The Counter Ruck

To wrap up what has been a long rugby season filled with extreme highs and at times crushing lows, host Nathan Johns is joined by Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan in this end of season special. Having returned from covering the recent tour of South Africa, John regales us with tales of lost luggage and close shaves with the local wildlife. We also chat through the history of famous Irish drop-goals, with Gordon throwing one of his own efforts into the ring, while we hand out some end of season awards to the players involved.Produced by John Casey.

John O’Sullivan joins The Counter Ruck from South Africa where he is covering Ireland’s upcoming Test series - minus his luggage. As he avoids borrowing clothes from players - for now - John joins Gordon D’Arcy and host Nathan Johns to look back on Irish tours of old, pick apart the South African hype machine and analyse if this series is a step too far for Ireland in what has been a very busy year. Gordon also recalls the time he picked his Leaving Cert over a trip to South Africa - in hindsight a wise choice. Produced by John Casey.

Irish winners of Super Rugby are somewhat of a rarity. Adam Foy is the head of performance analysis with the Blues, the Auckland based franchise which just won the southern hemisphere’s most prestigious club competition last weekend. Having previously worked with Munster and Ireland under Joe Schmidt, Foy moved to New Zealand two years ago. As well as number crunching in rugby, he previously did analysis work for the Dublin footballers. What exactly is the role of the analyst? Is it all numbers and nerds? How do these video boffins get buy in from players and coaches? Has rugby as a sport undergone an analytics revolution previously seen in other sports? Adam gives us his thoughts in the aftermath of a successful season with the Blues.Produced by John Casey.

Leinster and Munster both crashed out of the URC semi-finals in what was a bitter blow to Irish rugby. John O’Sullivan and Nathan Johns chat through the implications of the defeats, as well as Ireland’s squad for their tour of South Africa. Is Leo Cullen’s job under pressure? How did Munster let things slip at home? Why does Andy Farrell see his players differently to the provincial pecking order? Tune in to find out.Produced by John Casey.

Nigel Carolan, the former Connacht academy manager and Ireland U20s head coach, joins The Counter Ruck from Glasgow. Now the Warriors' attack coach, Carolan faces off against Munster this weekend in the URC semi-final. He talks through his own coaching journey, his attacking philosophy as well as his own experience coaching a number of current Irish internationals at underage level. Also on the podcast, Gordon D'Arcy joins host Nathan Johns to preview Leinster's trip to South Africa to take on the Bulls as well as that Munster vs Glasgow clash.Produced by John Casey.

As they prepare to face Leinster this weekend in the URC quarter-finals, this week’s podcast reflects on Ulster’s uptick in fortunes since bringing in Richie Murphy as head coach. In turmoil after a poor league run and an early exit from Europe, Ulster parted ways with previous head coach Dan McFarland. Now under Murphy, the province has recovered somewhat to make the URC playoffs. Gordon D’Arcy, John O’Sullivan and Nathan Johns discuss how Ulster have improved and what constitutes success in Murphy’s rebuilding project.Produced by John Casey.

Gordon D’Arcy joins Nathan Johns to break down Leinster’s third consecutive Champions Cup final defeat. We analyse Leinster’s midfield attack, their decision making around penalties, what could have been done at the breakdown and assess where Leinster go from here domestically and in Europe.Produced by John Casey.

For the week of an Irish province playing in a European final, there has been plenty of news stories away from Leinster's clash with Toulouse. Simon Zebo announced his retirement, the IRFU revealed that it will tweak its controversial central contracts system while it even emerged that Hugo Keenan will return to Sevens in a bid to make Ireland's Olympics squad. Joining host Nathan Johns to pick through the news as well as the actual rugby taking place on Saturday is former Ireland international Gordon D'Arcy.Produced by John Casey.