Stand Up: An Ulster Rugby Show – Details, episodes & analysis

I am delighted to be joined on this episode by former Ulster and Ireland centre Kevin Maggs.

Kevin was known for his hard hitting, physical style in defence and attack, making him a fan favourite for club and country.

In this episode, Kevin charts his journey from taking up the game at a relatively late age to going from laying kerbs and playing for his local team on Saturday to playing alongside midfield partner Brian O'Driscoll.

Was an absolute pleasure to speak to Kevin and I hope you enjoy listening.

Loved chatting to former Rainey, Ulster, Dragons and Wales hooker, Bradley Roberts, a while back for this episode which is being re-released following the announcement of his recent retirement.

His story is like something from a far-fetched Hollywood script.

From club rugby, to pro rugby to international rugby in less than a calendar year. Remarkable.

It’s a big week for Ulster rugby. After a spirited performance in defeat against Munster at Thomond Park, Ulster now face a formidable task of heading down the road to face a fully-stacked Leinster team in the quarter finals. Can we complete the hat-trick over Leo Cullen’s side OR is next week’s Red Hand podcast going to be the end of season special? To discuss all things Ulster rugby, I’m joined by Dan and special guests to the pod, rugby commentator Graham Jewhurst and Jonny McCormick better known as Opta Jonny who deals in rugby statistics.

Two Northern Irish broadcasting legends, Stephen Watson and Mark Robson join me to talk about their careers, passion for sport and a bit of Ulster Rugby chat. Loved speaking to them. Hope you enjoy listening!

Jenny Murphy is an international rugby player for Ireland women’s team. She’s also a casual fill-in host for Baz and Andrew’s House of Rugby Podcast, an unbelievable rugby player and a good egg. Really enjoyed the chat with her. Hope you do too!

Great chat with former Ulster and Ireland second-row, Dan Tuohy. The 34-year-old played 136 times for Ulster before joining Bristol in 2016. He sustained the hand injury that ended his career at French club Vannes. Here, he talks about falling in and out of love with rugby and discusses his retirement twitter essay in which he said ‘rugby is now rotten from the core’ and how "the values that made me fall for rugby have nearly disappeared". Great discussion with a great lad. Enjoy!

Niall Annett spoke to the Ulster Rugby Lad Podcast about his life as a professional rugby player for Worcester Warriors, having previously played for Ulster Rugby. He started his own podcast, 'Wind yer neck in', recently, which is definitely worth a listen!

Bit of chat with rugby coach and analyst, Geraint Davies. We talk about Ulster's transition, the rise and fall of Ireland and modern rugby. Worth a listen!

Plenty to chat about as always! Ulster’s whipping boys Leinster fall at the final hurdle in the Champions Cup Final once again  - what does this mean for Irish Rugby - does it create room for another province to rise like a phoenix from the flames to take their place? I’m maybe being a bit tongue in cheek about Leinster, but we will be talking about the ways in which the IRFU may seek to change things to level the playing field with the other provinces In other news, Ulster have secured the services of a new 10 - 22 year old Aidan Morgan is the chosen one. He looks impressive in the miserable weather in Wellington, New Zealand, but the question is, can he do it in similarly cold, wet and windy conditions at Ravenhill. Ulster Rugby leadership met with fans this week at Ravenhill where they were grilled by the Jeremy Paxman of the rugby world, Cool FM’s Pete Snodden about the state of the club. We’ll talk about all of that plus the small matter of the final game of the regular season against our provincial rivals, Munster this Saturday. To discuss all of the above I’m joined by a balanced panel - Nathan and Fergus as well as Munster Rugby fan royalty - writer and host of the Red Army Podcast, Caolan Scully and  podcaster with the Provincial State of Mind Rugby Podcast and creator of Three Red Kings - Tom Savage.

The Red Hand pod panel is joined by an unbelievable panel this week - former Leinster, Connacht, Sales Sharks and Ireland hooker and now one of the top pundits in the country, Bernard Jackman, and former Connacht, Leinster, Zebre and Ulster second-row and pundit Mick Kearney. We discuss all things Ulster Rugby including questions such as: how will the season finish up? What comes next for Richie Murphy’s young and streamlined squad? Indeed, what hopes and expectations can we hold for the province over the next number of seasons? Enjoy.