It’s been a bad week for Jaco Peyper but an even worse one for Irish rugby. Another Rugby World Cup and another quarter-final exit.



Luke Fitzgerald, Fergus McFadden and Alison Miller joined Will Slattery on this week’s Left Wing to dissect all that went wrong, asking how and why we dropped from the heights of 2018, but they also celebrate Joe Schmidt’s Ireland managerial career.



“It’s a tough one to take and you’ve got to feel for the players,” said Fergus. “It’s a World Cup, the expectations have been so high and the fall from grace hasn’t been easy. Maybe you have to look at the structures and wonder were they ones to have?”



The panel give their verdicts on the semi-finals, Peyper’s ‘photo-gate’ and they look ahead to the Andy Farrell era with an expected clear-out of a number of players for 2020. It’s time to look ahead but whilst also remembering how far Joe Schmidt has brought Irish rugby despite the disappointments this week.



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www.independent.ie/podcasts/the-left-wing/



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