineouts, to Juan Imhoff... but we've never been knocked out by a freak weather event before - UNTIL NOW. It turns out there are alternative arrangements in place if indeed a typhoon does roll into town on Saturday and makes our final match against Samoa unplayable... but it's a World Cup, which means we're a little jumpier than usual. Gerry Thornley of the Irish Times joins us from Japan. The World Athletics Championships in Doha have been a bit of a disaster, from the empty stands that we saw at the start of the week to the 4-year ban handed out in the middle of the event to the most recognisable coach in the sport, Alberto Salazar. Salazar's woes began with a BBC Panorama documentary, and we speak today to the maker of that programme, Mark Daly. Plus there's permutations galore, Seb Coe, Ciara Mageean and the Tier 1 golden circle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Irish football has been free of John Delaney for just over a week now - and already a great green wave of Gaelic genius threatens to engulf the Premier League.Is it fair that Mauricio Pochettino's position at Tottenham should be questioned simply because his team were blown away by the most talented human being ever to emerge from the city of Galway?After we have surveyed the happiness and unhappiness of various Premier League families, Miguel Delaney and Simon Hughes join us to analyse the weekend's football. How are Liverpool keeping their heads while all around are losing theirs? And what are Manchester United and Tottenham going to do about their embattled managers? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's the start of the month, which means it's high time you joined the Second Captains World Service - but if just asking you isn't persuasive enough, here are some highlights from this week so far. The Players Chair was back this week, with a rollicking good chat with Ireland and Wolves defender Matt Doherty. Richie talks to him about Martin O'Neill, Richard Keogh, 'personal' injuries and how likely or otherwise he is to start in Georgia next week. You'll also hear Shane Horgan's rather scathing assessment of Ireland's performance against Japan, and there's Pat Kenny's rallying call to any Irish rugby players feeling the heat with this 5-day turnaround in Japan... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland are still in the Rugby World Cup but... our 19-12 loss to Japan now means we must talk about the bad old days again.We recorded a live podcast moments after the final whistle in our home-away-from-home, the Liberty Hall Theatre in Dublin, with Andrew Trimble and Eoin Reddan, and some uncomfortable home truths were brought to us. We are now an inconsistent team, and we have no real understanding of how well or badly we're going to play from week to week. That still means we could do something at this World Cup, but the smart money wouldn't be on it. We also had the searing rugby insights of David O'Doherty, who gave us a master-class in the dark arts on the David O'Doherty Rugby World Cup Skillz Mat. One emailer reminds us of Ireland's glorious tradition as rugby missionaries, and there's the Sexton conundrum as the team announcement for our next match on Thursday looms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's all over between John Delaney and the FAI. We reminisce about the bad times, and the crazy times.Leicester's 5-0 demolition job on Newcastle posed a couple of questions. Is Jamie Vardy the most underrated player of his generation? And how has Coach Rodgers gone so quickly from being a bright young manager learning his trade, to a grandee of the game?We also talk about Manchester City's victory at Everton, which featured a stellar performance from Riyad Mahrez, and more slightly confused soundbites from Pep.Then Mark Tighe of the Sunday Times joins us to reflect on the last six months in the story of John Delaney and the FAI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland outmuscled Scotland, but that aside, what else did we do right, and what else did we learn? Will Jordan Larmour hold onto the 15 jersey? Is Stockdale now a master defender? Have we the forwards to beat South Africa? We chat to Shane Horgan about vintage Ireland, pathetic Scotland, crafty Kiwis and a thrilling opening weekend. Shane says there’s plenty for Ireland to be encouraged by in the Boks opening display, but can we survive a 20 minute physical onslaught the way NZ did?We chat to Gerry Thornley about the positivity flowing through the Ireland camp, managing Sexton’s physical load and why the hosts will improve dramatically from their opener against Russia.Plus there’s Eddie V Heaslip, group flow, ITV’s dojo and Cheika getting caught out by Fiji’s smiling assassins. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liverpool made it six wins in a row but finished the match clinging on as Chelsea, inspired by their fans' generosity of spirit, threw everything at them in search of an equaliser. Manchester City won 8-0 and then the hero of the day, Bernardo Silva, soured the moment by blundering into a social media racism controversy.Gabriele Marcotti joins us to discuss why the mood at Stamford Bridge remains buoyant in the face of poor results, the absence of Pulisic from Lampard's teamsheets, and to give his thoughts on Inter's victory in the Milan derby.And Laurie Whitwell was at the London Stadium to see Manchester United's defeat to West Ham. Can he see any positives for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, where Jose Mourinho could not? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Champions League is underway, the RWC 2019 is underway and grunge week is over - its the perfect time to join the Second Captains World Service secondcaptains.com/join .Shane Horgan told us this week that he reckons England are going to win the whole thing, and along with Donnacha Ryan, Eoin Reddan, Gerry Thornley and Mattie Williams, you'll get all the biggest rugby brains giving you the best insight and analysis.Earlier this week, Jonny Cooper told us about the words of consolation from Jack McCaffrey after his sending-off in the drawn All-Ireland final that inspired him for last Saturday's replay.Plus Ken bullying Eoin, live show discounts and trouble in the camp. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

'No-one likes us, we don't care' would appear to be the attitude of some Dublin fans... but is there a silent majority of the country who, while they'd rather see the cups getting shared around a bit, are nonetheless more than willing to give credit where it's due? Oisin McConville and Mike Quirke give us their thoughts on the greatest team of all time, the players and manager that made them, and the fault-lines that could yet appear on the horizon. Not even 24 hours after the Dubs won the men's final, their women's team were at it as well, and we speak to 2017 footballer of the year Noelle Healy, who kicked the last point of their 2-3 to 0-4 win over Galway. Plus there's crowd trouble on the Hill, Eoin meets Michéal Martin, Oisin's beef with Johnny Magee, and Mike Quirke's new job. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.