On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by former England and Lions prop Alex Corbisiero to discuss Eddie Jones' side as well as Corbisiero's battle with cancer.

The 32-year-old was initially diagnosed with testicular cancer in late 2019 but recently underwent a bout of chemotherapy after the disease returned during lockdown. Thankfully, Corbisiero is hopeful that he is on the road to recovery and he tells Luke and Will about the tough mental and physical battle he has been on over the last few months.

In terms of on-pitch action, Corbisiero is very positive about where England are at following their Six Nations triumph and also gives an insight into Andy Farrell's methodology having worked with him during his time in international rugby.

Farrell named his team to face Wales on Tuesday, and Luke weighs in on some of the key selections, including James Lowe, who is in line to become the last player capped for Ireland under the old residency rules.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to dissect Ireland's defeat to France and look ahead to the Autumn Nations Cup.

The guys kick things off by assessing Jacob Stockdale's performance and Will asks whether the Ulster fullback should be kept in the team in the short-term after another poor display.

Luke thinks that Andy Farrell should stick with Stockdale while Cian says that Hugo Keenan would be a good option in the fifteen jersey.
Johnny Sexton's shake of the head as he left the field is also discussed, as is his captaincy and the guys look at whether now is the time to pick a new skipper with a view to the 2023 World Cup.

Sexton's successor at out-half, the benefit of a quick-tap penalty and the players to watch this November 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 Ulster prop Jack McGrath to discuss his move north and his eventful career to date.McGrath made the choice to leave Leinster for Ulster ahead of the 2019/20 season, and he explains to the lads why he decided to make a move away from his hometown team.

He also tells Luke and Will what it has been like as a professional rugby player during lockdown, as well as the strange sensation of running out for a PRO14 final in front of an empty stadium.

Jack also looks back ten years to his Leinster debut, as well as talking about his rise through the ranks to become an Ireland regular and a Lion.

Ireland's win over Italy and the big game against France are 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 ahead to Ireland's Six Nations clash with Italy.

The lads agree that Andy Farrell has put more of his own stamp on the team, with four players in line to make their debut, including Will Connors and Hugo Keenan who are in from the off.

Luke talks about what Keenan needs to do to hold onto the journey amid stiff competition, while Ruaidhri weighs in on the back row.
The guys then discuss what they want to see from Ireland over the next few weeks in terms of style of play, while they debate whether or not the IRFU should relax the rule on selecting overseas players as Simon Zebo continues to excel in Paris.

To finish up, they reflect on the Champions Cup final between Exeter and Racing 92, and also squeeze in some Lions selection talk.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Peter Stringer to discuss Ireland's Six Nations squad, Munster's development and the legendary scrum-half's career.

Andy Farrell's squad will enter their Covid bubble in Carton House today, and the lads discuss the difficulties posed by the players being away from their friends and family for an extended period. When it comes to Andy Farrell's squad, Peter is eager to assess the nines, as well as talking about John Cooney omission following a run of poor form.

Peter gives his opinion on the form of Conor Murray, Jamison Gibson-Park and Kieran Marmion as the Six Nations draw into view.

Elsewhere, Munster have started with two wins from two in the PRO14 but Peter isn't convinced about his former province and questions whether they have an identifiable style of play.

To round out the chat, the lads ask Peter about how he managed to play professional rugby until he turned 40, with the 98-cap Ireland international giving an honest insight into how it felt to slip to fourth-choice scrum-half at Munster.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald discuss the opening weekend of the PRO14 and chat to former Connacht flanker Eoin McKeon about his decade with the province.
It was a clean sweep for the Irish teams in the opening round of league action, and the lads weigh in on Ben Healy's heroics for Munster, Connacht's strong start to the season against Glasgow and Garry Ringrose's impressive conversion against the Dragons.
Then the lads welcome Eoin to the show, as he talks about adjusting to the working world having just left professional rugby over the summer.
Connacht's PRO12-winning season, the impact Pat Lam made in Galway, the tough season under Kieran Keane and Andy Friend's project 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 Cian Tracey to discuss all the latest news in the rugby world.

Racing 92 succeeded where Leinster failed, beating Saracens to book a place in the Champions Cup final. The lads discuss how the Parisians got one over on the English giants, as well as the role of Donnacha Ryan, who continues to excel away from home despite approaching his 37th birthday. Should Munster and Ireland have done more to keep him?
The PRO14 kicks off a new season this weekend, and there has been news that it will be expanded to 16 teams in 2021 as South Africa sends up four new teams to replace the Kings and Cheetahs. The lads debate the pros and cons and what this means for rugby in the northern hemisphere going forward, including whether the Springboks could eventually feature in an expanded Six Nations.

And ahead of the new season the lads check in with each of the provinces, including whether Connacht are dark horses to do well, young players to watch and the injury problems surrounding some big names.

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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 pick through Leinster's defeat to Saracens and the rest of the weekend's action.

Demolished at the scrum, cleaned out in the air and ill-discipline around the pitch all contributed to Leinster's surprise defeat to the English giants, and the lads pick out which part of the game they felt ultimately cost Leo Cullen's men.
Leinster's depth at prop, the Ireland pecking order at number nine and Jacob Stockdale's performance in Toulouse are all up for discussion too, as is the PRO14 announcement of Monday Night Rugby for the forthcoming season as well as predictions for the Champions Cup semi-finals this weekend.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Stephen Ferris to look ahead to a big weekend of European rugby and discuss Leinster's win over Ulster in the PRO14 final.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Jonathan Bradley of the Belfast Telegraph to preview the PRO14 final.
Leinster take on Ulster in the Aviva Stadium on Saturday night, which is the northern province's first appearance in a final since 2013. Jonathan gives the lads an insight from the north on how Dan McFarland has turned things around, while Luke looks at some reasons why Ulster can be hopeful of causing a shock.
The lads also discuss some selection dilemmas McFarland has ahead of this weekend as well as whether Johnny Sexton will start for Leo Cullen's men.
Meanwhile, Munster fell to Leinster for the third year in a row in the league semi-final last Friday - the lads look at what they have to do to take the next step as well as take a look at some of Munster's post-match comments.
Owen Farrell's five-match ban for a dangerous tackle, as well as the state of rugby's disciplinary process, is up for discussion too.

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