The Second Captains Podcast

The magic of the FA Cup cast its spell as Plymouth slew the giants of Liverpool - but is it really still magic if the giants don't care?Ange Postecoglou responded to another Tottenham defeat with a harrowing speech about the chronic injury situation. Is even the injury situation also all Postecoglou's fault? And does playing more games make you more or less likely to get injured? We try to make sense of conflicting evidence.--

10 points from 10, two of our three 6N rivals beaten, the three in a row still on, the slam still alive, and a young outhalf improving by the week - these are salad days for Irish rugby!We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about the win, a dismal Scottish display, Sam Prendergast's performance, French butchers, England finding their Fin, concussion protocols and who Easterby should select for the Wales game.Plus there's a comprehensive 6N permutations slot, the fun police are out, and ROG delivers.

'All THIS?! FOR ONLY FIVE EURO A MONTH PLUS VAT?!', is what you'll be saying after listening to this week's World Service taster menu. Come see if our selection of tantalising hors d'oeuvres don't tempt you to try our whole member-led, ad-free buffet? Just go to secondcaptains.com/join now. 

At half time on Saturday a lot was on the line for Ireland as they trailed England 10-5; there was the 2025 6N, the shot at winning an historic three in a row, and there was the fear that a great Irish team was in terminal decline. Second half tries from Bundee, Beirne and Dan Sheehan put some of those issues to bed, and sent Irish fans home happy and glorious.We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent and Tom English of BBC Scotland about how Ireland eventually worked out England's defence, the impact of Jack Crowley, Dan Sheehan's incredible recovery from an ACL rupture, and how the Scots are shaping up ahead of the match in Murrayfield.Plus there's the performance of DJ Mark McCabe, a capella Fields Of Athenry, and Rory's battle with Lowry for prestige, and loads of cash, at Pebble Beach.

Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Ken eating humble Arsenal pie and then hitting his apology quota for the year, a monster 6N preview, US Murph's lock of the week, Villa's victory and volatility, and a whole load of permutations.Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.

At the dawn of a new era for Gaelic football we’ve got one of the greats of the last two decades, Conor McManus, on the show to talk about retirement and the GAA 2.0.With the Football League underway the ''New Rules'' are finally the rules. Paul Flynn and Conor chat to us about this brave new world of the tap and go, 2 point arcs, reduced shithousery and stranded keepers.Plus there's Ciaran Whelan's giant gloves, International Rules and a gloating Eagle.

Michael Oliver tried to plunge another dagger into the heart of Arsenal but his wicked plan backfired as the substitute he caused to be introduced, Riccardo Calafiori, scored the winning goal against Wolves. At least that's one popular narrative of what happened at Molineux on Saturday. We discuss whether Oliver might be the real victim of injustice here. Ruben Amorim has turned 40 and his comments on Marcus Rashford are getting more unpleasant. Is there a strategy here or is Amorim simply getting meaner with age?John Brewin and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the weekend's football. John was at the Vitality Stadium to see Andoni Iraola's Football of the Future. Rich saw Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov make contrasting debuts for Manchester City. We also argue over whether Daniel Levy is to blame for Ange Postecoglou's continuing purgatory at Tottenham.

Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Ken's Man City eulogy, hatin' on Dublin superclubs and US Murph on "the drop" and the rookie QB lighting up the playoffs.Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.

Jack Crowley gave two brilliant try assists, kicked a touchline conversion, made big tackles, launched counter attacks, caught high kicks, geed up the crowd, and at the very end of Munster's game in Northampton, made a line break that could have secured home advantage for the Champions Cup Round of 16. It wasn't quite enough for Munster, but will it be enough to get him the Ireland 10 jersey?If Leinster wanted to stress test their blitz defence then they had just the man in Finn Russell, who put Bath into a 14-0 lead and later a 21-19 lead, forcing Leinster to go into attack mode. We learned something new about holes in Leinster's defensive system, but also about just how good they can be in attack, when they really need to be. We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about a weekend of thrills and spills, Munster's trip to La Rochelle, ridiculous Toulouse and the Leinster way.Plus there's Leinster's X problem, heavy metal poison and Novak's gripe with an Aussie tennis broadcaster.