The Counter Ruck: The Irish Times Rugby Podcast

If this Monday morning has you feeling a little like Jacob Stockdale, we're here to turn you into Keith Earls. Gavin Cummiskey and John O'Sullivan have all the goods on a monumental Heineken Champions Cup weekend that saw Munster and Leinster make it through to the semi-finals... eventually.We have Jackie Tyrrell on the line to tell us why he's still holding judgement on Limerick's All-Ireland chances, despite their absolute domination of the 2019 league.And Seán Moran joins us to laud Mayo's league title, about which he is not in the least bit sniffy. Also, why was Seán O'Shea the one caught on the edge of his square defending against Diarmuid O'Connor for the crucial goal?All this and more - including Michigan Sate bringing down Zion Williamson - on your Monday' Added Time with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.Rugby: 4,40Hurling: 21,00Football: 34.35

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John Delaney, eh? Never a dull moment. Is he gone, is he not? Is he more powerful than ever or suddenly vulnerable? And how is a football reporter supposed to cover a match when the man everyone is talking about is sitting 10 feet away as a world of rumours swirls around? Emmet Malone walks us through another surreal weekend covering the FAI and the Ireland football team.Limerick and Waterford will meet on Sunday for the first ever league final clash between the counties, both of them having taken as much from the league as they could have wished for. Sean Moran and Malachy Clerkin were in Nowlan Park for the semi-final double-header on Sunday.Throw in the comings and goings in the football league and you have your Monday Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.2.45 Football Leagues7.45 John Delaney 29.45 Hurling League Semi-Finals

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Stop all the clocks. Cut off the telephone. Abandon all hope as Ireland's rugby World Cup dreams are reduced to a block of mouldy cheese in the back of the fridge...Or maybe not. Gerry Thornley is in studio to implore everyone to keep the faith as Joe Schmidt faces into the most testing six months of his managerial career.Katie Taylor and Michael Conlan both did their business with a minimum of fuss in America over the weekend. Johnny Watterson chimes in on how their respective pro careers have gone so far and what awaits in a huge summer for both of them.And it's Mick McCarthy's first full week on the job as Ireland manager so there must be a bit of FAI brouhaha somewhere in the ether. John Delaney's 11th-hour trip to the High Court over the weekend to stop The Sunday Times running a story about his €100,000 loan to the association has at least given Emmet Malone something to detain him ahead of the Gibraltar game on Saturday so we have him on to walk us through it all.All this plus a racing pigeon story that will blow your gaddamn socks off in today's Added Time podcast with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent

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Back on track, sort of, for Ireland at the weekend, with two late French tries taking the gloss off an otherwise dominant afternoon. Gerry Thornley and Gavin Cummiskey are in studio to break down Joe Schmidt’s last ever Six Nations game at the Aviva and to look ahead to the showdown with Wales this coming Saturday.Manchester United's incredible win in Paris last weekend looks to have copper fastened Ole Gunnar Solkjaer's hold on the manager's job - or at least made it close to a certainty that he will get it. Patrick Madden from our online staff was in the Parc des Princes last Wednesday and reckons it's the right call for the club. We're not so sure...We also have some deep hurling chat and, given the week that's in it, a Lucky 15 to follow over the cliff on Day One at Cheltenham.All in your Monday edition of Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.First: Cheltenham5.30: Rugby25.00: Hurling35.00: Manchester United

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As a bonus edition ahead of Ireland v France on Sunday, we present for your listening pleasure a live event held for Irish Times readers on Thursday night in the Land Rover showroom in Sandyford, Dublin. Malachy Clerkin was the MC as a panel consisting of Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Heaslip and Gerry Thornley talked about the Six Nations, Ireland’s slump, the madness of Johnny Sexton and the genius of Joe Schmidt.

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It feels a lot like this is a crucial week in Ireland's rugby year - and not just in terms of the Six Nations. France come to Dublin at the weekend looking rejuvenated. Given how things have gone so far, are Ireland looking for a performance now or just the bare result? Gerry Thornley and Gavin Cummiskey are in studio with all the answers.With Mark English and Ciara Mageean both taking bronze on Sunday night, two medals is a fine return from the European Indoor Athletics Championships. Ian O'Riordan is our man in Glasgow and he joins us on the line to reflect on the weekend.The GAA story of the day is without a doubt Leitrim's promotion from the basement division of the football league. Terry Hyland has only been with them since October and already he has lifted them to Division Three at the first time of asking. We talk to him about promotion, second-tier All-Irelands and the merits of not accepting your place in lifeAll in your Monday morning Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.Running Order: Rugby 3.40Athletics 20.20Leitrim GAA 31.50

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You can stuff all the sport you like into a weekend, there's still no guarantee any of it is going to be any good. After a jam-packed weekend full of promising encounters, it generally turned out to be underwhelming all round.Gavin Cummiskey is in studio to pick over the bones of another unimpressive performance from Ireland, this time in Rome. Where has it all gone wrong? And can it be fixed any time soon? Is this 2007 all over again?Keith Duggan was in Tuam to see Kerry pick up their fourth win in a row against Galway. Were Kerry all that or was it just another grind in a game involving Galway?And even the golf flattered to deceive, with Rory McIlroy's promising start ultimately of no use to him against the might of Dustin Johnson in Mexico. Philip Reid is on the line with the ins and outs of another encouraging/deflating week for Ireland's best golfer. All in your Monday morning Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.

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Is this the most It's Only The League hurling league ever? Sean Moran, Pat Nugent and Malachy Clerkin inhaled every last bit of small ball over the weekend and emerged more assured than ever that it is, in fact, still only February. The main findings were that Limerick look impressive, Kilkenny have work to do and we really, really need a black card in hurling.With Liverpool and Manchester City slated for Champions League action this week, Emmet Malone joins us to explore whether or not Europe is anything more than a subplot in the main story of both clubs' season at this pointAnd after a week off, the Six Nations is back this weekend. Gerry Thornley is in studio to tease out selection issues ahead of the Italy game. Can we afford to experiment? Can we afford not to?All this and more in your Monday morning Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.

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Concerns about Conor Murray's form are somewhat allayed as John O'Sullivan and Gavin Cummiskey are in studio to discuss Ireland's 22-13 victory over Scotland at Murrayfield, and following France's "Waterloo" at Twickenham is the latest Les Bleus player revolt imminent or are they too damn lazy?Emmet Malone used to work the train line. 30 years after attending a division two promotion scrap between Manchester City and Chelsea, our football correspondent swaps Maine Road for The Etihad to witness Pep Guardiola's men inflict a 6-nil hiding on the Londoners. "Why journalists, or how they report on conjecture and rumour, that's your profession, not mine," says Dublin manager Jim Gavin after Kerry's one-point victory in Tralee. Ian O'Riordan returns from his ancestral home to assess this emotionally charged affair. In absentia, Diarmuid Connolly gets a mention. The Dubs still need him. Ian tells us why. All in your Monday lunchtime Added Time podcast, with Gavin and Mary Hannigan temporarily sitting-in for Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.

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Nothing makes a grim Monday morning grimmer than having stayed up deep into the Sunday night that preceded it watching the lowest scoring SuperBowl in history. But at least we have the rugby to cheer us up...Gerry Thornley and Gavin Cummiskey are in studio to pick over the entrails of a chastening weekend. Are we just bully-fodder now? Is it really such a great thing to be the best-behaved boys in the class all the time? And where now for Robbie Henshaw? So many questions that didn't exist this time last week.Kerry are up and running in the football league with two wins from two over northern counties, this latest one away in Cavan. Sean Moran was there to see it and joins us to run the x-ray machine over Peter Keane's young team ahead of a crunch tie against Dublin in Tralee next weekend.All in your Monday lunchtime Added Time, with Malachy Clerkin and Pat Nugent.

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