Episodes
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Brian Fenton broke the (GAA) internet this week by announcing his retirement. We spoke to Fenton’s former Dublin teammate Paul Flynn, who thinks the Leinster Football Championship is now up for grabs.
Gavan Casey and Andy Lee joined us to discuss Hawk Tuah, Rosie Perez and Taylor V Serrano. Miguel Delaney chatted with Ken about his new book States of Play, and we give a sneak peek of our Shane O’Donnell interview live from The Olympia Theatre.
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Ireland were ahead 22-9 at half time, at home, with three tries banked and the fans fully behind them - but instead of a comfortable win, they survived a last minute Argentinian onslaught to scrape home by 3 points. It was a win, against a good team, but the coaches didn't look too happy afterwards.
We chat to Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley about the 13 penalties conceded, Ireland's issues with phase play and kick chase, the good form of both 10s, and the big decisions Farrell will have to make for the Fiji game.
Plus there's French rugby theatre, the rise of the south, and biased boxing commentators.
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Missing episodes?
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Richie Sadlier joins us to talk about Ireland's... memorable trip to Wembley.
We talk about the first half and how we all felt at half-time. We talk about the unpleasant turn things took in the second half and how by the end we felt nothing at all.
It's humiliating to talk about positives but maybe we can compare degrees of negativity. For example, it's officially
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Are You Sick Of Winning Yet?
Sure, Finland could have scored several goals and were desperately unfortunate to lose by a goal to nil - but as the Scoreboard Captains podcast has always insisted, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.
We talk about how high the standard of expectation needs to be set for Evan Ferguson and gush about how Ireland are enchanting a new generation of young fans.
Damien Delaney joins us to analyse the game: what was the system anyway? why did we look defensively unstable? What could be done to change that? Does Caoimhin Kelleher have a chance of being Liverpool's number one? And are there any grounds for hope for a result against England at Wembley?
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A brand new trailer for a brand new BBC Sounds series from the production team who brought you Where Is George Gibney?, Ken chatting to Daniel Wiffen, Ken chatting about David Coote, and a conversation with Gavan Casey, who's on the ground in Dallas ahead of Taylor-Serrano II and Mike Tyson-Jake Paul this Friday.
It's been a helluva week on the World Service so far, and we're bringing you a taste of it today. If you like what you hear and you want more independent, member-led broadcasting, you can sign up at secondcaptains.com/join.
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Branno was among the 38000 at the Aviva to see Drogheda win the FAI Cup final against Derry City - but the 2024 season isn't quite over yet.
We talk about the violence in Amsterdam around last Thursday's match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which drew the attention of world leaders in a manner unlike any Europa League game before.
Dion Fanning and Gavin Cooney join us in studio to talk about the weekend's Premier League. Why have Manchester City lost four in a row and what are the chances of them reverting to normal? Why can't Arsenal build any momentum to chase them? Is Ange Postecoglou going to make it to Christmas? Are Liverpool really going to win this thing at a canter?
And with international week now OPEN we debate Heimir Hallgrimsson's scouting policy and whether Wyscout is any substitute for the high carbon-burn human touch.
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Ireland made 21 handling errors and conceded 13 penalties in an error-strewn 10-point loss to NZ on Friday night. But was it all James Lowe's fault for geeing up the crowd while celebrating a kick!!?
We chat to Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan about this performance in isolation, and in the context of this Ireland team's form over the last few years, about Farrell's spiky post-match press conference, about what happened the attack, if both outhalves are damaged by what happened, what changes are coming in what is now a huge game against Argentina, and Australia's magical last-second win in Twickenham.
And we have big news about a Second Captains investigative series launching this week on BBC Sounds, from the production team behind “Where Is George Gibney?”. If you subscribed to the "Where Is George Gibney?" podcast feed, that feed is now called COVER, and that’s where you’ll be able to hear this new series. If not simply search “Cover - BBC Sounds” in your podcast app; the journey starts tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th November.
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It's been a brilliant and very, very varied week on the Second Captains World Service. On Tuesday, we spoke to former Leinster and Australia star Rocky Elsom, who's currently in hiding having been found guilty of financial crimes and sentenced in absentia to five years in prison in a French court last month. He says he was never made aware of the trial, and insists he's innocent.
On Wednesday night, we took to the Gaiety theatre for a jam-packed show which included a brilliant chat with two of Shelbourne's League of Ireland-winning players, Sean Boyd and John O'Sullivan.
And we previewed Ireland's first autumn series international against the All Blacks with Gerry Thornley and the BBC's Chris Jones, a fixture which nowadays contains nothing but BEEF.
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The mighty (?) All Blacks are in town this week, fresh from a narrow, opportunistic win over England. They weren't outstanding.... besides the three incredible tries they scored. Post-peak NZ are not great, but still very good, and will take some beating on Friday night in Lansdowne Road.
Jamie Wall is in studio to talk about Ballygunner's path to All-Ireland club glory, the breath of fresh air provided by new champions and new names at the top table... and the legacy of James McCarthy, the Dublin football legend who retired earlier today. He might just have been the greatest footballer on the greatest team of all time.
We also salute the exquisite news-nose of Eoin's 5-year old son, and there's an extremely wholesome story related to the 2024 Footballer of the Year, Galway's Paul Conroy.
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They've only gone and done it... we talk about Shelbourne's title win and how Damien Duff has succeeded where some illustrious predecessors failed.
The season keeps getting better and better for Liverpool as Arne Slot keeps winning matches and rivals keep having problems.
Mark Critchley and John Brewin join us to talk over some more of the weekend's football. How did Manchester United's thinking evolve since last month, when Mark felt sacking Erik ten Hag would be too embarrassing for the club's hierarchy? Has Enzo Maresca finally found a Chelsea midfield combination that works? How did Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth beat Manchester City on Saturday afternoon? And what do they think of the news that Edu is leaving Arsenal when glory seems almost within their grasp?
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On this week's edition of our World Service tasting platter; we look forward to the grand finale of the League of Ireland which sees Damien Duff's Shels needing a win to ensure their first league title in 18 years, Ken hones in on what exactly makes Ruben Amorim an exciting prospect for Man United and Lawrence Donegan fills us in on his cross-country expedition ahead of November's US Presidential Election.
Plus, we pay audio bed tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle.
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Just as we were about to wrap up today's bank holiday football pod recording, the news came through that Manchester United had finally fired Erik ten Hag. The very-much-in-studio-and-not-on-holidays Ken gives his live initial reaction to the most overdue story in football. (1.25.18)
Saturday night saw a sensational return to form for the Real Madrid v Barcelona fixture - and a stunning personal humiliation for Kylian Mbappé - which dangles the tantalising prospect of old-fashioned intrigue and backstabbing at the Galactic club. (1.30)
And Lars Sivertsen and Nick Ames join us to talk about Arsenal v Liverpool (a failure of nerve by the man some people are calling the new Mourinho?), Chelsea v Newcastle (is it coming together for Enzo or is Cole Palmer just really really good?), and the ongoing will-he-or-won't-he-abandon-his-beliefs-and-principles drama around Russell Martin. (40.10)
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It’s been another hectic week on the Second Captains podcast, we’ve had the Champions League, the addition of Johnny Sexton to the Ireland rugby brains-trust in a non-executive capacity, and we also had Eddie Dunbar in studio, one of the best road-cyclists in the world. While Ken, told us about Oleksandr Zinchenko’s new book, written by FriendOfTheShow Raphael Honigstein.
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The Gaelic football patient checked itself in at the weekend, gladly submitting to extensive, experimental surgery in full view of the watching public.
We speak to Paul Flynn and FRC member Michael Murphy about the new rules (or enhancements, as Jim Gavin insists we call them) that worked, the rules that jarred... and the rules that our Murph reckons they put in just so we could get rid of them and feel like we were being critical.
There's also the latest earth-shattering press release from the World Conkers Confederation/Corporation, GAA arithmetic, and Paul Flynn looking to double his career points tally with Dublin.
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Howard Webb provided some good grist to the conspiracy mills over the weekend by getting himself filmed texting and earpiecing before Saliba's yellow card was changed to a red. But maybe the PGMOL supremo deserves some praise to go with the flak. At least his referees are providing an element of unpredictability otherwise missing from a lot of overcoached Premier League football.
Branno brings us up to speed on his trip to Sligo to see Bohemians play their small role in the climax to the League of Ireland season.
We also talk about how in a few short weeks under Arne Slot, Liverpool have undergone a complete transformation from the side they have been for years under Jurgen Klopp.
And Neil Atkinson and Rich Jolly join us to talk about the game at Anfield. Could Slot's start have gone any better? Are the regular complaints about the poor atmosphere at Anfield and other Premier League grounds based on reality or nostalgia? And does the increasingly convergent style of play we see in the Premier League give the crowds much to work with?
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The appointment of Thomas Tuchel as England manager has divided both the proud nation of England and the ignoble profession of football journalism into two camps: Little Englanders and Merchants of Woke.
Yesterday we heard from The 42's Gav Cooney and Rory Smith of the New York Times, and today had his say. Have the FA made the right choice in appointing a foreign coach?
Earlier in the week we were joined in studio by one of the all-time greats of hurling, Joe Canning to talk about his new autobiography, whether he thinks he max-ed out on his potential and how he and his family have dealt with the loss of their mum.
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Johnny Sexton has won European Cups, Grand Slams, has the all time Irish and Six Nations points records and is a former world player of the year. It takes talent but also an obsessive drive to get this good, and his new autobiography, Obsessed, explains the mental toll this took on Sexton.
He joins us in studio to discuss his big breakthrough in 2009 at Croker, his pattern of bust-ups followed by regret, Lancaster's personality test, about needing to change how he communicated with teammates and refs, how he feels about the RWC 2023 QF loss, and his relationship with ROG.
Plus there's the contrasting management styles of Schmidt and Farrell, Snyman's paws, Doris the Swiss Army Knife and over-confident Scots.
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thens for breakfast, Barcelona for brunch, Fairview for lunch. Ken is back from his Grand Tour of Continental Europe, traveling through the night to bring you his thoughts on Ireland's latest adventures in the Nations League.
Joining us in the studio to reflect on an international window in which we actually won a game is Richie Sadlier.
We also try to decipher just what Lee Carsley is actually saying and why.
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This week we released a podcast on our world service - Sally Hayden, Irish Times Correspondent and author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned, spoke to Ken about life in Beirut under fire from the Israeli army - and such was the reaction that we decided to release it to non members.
Sally explains the religious mix in Beirut, how embedded Hezbollah is in Lebanese society, the huge number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, the internal displacement caused by the invasion and the anxiety of tomorrow.
Ken and Branno also discuss the grim reality of the death toll in Gaza, empty words and two recent documentaries, one called We Will Dance Again about the Hamas attacks on Oct 7th 2023 and Al Jazeera’s investigation into Israeli army war crimes in Gaza.
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Ken has returned from the Land Of The Rising Sun, and he has stories to tell - of Shinto shrines (went to "one of" the most famous ones in Tokyo), Buddhist temples, and... storied sumo amphitheatres. We dominate the dojo in the company of our very own Alan Whicker.
Branno missed the most dramatic week in the HISTORY of the league of Ireland last week, as he was recuperating from invasive surgery - we discover which Second Captain presenter was a constant reassuring presence through his recuperation, and who was marked absent.
Plus there's rawdogging, the Bering Strait, and whether Shels still have the league title in their own hands.
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