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All Episodes

The Counter Ruck — 225 episodes

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Title
1

Where do Ireland go from here?

2

Reaction: New Zealand ease to victory over Ireland

3

Underdog Ireland gear up for All Blacks test

4

Irish rugby's state of the union down under

5

Reaction: Ireland run in five tries as they beat Japan

6

What to make of Ireland's rotation for Japan?

7

Where do Ireland now stand in the Nations Championship?

8

Reaction: Ireland squeeze home against Australia

9

Can Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies upset Ireland?

10

Ireland come up short against England in Under-20s World Championship

11

Who to look out for in Ireland U20s at the World Cup

12

Why is Leo Cullen leaving Leinster?

13

Leinster win back-to-back URC titles

14

What to make of Andy Farrell's Ireland squad to tour Australia and New Zealand

15

Why is James Lowe leaving Leinster?

16

Leinster into another final, but are their fans buying into their URC run?

17

Are Leinster being set up tactically for success?

18

Have Leinster hit their ceiling this season?

19

How Bordeaux outfoxed Leinster and URC quarter-finals preview

20

Where do Leinster and Ulster go from here?

21

Leinster suffer Champions Cup humbling at the hands of Bordeaux

22

Can Leinster break their European hoodoo?

23

How Leinster and Ulster warmed up for their European showdowns

24

How all four Irish provinces can make the URC knockouts

25

How Connacht are proving a stark contrast to reeling Munster

26

Is rugby’s TMO process fair?

27

Leinster reach a record ninth Champions Cup final

28

Leinster out to heal Champions Cup trauma; and is Aviva Stadium fatigue creeping in?

29

How concerned should Leinster be for Europe after Benetton defeat?

30

Could injuries derail Ulster's stellar season?

31

Leinster dismiss pretenders Ulster, Connacht find consistency and Ireland women crush Italy

32

URC preview, women’s Six Nations and Munster’s controversial new appointment

33

Leinster have yet to fully find their mojo heading into a Champions Cup semi-final – when will it all click?

34

What’s gone wrong in Munster?

35

Are Leinster champions cup contenders/how have things gone this badly wrong for Munster?

36

Are we living in rugby's good old days?

37

Transfer rumour mill runs hot as Irish provinces gear up for Europe

38

Leinster Schools thriller + Munster's concerning financials

39

Leinster’s outhalf dilemma

40

Are Ireland trending in the right direction? What we learned from their Six Nations campaign

41

Ireland denied the title by France's late act

42

Do Scotland have a genuine chance at breaking their 11-match losing run to Ireland?

43

Are Scotland primed to finally beat Ireland?

44

Ireland beat a dogged Wales side under the lights at the Aviva

45

Have Ireland changed their selection policy ahead of the clash with Wales?

46

Data in rugby and Ireland’s tactical revolution explained

47

Ireland U20s - how does the talent pipeline actually look?

48

Ireland pull off one of the great Twickenham days against England

49

How might Ireland pull off a Twickenham upset?

50

Did Ireland restore confidence ahead of Twickenham showdown?

51

Do Ireland's rugby pathways need a serious overhaul?

52

Are wounded Ireland vulnerable to an Italian job?

53

How far behind the leading pack are Ireland after defeat against France?

54

France vs Ireland - Six Nations preview

55

Can rugby take off in America?

56

Should Irish players have been wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the Six Nations?

57

Is Ireland's Six Nations squad 'safe'?

58

What does Munster’s crushing Champions Cup exit mean for Ireland?

59

Why did the All Blacks drop a coaching bombshell?

60

How did Leinster pull off their win against La Rochelle?

61

Rory Best on how Ulster have turned things around

62

Which province is worth paying to watch?

63

Why rugby’s bomb squads are bad for the game

64

Leinster and Munster’s battle for rugby’s soul

65

The role sports psychology has played in Leinster and Ireland’s success

66

Christmas takeaways from a strange provincial weekend

67

Could a multiple URC champion be on the way out?

68

Do Leinster’s misfires matter so long as they’re winning?

69

Rugby’s stylistic direction of travel - is it for the best?

70

Munster fall as Leinster fail to impress in Europe

71

Ireland's path to World Cup redemption + European preview

72

Why are Irish rugby tickets so expensive?

73

Is international rugby becoming unwatchable?

74

Saturday Shambles wraps up Ireland's November window

75

Ireland vs South Africa: rugby’s biggest rivalry?

76

Ireland’s record win over Australia sets up Springboks clash perfectly

77

What will Joe Schmidt's legacy with Australia be?

78

Ireland’s unconvincing Japan job

79

A big weekend for Ireland’s emerging rugby talent

80

Are Ireland sliding down rugby's global pecking order?

81

Can Ireland upset the odds against New Zealand?

82

How to save a young Irish rugby player’s career

83

After a decade of success, can Irish rugby continue to achieve?

84

What we learned from Munster’s emphatic win over Leinster

85

Ireland’s November squad: valuable rotation or more of the same?

86

How are Leinster and Munster stacking up ahead of their first meeting of the season?

87

Which new academy players could shine for the provinces?

88

How many Ireland jerseys are up for grabs ahead of the Autumn Nations Series?

89

How can Ireland build on their World Cup success?

90

Provincial rivals get a head start on Leinster

91

Provincial previews - How will Connacht and Leinster fare this season?

92

Provincial previews: How will Munster and Ulster get on this season?

93

Biting controversy overshadows Ireland’s quarter-final near miss

94

Ireland suffer at the hands of a vengeful New Zealand

95

Ireland set up New Zealand showdown

96

Ireland’s joyous World Cup start

97

Ireland’s 2017 World Cup misery - what can be learned?

98

Ireland’s World Cup: limping to the start line or a golden opportunity?

99

Ireland are back at the World Cup. How will they fare?

100

How will the 2025 Lions be remembered?

101

Who is Ireland’s greatest ever Lion?

102

Thrilling second Test saves Lions tour from ignominy

103

Is it do or die for Australia in the second test against the Lions?

104

Andy Farrell's Lions fire the first shot in Australia

105

How can the depleted Wallabies survive a Lions onslaught?

106

Slow Lions build-up finally culminates in Test week

107

Does Andy Farrell know his best Lions XV yet?

108

Ireland impress as the Lions struggle

109

Who needs to make an impact on Ireland’s summer tour?

110

Which Irish players have impressed for the Lions?

111

Tom Court - Ireland's accidental Lion

112

Will the Lions tour save Australian rugby?

113

The Lions in Dublin - what to expect?

114

Have Leinster answered their critics with this URC title win?

115

How can Leinster end their Bulls hoodoo?

116

Will Leinster’s siege mentality help them win the URC?

117

Which Ireland players will step up for the summer squad while the Lions are away?

118

Munster’s shootout defeat - the dark arts in rugby, yay or nay?

119

How can the provinces break France’s dominance?

120

Why Leinster now have to win the URC

121

Is French club rugby becoming more popular than Ligue 1?

122

Were the IRFU right to cut the men’s Sevens?

123

‘Getting the top two inches ready’ - How important is sports psychology to breaking a losing habit?

124

Have rugby fans stopped caring about the URC?

125

Who is in the most Irish Lions squad of all time and why?

126

Where do Leinster go next after more Champions Cup heartache?

127

Leinster vs Northampton - the comeback final revisited

128

Will Leinster be the only Irish team in the URC knockouts?

129

Should the 7-1 split be outlawed?

130

How to fix the Champions Cup?

131

Why do Leinster keep signing All Blacks?

132

Will Champions Cup blowouts come back to haunt Leinster?

133

Joey Carbery, Munster and Ireland - where did it all go wrong?

134

How did Munster stun O’Gara’s La Rochelle?

135

A history of Leinster and Harlequins' 'bloody' rivalry

136

How did Leinster’s young guns outmatch the Sharks?

137

Have the Lions left Ireland in the lurch?

138

The gap between club and international rugby is widening - here's why it matters

139

What next for the provinces after the Six Nations?

140

Are Ireland only Europe’s third best team?

141

Steve Aboud: the Irishman who saved Italian rugby

142

Is it easy to over-react to Ireland’s French defeat?

143

Is Ireland vs France the best rivalry of the modern era?

144

Are France better at developing young players than Ireland?

145

Is Ireland’s production line of talent beginning to falter?

146

How Ireland escaped Cardiff unscathed

147

Bold and brave team selection from Ireland and Wales ahead of Six Nations clash

148

Who has been added to Ireland’s Six Nations squad and why?

149

Will a new coach bounce for Wales cause Ireland problems?

150

Ireland’s Scottish win has all roads leading to France

151

How do Ireland avoid a Scottish banana skin?

152

Are Ireland Six Nations favourites?

153

Can Ireland afford to lose to England?

154

Who will start at 10 for Ireland during the Six Nations?

155

Who will win the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup?

156

Are Leinster and Toulouse destined for another European final?

157

Ireland’s Six Nations squad, winners and losers

158

Leinster win in La Rochelle - grit or alarm bells?

159

‘I’ve been involved a lot in turnarounds’: Michael Cheika on his coaching philosophy and career to date

160

Who are Ireland’s next young rugby stars?

161

Should Irish rugby encourage more loan moves like Harry Byrne’s?

162

Is the gap widening between Leinster and the other provinces?

163

Is Ireland's central contract system in need of radical change?

164

Was 2024 a successful year for Irish rugby?

165

Irish women’s rugby: ‘there are loads of structural issues that are really difficult to address’

166

Is the Champions Cup on its last legs?

167

Irish lions - Rob Henderson

168

Why can't Irish rugby produce players with genuine pace?

169

Leinster’s Champions Cup opener brings a meeting with a familiar face

170

Where do Ireland go after the Autumn Nations Series?

171

Is Joe Schmidt the right man for Australia?

172

Are Ireland back to their best after thrashing Fiji?

173

Are Fiji now capable of beating Ireland for the first time in their history?

174

Have teams figured out Ireland's attack?

175

The Felipe Contepomi interview

176

Why Ireland won’t push the panic button after All Blacks defeat

177

Are New Zealand underdogs against Ireland?

178

When did the All Blacks lose their aura?

179

Does Munster’s new coach need to be Irish?

180

Munster part ways with Graham Rowntree

181

How a search for game time forced Ed Byrne to leave Leinster

182

Who will be named in Ireland’s November squad?

183

Should rugby's bomb squads be outlawed?

184

How Leinster overcame Munster in absorbing URC battle at Croke Park

185

Inside the Irish women’s rugby team

186

Leinster vs Munster- the history of a bitter rivalry

187

Is rugby set to change forever?

188

Have we just seen Ireland’s greatest ever win?

189

How did the Top14 become rugby’s answer to the Premier League?

190

Is a new crop of Irish scrum halves coming of age?

191

Does the Emerging Ireland tour actually benefit Irish rugby?

192

Is the Champions Cup set to be devalued?

193

The Counter Ruck end-of-season special!

194

How do Ireland counter new-look Springboks?

195

Luggage, player bingo and leaving certs - Ireland in South Africa

196

Adam Foy - the Belvo boy with a Super Rugby medal

197

Provincial demise ends domestic season

198

Nigel Carolan, the Galway man plotting a hole through Munster's defence

199

Ulster’s turnaround under Richie Murphy

200

Third time’s not a charm - Leinster fall in Europe once more

201

Zebo retires, Keenan to the Olympics and Leinster's Champions Cup showdown

202

Rugby's new laws explained with Owen Doyle

203

Northampton head coach Sam Vesty on meeting Leinster at Croke Park

204

Does rugby need the 20-minute red card?

205

Is Ireland's central contract system broken?

206

Interview - Dannah O'Brien, Ireland's great outhalf hope

207

How Leicester inspired Leinster's drive to the top

208

Ireland show green shoots in France defeat

209

Women's Six Nations - can Ireland avoid another wooden spoon?

210

Ireland win the Six Nations - Gordon D’Arcy and Gerry Thornley assess the campaign

211

Ireland vs Scotland - Grudge match or rivalry?

212

Ireland's Grand Slam dream dies at Twickenham

213

Ireland's Twickenham Test

214

The Lawrence Dallaglio interview

215

The history of Ireland U20s

216

Wales walloping leaves Ireland one win away from the Six Nations title

217

Ireland vs Wales preview

218

Youthful Wales show signs of life ahead of Ireland game

219

Rugby's culture war - Mike Ross on the state of Ireland's scrum

220

Italian demolition job with Gerry Thornley and John O'Sullivan

221

The Italian Job with Felipe Contepomi and Gordon D'Arcy

222

Ireland's magic night in Marseille

223

Gerry Thornley in Marseille ahead of France vs Ireland

224

France vs Ireland preview with Gordon D'Arcy and Noel McNamara

225

The Counter Ruck, a new rugby podcast from The Irish Times, coming on January 29th