
A rugby podcast from The Irish Times, presented by Nathan Johns with regular panelists John O'Sullivan, Gordon D'Arcy and Gerry Thornley.
Produced in association with Ohk Energy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
| Publishes | Twice weekly | Episodes | 219 | Founded | 8 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | RugbySports | |||

Fresh off Ireland’s victory over Australia in Sydney, Gerry Thornley dials in from Australia to discuss that win as well as the weekend of Nations Championship rugby as a whole with host Nathan Johns.
What did we learn from the narrow win over the W... more
Ireland squeezed home against Australia after a Thomas Clarkson try and a missed kick from Ben Donaldson with the clock in the red.
Was this a gutsy, narrow win on the road or a worryingly rusty start to their summer window?
Gordon D’Arcy and Joh... more
Andy Farrell and Ireland begin their latest bloc of fixtures with a clash against Australia in Sydney.
Jonathan Drennan of the Sydney Morning Herald joins Nathan Johns to discuss why Joe Schmidt is still in charge of the Wallabies, will they put ou... more
Ireland U20s began their Under-20s World Championship campaign with defeat in Tbilisi, and it was déjà vu as Toulouse secured another Top14 title.
It’s also the start of an Ireland test week as the build-up to a clash with Australia kicks into gear... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





‘Bar bites’
John O’Sullivan needs to stop using the phrase “if you like” at the end of every sentence inappropriately
Im a Leinster supporter but this podcast is ridiculously Leinster/D4 centric.. like a private school boys club
This is a great rugby pod but could be perfection if you could switch out the gossip-focussed Cummiskey with the far more knowledgable and insightful Liam Toland.
Super podcast!
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #6 | |
Apple Podcasts | #7 | |
Apple Podcasts | #8 | |
Apple Podcasts | #219 | |
Apple Podcasts | #13 | |
Apple Podcasts | #13 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
A rugby-focused show from a major Irish publication, anchored by a host and supported by a regular panel of former players and writers. Episodes frequently dissect URC, European competition, and national team implications, with tactical breakdowns, live-match observations, and governance/news items shaping the sport. Notable is the willingness to tackle off-field topics—coaching changes, governance, and referee decisions—alongside in-depth analysis and crowd/venue dynamics. The cast consistently delivers context-rich takes, guest contributions, and data-informed commentary, making it a strong pick for listeners who want both on-pitch insight and broader rugby ecosystem coverage.
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for The Counter Ruck. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to The Counter Ruck and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for three million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for The Counter Ruck, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for The Counter Ruck, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers The Counter Ruck has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with The Counter Ruck:
1. The Left Wing
2. RTÉ Rugby Podcast
3. The 42 Rugby Weekly
4. Indo Sport
5. OTB Rugby
The Counter Ruck launched 8 years ago and published 219 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for The Counter Ruck from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of The Counter Ruck. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on The Counter Ruck include:
1. Gordon D'Arcy
2. Brett Igoe
3. Sam Larner
4. Mark Palmer
5. Gerry Thornley
6. Jack Hanratty
7. Simon Thomas
8. Jimmy Gopperth
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.