Second Captains

Amid the joy and celebrations after the Irish women's team qualified for the World Cup, a now infamous video from the team’s dressing room involving a republican song went viral and the subsequent controversy surrounding it seemed to almost immediately overshadow the achievement itself. The reaction to the song then gave way to a much broader debate about nationalism and its place in Irish sport and Irish life.With that in mind we asked Una Mullally of the Irish Times and former Republic of Ireland Manager Brian Kerr to join us live in Liberty Hall Theatre to reflect on the video, the reaction to the video, and the conversation the country needs to have about border polls, nationalism and where we want to be in 10 years time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s never a true Gang’s All Here week without the charisma & enthusiasm of everybody’s favourite West Coast sports radio powerhouse, US Murph. Having just touched down on Irish soil, he was expecting a relaxing few days of conversation and merriment but instead was greeted with word that the biggest Baseball story of the year was breaking back home.We get the lowdown on how he had to cover the news from the warm embrace of Fallon’s Pub in Dublin City, how it feels to be back with us for the first time since the heady days of 2019, as well as a rundown on his Top Three US sport stories of the year.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the start of December Ulster were 22-3 up against Leinster and cruising against 14 men, but fell apart and lost the game 38-29. Then the following week they lost 39-0 to Sale, and this weekend were losing 29-0 at half time to La Rochelle, before a 29 point comeback secured them a losing bonus point and a 4 try bonus point.We ask former Ulster and Ireland centre Darren Cave to explain Ulster's mental state, both now and historically.Gerry Thornley is in studio to look at what has gone wrong and right for the province and if coach Dan McFarland and CEO Jonny Petrie were right to go public on their frustrations with the EPCR for not allowing the game be played in Belfast, rather than an empty Lansdowne Road.Plus there's ROG's facial expressions at the final whistle, Munster's renewed appetite for battles and tackles and we crowbar a mention of Puma legend Hugo Porta into the chat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lionel Messi and Argentina have won the World Cup, and in a fashion so outrageous that no one watching will ever forget it. Tim Vickery and Philippe Auclair give Argentina their due while puzzling over the paucity of the French challenge for 80 minutes. And Ken Early, the Lion of Lusail, joins us one more time, mere hours before his flight home to talk us through the almost unbearable tension of normal time, injury time, extra-time, and injury time in extra-time, before penalties secured Messi’s legacy forever. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Second Captains World Service taster show.Join us for ad-free, contract-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the World Cup in Qatar has taken the majority of our attention over the last few weeks, the rugby wheel has kept on turning. We chat to Shane Horgan about Munster's progress but also basic errors made against Toulouse in the fog in a packed-out Thomond Park. Is the game plan starting to come together, and do they have the players for said game plan? Elsewhere, Leinster & Ulster experienced very different results with the former strolling to an impressive away win over Racing 92, while Ulster seemed to concede every type of try imaginable as they were thumped 39-0 by Sale.  Plus there's Eddie Jones being relieved of his role as England Coach, the return of Warrenball, ROG committing his future to La Rochelle and the GAA making the ballsy decision to go toe to toe with the World Cup Final. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to our bonus Sunday World Cup pod after four of the most dramatic quarter-finals in the competition’s history.We chat with Tim Vickery about the scenes between Argentina and The Netherlands, Brazil’s limp exit and some of the strange refereeing performances over the last few days.We pay tribute to the life and career of American writer and broadcaster Grant Wahl who sadly passed away in Qatar while working on the Argentina game.Plus there’s Ronaldo’s tears, Rue Giroud, England’s missed opportunity, big Wout, Moroccan magic, Messi’s moment. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

England and France dealt with Poland and Senegal with the minimum of fuss today, but how will they handle each other?  Ken got his first look at England in the flesh at this tournament, and he was suitably impressed with Jude Bellingham… but has Kyle Walker got what it takes to stop Kylian Mbappé? We talk to friend of the show Philippe Auclair about Mbappé's red-hot form, and about Giroud, now France’s record goal-scorer.And we discuss Messi's one man band, how much Louis van Gaal is loving life at the moment, and why Declan Rice can safely return to Ireland now that he’s just a middle-aisle Jude Bellingham. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the end of the World Cup group phase and after another day of chaos and disorder we have Luis Suarez in tears, South Korea triumphant and Granit Xhaka sealing his reputation as an Ulster senior football championship-level shithouse.Ken was at both the Uruguay Ghana and Switzerland Serbia games yesterday and he tells us how gleefully Ghana celebrated their own demise when faced with the image of a weeping Suarez and just why Serbia limped so pathetically out of the World Cup.  Plus there’s Uruguay’s valid VAR complaints, South Korea’s deserved progression and another relaxed evening of football with Argentina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

it's been an eventful World Cup for our man on the ground. Ken was on hand to watch Messi inspire his team to the top of Group C with a display that flew in the face of everything we know about attacking football. We also discuss Pulisic's knee to the groin which brings up painful memories for Murph. And Ken gives us the rundown on what delights Doha has to offer. With episodes every night after the matches, there's maybe never been a better time to become a World Service Member. Join us for ad-free, contract-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been another bonkers weekend of World Cup action and there’s only one way to cover it all…. that’s right, it’s a double helping of His Ken-ness!In the big game of the day Germany saved their bacon by going FULL KRUG while Spain forgot to keep playing football. There’s also golden Mbappe, Croatia crushing Canada, “relish it Rabat” and Messi to Miami.Don’t forget we’ve another show out earlier today on Argentina’s win over Mexico. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lionel Messi saved Argentina again last night with a stunning goal to break the deadlock against Mexico. They're back in contention, but can they go all the way? Tim Vickery is far from sure, but the arrival of Enzo Fernandez in their midfield gives them a chance. Plus there's misguided vox pops, Eoin's favourite dressing-room moment of the World Cup so far, and a short audio history of Argentinian post-match celebrations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken has been on hand to witness both Japan's victory over South Africa in the 2015 RWC and their recent win over Germany in the 2022 football World Cup, but the king of world cup upsets didn't stop there as he was also at the Saudi Arabia Argentina game.We discuss Germany's silent gesture, the joyous positivity of Cameroon's Joey N'Do and have a new bed for Ken's glass door incident.Join us for ad-free, contract-free, member-led broadcasting for just €5 + VAT a month at secondcaptains.com/join Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland laboured to a win over Australia to make it three wins from three in the autumn internationals, and yet again a backrower won MOTM. Murph has a theory on this trend.We talk to former Ireland stars Gordon Darcy and Shane Horgan about Ireland's muddled attack, strange decision making, but also their guts and defiance. How did debutant Jack Crowley do, have we an issue with taking high balls, has our phase game been worked out and will we be the better for these hard fought wins?We also look at how the Nic White concussion was missed by those responsible and if the independent doctors are relying too much on the Head Injury Assessment process while missing the key information seen by all 50,000 people in the stadium.Plus there's the rise and rise and rise of Josh Van Der Flier, ROG for England and the Welsh football song that made Murph weep at breakfast time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 2022 World Cup has begun and Ken was at the Al Bayt stadium to see the hosts lose 2-0 to Ecuador with a hopeless display. You still can't buy success in international football, well not yet anyway.We catch up with Miguel Delaney to talk about Gianni Infantino's outlandish press conference performance on Saturday, and the bizarre scene of an opening world cup match being played in front of an almost empty stadium.And with Ken's world cup barely 12 hours old he's already had his first traumatic travel tale to tell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.