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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On this episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald discuss the latest PRO14 action and chat to Jerry Sexton about his diverse rugby career.
The brother of Ireland star Johnny has played in France, England and until COVID-19, was in Port Elizabeth in South Africa playing for the Southern Kings.
However, the South African outfit recently folded and Sexton tells the lads about his time in the southern hemisphere, his relationship with Johnny and what life as a journeyman professional rugby player has been like.
As well as chatting to Jerry, the lads discuss Ulster's slow start to the season ahead of their PRO14 semi-final against Edinburgh and also preview yet another big 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 Cian Tracey to reflect on rugby's return at the Aviva Stadium.Leinster dealt Munster another defeat in their rivalry but there were plenty of talking points afterwards. Is the gap closing between Leinster and Munster or is it as big as ever?

The lads discuss Conor Murray's performance and whether scrum-half Craig Casey could soon get a chance in a big game. They also reflect on RG Snyman's knee injury and who could step up to replace him for Munster.

With the Irish fullback jersey vacant ahead of the international season resuming, Jordan Larmour and Jacob Stockdale looked to impress at 15 at the weekend. Did either player do enough to catch Andy Farrell's eye?

Connacht's impressive win over Ulster, the future of the PRO14 and whether midweek rugby could be on the agenda are all up for discussion too.

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Rugby returns this weekend and The Left Wing is back too as Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ruaidhri O'Connor and Cian Tracey of the Irish Independent to chat about the upcoming action.

Rugby gets back under way at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday with a blockbuster Leinster vs Munster clash, followed by Connacht vs Ulster on Sunday, and there are plenty of talking points ahead of the games.
Can Leinster keep their unbeaten run going into a new season where they are fighting on two fronts from the off?

Is it Munster's time to end their trophy drought after signing Springbok duo Damian De Allende and RG Snyman?

Can Ian Madigan fight his way back into the Ireland squad after signing for Ulster?

Did Connacht make the right call in releasing a number of veteran players in the summer?

The lads also discuss Joey Carbery's injury woes, the dilemma facing the IRFU over Johnny Sexton's next contract and what they are expecting from the opening weekend of matches.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Jamie Heaslip to discuss rugby in lockdown, his career and life in retirement.

With players confined to their homes for the most part like the rest of the population, Jamie and Luke discuss how they will go about maintaining their fitness while in lockdown.

The lads then discuss life after rugby, with both Luke and Jamie forced into retirement by injuries. They chat about joining the workforce at the bottom rung of the ladder after being at the top of their sport, and how it can be a difficult adjustment. Jamie talks about the preparation he put in to ensure he had options after retiring.

The lads then finish up by talking about the highlights of Jamie's career.

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This week on The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald observe podcast social distancing as they recap a wild week in rugby.
With the PRO14 final cancelled and the Champions Cup on ice, it’s looking increasingly likely that the club rugby season won’t be completed.

The lads discuss the latest cancellations, reflect on Leinster’s lost perfect season attempt and chat about Ian Madigan’s move to Ulster.
Luke thinks it is a great move for both Madigan and the northern province as the out-half looks to get his career back on track.

Luke also answers some questions from the listeners, including what life was like on the 2009 Lions Tour.

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

There has been further disruption to the rugby schedule as coronavirus continues to spread across the world, with the Six Nations, the PRO14 and possibly the Champions Cup all experiencing problems.

The possibility of playing big games such as Leinster vs Saracens behind closed doors is becoming a bigger reality with each passing day, and Luke says that it would have a big impact on the players' ability to deliver their best performance.

In terms of on-pitch matters, the lads discuss how the rescheduled Six Nations fixtures will impact Ireland and Andy Farrell in his first year as a head coach. The topic of players responding to media criticism is also up for discussion after Johnny Sexton's recent response to Ronan O'Gara's comments around his captaincy, while the lads also weigh in on Joe Marler's grab of Alun Wyn Jones' testicles.

France's capitulation against Scotland and England's win over Wales are also up for discussion.

The Left Wing is sponsored by Land Rover

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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 latest news around the Ireland team and former Leinster hooker Bryan Byrne joins the lads to chat about his move to Bristol.

With Ireland vs Italy already postponed and the rest of the Six Nations games up in the air, there is a lot of uncertainty around the rugby world. Cian explains how Ireland are going about their business as they wait for news about their final game against France.

Also, the lads discuss the fallout to the defeat to England, in particular Johnny Sexton's fiery response to Ronan O'Gara's questions about his captaincy.
Bryan Byrne then joins from Ian Madigan's house in Bristol as he explains why he decided to leave Leinster and join Pat Lam's side in the Gallagher Premiership.

Byrne, who joined Leinster in 2012 with his twin brother Ed, admits it was tough to leave his sibling behind and start a new challenge in England but he is relishing the prospect of more game-time.

The Left Wing is in association with Land Rover.

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