An ex-Ireland captain is now in charge of the rugby department at one of the country’s four provinces. Rory Best, Joe Schmidt’s on-field lieutenant towards the back end of the 2010s, is back in Irish rugby as general manager of his native Ulster.

This is worth a deep dive in and of itself - what is a general manager? Why has Best gone into this role instead of coaching? Is he the Jason Wilcox to Ulster’s Ruben Amorim equivalent? - but add to that Ulster’s recent form and there is plenty to get into.

Best only joined the province three months ago, so there is an element of him coming in on top of good work done previously, but he undoubtedly will have a role in shaping the continuing development of a recently struggling outfit which appears to have turned the corner.

Best joins Nathan Johns to discuss his role, why he came back and if Ulster’s purple patch is a genuine revival for the northern province.

Produced by John Casey.

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