On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to discuss all the latest rugby news.

The lads kick off by discussing Johnny Sexton's comments about Ireland's fresh approach to the World Cup, with the team now actively speaking about the tournament two years in advance.

Is it a good idea or is there a danger that the pressure to finally deliver a World Cup semi-final place will build even more?

The chat then moves onto Connacht's big win over Ulster, with Jack Carty once again outplaying an out-half rival - but there's still no place for him in the Ireland squad.

Munster's disappointing defeat to the Ospreys, the hooker battle at Leinster and Greg McWilliams' appointment as the head coach of the Ireland women's team are all up for discussion too.

For more Left Wing episodes and rugby stories visit the show page at:
www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/the-left-wing/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhrí O'Connor to pick through Andy Farrell's Ireland squad for the autumn series.

Dan Sheehan and Ciaran Frawley are the two uncapped players named while there is a return for Simon Zebo after 4.5 years in international exile.

Although Farrell has named a strong squad, will Ireland be undercooked with no big European games to prime the players for November?

The lads also discuss the out-half selection - a position that they agree is a 'problem area' for the team'.

Ireland's exciting front row, the back three battle and the standard of officiating in the URC are all up for discussion too.

For more Left Wing episodes and rugby stories visit the show page at:
www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/the-left-wing/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Jonathan Bradley of The Belfast Telegraph to discuss all the latest rugby news.

The lads kick off by asking Jonathan about the state of Ulster rugby as the province moves into their fourth year under head coach Dan McFarland.

The signing of Duane Vermeulen, John Cooney's uncertain future and the emergence of Nathan Doak are all up for discussion.

The chat then moves onto Munster and the rotten injury luck suffered by the team and their Springbok signing RG Snyman, who has suffered an ACL injury for the second straight season.

However, there are some positives with the performance of the province's young guns.

The lads finish up by taking a look at the out-half landscape in Ireland and debating whether a Club World Cup is worth pursuing at the expense of the Champions Cup.

For more Left Wing episodes and rugby stories visit the show page at:
www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/the-left-wing/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to discuss all the latest rugby news.

The lads kick off with a look at how the South African sides have fared over the opening two weekends of the URC. With seven defeats from eight, it has been a tough opening for the four new franchises and the lads discuss the challenges facing the quartet as they look to make their mark.

It was a good weekend for the provinces with four wins from four, but while Connacht and Munster will be particularly happy with two big wins over South African opposition, Leinster won't be pleased with their laboured win over Dragons.

Finally, the lads look back at the titanic clash between the All Blacks and the Springboks, and assess which country is the best in the world at the moment.

For more Left Wing episodes and rugby stories visit the show page at:
www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/the-left-wing/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Left Wing is back for another season and Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined for the first episode by Ruaidhrí O'Connor and former Ireland international Alison Miller.

The panel kick things off with a post-mortem of Ireland's failure to qualify for the Women's World Cup after a disastrous defeat to Scotland last weekend.

Alison says that change is needed at the top of the sport to ensure women's rugby in Ireland can get back on its feet.

The discussion then turns to the United Rugby Championship, which kicked off over the weekend. Will the arrival of four new South African teams provide a much-needed boost for the league?

Munster are the team that are most interesting heading into the new campaign, with question marks over the future of their coaching staff as well as the return of Simon Zebo to Thomond Park.

For more Left Wing episodes and rugby stories visit the show page at:
https://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/the-left-wing/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor to discuss the Lions test team and look ahead to Saturday's clash with the Springboks.
Warren Gatland has once again sprung a number of selection surprises, with Conor Murray forced to settle for a place on the bench after the head coach opted to start Scotland's Ali Price.
The lads discuss all the key Irish selection decisions, with Tadhg Furlong, Jack Conan and Robbie Henshaw named to start while Tadhg Beirne joins Murray on the bench.
The bench make-up and South Africa's formidable starting team are also discussed
while Luke and Ruaidhri also give their predictions for the first test - and they both think the Springboks will come out on top.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to discuss a crazy day on the Lions Tour.

Two positive Covid cases - one in the coaching group and one in the playing squad - left the game against the Sharks in doubt, and although it ultimately went ahead, Warren Gatland was forced to rejig his team.
With uncertainty surrounding the players who are currently isolating, the lads discuss the viability of the tour. Luke thinks that it should still go ahead while Cian is concerned that the integrity of the test series could be compromised if key men are ruled out for Covid reasons.

The chat then moves on to the players who have impressed, with everyone in agreement that Iain Henderson is in with a great chance of starting the test series while Luke thinks that Elliot Daly could make a charge at 13.

The lads finish up by looking back at Ireland's win over Japan and discuss whether Andy Farrell should have given his young guns more game time.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by former Scotland international Jim Hamilton to discuss all the latest Lions news.

The show kicks off with a discussion on whether the Lions should be travelling to South Africa at all given the Covid situation there, with the lads saying that sport can be an important tool to give people enjoyment during tough times.

Then they move onto Warren Gatland's surprise decision to make Conor Murray the Lions captain, with Luke and Jim both surprised that the Ireland scrum-half was given the honour.

What does it say about the form of Owen Farrell and Maro Itoje? After a poor season for club and country, Jim says that the Saracens contingent in the Lions squad are under pressure to perform.

Luke and Will also look ahead to Ireland's game against Japan this weekend, with the visitors looking sharp in attack in their game against the Lions.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald discuss Warren Gatland's first Lions selection and are joined by Sevens stars Billy Dardis and Harry McNulty to discuss Ireland's historic Olympic qualification.

The lads kick off the podcast by talking about what a good performance against Japan this weekend could mean for the Lions' Irish contingent, and about how important it is to get off to a strong start on tour.

Will and Luke are then joined by Billy and Harry, who over the weekend played a huge part as Ireland booked their place in Tokyo.

They tell the lads about the long six-year journey from a third-division tournament in Bosnia to reaching the biggest tournament in the sport.
The two lads talk about all the ups and downs, as well as giving an insight into the day-to-day and week-to-week life of a professional Sevens player.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor to discuss all the latest rugby news.

The PRO14 is no more... now the Irish teams will be playing in the United Rugby Championship. The four big South African sides are joining the original PRO12 outfits to form a new league - and the lads sink their teeth into all the various changes.

The lads are concerned about the move away from merit-based qualification for Europe, but agree that it is a good move to allow the South African teams compete in the Champions Cup.

Speaking of Europe's premier rugby competition, there are some changes coming to that too, with the lads pleased overall but on the fence about having two-legged last 16 ties.

The lads finish things off by picking through Andy Farrell's Ireland squad for the summer tour, including the decision to omit Ross Byrne from the out-halves, as well as taking a look at some of the exciting young players involved.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.