Ireland take on Japan at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow and with that, will embark on an incredibly difficult run of fixtures over the next year, one which takes in four matches against New Zealand, and away fixtures against England and France.

©INPHO/Gary Carr

We’re joined by Shane Horgan and Andrew Trimble to talk about why that leaves Andy Farrell with no choice but to ditch the percentage plays and embrace a more ambitious gameplan, whether Ireland can match their dynamic, ball-playing pack with an equally dynamic backline and the importance of not having an Ireland playing group with 30-odd players coming from homogenous backgrounds.

©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

Ken looks at the encouraging Ireland squad announced by Stephen Kenny ahead of next week’s qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg, and delights in rugby doubling down on its traditional private school base. Plus there’s Frances Murphy’s potential move to double-screening and Simon getting to grips with the interweb.

Click the image at the top of the page to play the show. Monday’s shows are free to all and to listen to our programming throughout the rest of the week, join the Second Captains World Service. It’s independent, commercial-free and member-led with feature interviews, breaking news, Richie Sadlier’s Player’s Chair, The Politics Podcast and lots of added extras. You’ll also be supporting the development of our longer-form work, like our recent international series  ‘Where Is George Gibney?’.

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