Leinster's risky succession plan, Nienaber's strange status & Ulster's time to deliver
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What is the overall preview focus for Leinster and Ulster this season?
Hey there, we are Indosport with me, Joe Molloy, and we have things like this.
Given United are going to dominate most of their games, and that's what they want to do, given they want to be winning titles and challenging, they can't really be a team who adapt from game to game. They've got to have a kind of a model or an idea. And that's something that they don't seem to have an attack right now. It's a little bit like they're not executing some of the best practice over the last 10 years of football tactics.
This is an Irish Independent Podcast.
Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Left Wing Podcast. The wait is finally over. Rugby is back. This Friday night, the URC kicks off. We have two Irish provinces in action. First up, Connacht are at home to the Stormers and Ulster are at home to Edinburgh. And then on Saturday, Leinster's first game in South Africa away to the Lions is around lunchtime. And then at 5.30 p.m., possibly the game of the weekend, Munster hosts Glasgow. So lots to look forward to on the opening weekend of the season. If you didn't listen to last week's podcast, I would encourage you to go back because we did Munster and Connacht in depth. It was kind of a two-part preview we're spreading across these two weeks. Today, it's Leinster and Ulster we're going to be focusing on.
And I'm glad to be joined for that chat by Luke Fitzgerald. Luke, how are you? Good, Will. How are you? Doing very well. Very well. Excited for this Friday night. Also delighted to welcome back Jonathan Bradley to the show. Jonathan, how are things?
You guys are good. Looking forward to another new season.
Yeah, lots to talk about as always. And a reminder that the Left Wing Podcast is sponsored by Energia. As proud supporters of inclusive rugby in Ireland, Energia want to shine a light on Try, a new Irish documentary coming to cinemas on October 2nd. The film follows four mixed-ability rugby players on their journey to a special Rugby World Cup. Award winning and inspiring, Try celebrates belonging, determination and the transformative power of sport. Find out more and catch it in cinemas nationwide from October 2nd. So as I said, we did Munster and Connacht last week. Now it's time to turn our attention to Leinster and Ulster. We'll start with Leinster, guys. very fascinating position they're in going into this new season they won back-to-back URC titles last year similar fashion they hammered the Bulls in the final they won 12 of their 18 games in the regular season their most losses in a league season since 2018
They got to the Champions Cup final. People might remember probably the beneficiaries of a good draw. Bordeaux, Toulouse, Bath, Northampton were on the other side of the draw. They got to the final. They lost 41-19 to Bordeaux. They were 35-7 down at halftime. So the game was pretty much done at halftime. People were saying it was arguably the worst performance across the season in terms of how they actually played since maybe Leo Cullen's first year. But they still won the league, so it wasn't a positive ending in that regard. Obviously, since then, Leo Cullen has confirmed he's leaving at the end of the season. It looks like Jack Nienaber is leaving as well. Felipe Katapomi is apparently the front runner to potentially replace both of those guys at the end of the season, but it would probably be after the World Cup as well, which would push it into kind of November territory if that comes to pass.
So that's kind of the landscape. Let's start with the Leo Cullen part of it. Luke, there's obviously a massive question about whether his departure and announcing it when he did will negatively impact the performance of the squad. You know, there's a world where it's like a last dance and it's galvanising as well. What's your verdict on that announcement and what it means for this season?
yeah look there's a bit of risk with it no doubt about it I mean I never really liked the idea that you kind of you kind of announce something like this before you have a successor in place I don't think I just feel like there's you know gives you no room to maneuver so like my big argument here has been like well what if Leo wins the double this year like and you've just you've said oh you've gotten rid of your double winning coach you know and maybe that's no bad thing but to me that would seem odd and
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the overall preview focus for Leinster and Ulster this season?
0:00–14:56
2
How will Leo Cullen’s announced departure affect Leinster’s performance this year?
14:56–33:29
3
What are the key strengths and weaknesses of Leinster’s current squad and signings?
33:29–42:23
4
How does the timing of the coaching transition impact Leinster’s playing style?
42:23–58:35
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Left Wing
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