Stand Up: An Ulster Rugby Show

I chat to Mick Kearney who has just finished up a short spell with Ulster to cap off a great career, playing for 3 out of 4 Irish provinces as well as Italian side, Zebre.  The Dublin-born second-row announced his retirement at the end of this season, prompting an outpouring of affection from the rugby community. Mick gives his opinion on what the current Ulster side is capable of, how the Ul...

Irish Times journalist and honorary Ulsterman, Nathan Johns and I conduct the post-mortem of Ulster's chances of silverware this season. Despite the initial disappointment, a couple of days have provided perspective. Ulster were tantalisingly close to a home final and the gut-wrenching feeling when they let their 5-point lead slip is made somewhat easier to take when you look at the future potenti...

We preview what is set to be an epic clash between the Stormers and Ulster this Saturday. I am joined by South African rugby writer and expert, AP Cronje and Irish Rugby guru, Evan Kavanagh. We discuss how Ulster must play to beat the Stormers, strengths and weaknesses in both teams and, most importantly, have an educated guess at the result! Enjoy and get ready for what is set to be an unbelievab...

Justin Fitzpatrick: Ulster’s Globetrotter In this episode I speak to the Ulster and Ireland legendary loosehead who won 26 caps for Ireland and also helped Ulster to a European Cup in 1999 and the Celtic League in 2006. Justin has had a fascinating life and career, bursting onto the scene in the London Irish front row before joining Ulster (and Dungannon), moving to Castres Olympique and coming ba...

Harry Sheridan is a very promising member of Ulster's Academy - a second-row with a tireless work-ethic and engine to match. For Harry, the journey began at Civil Service Rugby Club being coached by his Dad. Having already grown a passion for the game when he started at Sullivan Upper School, Harry kicked-on, helped by a growth spurt which provided him with a natural position in the team's engine...

Conor Joyce is a seriously inspiring person, passionate about rugby and promoting mental health in equal measure. Conor excelled as a young rugby player, playing for Ireland under 18s, 19s and 20s and went on to have a successful career playing for Ulster, Jersey and Doncaster. In his spare time, Conor and his brother grew a successful enterprise called Noggin which raises money for mental health...

Willie Anderson was an integral part of the Ulster team that dominated Irish rugby in the 1980’s winning 10 consecutive interprovincial titles, Anderson played 78 times for his province and 27 times for Ireland and was to skipper both sides. He’s one of the biggest characters in Irish Rugby and he’s released his autobiography which is called Crossing the Line. The flag, the haka and facing my life...

This podcast is with one of the top rugby journalists in Ireland, Tom Savage – the man behind Three Red Kings, a website for Munster fans. Tom is funny, insightful and engaging. We talk about the problem with modern rugby coverage, where he thinks Ulster strongest and weakest (the answer will most likely shock you!) and the best young players coming out of Munster and Ulster. Really good chat and...

Ryan Caldwell has had a fascinating journey. From playing rugby in Ulster, Exeter, Bath and with Ireland, to a difficult transition out of professional rugby, Ryan underwent a transformative experience after hanging up his boots and taking part in a ritual in the Colombian jungle. Once an abrasive second-row who did not know what to do when injury forced him to quit rugby, Ryan is now content and...

Tom Court had, by anyone’s standards, a ridiculously successful career. Ulster fans will remember Tom as a powerful prop who was our nailed on starting loosehead in one of the best Ulster squad’s of the modern era. He was part of Ireland’s Grand slam winning squad in 2009 and was called up to the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in 2013. This is all despite only taking up the game when he...

Glasgow v Ulster Post game. I was joined by Stephen Murphy of the Master of None podcast and we discussed initial reactions to the game, a bit more chat about Ulster generally and finally, we discuss why things aren’t clicking for Ireland and what they need to do about it.

Chris Henry tells his story of developing a passion for rugby at Malone and then reaching the peak of his playing career with Ulster and Ireland, what it was like to play in one of the greatest Ireland teams, one of the greatest Ulster teams of the professional era, suffering a stroke which could have ended his career, and the process of transitioning out of the game. I really enjoyed speaking to...

On this episode of the Ulster Rugby lad podcast I’m delighted to say that I’m joined by Ulster Rugby legend Andy Ward. Every Ulster fan will know Andy Ward – I remember watching him as a kid and thinking that he was hard as nails - I was, and still am, a huge fan of his. A rock solid and unflappable presence for Ulster, he was, like all good flankers, the heartbeat of the team and had the respect...

In this episode I’m speaking to Evan Kavanagh – a font of rugby knowledge and the man behind a twitter account called EK Rugby Analysis. He has really good insight and a huge amount of knowledge about rugby. Everyone these days has an opinion on rugby – who played well, who didn’t and why. Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly why teams win or lose, why teams can drop in performance or why certain p...

In this episode of the Ulster Rugby Lad Podcast I’m joined by the world’s most popular rugby youtuber – Squidge Rugby. He has over 130,000 YouTube subscribers and his videos have been watched millions and millions of times. Robbie Owen is the man behind Squidge Rugby.  While still in his early 20s, he was looking for a way out of a job he hated.  He quit and set about making funny YouTube videos a...

In this episode I speak to Old Belvedere, Ulster, and Ireland scrum-half, Kathryn Dane. Life in women’s rugby in Ireland is tough and a relentless cycle of training, playing and work. Kathy embraces the lifestyle and is positive about the future of women’s rugby in Ireland. It was an absolute pleasure to speak to Kathy and you’ll enjoy listening to her inspirational story of pursuing greatness on...

My next guest was an influential member of the history making Ulster team in 1999, who, as we all know became the first Irish side to win the European Cup. In this episode of the Ulster Rugby Lad Pod I’ll be talking to Mark Blair. Mark was one of a number of players brought back from the mainland to bolster the Ulster squad ahead of their European campaign. After a shaky start, Mark became a key m...

My next guest was part of Ulster's European Cup-winning side in 1999. This was the greatest feat in Ulster rugby history — achieved by a squad made up of a mixture of full time and part time players. Indeed, his career straddled both amateurism and the professional era. Having been a key part of the squad that season, unfortunately, Jan’s memories of the final itself are not particularly pleasant...

My next guest is Sammy Arnold. He spoke to me on his birthday which was at the start of lockdown. At the time he was still a Munster player but he has now moved to Connacht. You’ll remember Sammy Arnold because he played for Ulster, having chosen us over Harlequins because he wanted to play at centre for Ireland (which he did by the way). He made his debut for Ulster at the age of 18 and won the A...

My next guest is a former Ulster, Ireland and Northampton Saints player. His career spanned over 15 years, earning over 350 professional appearances. He recently moved to Texas with his family which is where I caught up with him on zoom. You all know who it is. Roger Wilson. Hope you enjoy it. I spoke to him a few weeks into lockdown.

Ulster, Ireland and British and Irish Lions Legend, inventor of the Ferris Wheel pizza. I am joined this week by Stevie Ferris - legend on and off the field. Great lad, really interesting, straight-talking chat. Hope you enjoy!

Ulster Rugby enthusiasts Dave and Andrew join to chew over the recent Ulster Rugby Squad accouncement.

Two Northern Irish broadcasting legends, Stephen Watson and Mark Robson join me to talk about their careers, passion for sport and a bit of Ulster Rugby chat. Loved speaking to them. Hope you enjoy listening!

Jenny Murphy is an international rugby player for Ireland women’s team. She’s also a casual fill-in host for Baz and Andrew’s House of Rugby Podcast, an unbelievable rugby player and a good egg. Really enjoyed the chat with her. Hope you do too!

Great chat with former Ulster and Ireland second-row, Dan Tuohy. The 34-year-old played 136 times for Ulster before joining Bristol in 2016. He sustained the hand injury that ended his career at French club Vannes. Here, he talks about falling in and out of love with rugby and discusses his retirement twitter essay in which he said ‘rugby is now rotten from the core’ and how "the values that made...