It was all about the Irish national teams this week on the World Service. First up, the Irish Football team who fly into Paris for their Euro qualifier against the French as lambs for the proverbial slaughter - if Richie and the lads are to be believed.
More hope, maybe, for the rugby team as the Rugby World Cup kicks off on Friday with Ireland going in as slight favourites - if AI supercomputer data models are to be believed.
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.

A Tale Of Two Irelands, Supercomputer's Favourites, Audio Doomscrolling

Listen to the award winning Second Captains free to air podcasts featuring The Second Captains Podcast and Second Captains Football. Join The Second Captains World Service and get access to our daily shows and much more. Become a Second Captains member at secondcaptains.com. - iTunes Podcast of the Year - iTunes Essentials Top 10 Podcasts of All-Time - The Guardian's 50 Podcasts You Need To Hear - Ireland's Most-Downloaded Podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sports

Erik ten Hag finally cottoned on to the winning formula for Man United managers - treat the press scum with the contempt they deserve and win the hearts of the crowd.
But did this display of alpha dominance come too late to save his job? We argue the case for and against.
Mark Critchley and Barney Ronay join us to look back at the FA Cup final - and forward to United's season review. Where did it all go wrong for City? Does a glorious win secure ten Hag's future at United? Should it?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 2951: Drink A Drink To Erik The King -  27/05/24

Yet again it was Champions Cup misery for Leinster, this time with Extra Time, for maximum pain and anguish. 
Despite trumping Toulouse on almost every conceivable metric and spending lots of the game in the opposition 22, they conceded 19 turnovers and failed to score a try in normal time. We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about death by poach, the "take your points" decision-making process and a performance for the ages from Antoine "everything everywhere all at once" Dupont.
Are Leinster’s issues simply rooted in a fragile mentality? Has their old attacking DNA been neglected? Where exactly was the Nienaber knockout rugby mentality? What do they do about their gaggle of outhalves? And can they win the URC with all those broken hearts knocking about the place?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 2950: Leinster Max Out On Misery, Death By Poach, Take Your Points, The Dupont Show - 27/05/2024

Welcome to our World Service Best Of show. This week, we feature a chat about the brave new world of top-level football management with Jonathan Wilson, celebrity St. Pats fan Ciarán Murphy's trip to Richmond Park, the culmination of what's been a box office Munster Hurling Championship, and why Shane Horgan is feeling shaky about Leinster's chances ahead of this weekend's Champions Cup Final.
Monday’s shows are free to all. To listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. There’s no contracts, no hidden fees and shows can be listened to on all good podcast apps, on Spotify or through our website. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Ken’s Football Show, The Politics Podcast, The “I’ll Tell You Who Wrote It” Book Club and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, such as our international series ‘Where Is George Gibney?’. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New Guard Of Management, Leinster's Everest, Bossman vs Duffer, Cork Hurling Hype Train

Having been dubbed “Mr Thursday” by certain ill-informed commentators last week, Xander Schauffele answered every criticism in securing his first major title. 
We review a wild US PGA championship with Gavin Cooney and Lawrence Donegan, featuring arrests, Kentucky Cops, divorce, Rory's repeat and Shane Lowry’s 62. 
We also discuss Oleksandr Usyk’s thrilling split-decision win over Tyson Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world on Saturday night - and Ken asks when is a knockdown not a knockdown? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 2945: Mister Sunday, Kentucky Cops, Lowry's 62, Usyk Unifies

Manchester City are champions, as it was foretold by Eoin McDevitt some months ago following their 0-0 draw with Arsenal. No Premier League opponent got within two goals of them since, as also foretold by Eoin McDevitt.
With all this having been so long foretold, we start off today talking about Jurgen Klopp's farewell at Anfield and what the early reactions might be foretelling us about the future.
Dion Fanning and Lars Sivertsen join us to look back on the final day and the Premier League season in general. How excited were they to watch City's historic four-in-a-row? How does Jurgen Klopp manage to always leave his clubs wanting more? Is Rodri correct that Arsenal lacked the winning mentality to seal the deal? And while we're about it, what's next for Roberto de Zerbi? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A Tale Of Two Irelands, Supercomputer's Favourites, Audio Doomscrolling

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