Show Notes
Following Munster’s appointment of former Hurricanes chief executive Avan Lee as CEO, can the province build towards former glories?
In today’s Counter Ruck rugby podcast Nathan Johns and Gerry Thornley look back at an era for the province which has been criticised for underachievement and ask whether Lee is the man to fix a culture that former players have described as “broken”.
Gerry believes there are some strong indications that Munster has at last got the backroom leadership it has been lacking with Lee “fronting up” to the media and the public rather than leaving it to head coaches to explain what is amis.
Munster travel to Ulster this weekend for the season’s first inter-provincial tie. The loser, Gerry explains, will go into the first round of European fixtures in the bottom eight of the URC table.
So what does the future hold for Munster? And can it produce the consistent success its fan base expects?
Presented by Nathan Johns. Produced by Andrew McNair. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Counter Ruck: The Irish Times Rugby Podcast
It’s not long since we were talking about a weekend of four defeats for all four provinces.
Steven Kitshoff, the former South Africa and Ulster prop, joins Nathan Johns on The Counter Ruck.
Gordon D’Arcy and John O’Sullivan join Nathan Johns to pick through the weekend’s interpro action. Friday night saw Connacht struggle away in Glasgow with the set-piece and maul proving an issue. The panel discusses how Connacht continue to look to improve their tight five while analysing Bundee Aki’s return to action at the start of what could be his last season in Irish rugby.
After round one saw all four Irish provinces lose to kick off the URC season, this weekend brought a more encouraging set of results spearheaded by impressive outhalf displays. Gordon D’Arcy joins Nathan Johns to review all the action as Connacht and Munster secured victory, Ulster took a draw away in Glasgow and Leinster wrapped up their South African tour with a losing bonus point.
Andrew Trimble and London Irish chairman Daniel McKeown want to examine rugby’s governance. Looking at the money flowing in at a the international level, they want to know why so many clubs are still struggling. Worcester, Irish themselves and Wasps have all had well-documented financial troubles, while clubs further afield in Argentina and Australia have also gone under.