All Episodes
The Counter Ruck — 228 episodes
As Leo Cullen prepares for his final season in charge, why haven't Leinster strengthened?
Why are New Zealand embarking on their own Lions tour?
The AFL comes for Irish rugby
Where do Ireland go from here?
Reaction: New Zealand ease to victory over Ireland
Underdog Ireland gear up for All Blacks test
Irish rugby's state of the union down under
Reaction: Ireland run in five tries as they beat Japan
What to make of Ireland's rotation for Japan?
Where do Ireland now stand in the Nations Championship?
Reaction: Ireland squeeze home against Australia
Can Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies upset Ireland?
Ireland come up short against England in Under-20s World Championship
Who to look out for in Ireland U20s at the World Cup
Why is Leo Cullen leaving Leinster?
Leinster win back-to-back URC titles
What to make of Andy Farrell's Ireland squad to tour Australia and New Zealand
Why is James Lowe leaving Leinster?
Leinster into another final, but are their fans buying into their URC run?
Are Leinster being set up tactically for success?
Have Leinster hit their ceiling this season?
How Bordeaux outfoxed Leinster and URC quarter-finals preview
Where do Leinster and Ulster go from here?
Leinster suffer Champions Cup humbling at the hands of Bordeaux
Can Leinster break their European hoodoo?
How Leinster and Ulster warmed up for their European showdowns
How all four Irish provinces can make the URC knockouts
How Connacht are proving a stark contrast to reeling Munster
Is rugby’s TMO process fair?
Leinster reach a record ninth Champions Cup final
Leinster out to heal Champions Cup trauma; and is Aviva Stadium fatigue creeping in?
How concerned should Leinster be for Europe after Benetton defeat?
Could injuries derail Ulster's stellar season?
Leinster dismiss pretenders Ulster, Connacht find consistency and Ireland women crush Italy
URC preview, women’s Six Nations and Munster’s controversial new appointment
Leinster have yet to fully find their mojo heading into a Champions Cup semi-final – when will it all click?
What’s gone wrong in Munster?
Are Leinster champions cup contenders/how have things gone this badly wrong for Munster?
Are we living in rugby's good old days?
Transfer rumour mill runs hot as Irish provinces gear up for Europe
Leinster Schools thriller + Munster's concerning financials
Leinster’s outhalf dilemma
Are Ireland trending in the right direction? What we learned from their Six Nations campaign
Ireland denied the title by France's late act
Do Scotland have a genuine chance at breaking their 11-match losing run to Ireland?
Are Scotland primed to finally beat Ireland?
Ireland beat a dogged Wales side under the lights at the Aviva
Have Ireland changed their selection policy ahead of the clash with Wales?
Data in rugby and Ireland’s tactical revolution explained
Ireland U20s - how does the talent pipeline actually look?
Ireland pull off one of the great Twickenham days against England
How might Ireland pull off a Twickenham upset?
Did Ireland restore confidence ahead of Twickenham showdown?
Do Ireland's rugby pathways need a serious overhaul?
Are wounded Ireland vulnerable to an Italian job?
How far behind the leading pack are Ireland after defeat against France?
France vs Ireland - Six Nations preview
Can rugby take off in America?
Should Irish players have been wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the Six Nations?
Is Ireland's Six Nations squad 'safe'?
What does Munster’s crushing Champions Cup exit mean for Ireland?
Why did the All Blacks drop a coaching bombshell?
How did Leinster pull off their win against La Rochelle?
Rory Best on how Ulster have turned things around
Which province is worth paying to watch?
Why rugby’s bomb squads are bad for the game
Leinster and Munster’s battle for rugby’s soul
The role sports psychology has played in Leinster and Ireland’s success
Christmas takeaways from a strange provincial weekend
Could a multiple URC champion be on the way out?
Do Leinster’s misfires matter so long as they’re winning?
Rugby’s stylistic direction of travel - is it for the best?
Munster fall as Leinster fail to impress in Europe
Ireland's path to World Cup redemption + European preview
Why are Irish rugby tickets so expensive?
Is international rugby becoming unwatchable?
Saturday Shambles wraps up Ireland's November window
Ireland vs South Africa: rugby’s biggest rivalry?
Ireland’s record win over Australia sets up Springboks clash perfectly
What will Joe Schmidt's legacy with Australia be?
Ireland’s unconvincing Japan job
A big weekend for Ireland’s emerging rugby talent
Are Ireland sliding down rugby's global pecking order?
Can Ireland upset the odds against New Zealand?
How to save a young Irish rugby player’s career
After a decade of success, can Irish rugby continue to achieve?
What we learned from Munster’s emphatic win over Leinster
Ireland’s November squad: valuable rotation or more of the same?
How are Leinster and Munster stacking up ahead of their first meeting of the season?
Which new academy players could shine for the provinces?
How many Ireland jerseys are up for grabs ahead of the Autumn Nations Series?
How can Ireland build on their World Cup success?
Provincial rivals get a head start on Leinster
Provincial previews - How will Connacht and Leinster fare this season?
Provincial previews: How will Munster and Ulster get on this season?
Biting controversy overshadows Ireland’s quarter-final near miss
Ireland suffer at the hands of a vengeful New Zealand
Ireland set up New Zealand showdown
Ireland’s joyous World Cup start
Ireland’s 2017 World Cup misery - what can be learned?
Ireland’s World Cup: limping to the start line or a golden opportunity?
Ireland are back at the World Cup. How will they fare?
How will the 2025 Lions be remembered?
Who is Ireland’s greatest ever Lion?
Thrilling second Test saves Lions tour from ignominy
Is it do or die for Australia in the second test against the Lions?
Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia
How can the depleted Wallabies survive a Lions onslaught?
Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week
Does Andy Farrell know his best Lions XV yet?
Ireland impress as the Lions struggle
Who needs to make an impact on Ireland’s summer tour?
Which Irish players have impressed for the Lions?
Tom Court - Ireland's accidental Lion
Will the Lions tour save Australian rugby?
The Lions in Dublin - what to expect?
Have Leinster answered their critics with this URC title win?
How can Leinster end their Bulls hoodoo?
Will Leinster’s siege mentality help them win the URC?
Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away?
Munster’s shootout defeat - the dark arts in rugby, yay or nay?
How can the provinces break France’s dominance?
Why Leinster now have to win the URC
Is French club rugby becoming more popular than Ligue 1?
Were the IRFU right to cut the men’s Sevens?
‘Getting the top two inches ready’ - How important is sports psychology to breaking a losing habit?
Have rugby fans stopped caring about the URC?
Who is in the most Irish Lions squad of all time and why?
Where do Leinster go next after more Champions Cup heartache?
Leinster vs Northampton - the comeback final revisited
Will Leinster be the only Irish team in the URC knockouts?
Should the 7-1 split be outlawed?
How to fix the Champions Cup?
Why do Leinster keep signing All Blacks?
Will Champions Cup blowouts come back to haunt Leinster?
Joey Carbery, Munster and Ireland - where did it all go wrong?
How did Munster stun O’Gara’s La Rochelle?
A history of Leinster and Harlequins' 'bloody' rivalry
How did Leinster’s young guns outmatch the Sharks?
Have the Lions left Ireland in the lurch?
The gap between club and international rugby is widening - here's why it matters
What next for the provinces after the Six Nations?
Are Ireland only Europe’s third best team?
Steve Aboud: the Irishman who saved Italian rugby
Is it easy to over-react to Ireland’s French defeat?
Is Ireland vs France the best rivalry of the modern era?
Are France better at developing young players than Ireland?
Is Ireland’s production line of talent beginning to falter?
How Ireland escaped Cardiff unscathed
Bold and brave team selection from Ireland and Wales ahead of Six Nations clash
Who has been added to Ireland’s Six Nations squad and why?
Will a new coach bounce for Wales cause Ireland problems?
Ireland’s Scottish win has all roads leading to France
How do Ireland avoid a Scottish banana skin?
Are Ireland Six Nations favourites?
Can Ireland afford to lose to England?
Who will start at 10 for Ireland during the Six Nations?
Who will win the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup?
Are Leinster and Toulouse destined for another European final?
Ireland’s Six Nations squad, winners and losers
Leinster win in La Rochelle - grit or alarm bells?
‘I’ve been involved a lot in turnarounds’: Michael Cheika on his coaching philosophy and career to date
Who are Ireland’s next young rugby stars?
Should Irish rugby encourage more loan moves like Harry Byrne’s?
Is the gap widening between Leinster and the other provinces?
Is Ireland's central contract system in need of radical change?
Was 2024 a successful year for Irish rugby?
Irish women’s rugby: ‘there are loads of structural issues that are really difficult to address’
Is the Champions Cup on its last legs?
Irish lions - Rob Henderson
Why can't Irish rugby produce players with genuine pace?
Leinster’s Champions Cup opener brings a meeting with a familiar face
Where do Ireland go after the Autumn Nations Series?
Is Joe Schmidt the right man for Australia?
Are Ireland back to their best after thrashing Fiji?
Are Fiji now capable of beating Ireland for the first time in their history?
Have teams figured out Ireland's attack?
The Felipe Contepomi interview
Why Ireland won’t push the panic button after All Blacks defeat
Are New Zealand underdogs against Ireland?
When did the All Blacks lose their aura?
Does Munster’s new coach need to be Irish?
Munster part ways with Graham Rowntree
How a search for game time forced Ed Byrne to leave Leinster
Who will be named in Ireland’s November squad?
Should rugby's bomb squads be outlawed?
How Leinster overcame Munster in absorbing URC battle at Croke Park
Inside the Irish women’s rugby team
Leinster vs Munster- the history of a bitter rivalry
Is rugby set to change forever?
Have we just seen Ireland’s greatest ever win?
How did the Top14 become rugby’s answer to the Premier League?
Is a new crop of Irish scrum halves coming of age?
Does the Emerging Ireland tour actually benefit Irish rugby?
Is the Champions Cup set to be devalued?
The Counter Ruck end-of-season special!
How do Ireland counter new-look Springboks?
Luggage, player bingo and leaving certs - Ireland in South Africa
Adam Foy - the Belvo boy with a Super Rugby medal
Provincial demise ends domestic season
Nigel Carolan, the Galway man plotting a hole through Munster's defence
Ulster’s turnaround under Richie Murphy
Third time’s not a charm - Leinster fall in Europe once more
Zebo retires, Keenan to the Olympics and Leinster's Champions Cup showdown
Rugby's new laws explained with Owen Doyle
Northampton head coach Sam Vesty on meeting Leinster at Croke Park
Does rugby need the 20-minute red card?
Is Ireland's central contract system broken?
Interview - Dannah O'Brien, Ireland's great outhalf hope
How Leicester inspired Leinster's drive to the top
Ireland show green shoots in France defeat
Women's Six Nations - can Ireland avoid another wooden spoon?
Ireland win the Six Nations - Gordon D’Arcy and Gerry Thornley assess the campaign
Ireland vs Scotland - Grudge match or rivalry?
Ireland's Grand Slam dream dies at Twickenham
Ireland's Twickenham Test
The Lawrence Dallaglio interview
The history of Ireland U20s
Wales walloping leaves Ireland one win away from the Six Nations title
Ireland vs Wales preview
Youthful Wales show signs of life ahead of Ireland game
Rugby's culture war - Mike Ross on the state of Ireland's scrum
Italian demolition job with Gerry Thornley and John O'Sullivan
The Italian Job with Felipe Contepomi and Gordon D'Arcy
Ireland's magic night in Marseille
Gerry Thornley in Marseille ahead of France vs Ireland
France vs Ireland preview with Gordon D'Arcy and Noel McNamara
The Counter Ruck, a new rugby podcast from The Irish Times, coming on January 29th