Episodes
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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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Episodes manquant?
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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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Ken is back from Japan and we take the opportunity to revisit some of the highlights he missed over the last two weeks.
We talk about the varying fortunes of Kai Haaland Havertz, Anthony Gordon, Cole Palmer and Ange Postecoglou before Mark Critchley joins us to talk about what we had mistakenly anticipated would be the game of the weekend at Villa Park.
Will this be the week when Manchester United finally pull the plug on ETH, or is it just too embarrassing for them to do that right now?
Plus there's Ken's great Japanese regret and transatlantic travel: the small man's revenge.
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This week on the Second Captains World Service we were joined by Lars Sivertsen and Glenn Evans from The Athletic and the 1874 Podcast to chat about last night’s incredible win for Villa, with some bonus Steve Bruce cabbage content thrown in for good measure.
Closer to home, the League of Ireland title race has gone absolutely wild, with six teams out of a ten team league seemingly in contention for the top spot. We reacted to Shels vs. Pats, which might just be the greatest game ever played in the greatest league in the world (TM).
And we chatted to US Murph about Shohei Ohtani putting in the greatest regular season in history. Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.
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Less than a year ago the Irish women's rugby team had finished bottom of the Six Nations table, were playing the likes of Kazakhstan in the third tier of WXV, had not qualified for the previous World Cup and along with stories of interprovincial teams changing in front of wheelie bins and 7s players being taking in and out of the 15s camp, there was very little positivity about.
They have since come third in the 6N, qualified for the 2025 World Cup, made it into the top tier of WXV1, hammered Australia, and now best of all, beaten NZ, the team that has won 6 of the last 7 World Cups. We chat to Leinster head coach Tania Rosser, and Alison Miller, both of whom played against NZ last time Ireland beat them, in the 2014 World Cup.
We also discuss world-class Aoife Wafer, Munster's leaky defence and Conor McKenna's AFL title win with the Brisbane Lions.
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The Manchester United content-creating machine trundles remorselessly on: another day, another humiliating home defeat. Jack Pitt-Brooke and Dion Fanning were watching, goggle-eyed at the latest United capitulation - this one with added red card drama.
Tottenham on the other hand had a delightful day at the office. It turns out the only thing a Premier League crisis club needs is a visit to Old Trafford.
And there's also Liverpool's almost-silent progression to top spot in the Premier League, and Mikel Arteta trying to reverse out of a war of words with Pep.
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It's been another bumper week on the World Service and we want to serve you up a tempting slice of the action.
There was our chat with Dara Ó Briain live from London on the best summer of his sporting life, Barney Ronay and John Brewin on the still smouldering City-Arsenal discourse, and a sneak preview of our brilliant chat with legendary former League of Ireland player and manager Dermot Keely, which goes out tomorrow.
Plus one of the country's best GAA journalists Cahair O'Kane joined us to talk about the end of the Casement Park Euro 2028 dream and where we go from here.
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The sport of rugby barely survived the Ken Early Rugby Special on Second Captains last week, but after a weekend deluge of tries, drama and upsets, it's back, baby!
We do a quick series recap of "last season, in rugby" including a reminder that the international team did rather well in 2023/24, while the provinces struggled.
Gerry Thornley joins us to discuss the 10-try interpro that went loco, Connacht's dynamic halfback duo, Munster's brain drain, Ireland and Leinster's outhalf subplot, Ulster's last-gasp win and the rise of coach Contepomi.
Plus there's bridesmaid Rory McIlroy's continuing psycho drama, Tony Ward the codebreaker and Ireland, THE NUMBER 1 TEAM IN THE WORLD.
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We had been told that Manchester City/Arsenal games are guaranteed snooze-fests, but it turns out we had been misinformed. John Stones got the final goal of a 2-2 thriller in the eighth minute of injury time, and it was a game so rich in drama, so packed with shithousery, and so laden with meaning for this year's Premier League title race that we simply had to hear from Jonathan Wilson and Gavin Cooney.
It might not have been a good week for Mr Mourinho in Turkey, but it will have gladdened his heart to tune into the Greatest League In The World to see both the top 2 turn into Jose teams.
It turns out he had the answers all along - why have a back 5 when you can have a back 6, and when all else fails, why not put a centre-half up top and try and get him on the end of a few diags.
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