Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu which this week includes Ken on his all-time Prem XI, Prince William's tactics masterclass before the Villa PSG game, Cork's march to an inevitable All Ireland hurling title and we ask Lawrence Donegan to take responsibility for Rory not yet winning The Masters. We also covered Munster's magic day in La Rochelle, Rice's free kick glory, Madrid in crisis and we have a pol pod coming on Friday too. Join in the fun for just a fiver a month – no contra...
Apr 10, 2025•29 min
If you felt some almost imperceptible shift in the world this weekend, the minutest tilting of the Earth on its axis, perhaps, there can only be one coherent explanation: it was the county of Cork and the province of Munster reclaiming their positions at the centre of the sporting universe. The first righting of the celestial wrong came in the Stade Marcel-Deflandre on Saturday evening, as Jack Crowley did what Cork-born Munster outhalves do: stepped into the pocket and slotted a drop goal to pu...
Apr 07, 2025•52 min
Ken, Branno and Mark went to Dalymount Park in search of vitriol - and they found it - but also nearly all of the other emotions on an evening that veered wildly between blind rage and helpless laughter. If everyone can agree the LOI is in a good place the same is not universally said of the Premier League where most of the teams are giving the impression that they would quite like to be on holidays already. Mark Critchley and Jack Pitt-Brooke join us to talk about the weekend's PL football. Did...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 5 min
Welcome to our weekly World Service taster menu. Join in the fun 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 03, 2025•48 min
The most cinematic moment in world football this weekend happened at Dalymount Park as Moses Dyer hammered in a killer second goal for Galway United to plunge Branno, among many others, into a world of pain. Today he takes us behind the veil of darkness as we try to reckon with Bohemians' 5 defeats in their last 6 games. We also discuss Newcastle's JFK moment, the latest developments in Robbie Keane's chase for the Hungarian championship, and the reaction to a controversial tweet in which somebo...
Mar 31, 2025•46 min
It was a positive weekend for Irish rugby with the women's team getting a near flawless 8 try victory in Italy, Leinster's B / C team taking down Siya Kolisi's star studded Sharks in Durban, Ulster showing further signs of life against the Stormers, and Munster's halfbacks steering them to a win over Connacht. And even Connacht, as bad as they were at times, can feel they got something out of the game with two losing bonus points, a sellout crowd and a small footprint made in GAA territory. We c...
Mar 31, 2025•52 min
We have a special edition of the show for you today; we’re putting yesterday’s conversation with David and Chantal Sneyd about their son Dylan, out free to all. There was a phenomenal reaction from our members and we felt this one should be shared as widely as possible. When Dylan was two David and Chantal grew concerned that he hadn't yet started to speak. They spoke to their GP who referred Dylan for further assessment, and so began the Sneyds' long and still ongoing struggle to navigate the I...
Mar 26, 2025•1 hr 7 min
Mayo and Kerry both spent time yesterday in the relegation zone, but they’ll spend this week looking ahead to a Division 1 final in Croke Park after a daft last day of the National Football League. Paul Flynn and Conor McManus look at this strange, fun, league campaign in full, with some flowers for newly-promoted Monaghan, and we go down through the divisions in search of possible championship bolters to put up a challenge to a faltering Dublin in Leinster. We also discover the truth behind Pau...
Mar 24, 2025•51 min
Two comeback wins in four days, new options announcing themselves all over the pitch - just a couple of months on from getting wiped out 5-0 by England, it feels as though things are going... well? Damien Delaney and Richie Sadlier join us to talk about the playoff victory against Bulgaria and where the Irish team is at, eight matches into Heimir Hallgrimsson's tenure. For Damien in particular, this is a big moment. He is ready to love again. Plus there's Evan Ferguson's parking, Good Will Hunti...
Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 16 min
Let us take you by the hand and guide you through another week of independent, member-led broadcasting on the Second Captains World Service. This week we had Ken on victory in Plovdiv, Murph and Branno on The Moose's caboose, we discussed the ultimate "conesman" Anthony Barry and his 5,000 throw-ins, and with Ireland's recent slide in standards we asked Gerry Thornley and Chris Jones of the BBC what impact Andy Farrell's absence and Nienaber's coaching style at Leinster may be having on the nati...
Mar 21, 2025•40 min
Dan Burn, Eddie Howe, Yasir Al-Rumayyan: they dream the same dream, they want the same thing. At least they all did at Wembley Stadium yesterday evening. As for tomorrow, who can say... Rory Smith of the Athletic joins us to talk about the game. How did Newcastle so comprehensively get the better of the league leaders? And how does the result affect the perception of Liverpool's season, which still looks likely to end with a Premier League title? James Montague, who has a new book coming out nex...
Mar 17, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Let us take you by the hand and guide you through another week of independent, member-led broadcasting on the Second Captains World Service. Our first stop, the port of Stockholm via Darwin Nunez's - if not unforgivable then certainly unforgettable - penalty shootout miss against PSG on Tuesday evening. After a light lunch, we'll take in a conversation with one of the great sportswriters Donald McRae about his new boxing book, The Last Bell, and finish with last night's Madrid derby, as Ken goes...
Mar 13, 2025•32 min
Ireland only had to make four tackles in the opening 18 minutes of this game, and they were ahead against a Dupont-less France early in the second half. But it was a worrying capitulation after that as Galthie's men scored 42 points in a game that will linger long in the memory. We talk to Shane Horgan, Chris Jones of the BBC and Ruaidhrí O'Connor of the Irish Independent about what went wrong after 18 minutes, what they could have done better in those opening 18 minutes, who was at fault for th...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 13 min
Anger stalks the land, as discontented fans rebel against owners, against prices, against the way the game is going - but is anybody listening? To answer this question we consider the case of the lesser-spotted Chelsea Football Club, with contributions from co-owner Todd Boehly and coach Enzo Maresca. If this is how things are in ‘real football’ then maybe the Sidemen vs YouTube Allstars, rather than being a portent of Antichrist, is the way of the future? Lars Sivertsen and Rich Jolly join us t...
Mar 10, 2025•1 hr 14 min
Ireland approach a grandchildren to tell time moment in the 6 Nations, Alisson Becker puts in a lifetimer of a performance against PSG in the Champions League last 16, Old Man Murphy likes life under Jim Gavin's rule enhancements: a small but hearty taste of our week on the World Service. If your appetite is sufficiently whetted, go to secondcaptains.com/join for member-led, ad-free broadcasting now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 06, 2025•34 min
Maybe he picked the wrong week to be away. Last week brought probably the decisive matches of the Premier League and a fight pitting Ian Harte against all the League of Ireland managers. This weekend was the FA Cup, arguments about the quality of balls, a story about a player disrespectfully bringing his dog to training. With the Champions League promising bigger things later in the week, Ken reviews his time in Miami and his trip to the really-quite-far-away Chase Stadium: did the jewel of Sout...
Mar 03, 2025•49 min
Eoin McDevitt has been covering every corner of the island in the last couple of weeks, including a trip to Belfast on Saturday night for what turned out to be an explosive and highly controversial fight between Lewis Crocker and Paddy Donovan. Last week Cian Healy, Conor Murray and Peter O'Mahony announced they would all retire from Irish rugby at the end of the season. We talk to Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan about how the three have evolved over the years, their relevance to this game again...
Mar 03, 2025•55 min
Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Rory Smith and Wilson on Liverpool's seemingly unstoppable title march, Andy Lee on how he and his fighter Jospeh Parker coped with Daniel Dubois withdrawing from their title fight at such short notice, our chat down in Cork with the much decorated Olympic champion rower Fintan McCarthy and Murph and Eoin get stuck into the GAA goalie debate as Murph Lovejoy pleads "won't someone please think of the shot stoppers". Join in...
Feb 28, 2025•1 hr
At 18-10 down and a man down, against a transformed Welsh team, Ireland were heading for one of the great 6N shock losses; but thanks to some pragmatism, some brilliant kicking by Gibson Park and James "air" Lowe, Easterby's side eked out a win in Cardiff to secure the Triple Crown and keep their Grand Slam hopes alive. We chat to Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble about the nature of the second half recovery, some of the errors that meant they had to come from behind, Ringrose's red, Prendergast's...
Feb 24, 2025•1 hr 8 min
While our Chief Soccer Correspondent is chasing the GOAT in Miami, the rest of the football world continues to roll on, or in the case of the English Premier League the word trundle may be better applied, as Liverpool look to have it wrapped up in February. We have Dion Fanning in the studio and Mark Critchley on the line to look back at a weekend that saw Arsenal slip up, Salah stake a claim for the Ballon d'Or and Manchester United say to their beleaguered staff it’s soup or nothing. We also r...
Feb 24, 2025•54 min
Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Charlie O'Leary meeting The Pope, Dion on Stephen Bradley taking on the FAI, Sharlene on the pressure of running the 400m relay final leg, plus we covered the 6N, Nunez's miss, City's fall and all the PL and CL stories and next week we review Man City V Liverpool and Wales V Ireland, chat to Andy Lee and will be all over the women's internationals and big GAA matches. Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, n...
Feb 21, 2025•36 min
With Ciarán Murphy (zero All-Irelands, zero All Stars) sidelined, Paul Flynn (six All-Irelands, four All Stars) joins us in the studio to look back at a gusty weekend of National League football, while Conor McManus (three All Stars, greatest Monaghan player in history) joins us on the line. We chat friend-of-the-show Michael Murphy's return featuring a tribute to 2006 era Zidane, Dublin's wind-assisted win in Tralee and the secret rule scenario. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more i...
Feb 17, 2025•46 min
We look back on yesterday's supersized Dublin derby: was it a great success, did Bohemians sell out their values, and does anyone care with the moose on the loose? We also discuss whether Stephen Bradley was right to BLAST Heimir Hallgrimsson for his tactless if generally complimentary pre-Christmas remarks about Shamrock Rovers. Gavin Cooney and Jonathan Wilson join us to talk about the weekend's Premier League action. Are highly-paid modern-day footballers really entitled to be injured? Should...
Feb 17, 2025•1 hr 11 min
‘All THIS?! FOR ONLY FIVE EURO A MONTH?!’, is what you’ll be saying after listening to this week’s World Service taster menu. Come see if our selection of tantalising hors d’oeuvres can’t tempt you to try our whole member-led, ad-free buffet? Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 13, 2025•27 min
The magic of the FA Cup cast its spell as Plymouth slew the giants of Liverpool - but is it really still magic if the giants don't care? Ange Postecoglou responded to another Tottenham defeat with a harrowing speech about the chronic injury situation. Is even the injury situation also all Postecoglou's fault? And does playing more games make you more or less likely to get injured? We try to make sense of conflicting evidence.-- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 10, 2025•42 min
10 points from 10, two of our three 6N rivals beaten, the three in a row still on, the slam still alive, and a young outhalf improving by the week - these are salad days for Irish rugby! We chat to Shane Horgan and Ruaidhri O'Connor about the win, a dismal Scottish display, Sam Prendergast's performance, French butchers, England finding their Fin, concussion protocols and who Easterby should select for the Wales game. Plus there's a comprehensive 6N permutations slot, the fun police are out, and...
Feb 10, 2025•57 min
'All THIS?! FOR ONLY FIVE EURO A MONTH PLUS VAT?!', is what you'll be saying after listening to this week's World Service taster menu. Come see if our selection of tantalising hors d'oeuvres don't tempt you to try our whole member-led, ad-free buffet? Just go to secondcaptains.com/join now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 06, 2025•36 min
At half time on Saturday a lot was on the line for Ireland as they trailed England 10-5; there was the 2025 6N, the shot at winning an historic three in a row, and there was the fear that a great Irish team was in terminal decline. Second half tries from Bundee, Beirne and Dan Sheehan put some of those issues to bed, and sent Irish fans home happy and glorious. We chat to Ruaidhri O'Connor of the Irish Independent and Tom English of BBC Scotland about how Ireland eventually worked out England's ...
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 8 min
Welcome to our weekly world service best of show which this week includes Ken eating humble Arsenal pie and then hitting his apology quota for the year, a monster 6N preview, US Murph's lock of the week, Villa's victory and volatility, and a whole load of permutations. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Jan 30, 2025•25 min
At the dawn of a new era for Gaelic football we’ve got one of the greats of the last two decades, Conor McManus, on the show to talk about retirement and the GAA 2.0. With the Football League underway the ''New Rules'' are finally the rules. Paul Flynn and Conor chat to us about this brave new world of the tap and go, 2 point arcs, reduced shithousery and stranded keepers. Plus there's Ciaran Whelan's giant gloves, International Rules and a gloating Eagle. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy ...
Jan 27, 2025•56 min
