On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by former Ireland international Niamh Briggs to look back on an eventful weekend of European rugby and look ahead to Exeter vs Leinster and the Women's Six Nations.
Everyone was impressed with Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle side and the discussion quickly turns to whether the Munster legend is a live option to return to his former province as the head coach.
The chat then turns to Exeter vs Leinster, and whether the English side will be able to overpower Leinster like they did to other teams en route to Champions Cup glory last season. Luke, Will and Niamh all think that Leinster's international pack will be able to withstand the Exeter onslaught and that could be key.
Niamh also gives her assessment of where the Ireland women's team are at heading into their Six Nations opener against Wales this Saturday, including a look at some of the exciting Sevens talented that have been drafted into the Ireland squad.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to discuss the state of Munster rugby after their PRO14 final defeat to Leinster.

It is Munster's sixth consecutive defeat to their biggest rivals, including their fourth knockout loss in a row, and the lads begin their discussion by asking why they were so off the pace at the RDS last weekend.

Luke was disappointed by the team's defensive intensity while Cian was surprised that the game plan didn't seem to have evolved hugely from the teams' previous meetings.

The discussion moves on to the province's signing of South African second row Jason Jenkins, with Luke and Cian in agreement in their worry that it will block the emergence of some exciting young talent in Munster.

The lads finish up by looking ahead to a mouthwatering weekend of European rugby, as Leinster host Toulon and Toulouse travel to Thomond Park to take on Munster.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor to discuss Ireland's win over England, the crazy finish to France vs Wales and look ahead to Leinster vs Munster in the PRO14 final.

Ireland delivered the best performance of the Andy Farrell era to thump England at the Aviva Stadium - but where did the dominant display come from?

Will asks Rud why it took so long for the team to produce their best form, while Luke takes a look at the areas that impressed him.

A number of Irish players stood up and delivered their best, such as Conor Murray, while star performers such as Tadhg Beirne, Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Furlong were as good as ever.

The lads discuss who stood out for them across the campaign, and then finish up by naming their Player of the Tournament before a quick look ahead to a huge Leinster vs Munster clash.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Neil Francis to react to CJ Stander's shock retirement and discuss all the latest Six Nations news.

The lads kick things off with a discussion on the back row's surprise announcement, with Neil saying that he doesn't think Stander will stay retired, and could potentially join up with one of the South African franchises after he returns home.

Luke pays tribute to Stander's service to Irish rugby, but has mixed feelings over his decision to step away.

In terms of on-pitch action, Luke takes a look at Ireland's defensive issues, while the lads discuss Ireland's propensity to kick away turnover ball.

England are coming to town for the Six Nations finale on Saturday, and Luke and Neil both offer areas where Ireland must improve if they want to secure an upset victory.

However, ultimately, they think Eddie Jones' men will leave the Aviva Stadium with a five consecutive win over Ireland.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Leinster second row Devin Toner to look back on his career.

Toner is closing in on the record for most Leinster appearances and although his contract is up at the end of the season, he plans on playing on for at least one more year.

From his early days under Michael Cheika to making the breakthrough with Leinster and Ireland under Joe Schmidt, Toner has been involved in professional rugby for 15 years.

He tells the lads about the highs and lows of his career, including the disappointment of being dropped by Joe Schmidt from the Ireland squad ahead of the 2019 World Cup.

Luke and Will also look ahead to Ireland's Six Nations clash with Scotland this weekend, and whether Andy Farrell should go on the Lions tour as an assistant to Warren Gatland.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to go over all the Six Nations news.

The lads kick off with a look back on Ireland's win over Italy. More offloads, a better attacking shape and a resolute defence were all on the wish-list ahead of the visit to Rome - so how did Ireland fare on that count?

Both Cian and Luke think that Italy's shocking showing means that not much can be gleaned from Ireland's win, and both were surprised with how bullish Andy Farrell and Johnny Sexton were after the game.Craig Casey's place in the scrum-half pecking order, the standard of Six Nations refereeing, Wales' Triple Crown win and why England resemble 2019 Ireland are all up for discussion too.

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On this week's episode of the Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Sale out-half AJ MacGinty to discuss his unique journey from Blackrock to becoming a USA international.

MacGinty is enjoying a great run of form in the Premiership currently playing alongside Springbok star Faf de Klerk, and tells the lads all about life in England.

They then look back at his memorable performance as Connacht beat Leinster in the 2016 PRO12 final - which turned out to be Luke's final game before retirement.

MacGinty has played at two World Cups for the USA, and despite his international allegiance contributing to his Connacht departure, he says that he has no regrets about the road he went down.

Luke and Will also look ahead to Ireland's trip to Rome to face Italy this weekend, and Will is joined by Brendan Fanning to look back on the life of former Ireland international Gary Halpin after his tragic death.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Neil Francis to discuss Ireland's Six Nations campaign to date.

Neil is disappointed by the lack of progress the team has made under Andy Farrell, while Luke is concerned with the team's defence as well as the attack.

The lads look back on the defeat to France last weekend, with Neil left very impressed with how Les Bleus are building following the addition of Shaun Edwards.

The out-half succession plan is a talking point, with both Luke and Neil very enthusiastic about the potential of Leinster youngster Ciaran Frawley.

Neil says that Andy Farrell will be under a lot of pressure if things don't improve and that the IRFU should make a call to Ronan O'Gara at the end of the Six Nations.

Scotland's collapse against Wales and England's stuttering form is up for discussion too.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor to look back at an eventful opening weekend of the Six Nations.

The show kicks off with an apology as Will eats humble pie following his slating of Scotland's chances of beating England last week, before the lads discuss the controversy surrounding the comments made by two French doctors about Johnny Sexton's concussion issues.

The chat then moves on to Ireland's defeat in Wales, with Luke sounding a positive note due to a number of strong individual performances, while Ruaidhri thinks that Ireland's leaders let Andy Farrell down in Cardiff.

However, both were enthusiastic about the performance of Ireland's bench and what it could mean for the visit of France this Sunday.
The lads then moved on to Scotland's upset win over England - did Eddie Jones make an error in picking so many under-cooked Saracens stars?

Finally, Luke and Ruaidhri give their predictions ahead of what is a must-win game for Ireland against France at the Aviva Stadium this Sunday.

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On this week's episode of the Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor to look ahead to the Six Nations championship.

The lads kick things off by talking about Ruaidhri's list of the top 50 Irish players of the Six Nations era, with Luke coming in at number 31.
The discussion then moves onto the championship, which kicks off this weekend. After a patchy autumn, how is the Irish team fixed?

Luke is very positive on Ireland's chances and is tipping Andy Farrell's side to win the Six Nations, while Ruaidhri strikes a more cautious note.
The back row selection dilemma and Tadhg Beirne's place in the team are up for debate, while the lads take a look at how favourites France and England are shaping up.

Both Luke and Ruaidhri are backing Ireland to get off to a winning start this weekend against Wales as an exciting period of rugby gets under way.

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