The Left Wing

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to look ahead to the Champions Cup last 16. They kick things off by discussing the injury to Johnny Sexton and whether Leinster can still win the Champions Cup without the star out-half. Talk then turns towards this weekend, with Leinster taking on Ulster at the Aviva Stadium and Munster making a daunting trip to Durban to face the Sharks in South Africa. Finally, Cian and Luke give their...

It was a pretty sobering opening Women’s Six Nations defeat for Ireland as they were over-powered by Wales losing 31-5. To discuss where the team goes from here, Sinéad Kissane is joined by former Ireland flanker, Anna Caplice, and Ali Donnelly of Scrumqueens.com. Will and Luke will also be back on Wednesday for their latest in-depth discussion of the week’s biggest talking points. If you want to get in touch with the show, email your questions and comments to theleftwing@independent.ie, or...

It’s two Six Nations down, two Grand Slams won for Ireland and this weekend is the start of the Women’s Six Nations. Ireland play Wales at Cardiff Arms Park in their opening game on Saturday with a 2.15 kick-off and previewing Ireland’s chances in the game and the rest of the tournament, Sinéad Kissane is joined by Anna Caplice, former Ireland flanker, and Ali Donnelly of Scrumqueens.com. There have been changes since Ireland finished fourth in the table in the 2022 edition after that...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Cian Tracey to look back on Ireland's Grand Slam triumph. Luke and Cian break down why Ireland won on Saturday - and why there were some nervy moments at the Aviva Stadium. The lads look back on the entire campaign, discuss the World Cup threat posed by France and ask whether there are enough opportunities for Ireland's U-20 stars at club level. If you want to get in touch with the show, email your...

They’ve done it. After all the hype, pressure and adversity, this Ireland team overcame the last hurdle in front of them and beat England 29-16 to win the Grand Slam for the first time ever in Dublin. For this special post-match episode, Sinéad Kissane is joined by Rúaidhrí O’Connor and Cian Tracey at the Aviva to get their reaction and analysis in the aftermath of an emotional evening. You’ll also hear from Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier and Ross Byrne who, after the final whistle, tried to...

Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by former England international Alex Corbisiero to look ahead to Saturday's Grand Slam decider. England enter into the game as massive underdogs off the back of a record home defeat to France and the pressure is mounting on new coach Steve Borthwick. Alex gives his assessment on where England are at after a poor Six Nations campaign and outlines the areas they must improve for the game against Ireland. When it comes to predictions, both Luke and...

There’s three changes to the Ireland team for their final push towards a fourth Grand Slam with Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan declared fit and Jamison Gibson-Park partnering Johnny Sexton, with Conor Murray dropping to the bench. Cian Tracey joins Sinéad Kissane to analyse the Irish starting XV and what we can expect on Saturday. On Friday, Will and Luke talk to the former England international, Alex Corbisiero while Sinead, Cian and Rud will have a show after the final whistle from the Aviva...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald look back on Ireland's win over Scotland and discuss the mental preparation for Saturday's Grand Slam decider with former Ireland performance coach Enda McNulty. Luke kicks things off with his assessment of Ireland's impressive win over Scotland before Enda joins the lads to give his insights into working with Ireland under Joe Schmidt. The pressure of performing at the highest level, the difference between Schmidt and...

As Andy Farrell’s team look to complete a Grand Slam when they play England at the Aviva stadium on Saturday, the Left Wing wants to celebrate another Grand Slam. It’s 10 years ago this week since the Ireland women’s team won their first ever Slam. A 6-3 win over Italy in Milan on Paddy’s Day in 2013 saw this group of players do something no Irish women’s team has done before. So this is a special podcast to celebrate that achievement. Captain of that team Fiona Coghlan, centre Lynne...

Garry Ringrose and Iain Henderson will be missing from the Ireland squad to face England in their Grand Slam decider this Saturday due to injuries suffered against Scotland. Rúaidhrí O’Connor joins Sinéad Kissane with the latest squad update on the latest Left Wing podcast and explains that Caelan Doris (hip) and hookers Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher (both shoulder) have remained in camp and have not been ruled out of contention for the game. Andy Farrell has called up Leinster lock Ross...

There’s just no stopping Ireland in this Six Nations no matter what’s thrown at them. The Grand Slam is just one win away for Ireland, they’ve beaten Scotland 22 points to 7 and Cian Tracey joins Sinéad Kissane from Murrayfield with the post-match analysis. Plus, don’t miss all the build-up to the final game decider against England with Sinéad and Rúaidhrí O'Connor back on Monday with a squad update which will give some insights into all the injuries suffered from the Scottish encounter....

Andy Farrell has named his team to play Scotland in Murrayfield on Sunday and Rúaidhrí O’Connor joins Sinéad Kissane on the latest Left Wing podcast to discuss the line-up. There are six changes overall to the team that started against Italy. Johnny Sexton and Garry Ringrose return. Tadhg Furlong will make his first appearances of this Six Nations. Conor Murray starts at scrumhalf, Jamison Gibson Park is on the bench as is Robbie Henshaw who’re both set to feature for the first time in this...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery is joined by BBC Scotland journalist Andy Burke to look ahead to Sunday's Six Nations clash at Murrayfield. Despite overseeing a number of big scalps against England and France during his tenure, Gregor Townsend has never beaten Ireland as Scotland head coach. Andy thinks Ireland's physicality has been a major problem for Scotland and they must match up on Sunday in that area to have a chance of winning. One player who will be key for...

Continuing the Left Wing’s countdown to Sunday’s Six Nations game between Scotland and Ireland, Sinéad Kissane spoke to a man who played outhalf for Scotland, and also for Connacht. Dan Parks won 67 caps with Scotland and as well as playing with Glasgow and Cardiff Blues, he made 51 appearances for Connacht after which he retired from professional rugby nearly nine years ago. Dan is living in Sydney where he’s still involved in rugby and Sinéad spoke to him about his playing days, his role...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by Ulster out-half Ian Madigan to look ahead to Scotland vs Ireland and discuss Ulster's season to date. Ian and Luke break down exactly what they like about how Ireland are playing at the moment, and Ian gives his out-half assessment of Scotland star Finn Russell ahead of Sunday's clash. Ulster have had a tumultuous season and Ian gives his an insight into the ups and downs as he targets a place in the...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery, Luke Fitzgerald and Cian Tracey look back on Ireland's dramatic win in Italy. It was far from easy in Rome, with Italy putting Ireland under a lot of pressure. The lads discuss the issues with Ireland's defence and ask whether the return of Garry Ringrose would shore things up ahead of Scotland. The bench impact, the enigma of Finn Russell and Leo Cullen's future at Leinster are up for discussion too. Listen out next week when the Left...

Ireland have picked up their third successive bonus point win in this Six Nations, scoring five tries including two from Mack Hansen to beat an impressive Italy 34 points to 20 but the Italians asked plenty of questions of the Irish who did well to come through as they did. Rúaidhrí O’Connor and Cian Tracey join Sinéad Kissane from the Stadio Olimpico on the latest episode of the Left Wing podcast with their post-match analysis and reaction to the game. Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald will...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Cian Tracey discuss the Ireland team to face Italy. Ross Byrne and Craig Casey will make their first Six Nations starts at half-back - are they ready to lead the team in the absence of Johnny Sexton? Jack Conan gets the nod at number eight, and the lads are in agreement that he needs a big game to hold off Gavin Coombes in the matchday squad. Bundee Aki also returns to the starting team after two big cameos off the bench but Cian...

On the latest episode of The Left Wing, Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald are joined by former Italy international Ian McKinley to look ahead to Ireland vs Italy. The Azzurri have made big strides in the last 12 months after beating Wales and Australia, and Ian breaks down why Italy have seen an upsurge in form over the last year. Ross Byrne is in line to feature against Italy and both Luke and Ian think he has a newfound confidence that bodes well for him going forward. Wales' potential Six...

As part of the Left Wing’s countdown to Saturday’s Six Nations game between Italy and Ireland in Rome, Sinéad Kissane spoke to an Irishman with the inside track on the development of Italian Rugby. Stephen Aboud worked for 26 years with the IRFU in various roles including developing player pathways. In August 2016, he started working for the Italian Rugby Federation as the head of technical direction for the development of players and coaches. His contract with them finished in June last...