The Second Captains Podcast

Ireland seemed to learn something about themselves in the games against Italy, Scotland and England - and that regained momentum led them to a comfortable bonus point win over France. Eoin Reddan joins Gerry Thornley to figure out what changed in the intervening weeks, what tactical issues were resolved, and what role high 5's and bro hugs played in the turnaround. Aoife Lane, founder and former chairperson of the WGPA wrote a brilliant column in the Irish Examiner about why ladies football and camogie are run by separate organisations set aside from the GAA, despite the many and obvious ways in which the games co-exist together with Gaelic football and hurling - and she joins us for a chat. Plus there's the man Eoin is pinning all our hopes on to win the 6 Nations, we get an update on the current whereabouts of friend of the show Ken Burley, we talk some more (but still not enough) about Carlow, and McDevitt workshops some of his stand-up material. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So looking back, Sergio, what have you learned from your experiences with Real Madrid? Well, that's a tricky question, Terry. But as I always say, we skipped the light fandango, turned cartwheels cross the floor...Sergio Ramos' Twitter self-interview provides some light relief after a more-than-averagely violent and chaotic weekend of football. It's a problem football hasn't spent much time thinking about lately: how can fans be dissuaded from invading the pitch and attacking the players? Also today, we speak to Rory Smith about his NYT interview with Raheem Sterling and the media's role in fuelling racism and prejudice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Ciara Mageean sat down to record an episode of The Players Chair with Richie Sadlier last year, she was coping with changing coach, living in England, and trying to put disappointment behind her. We're delighted to catch up with her today to talk about her bronze in the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow last night. Tommy Walsh is experiencing a third coming in the Kerry football team - 11 years after bursting onto the scene as a teenager, and 4 years after failing to make any impact on his return from Australia. It's been one of the stories of the NFL this year, and his club manager Mike Quirke is on the line to tell us what's changed. Plus there's Ken's by-now obligatory near-death experience while abroad, we reveal the exclusive audio of the moment Peter O'Mahony asked Joe Schmidt if he and the boys could have a few beers, and the abomination in Ulster schools Gaelic football that had the country talking. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken is back from Australia and Eoin is back from Premier Sports to talk about the weekend's football.Jurgen Klopp's tetchy responses after Liverpool's draw at Everton suggest that some of those questions about whether they took enough risk in the game were a bit too close to the bone. Meanwhile City shrugged off more Football Leaks revelations to cruise past Bournemouth and retake the lead. How does this weekend affect the balance of the title race psychodrama? And why would neutrals rather see Liverpool choke than City?Also today, Dermot Corrigan joins us from the Real Madrid training ground to discuss how the European champions are taking a week off being dominated by Barcelona at their own stadium. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just what is going on with Ireland? It might seem a strange question to ask after a weekend that saw England beaten, Ireland win their second game in a row, and secure their first bonus point of the tournament - but that's where we are. Shane Horgan is starting to get a little worried, and he's on the line to share his concerns. Ireland might just be trying too hard to force the issue. But when the brilliance of the New Zealand performance is still so fresh in the memory, it's hard not to be frustrated at the sheer number of elementary mistakes being made. Wales legend Jonathan Davies is on the line to tell us just how good people in Wales are feeling after their monumental performance in taking down England on Saturday - a game that showcased all the glorious madness of the 6 Nations. And while Congress was for the most part, deathly dull, there was one decision that rankled - Dublin will continue to be allowed play 2 games in Croke Park this year. There's a lot of blame to go around regarding this situation, and Murph doesn't spare any of the guilty parties... Plus there's Peter O'Mahony's pre-France game hangover that we feel needs to happen, tired Italian stereotypes make a social media comeback, and Eoin actually really likes Warren Gatland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The moment when Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga refused to come off at the end of yesterday's Carabao Cup final might have been sadly indicative of the insanity of Chelsea's dressing-room, but Eoin McDevitt believes it might have more widespread implications for the game as a whole - was yesterday the day the lunatics took over the asylum? Miguel Delaney found himself in the heart of the action yesterday as he interviewed and interpreted for the young Spanish goalkeeper after the game, and we're also joined by Dion Fanning and Jonathan Wilson. And as you'd expect, Jonathan has an example from the dim and distant football past... and the story is peak Jonathan Wilson. Kepa's run-in with his manager overshadowed Jordan Henderson's own mini-strop on the sideline after Jurgen Klopp took him off, but what's going on with Liverpool? They failed to fire again against a severely-understrength Man United. Plus there's Eoin vs Kinger, at least Chelsea's PR unit are a team, and as football tears itself apart over Kepa, the GAA world says 'so what, this happens every week'. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New slots including McTepid, Irish Scapegoats Of Days Gone By and Nesbitt's Lonely planet emerged this week but that hasn't helped Eoin's ego after once again he was made to look a fool by one of our rugby pundits.We had loads of Champions league analysis, Damien Delaney on managers losing the dressingroom, previews for Man Utd v Liverpool, 6N talk, and Pep gets the "where did you get it all SO wrong" treatment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Limerick ended 2018 as All-Ireland champions for the first time in 45 years, and they've started 2019 in menacing fashion - beating Wexford away before hammering Tipperary and Kilkenny in successive games. Malachy Clerkin of the Irish Times, and former Limerick captain Donal O'Grady are on the show trying to figure out if Limerick are going all-out for league glory, or if it's a case of them water-skiing on the good vibes of last August. And we discuss Jackie Tyrrell's assertion that they're not in the top 3 teams in the country - gross blasphemy, or something even worse than that? We had a brilliant chat with Howard Bryant about his book "The Heritage: Black Athletes, a Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism" late last year, and he's back on the show today to talk to us about the news that Colin Kaepernick has settled his collusion lawsuit against the NFL. Plus Murph reveals that some of his best friends are from Clare, we pay homage to Ken's hurling nous, and Stuart Barnes throwing petrol-bombs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's shaping up to be a big week for Jurgen Klopp, as his Liverpool team meet the challenge of Bayern Munich, a team Klopp has had reason to be at logger heads with over the years. Simon Hughes of the Independent joins us to talk about why Klopp so angered Bayern during his time with Dortmund, his relationship with Uli Hoeness, the loss of Virgil, and why a draw might not be such a bad result tomorrow night for Liverpool. We also talk to James Montague, author of the brilliant "The Billionaires Club", about the story of Bahrainian footballer Hakeem Al Araibi, who was saved from deportation and possibly death by a global movement led by former Australian Socceroos captains Craig Foster. Plus there's #JadoreInchicore, Ken's Kastaway, Klopp sings, why a German curse can equal Irish good luck, and we launch German indie week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Expect the worst says Eoin, after having his Irish heart crushed by England's Declan Rice. Ken explains this whole sorry saga via a Valentine's message.Pat Kenny has some good clean fun for you all.And we have a teaser for Richie Sadlier's latest Player's Chair interview with Ireland's most decorated and most capped player of all time, the legendary Emma Byrne. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.