This year’s Lions tour has been laden with negative coverage of how the tourists have endeared themselves to (or otherwise) to the Australian public. With disputes on the strength of touring sides, blocking players from lining out and the general negativity surrounding the standard of the Wallabies, it feels this tour has been as memorable for off-field storylines as much as on-field ones.

Do the Lions need to be popular in their host country? Does any of this matter so long as the Lions win? Are we really talking about the demise of tours to Australia?

Host Nathan Johns is joined by sportswriter at the Sydney Morning Herald, Jonathan Drennan.

Read about the Lions tour: irishtimes.com/sport/rugby

Produced by John Casey.

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As was widely expected, the Lions were too strong for Australia during Saturday’s first Test in Brisbane. How did Andy Farrell’s side go about working past Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies?

A fast start gave way to a middling if not average second half display. Does this give Australia hope of a series comeback, or did the Lions simply take their foot off the gas?

Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join Nathan Johns to pick analyse where the game was won and lost. We also conduct a postmortem on the year for Ireland U20s after they just about avoided a World Cup wooden spoon with a narrow victory over Spain.

Read about the Lions tour: irishtimes.com/sport/rugby

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The teams have been named for Saturday’s first Lions Test and Australia are missing a number of big names. With Will Skelton, Rob Valetini and Taniela Tupou among those on the sidelines, concerns abound for Joe Schmidt’s ability to put together a competitive gameplan.

Will wily Joe have something up his sleeve? Will Saturday turn into a uncompetitive drubbing, a nightmare scenario for the tour as a whole?

Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley is on the ground in Brisbane. He joins Nathan Johns to preview the first Test between the Lions and the Wallabies.

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Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to recap the weekend’s action: South Africa’s hijinks, Ireland’s century and the Lions’ final warm-up game are all up for discussion.

What, if anything, did we learn about an Irish side which scored 100+ points against a poor Portuguese side? Is this Lions side genuinely world class, or are they just playing against bad opposition? Will this slow build-up be worth it once the Test series gets underway?

Fancy joining us for our live show? Head to irishtimes.com/events to join Gordon, John, Nathan and Irish Lion Sean O’Brien as we preview the first Test vs Australia.

Got a question for the panel on the night? Email [email protected]. 

Produced by John Casey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rugby action continues to come thick and fast. John O’Sullivan is in Portugal to preview Ireland’s clash in Lisbon, and he joins host Nathan Johns for today’s episode.

We chat Ireland’s selection of fast wings, Jamie Osborne’s Lions call-up, Andy Farrell’s selection conundrums and take a deep dive into the disappointing U20s campaign at the World Championships.

Like what you hear? Join Nathan, John, Gordon D’Arcy and Seán O’Brien in the Harcourt Bar on July 16th for a Lions preview live show.

Tickets and information here: http://irishtimes.com/events

Produced by John Casey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The rugby action continues at full steam ahead. The Lions struggled against the Waratahs in Sydney while Ireland’s second string impressed in Tbilisi. Meanwhile the U20s continued their struggles against Italy. All this before you mention Wales losing to Japan, France’s B team putting it up to the All Blacks and Fiji giving Australia a bit of a bloody nose.

What to make of it all? John O’Sullivan is on his travels following Ireland as he dials in alongside Gordon D’Arcy and Nathan Johns.

The upcoming live Lions podcast will take place Wednesday July 16th at the Harcourt Bar, with special guest Seán O’Brien.

Tickets and information here: http://irishtimes.com/events

Produced by John Casey.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the Lions tour continues on its merry way, Ireland are back in action for the first time since the Six Nations.

John O’Sullivan is in Tbilisi for their game against Georgia and he joins Nathan Johns for a detailed breakdown of the tour opener. It’s pelting it down in the days leading up to kick off. Good look facing a Georgian pack in the rain.

Which players are we expecting big things from as plenty look to impress with the frontliners away in Australia? In what positions do Ireland need to build depth? Results aside, what do we need to see to constitute a successful tour?

Over in Australia, Owen Farrell has been called up to replace the injured Elliot Daly. This is no like for like in terms of a positional replacement, so what are the implications for Ireland’s Hugo Keenan as he starts his battle with Blair Kinghorn for the Test 15 shirt?

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A busy weekend of rugby action saw plenty of Irish involvement in the Lions win over the Western Force, a Top14 final for the ages in France, Peter O’Mahony and Cian Healy bow out with the Barbarians, while the Ireland U20s finally returned to winning ways in their World Cup opener.

Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to chat through all the action while also looking forward to Wednesday’s Lions clash with Queensland, where a familiar face in Les Kiss will be coaching the Reds.

Which Irish players are starting to look Test ready in Australia? What impact did Kiss have on Irish rugby? Have structural issues in the Irish schools game continued to hamper the 20s?

We’d love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners.

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Lions tours are full of stories of players being called up last minute, dashing across the world to get an opportunity to pull on the red jersey. Former Ireland prop Tom Court has as good a story as anyone, tucking into a takeaway in his native Queensland before being summoned to Melbourne as the 2013 Lions faced a mini-propping crisis.

Given it’s 12 years on from that tour, this is as good an opportunity as any to hear from Court. As much as this is a Lions chat, though, it turns into a fascinating analysis of Irish props and scrums.

How did Court, who didn’t play rugby until the age of 23, play for Ireland A within 16 months of first touching a rugby ball?

Was this an indication of his unique athleticism, or an indictment on Ireland’s ability to develop front rows? Or a bit of both? Given he experienced the system, Court gives his take on how we as a country develop props. What needs to be done to avoid reliance on one man in a certain position (a la Tadhg Furlong) for an extended period?

How do Australia compare in their athlete development? Are we on the way to fixing the problem?

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Imagine Irish rugby had to compete with a professional GAA and a thriving League of Ireland for talent. Would the country still be so successful?

That is the picture facing Australia at the moment and then some, given the popularity of Rugby League, AFL, cricket, soccer, basketball and countless other codes down under. Yet just over 20 years ago, Australian rugby defied this sporting competition to produce a side good enough to win the 1999 World Cup, beat the Lions in 2001 and narrowly miss out on back-to-back global crowns in 2003. What has changed?

Jonathan Drennan is a Belfast-born journalist working for the Sydney Morning Herald. He joins host Nathan Johns to explain Australian rugby’s recent demise.

Will this Lions tour, combined with hosting duties at the 2027 World Cup, give the sport the injection of eyeballs it needs, or will it bankrupt a once great rugby nation?

We’d love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners.

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