After Ireland's record defeat to England at Twickenham, Joe Schmidt has picked his team for the redemption mission against Wales in Cardiff.
Cian Tracey, Ruaidhri O'Connor and Jonathan Bradley look at his back-row selection, the role of Will Addison and Rory Best's captaincy as the World Cup looms large.

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The record defeat to England was a dark day for Irish rugby and the issues that were in evidence are still there. Ireland needs to find its form and find it badly is the view from this week’s Left Wing podcast with the Irish Independent’s rugby correspondent, Ruaidhri O’Connor, joining Luke Fitzgerald and Will Slattery.

What went wrong is fixable says Luke but he’s more concerned with the lack of leadership on the team.

“There’s lots of really good players in the back-line but where are the personalities?” he asks. “Where are the individuals who would grab the game by the scruff of the neck when things are going wrong? Personalities like Drico, Horgan, O’Gara, where are they? There’s too many Indians and not enough Chiefs there.”

The future of Rory Best and what he brings to the team is also questioned severely by Ruaidhri who believes his rate of decline has been alarming.

Looking ahead to the crunch Wales game on Saturday this will be an important chapter in determining Ireland’s World Cup story. But there’s enough good players there to turn it around so there’s still hope yet.

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The Left Wing is back for another season and Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are on hand to discuss all the latest news around Ireland's World Cup preparation.

The lads start off by discussing the long pre-season preparation ahead of the World Cup, as Luke looks back on the experiences he had in preparing for the big tournament under Joe Schmidt in 2015.

Luke says that the long build-up can be both mentally and physically draining and that it is important that Schmidt gets the balance between work and rest over the next few weeks.

The lads also discuss the selection dilemmas facing Ireland, including how many out-halves and scrum-halves to bring to Japan. It looks to be a battle between Ross Byrne and Jack Carty and Kieran Marmion and Luke McGrath to get on the plane. Munster team-mates Tadhg Beirne and Jean Kleyn also look to be competing for a slot, and Luke thinks that Beirne should get the nod.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Alan Quinlan to review the 2018/19 season.

Leinster saw off Glasgow in a tight PRO14 final last Saturday and Alan was impressed by the steel showed by Leinster to dig out the win. He also say that it was a very positive season for Leinster but Luke thinks the team has a lot to work on after the defeat by Saracens in the Champions Cup final.

For Munster, there has been a lot of upheaval behind the scenes while the team failed again at the semi-final stage in both competitions. Alan thinks a more expansive style of play would work wonders for the team and Luke says they are missing one key man in the backline.

Finally, Ireland will soon go into camp ahead of the World Cup. Luke gives his opinion on the tweaks Joe Schmidt needs to make to have success at the World Cup.

Luke also talks about meeting up with the Leinster Heineken Cup-winning team of 2009 on the ten year anniversary of their win.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald look ahead to the PRO 14 final and discuss last weekend's semi-final.

The lads start off by discussing Glasgow's comprehensive win over Ulster, and Luke asks why Ulster haven't been able to get over the line and win a trophy in the last ten years.

Leinster vs Munster turned out to be one-sided on the scoreboard and Luke thinks Munster are missing one play-maker in the backline to really take the next step. For Leinster, Ross Byrne got the nod to start against Munster and Luke thinks this is a sign that Leinster have a succession plan in place to take over from Johnny Sexton.

And with Rob Kearney currently negotiating a new contract with the IRFU, Luke Fitzgerald explains how difficult it can be when you are facing an uncertain future in professional rugby.

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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 Champions Cup final.

Saracens clinched a third European crown in four seasons after seeing off Leinster, producing a powerful performance to run out 20-10 winners. The lads start by discussing one of the game's pivotal moments - Leinster's decision not to kick the ball out at the end of the first half.

Luke thinks too much has been made of Luke McGrath's decision and that the game was lost elsewhere. Leinster's lack of line-speed and attacking problems on the day are also discussed - as is Saracens' top quality display.

The lads also look ahead to the PRO 14 semi-finals next weekend, with Glasgow hosting Ulster and Leinster taking on Munster at the RDS.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald preview the Champions Cup final with Cian Tracey and Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent.

Leinster vs Saracens is the dream final match-up, pitting last year's winners against the side who won back-to-back European crowns in 2016 and 2017. Leinster got the better of the English giants in the quarter-final last year en route to glory but Saracens are fully fit and firing on all cylinders ahead of this weekend's tie.

The lads go through some of the mouthwatering head-to-head match-ups that could decide the outcome, from Mako Vunipola vs Cian Healy to Owen Farrell vs Johnny Sexton.

Luke says the the battle between the packs will decide the outcome, while Ruaidhri thinks that referee Jerome Garces could be a key figure after allowing a free-for-all at the breakdown in the semi-final between Saracens and Munster.

The lads also debate who is the best Champions Cup team ever, and look back at Leinster's journey over the last ten years on the anniversary of their first ever Heineken Cup triumph.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald discuss the PRO 14 knock-out stage and Munster's trophy ambitions.

Johann van Graan's men take on Benetton in the PRO 14 quarter-final as they look to win their first trophy since the 2011 league title, with an away semi-final against Leinster awaiting them if they prevail. Luke thinks Munster are lacking an X-Factor star in the backline like Leinster's James Lowe, but says that he still fancies them to win the PRO 14.

In the other quarter-final, Ulster host Connacht at Kingspan Stadium. Luke thinks that Ulster have got their recruitment right in recent seasons by focusing on the pack, and from a Connacht perspective thinks that head coach Andy Friend should opt for Caolin Blade over Kieran Marmion at scrum-half.

Luke also weighs in on Jerome Garces' Champions Cup final appointment as well as picking out one Leinster young player who he thinks could have a big future.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined in studio by Leinster back row Jack Conan to discuss the Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse and much more.

Conan played a key role as Leo Cullen's men booked their place in the Champions Cup final in Newcastle, and the big number eight takes us inside the Leinster set-up as he explains how the team got the job done at the Aviva Stadium.

The lads also look ahead to the mouthwatering clash between Saracens and Leinster in this year's final, with the two teams having won the last three European titles between them. Conan is relishing the chance to go up against one of Europe's heavyweights and is also looking forward to his own personal battle with Billy Vunipola.

Conan also discusses his own preparation, from why he switched to mostly eating vegetables to the importance of being self-critical when assessing your performance. The 26-year-old also talks about his life off the pitch, including why he decided to go back to college having previously neglected his studies.

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On this week's episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Munster and Ireland legend Denis Leamy to preview the Champions Cup semi-finals.

Munster are looking to qualify for their first European Cup final since 2008 as they face Saracens at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry. Johann van Graan's men are underdogs for the final four clash but Leamy thinks that Munster can produce a famous win.

For Leinster, Leo Cullen must decide which two players to select from James Lowe, Scott Fardy and Jamison Gibson-Park due to foreign player restrictions. Luke Fitzgerald thinks that Lowe has to start and that Johnny Sexton's return to fitness could be crucial in tipping the game in Leinster's favour.

Luke and Denis also look back on the famous European Cup semi-final between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park on the ten-year anniversary. Leinster beat Munster that day en route to their first Heineken Cup win and Leamy thinks that it was a season that set Leinster up for future success.

Will and Luke also discuss the new season of Game of Thrones and Will asks how the podcast fared during his absence last week.

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