Not even the La Rogelle fans waving half Munster / half La Rochelle flags could stop Leinster on Sunday afternoon, as a world class defensive effort led by Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier soaked up the pressure to secure a third win in a row over their old rivals. That's the battle won, but ROG wasn't long reminding us all that the war happens in May.

It was an enthralling European Cup encounter in keeping with the previous evening's fare in Thomond Park; do we have our Champions Cup back? We chat to Chris Jones of the BBC and Shane Horgan about the entertainment factor, the Thomond factor, Munster playing with guts and their gut, if Leinster can and should remain in battle mode, and the simple, vital brilliance of the John Hodnett and Joe McCarthy tries.

We get all the permutations for Munster and Leinster's games against Northampton and Bath, and a few unnecessary extras, Murph fills us in on Connacht’s Mayo move, while Eoin reveals a themed party featuring James Lowe cocktail sticks.

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"I think the Arsenal team felt that maybe today is not their day." Ruben Amorim's newly resilient Manchester United had their best day so far, knocking Arsenal out of the Cup with ten men. The next question: can they do it in front of their own fans?

Miguel Delaney joins us to discuss the situation at Arsenal with appropriate understanding and compassion. As it enters the sixth year, is this Arteta project still on track? Are Arsenal going to do anything in what remains of this transfer window?

And who is the currently-down-on-his-luck super-striker whose signing could change everything? Ken has a Big Idea.

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Welcome to our weekly taster of the world service which this week included TGL golf, the Buffalo Bills, Robbie's move to Hungary, Arsenal's self image, Musk's monarchy, Spurs' win over Liverpool and Var.

Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.

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On Friday night at the Ally Pally 17 year old Luke Littler became the youngest world champion in darts history, and he made it look easy. Given his youth, popularity and alcohol-free path to greatness, has he changed the sport forever?

We chat to long time darts fan and darts journalist for The Guardian, Jonathan Liew, about the sport's moment in the sun, darts parents, Littler's talent, the historical link between pubs and darts, the "no excuses" sport, and what's with all the double 10's?

We discover the “no reindeer suits in the press box” rule, and Murph is back from his holidays in New Zealand - did he meet any All Blacks while he was over there? Funny you should ask…

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Three weeks ago we hailed the Amad-inspired win at Manchester City as the moment when Ruben Amorim truly became the manager of Manchester United. United promptly lost the next four games in a row. Today we hail another new dawn. Amorim really is getting his feet under the table now...

We also talk about the meteoric rise of a Premier League chairman of days gone by, sifting through current social media posts, AI slop and legacy media lies in search of a clear picture of the elusive Rupert Lowe.

Dion Fanning and Lars Sivertsen join us to analyse the weekend's football. We need to talk about Trent (again) obviously - but we also talk about Amorim's interesting reaction to United's much-improved performance, the latest refereeing injustices visited upon Arsenal Football Club, and just what this Savinho guy thinks he is doing out there with Erling Haaland.

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Welcome to a taster of the world service which this week included Arsenal fan feedback, Rhys McClenaghan's risk reward ratio, Leinster being fully Bokked, and the legendary Timmy McCarthy on his philosophy on life and basketball.

Join the party for just a fiver a month—no contracts, no sign-up fee, no minimum stay, no hidden charges, and no ads. Head to secondcaptains.com/join for more details.

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Neil Atkinson and John Brewin join us to talk about the weekend's football.

How has Mohamed Salah unlocked his current level? What specifically do Liverpool fans find most annoying about the prospect of Trent Alexander-Arnold leaving for Real Madrid?

And as Sean Dyche becomes a cultural touchstone - is he still a footballing one?

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Back in September, the Second Captains crew flew to London for a live show at the EartH Theatre Hackney. But, as a very special added bonus, we also got to sit down with Pogues legend Spider Stacy at his very own kitchen table which, unsurprisingly, was one of our favourite episodes of the year. With that in mind, today we're making it free for everyone to listen to. Merry Christmas!

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With the North London derby just a couple of days away, we decided to take the temperature on the ground with a local Arsenal fan.

That fan just so happens to be the legendary Spider Stacy of The Pogues, who invited us into his home to chat about his boyhood club but more importantly, for a beautiful conversation about how he’s dealt with the passing of his dear friend Shane MacGowan, how music has been a balm for his grief, and the amazing life Shane lived.

Plus there’s the Spider verdict on Ricey and a brief detour to talk tricolours of the French revolution.

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