Second Captains

Eve V Liver, Brendan's bouncebackability, underage certainty by IrishTimes SecondCaptains

Sean O'Brien, Ian Keatley selected, Wales V England, RWC year hype - Shane Horgan and Eddie O'Sullivan join us for a bumper 6N preview. Brian Murphy talks to us about broadcaster snubs and conspiracy theories. Plus there's celeb gatecrashers, Rory's cash, Welsh hymns and Marky Mark love.

Manchester City had a chance to puncture Chelsea's title charge this weekend. We ask John Brewin if the club believes its a superpower yet. Emmet Malone joins us to discuss Martin O'Neill's humour defuser and what Roy has to do to get the head coach's attention. And there's Gabriele Marcotti on the potential demise of the San Siro.

Those of you who stayed up late to watch the Super Bowl were richly rewarded with a classic end game - we get the verdict from Boston on Brady, coach Carroll and the worst call in SB history. Oisin McConville and Anthony Moyles join us in studio to discuss the start of the league; Plus we speculate on Joe Schmidt's starting line-up for Ireland against Italy this Saturday, Murray's mind melt and the Snooperbowl.

We talk about Diego Costa's controlled insanity, and Jose Mourinho's probable misidentification of the spidery genius at the centre of the sinister campaign being waged against him. Philippe Auclair looks at FIFA's presidential election. And Michael Walker discusses the Celtic Rangers game this weekend.

It's Super Bowl week, which means our US correspondent, Brian Murphy takes centre-stage, telling the NFL newbies who to look out for, who to hate, and bemoaning Super Bowl parties. Eoin met Tommy Walsh to discuss his return from Australia, plus there's Ken's wedding manners, World War Lance, and Joe Brolly finally gets the media recognition he's been sorely lacking over the last month.

Leinster are at home to Bath in the QFs - we ask Gerry Thornley and Shane Horgan how optimistic fans can be and if the Celts can ever match the cash. After Hurricane Fly's 5th Irish Champion Hurdle success, we speak to Ruby Walsh about the big choice he has to make ahead of Cheltenham. Plus there's Winston Churchill, receding hair options, Carlos Santana's size 5s and 21st century attention spans.

We discuss the romance of the Cup, Jorge Mendes The Dream Weaver and Van Gaal's canary in the mine. We ask Dion Fanning if the FA Cup giants were upset to have been killed. Tim Vickery joins us to look back on the career of Juan Roman Riquelme.

When Team Sky came onto the world cycling scene they were more than happy to portray themselves as 'cleaner than clean'. On the day former Sky team doctor Geert Leinders is banned for life by the Anti-Doping Agencies of the USA, Denmark and the Netherlands, we ask what damage this will do to their reputation. US Murph talks to us about one of the craziest playoff games in NFL history, and how under-inflated footballs has somehow become a massive story. Plus Jonathan Pearce's break-out commentary moment, and how to be a cheater, courtesy of South Park's Eric Cartman.

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran reminisce about Eric Cantona, and wonder where Chelsea will find room in their squad for the latest £25m+ right-sided attacking midfielder. Jonathan Wilson is on the line from Equatorial Guinea where he's covering the Africa Cup of Nations And Dermot Corrigan fills us in on the state of play at Atletico Madrid, whose coach Diego Simeone insists they get fitter the more they play

It's only the second time in 17 seasons that Munster have failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Cup - Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley analyse a sobering weekend for Munster, and a much improved showing from Leinster. The winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award this year was 'Night Games', by Anna Krien, which touches on many of the same issues currently being discussed as part of the Ched Evans farrago - she joins us from Melbourne. And Ken, Eoin and Murph discuss Conor McGregor's latest UFC win

Eoin, Ken and Ciaran talk about Arsenal's new "Terminator" mode, Santi Cazorla's paradoxical foot-speed and Jose Mourinho's respect for Steven Gerrard unlike certain others he could name. John Brewin was there to see Manchester City terminated by Arsene Wenger's mechanical attack dogs and Jonathan Liew joins us to analyse the pros and cons of January transfer trading.

Ciaran and Ken discuss why some people still appear to struggle with the concept that others can read their racist Facebook postings, and how Sir Jack Hayward embodied the kind of class you seldom find in football nowadays. Miguel Delaney on why Man City's signing of Wilfried Bony might be annoying Jose Mourinho and Gabriele Marcotti joins us for some blue-sky thinking on the future of the European game

Fergus Connolly is the Irishman currently in charge of Elite Performance with the San Francisco 49ers, the latest stopping-off point in a career that has seen him work with the Dublin senior footballers, Liverpool FC, Bolton Wanderers, the Wales national rugby team and the Seattle Seahawks - we hear if there's any difference between our Irish sportspeople and the brash, ultra-confident stars of the NFL. We take a look back at the glory days of Shoot magazine, Ken talks about Winston Churchill's Nobel Prize for Literature, and there's US Murph too.

We’re staring down the barrel of a province-less quarter-final lineup for the European Rugby Champions Cup after the Six Nations, but Shane Horgan and Gerry Thornley reckon Munster have what it takes to beat Saracens away this weekend. Steph Roche continues her quest for Puskas Award glory and Peter Stringer joins us from Bath as he enjoys an Indian Summer in the Aviva Premiership.