French rugby player Thibaud Flament last week announced that he would not be available to play Ireland in the Six Nations owing to his and his wife’s fertility treatment. On this week’s show, Sinéad and Gavin discuss Flament’s story in the context of how the media covers matters of pregnancy, fertility and parenthood in elite sport.

They illustrate how things have moved on from the days a man would be expected to miss the birth of his child but ask if the conversation has evolved far enough, explaining how we still speak differently of fatherhood as opposed to motherhood and how this reinforces wider tropes.

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Cyclists have become a nightmare in Dublin, according to one headline-making judge last week.

And Judge James O’Donohoe is far from alone in Ireland in feeling comfortable criticising cyclists, despite the fact that 14 were killed in our roads last year, and 45 in the past five years.

This week Gav and Sinead discuss why so many people have such a negative view of cyclists, and cycling itself. Why are the misdemeanors of cyclists talked up while those of drivers in powerful vehicles are overlooked? Why was there a furore over the runaway costs of a bike shed at Leinster House, when the far more expensive car parking facilities are rarely discussed?

Is cycling seen in Ireland as an anachronism - more redolent of our rustic, poorer past and not in keeping with our modern view of ourselves? Or has cycling become part of the online battleground, with the seemingly neutral activity labelled as woke by some culture warriors?

How is the Irish attitude to cycling so different from other northern Europeans, in the Netherlands and Denmark for Scandinavia for example?

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Why is the purported biggest club in British football in such a perpetual state of chaos? Gavin and Sinead delve into the reasons United have failed to adapt to a post Alex Ferguson world, and come to the conclusion that the club needs a powerful figure to oversee the empire, even if that figure is not always reasonable.

We are living in a time of corporate committees running football clubs, with managers and head coaches relegated to the status of a replaceable cog in a wheel.

Yet Gavin argues that this approach is unsuitable to the world of football, where the most successful Premier League clubs in recent seasons still have one dominant, talented figure in charge: Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and now Arsenal under Mikel Arteta.

United, he argues, are afraid of talent, and need to stop investing huge responsibility in head coaches, while not giving them the requisite authority to do their job - which is to lead and do what it takes for the club to thrive at the elite and of the game.

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In these uncertain times, getting even less certain by the hour, Sinead and Gavin take a look ahead to the summer’s World Cup in America and discuss how it will play out.

Most fundamentally, will it take place against a backdrop of military activity? US co-hosts Mexico and Canada have already felt the chill of Donald Trump’s threatening rhetoric, which can, as recent events show, turn to action.

Even if we are in times of peace by June, the World Cup could be beset by several issues. We discuss travel bans to fans of four competing nations and how these undermine the spirit of the competition.

Will Trump follow through on his threat to move games out of certain cities? Will ICE agents arrest fans gathering to watch games? And how will Trump seek to make the most of the global attention that will be available to him during the World Cup?

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Midway through the World Cup cycle, Sinead and Gav assess the health of the Ireland rugby team with an eye on the perennial question: Can we win a World Cup quarter final?

Optimism levels in rugby country are more subdued than usual following a lacklustre Autumn series, while the provinces, especially Leinster, are not inspiring confidence.

The pair discuss what needs to happen between now and October 2027 for Ireland to break through their glass ceiling.

Can Ireland blood enough exciting players to freshen up the team? Can Andy Farrell settle on his best 10? Are the lineout and scrum fixable? Is the unwritten rule that Ireland’s internationals have to play club rugby here a help or a hindrance in the modern game? Is Irish rugby suffering a Lions hangover, or is this World Cup cycle one too many for some key players?

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Mo Salah’s outburst after being left on the bench during Liverpool’s draw with Leeds on Saturday means the legendary forward has probably kicked his last ball for the Reds.

But is Salah right to suggest he has been thrown under the bus by the club he has served so well for eight years? Is it natural that he feels singled out when his drop in form has been replicated across Arne Slot’s expensively assembled squad?

Or has the Egyptian gone too far in his comments, and failed to grasp the coldly transactional nature of professional football?

Gav and Sinead get to grips with the biggest Premier League football story of the season, and in the process grapple with themes of loyalty, status, ego, envy and the challenge of succession planning in a game fraught with unforeseen and crazy events - some of which led to April’s free-scoring title-winning king of Anfield being deemed past it by September.

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Fans across the world are eagerly anticipating the finale of the Formula 1 season this weekend, but how much of that is down to the sport, and how much is due to the dramatisation of everything that is F1 on the Netflix series Drive to Survive?

This week Sinead and Gav marvel at how F1 has cracked America with the help of Netflix, and wonder what Irish sports and teams could benefit from a more open attitude towards documentary series makers.

They discuss which behind-the-scenes shows have been a success, and which have left the viewers feeling short-changed as subjects, such as David Beckham and Wayne Rooney, control their own narrative.

And, in the spirit of open access, Sinead and Gav consider how much they’d like it if a camera crew were given full access to The Journal and The 42 tomorrow.

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After Scotland’s remarkable qualification for next year’s World Cup, captain Andy Robertson gave an emotional insight into his grief following the tragic death of his Liverpool team-mate, Diogo Jota.

On this week’s podcast, Sinéad and Gavin discuss Robertson’s interview, and why it led to a wider media discussion about the continuing impact of Jota’s death on everyone at Liverpool.

With Liverpool enduring a terrible run of results on the pitch, they explore how to discuss the players’ on-field underperformance in the context of this grief. Is Jota’s death and his family’s grief at risk of being trivialised by being used by pundits and journalists to explain poor results on a football pitch? Or are we doing a disservice to the players involved by not acknowledging it?

And why do we not give space to our elite sportspeople to be human beings? Is this unfair on our behalf, or is it part of the contract between supporter and the well-paid football professional: that they are not allowed any room for escapism in what is our favourite form of escapism?

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It is another gloriously happy day, as Sinéad and Gavin continue to bask with the rest of you in the beautiful afterglow of Ireland’s victory in Hungary.

Gavin is back from Budapest and gives Sinéad the lowdown on how the whole, mad drama played out in the stadium. But truly it doesn’t matter where you watch Troy Parrott’s winning goal - what matters is that you are united with millions of Irish people in such total happiness.

Sinéad and Gavin dig into why Ireland’s wins mean so much to so many people. Is this merely proof that we are Football Country, rather than Rugby Country? Or is there something deeper at play?

How has the national football team become such a vital part of our national identity? Why is it so important that a whole generation of players and fans experienced this moment?

Basically - why are we so ludicrously happy?

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How many times has Sinéad asked Gav is it possible? Could we?... is there any way? She should have been asking Troy Parrott.

Ireland's stunning 3-2 win over Hungary is all anyone wants to talk about today. Unfortunately, Gav and Sinéad record on Tuesdays and Gav, naturally, is a wanted man elsewhere today. But we wanted to give our loyal listeners an extra treat - free access to The 42's Football Family podcast.

We will be back tomorrow to talk more football, and the impact of a week like we've just had. But until then, enjoy the insights from The 42's David Sneyd and Shane Keegan, alongside our own Gav.

If you like what you hear, and honestly, how could you not? You can subscribe to The 42 on a trial basis for just 1 euro a month at the moment. What a no brainer. We're in for a busy year!

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