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The Second Captains Podcast
Ep 3210: Crowley's Class, Connacht In Castlebar, Leinster Bite Sharks, Ireland Hammer Italy - 31/03/25
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It was a positive weekend for Irish rugby with the women's team getting a near flawless 8 try victory in Italy, Leinster's B / C team taking down Siya Kolisi's star studded Sharks in Durban, Ulster showing further signs of life against the Stormers, and Munster's halfbacks steering them to a win over Connacht. And even Connacht, as bad as they were at times, can feel they got something out of the game with two losing bonus points, a sellout crowd and a small footprint made in GAA territory.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about the occasion in Castelbar, Connacht's great attack and terrible defence, Jack Crowley's contract situation, Leinster's defiance in Durban ahead of Quins in Croker, and the total transformation in the Irish women's team over the last 12 months.
Plus there's "Lunnachts", Murph's Leaving Cert drinks and Munster's trip to ROG country.
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Ep 3250: Palace Make Wembley Shake, Peno Game Theory, Amorim V Glasner - 19/05/25
01:18:54|The FA Cup: good when the underdogs actually win. We look at some key moments of Palace's epic and emotional victory. Why didn't the VAR send Dean Henderson off? Why did Erling Haaland let Marmoush take the penalty? And did Oliver Glasner get in Pep Guardiola's head when he warned him, you play that system against us again and we will solve it? And in Europa League final week, we wonder: how did Oliver Glasner manage to come in mid-season, switch to 3-4-3, and win most of his remaining PL games, while certain other managers who have tried to do something similar have failed? Damien Delaney was over to watch his old club win their first ever major trophy - he joins us to talk about an incredible day at Wembley.
Ep 3250: Limerick Quell Rebels, Naked Mountaineering, Maestro Lynch
48:51|Limerick and Cork has been the marquee hurling rivalry of the recent past - but yesterday in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick sent out a fairly thundering message that they are the team to beat in this year's All-Ireland championship. Liam Rushe and Jamie Wall are in studio again to talk to us about Kyle Hayes' dominance, Cork's naive puck-out defence, why Waterford may worry Cork next weekend with a place in the Munster final at stake, and Dublin's 'moral victory' in Nowlan Park. There's also the arresting image of a former RTE GAA analyst climbing Everest in the nude, Aidan O'Shea, and more Cian Lynch magic.
Brazil And Argentina's Football Cultures, Glorious GAA, The Great Kate, Ken's War - 15/05/25
45:10|Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes the mighty Kate O'Connor live in Belfast on her incredible year of success, Ken on his US civil war ancestor, a brilliant GAA show with Paul Flynn and Oisin McConville, and fan favourite Tim Vickery on why Brazil and Argentina have such different football philosophies.For access to all our shows go to secondcaptains.com/join - its 5 euro a month with no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no sneaky contract, no ads, just lots and lots of podcast fun.
Ep 3245: Can Clare Beat The Odds?, Skorts Saga Rumbles On, Cork & Limerick Go Again, Louth Take Leinster - 12/05/25
45:16|The All-Ireland champions Clare are on the precipice after their defeat at home to Tipperary in a packed Cusack Park in Ennis on Saturday - but our analysts Liam Rushe and Jamie Wall reckon there's still a chance they survive. We also discuss the skorts issue that continues to rumble on inexplicably, John McGrath's late-career renaissance, Shane O'Donnell's return, and there's Limerick/Cork to look forward to this weekend too. We also reflect briefly on Louth's thrilling Leinster football final win, Sam Mulroy's heroics, and Murph getting abused by a celebrating Louth-man.
Ep 3244: Trent's Bernaboo, Ruben Amorim Pundit Of The Season, The Moose Is Loose, Classic Classico
01:18:16|The spectrum of football emotion runs wide. At one end, Trent Alexander-Arnold, once beloved and now accursed by his own people. At the other the Moose, surfing to his first LOI goal on a tidal wave of inexplicable love. Football can be a confusing place for footballers.We talk about another epic Clasico as Real Madrid fall apart in a comical first half in Montjuic. Have they grown desperate enough to submit to the kind of coach who will tell them how to play football?Dion Fanning and Rory Smith join us to talk about the weekend's football. Does the treatment of Trent reflect badly on Liverpool? And as Ruben Amorim aims another devastating broadside at his own club, how long do we think this project has left to run?
Second Captains Live at the Guinness Open Gate Brewery
42:42|Join us live from the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Dublin City, with Gary Breen and Damien Delaney for a very special Second Captains football podcast, as we reflect on the Premier League season that was.Have Salah’s legs gone, what next for our boy Caoimhín and just why is Chelsea’s Enzo Maresca the anti-McIlroy? Plus Ken puts some working relationships on the line as Gary and Damien wait to see if either of them make it into his All-time Premier League XI (spoiler: they don't).
Ep 3239: Leinster Lose Their Minds And Lose The Game, The Galactico Model, Nienaber's Defence, Jordie Benched - 05/05/25
01:13:32|From the moment we saw the team-sheets, right through to the final moments when they chose not to kick at goal, this was a baffling display by the coaching staff and players, and it all ended with a defeat that will have repercussions far beyond the province of Leinster.We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhrí O'Connor about the mental state of the players for this Northampton game, the starting team chosen, the Nienaber defensive system, the funding model in Irish rugby, and where this latest defeat leaves Leo Cullen.And we try to define what it means to "choke", and if it was arrogance, overthinking or panic that caused the team to not kick that penalty on 75 mins to level the scores.Plus there's Pollock power, Prendergast pawing, and trying to place this defeat in the pantheon of Irish sporting failures.
Arteta's Psychobabble, Life In Gaza, Don Diego On Decay
27:26|Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes Ken on Arteta's psycho babble and Lamine Yamal's greatness, Diego Torres on Arsenal's decay, Meath beating the Dubs, and Abubaker Abed came to our studio for a sit-down with Ken. Abubaker arrived in Dublin late last month having left the Gaza Strip for the first time in his life. He had hoped to study and become a sports journalist but conflict came to him first, pushing him into becoming an accidental war reporter. Join in the fun 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.
Ep 3234: Liverpool Champions, Slots Right In, Copa del Rüdiger - 28/04/25
01:24:20|Liverpool are the 24-25 Premier League champions. We talk about their victorious campaign, why this should be regarded as one of the great coaching achievements in English football history, and why other Liverpool managers who came close in the past might feel a little envious of the circumstances in which Arne Slot won the Premier League at his first attempt. We also discuss an incredible Copa Del Rey final and the latest theories about why Florentino Perez has allowed Madrid to become a sore-loser "anti-organisation". Neil Atkinson of TAW joins us to talk about why this title means so much to Liverpool, how Arne Slot transformed last season's third-placed side into champions, and what remains to be done for the rest of the season.