The Counter Ruck

Few things get the Irish rugby public as excited as a young talent at outhalf. Dannah O'Brien has been on the scene for a while now, making her debut against Japan in 2022. Fresh off starting in Ireland's defeat to Italy last weekend, O'Brien joins The Counter Ruck to talk through her career to date, the first two rounds of this year's Six Nations and how Ireland are trying to progress from last y...

Former Ireland, Leinster and Leicester backrow Shane Jennings joins Gordon D'Arcy and host Nathan Johns. The historical links between Leinster and Leicester, opponents this weekend in the Champions Cup, are profound. In 2005, Jennings and current Leinster head coach Leo Cullen left the province for a two-year stint at the English club. When they returned, they played a significant role in a cultur...

Gordon D’Arcy and Nathan Johns talk through Ireland's defeat to France to begin the women’s Six Nations. We also pick through the best of the action following a mixed weekend for the provinces in the URC. A week on from the Six Nations, we look at which fringe internationals, now playing before the return of European action, have the best chance of forcing their way into Andy Farrell’s reckoning a...

Ireland begin their Six Nations campaign a number of months after winning the first edition of the WXV3 competition. It was a much-needed confidence boost in an era largely defined by governance controversy off the field and spiralling performances off it. John Cronin was director of rugby at Railway Union RFC, coaching a number of current and former Ireland internationals. He has been a prominent...

Gordon D’Arcy and Gerry Thornley join host Nathan Johns to pick through the final round of the Six Nations championship.   Ireland weren’t perfect, but had enough to get over the line against Scotland to earn back-to-back titles for just the third time. Given the way the final matches unfolded, have teams started to figure out the Irish attack? Was this the last we will see of Peter O’Mahony...

Scotland and Ireland have seen plenty of animosity in their contests in recent years. Yet the Scots have not won since 2017, while they haven't been victorious in Dublin since 2010. Can such a one-sided fixture truly be a rivalry, or do the two sides simply not like each other? Gordon D'Arcy and John O'Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to preview this weekend's Six Nations title showdown. Produced b...

England’s best performance in recent memory sent Ireland to a narrow defeat in London. Hopes of back-to-back Grand Slams are gone, offering a timely reminder of just how difficult it is to win it all. Gordon D’Arcy and Gerry Thornley join host Nathan Johns to pick through where it all went wrong for Ireland, where England excelled and why a Six Nations title, even without a Grand Slam, is not to b...

Gordon D'Arcy and John O'Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to preview Ireland's upcoming clash with England. Where are England in this transition period? Will their blitz defence cause problems? Have we learned anything new from the Ireland team selection? All this is and more is discussed as the panel predict a strong England performance that will test Ireland's Grand Slam ambitions. Produced by Jo...

In this extended chat with England’s World Cup-winning number eight, Nathan Johns and Gordon D’Arcy preview this week’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham. We also discuss how Dallaglio could have declared for Ireland, his memories of touring for the Lions with D’Arcy as well as England’s muddled thinking in this year’s championship. Produced by John Casey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...

With Ireland’s current crop of U20s training against the senior side today at the Aviva Stadium, we took a deep dive into the underage structures in Irish rugby. John O’Sullivan has covered age grade international sides for a number of years, and he joins host Nathan Johns to recall his memories of following Irish teams around the world. From dramatic penalty shoot-outs vs South Africa to meeting...

Ireland were not at their fluid best on Saturday but they did not have to be, beating Wales 31-7 at the Aviva Stadium.   How did Wales stilt the Irish attack somewhat? Just how good is Ireland’s defence? Does Andy Farrell have a replacement bench to rival the South African bomb squad?  The panel chats through all the talking points from the Irish victory, as well as the other notabl...

Is fullback Ciarán Frawley’s best position? How much of a loss will Hugo Keenan be? What to expect from debutant Oli Jager?    Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to react to Andy Farrell’s team announcement. The panel looks at if there were any other options to replace Keenan, is picking a 6/2 split on the bench somewhat of a risk and why Stuart McCloskey makes the...

Despite being tipped by some as wooden spoon contenders for this year’s Six Nations, Wales have lost their opening two matches by a combined margin of just three points.  A second half comeback against Scotland and a strong opening 40 minutes in Twickenham vs England have allowed Wales to already exceed the expectations. Ahead of their trip to Dublin to take on Ireland this weekend, Mike Bubb...

For all the positivity surrounding Ireland’s two wins to open up this year’s Six Nations, a concern for the concession of scrum penalties remains simmering in the background. Against France, Andrew Porter was penalised twice in quick succession in the first half. After half-time, the French replacement front row eked out a further penalty, cementing a clear advantage. Scrumming down against Italy,...

After Ireland put Italy to the sword in the Aviva Stadium, the panel discusses standout performances form Jack Crowley and James Lowe, Ireland's impressive defensive record and the latest disappointing Italian performance. We also talk through Wales being more competitive than previously thought, the low standard of play across the board so far in the tournament and the infamous TMO decision that...

Former Leinster out-half and current Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi joins his old teammate Gordon D'Arcy on today’s podcast. Italy's new head coach, Gonzalo Quesada, is a former teammate of Contempomi. The former Leinsterman tells us what to expect from his old friend as he prepares his Italian side for their clash with Ireland at the Aviva on Sunday afternoon. Contepomi also discusses his...

Fresh off covering Ireland's win over France, Gerry Thornley joins host Nathan Johns and John O'Sullivan to review the victory that sets up Andy Farrell’s team as favourites for the Six Nations. We discuss the French media's strong reaction, how Ireland looked a better-coached side, the impressive second row pairing of Joe McCarthy and Tadhg Beirne as well as Jack Crowley's coming-of-age performan...

Irish Times rugby correspondent Gerry Thornley previews Friday night’s clash from the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. With both teams exiting last year’s World Cup at the quarter-final stage, a opening round win will go some way to deciding the winner of this Six Nations tournament. In terms of Irish players to watch out for, Jack Crowley steps in to fill the void left by the now-retired Johnny Sext...

Gordon D'Arcy and John O'Sullivan join host Nathan Johns to preview the Six Nations ahead of Ireland's opening game away to France on Friday night. The panel discusses selection, captaincy and Ireland's poor record following World Cup campaigns. We also hear from Clare native Noel McNamara, the attack coach at Union Bordeaux-Begles. Newly installed at the French club, McNamara works on a daily bas...

The Counter Ruck is a new rugby podcast from The Irish Times. Launching on Monday, January 29th - just in time for the Six Nations. Produced in association with Nifti Business. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.