It may be URC semi-final week, but the rugby news cycle has been dominated by events away from Leinster. Connacht have pulled off a big-name managerial signing by securing the services of Stuart Lancaster, while Paul O’Connell has named his Ireland squad for the summer tour of Georgia and Portugal.

With the Lions contingent away in Australia, this tour will be vital for plugging the gaps and filling areas of weakness as we start to inch towards another World Cup.

Gerry Thornley joins Nathan Johns to discuss all this while looking at why Leinster’s URC playoff run appears to be struggling to capture the public imagination.

Produced by John Casey.

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

Gordon D’Arcy joins Nathan Johns to talk through a dramatic URC quarter-final weekend.

Munster’s shootout defeat to the Sharks in Durban has dominated the headlines, no least for the home side’s attempts to throw Munster’s kickers off their game. This inevitably opened up a wider chat on kick tricks and the dark arts in rugby more generally.

Plus, do Leinster look like a side on the cusp of a title after their unconvincing Scarlets win? What do we need to see from them over the next fortnight to end their silverware drought?

Produced by John Casey.

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

Gerry Thornley joins the latest episode of The Counter Ruck fresh off his trip to Cardiff to watch the Champions Cup final.

He breaks down the future landscape for free-to-air rugby in Ireland, analyses France’s domination of the Champions Cup, looks at the chances of Noel McNamara returning home and more.

Alongside host Nathan Johns, talk also turns to injuries ahead of the provincial run in the URC knockouts, and the importance of Leinster lifting the domestic trophy at the end of the campaign.

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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

This weekend was a quiet one for Irish rugby, with no provincial involvement in the Champions Cup final. Still, plenty of intriguing storylines emerged; Noel McNamara’s triumph, Henry Pollock’s return back to Earth plus the curious level of antipathy towards this game in Ireland.

Gordon D’Arcy joins Nathan Johns to discuss rugby’s place in the sporting calendar, how important it is that Leinster win the URC this year, the mentality of winning and losing as well as the newly announced Club World Cup set for 2028.

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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

Bordeaux seem to represent a rare enough phenomenon; a domestic rugby team growing in both on-field and commercial success. They are the best attended club in France, to the extent they can boast to be more popular than the local football team.

We all know of their on-field talent, the likes of Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Damian Penaud and Mathieu Jalibert playing a brand of rugby which is easy on the eye.

Of course, with Joey Carbery and Noel McNamara involved, there is Irish interest in the French side as they prepare for Saturday’s Champions Cup final. But how has the on-field product built into their off-field success? Is their rise an indication of France’s domestic success, as rugby’s television rights continues to dwarf those of football’s Ligue 1? To what extent can this story be repeated elsewhere?

Host Nathan Johns is joined on the podcast by France-based rugby journalist James Harrington.

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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Nearly a week on from the IRFU’s decision to cut the men’s Sevens programme, Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join Nathan Johns to debate the merits of the decision.

Gordon, as a former Sevens player, is well placed to offer insight on the merits of Sevens for players moving into 15s. John has covered the Sevens team as extensively as anyone in recent years and he offers his experience as he dwells on the decision.

Do rugby’s financials leave the IRFU with any other choice? Is Sevens simply a luxury which cannot be afforded? Why cut the men’s team but not the women’s?

Does this move place too much faith in Ireland’s academy structures, narrowing an already small talent pool? Was this decision handled in the best way possible?

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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

Inevitably, plenty of public commentary in the last few weeks has focused on Leinster’s inability to get over the line in big games. Clearly, they have the talent. Is the problem instead to be found in the top two inches?

Enda McNulty, a former All-Ireland winner with Armagh, worked with both Leinster and Ireland as a sports psychologist.

He joins Gordon D’Arcy - with whom he worked during his playing days - to look at the importance of sports psychology in winning environments. Does sport psychology work? How do you get players to buy in? Why did Leinster and Ireland under Joe Schmidt embrace training the mind so readily? To what extent can previous success be attributed to training the mind? 

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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

This weekend was a crucial round of URC action, with Munster and Ulster squaring off for playoff places, Connacht looking to stay in the hunt and Leinster aiming to wrap up the league’s top seed. Not to mention the occasion it was for the likes of Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray playing their final game in Limerick.

Yet the crowds were on the low side, despite what was on the line. Does the public simply have a case of rugby fatigue? Perhaps the season stretches on too long, with emotional energy being preserved for the URC knockouts, Ireland’s summer tour and of course the Lions’ trip to Australia.

Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join Nathan Johns to figure out how to capture the public imagination with the URC, drawing comparison to France where club rugby still seems to be top dog. Plus, D’Arcy gives a masterclass of international centre play, explaining why the job is more difficult than you think and why some Irish players are struggling with the nuances of the role.

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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Andy Farrell has picked his long-awaited Lions squad ahead of this summer’s tour to Australia. 15 Irishmen have been named, a record for the touring side, just about pipping the 14 originally named in 2009.

A man who was belatedly called up to that squad 16 years ago, Gordon D’Arcy, casts his eye alongside the latest crop. Alongside John O’Sullivan and Nathan Johns, who attended the launch bash in London, this episode delves into the runners and riders, along with those who may have been unfortunate to miss out.

Do Ireland deserve to have so many tourists? Would Caelan Doris have been captain if fit? Why does this squad have the lowest Welsh representation since the war? Are any Irish players, such as Robbie Henshaw or Sam Prendergast, unlucky to have missed out?

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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Prior to Saturday, Leinster hadn’t conceded a point in European knockout action this year. No team had run in five tries against them in this competition since 2016. Northampton changed all that, leaving Leinster’s latest European escapade in tatters, scoring 37 points on route to a thrilling victory at the Aviva Stadium.

How did they do what no other team has done since 2016, let alone this year? Is Leinster’s galactico bubble burst? Why did they not start Jordie Barrett?

If Leinster aren’t going to win in Europe this year with this squad at their disposal, when will they?

Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join Nathan Johns to pick through the latest defeat, the extent of the damage and work out where the province can go from here.

We'd love to find out what you think of The Counter Ruck podcast and to understand a little more about our listeners. Please take our survey and you'll be entered into a prize draw to win a €100 One4All gift card: https://www.research.net/r/CounterRuckWebApp

Produced by John Casey.

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