The Molecast

Van Going Going Gaaaan: The JvG era announces that it is coming to an end in summer 2022. What does Johann's report card look like as he prepares for his Leaving? A good weekend for the provinces is wrapped up, but with the sneaking suspicion that something is a little awry at Leinster as they rack up probably the least impressive win of the weekend. Lastly we talk selection, comparing the merits...

Munster's half-backs kept Ireland in winning ways but took a slightly different route to achieving it: how do things stand for genuine legend Conor Murray and little white hope Joey Carbery after whomping Argentina? Have Ireland found their second playmaker in Tadhg Furlong or will the big guns figure out how to nullify our loops and pods in Twickenham, Stade de France and on tour in New Zealand?...

We continue to poke at the big plot hole in the middle of Ireland's autumn form: when did we get this good? More and more people are calling it Ireland's "best ever" performance, and yet we still nearly lost: so how good were our Kiwi opponents who seem to be indulging a Man Utd-esque level of mirror-staring. What can we expect from the future, and is it Ross Byrne? (He'd definitely take his point...

Everyone loves stupid sexy Ireland after their best attacking display in years again (only?) Japan. Where have Farrell and Catt been hiding all the offloads until now? And how far can it take us? With the All Blacks in town, what's your preferred mode of defeat? Will we be happy as long as Faz's Fabulous Swashbucklers throw some punches? Or does the team just need some non-Leinster lads?https://ww...

McFarlard is at the end of his beginning, and van Graan is at the beginning of his end.(Apologies for the poor quality of one of the microphones — thankfully it was the least important one) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ireland were out thought and out fought all over Twickenham. Where do we go from here? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Was Ireland's successful game plan against Wales about "playing what's in front of you", or was it something more subtle altogether? We also look ahead to the trip to Twickenham: can England's stutters be put down to typically tough Six Nations away days or are there bigger problems for the team since the high watermark of their semi-final victory over NZ ahead of our Triple Crown chance? Hosted o...

Scotland delivered the kind of performance they wish they had in Yokohama last September but Ireland still came away victorious. So, how much credit can Ireland take from their narrow, nervy win? England's unbridled brutishness never turned up without their three brutes in chief on the pitch, and France looked both reborn and prone to a long rattle in the in second half. Can anyone stop them now t...

"It arrives like the spring, and like the spring, it too lifts the hearts. First the snowdrops, then the daffodils, then St Brigid's Day, then Six Nations." *wipes away tear*Rejoice that January is over, the World Cup is behind us, and we're still bitching about not picking on form. We scrutinise Andy Farrell's (conservative) first selection as Irish coach, discussing the virtues of experience and...

Cheaters never win, except when you don't take their trophies back off them. The Saracens saga rolls on. Relegation a certainty but European success a possibility. Everything else seems to be up for grabs. After that we ask the difficult question about the Irish coaching ticket: how did they get the gig again? Lastly we touch briefly on the plight of Munster and their youth in the wake of their Eu...

Mid-season Stocktake! Which notable characters from the long running Pro 14 series "went mainstream" in the last round of games, and where does that leave the future Ireland team and its captaincy, Johann van Grann's coaching trajectory and Ulster in general. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Will Connors is coming for your clothes, your boots, your motorcycle, and your number seven jersey: the man known as Porridge gets lower than Lil' Jon and smashes all in front of him as Leinster march on with another win with a young team on a tough away day. Later on we take a deep dive into a hypothetical world of a CVC Capital Partners-inspired British and Irish league, as suggested by Ospreys...

Munster's Latham... I mean Larkham revolution yields a sliding doors moment for JJ Hanrahan and despite a cracking performance leaves them in a tight spot. Ulster and Leinster are 2/2 with wildly varying qualities of performance. Is it Leinster's tournament to lose? And lastly international coaching tickets are moving and shaking. Is Ireland's *management* ticket out of step with the rest of world...

Leinster's production line is the focus — and how freely they might play — but the inescapable shadow of the Rugby World Cup is never far away: what does it mean for Ireland? In Munster, Ulster fielded a pack with no Ulstermen: all the players will end up coming from St Michael's and Blackrock if no one else is producing them. And how do you deal with cheats? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...

Chapter I: The World Cup and the Winning ThereofChapter II: The World Cup and Dumping There-out-ofExcept, like Prince's Lovesexy (or Royal Trux's Twin Infinitives) there's no separate tracks, it just blazes all the way through. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A lot to get through, including: How did we lose to Japan? How did we actually get on against Russia when not dropping the ball? How do we go about beating Samoa? And then: These refs, eh? Here come England's White Orcs who keep passing the ball. Growing into tournaments. Fail to evolve, evolve to fail. And what will go down in the QFs? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Belatedly we discuss Ireland's performance against Wales, and how a good old fashioned show of aggression dismissed some of our lingering 2019 anxieties. We also take a fairly freewheeling look at the rest of the Rugby World Cup which bloody well starts this week! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss somewhat surprising Irish Rugby World Cup selection made by Joe Schmidt for Japan 2019. (We should note that the top 10 games discussed were top 10 under Schmidt, not ever.) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Spala for your guts! The Battle of Bayonne! Ireland's legacy in preparing for World Cups is akin to their legacy in actual World Cups: full of wince-inducing moments of crisis and lots of existential soul-searching. As such we discuss at length where we are after a disastrous drubbing in Twickenham. We also have a brief chat about England and the All Black's but even when we are talking about t...

We go long on Leinster's imperious semi-final victory against Munster, doling out praise where it's due, and then focus on a disappointing end to Ulster's otherwise excellent season. They're on the up, but Munster look to have stood still. There's also lots of anecdotes about large rugbymen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leinster hit the wall against a mighty Saracens team in Newcastle and lose their first Euro final. Did it all hinge on the big moments like Luke McGrath's wayward box kick and Liam William's ravenous hit-and-steal? In Munster there's more drama as their coaching ticket is again in search of stability after Felix Jones and Gerry Flannery turn down contracts. How do both teams prepare ahead of this...

[Re-uploaded with proper audio] After semi-final weekend, we give the boys in blue the credit deserve for a consummate performance at the Aviva and ask whether Munster are improving — but not quickly enough — or if their 7th semi-final loss is a reality check for them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following a thought-provoking article by Gerry Thornley on the plight of the club game we look at the state of it after an exciting denouement to the regular season of the AIL. We also look at squad size, depth, matching players and game time, and look ahead to two tasty semi-final encounters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three out of the four Heineken Cup quarter finals provided exceptional excitement with two bonafide classics taking place in Paris and Dublin. We pick over the bones of them, and ask how Leinster's depth is getting tested, how the rugby gods will punish Tadhg Beirne, how Ulster, Edinburgh and Racing will feel after their respective defeats. YNWA Dan Leavy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...

It's a post-mortem for a Six Nations that leaves everyone but Wales disappointed. Take the dog for an extra long walk because there's loads to get off our collective chests. More analytical that a Buenos Aires dinner party, we try to get inside the heads of everyone from Gatty to Joe to Genge and attempt to decipher how focus, fitness and form come together in the magic stew of victory. Congrats t...