Looking back on our trailblazers
AGAINST THE HEAD RTÉ2, TONIGHT, 8PM
BY any standards, this has been a remarkable year for Irish rugby.
The Grand Slam was sealed in the old enemy’s back garden, Leinster won the European Cup and Johnny Sexton landed a drop goal that will live long in the memory, while Jacob Stockdale announced his international arrival with a record-breaking seven tries in the Six Nations.
Leinster edged past Munster at the weekend to reach the final of the Pro14 in the Aviva on Saturday, while Irish school St Michael’s has become such a conveyor belt for producing professional rugby players that other teams and schools from around the world now turn to the south Dublin nursery for advice on how to maximise their own young players’ potential.
Yes, it has been a remarkable year and one which, ironically, fills some supporters with a sense of vaguely defined unease – after all, we tended to be more comfortable in the traditional role of plucky underdogs rather than ruthlessly clinical, matchwinning trailblazers.
The always reliable Against The Head (RTÉ2, tonight, 8pm) sees host Daire O’Brien joined by Donal Lenihan, Eddie O’Sullivan and Fiona Coghlan to discuss the season we’ve had, this weekend’s Pro14 final and the future direction of the team...
Regardless of the topics touched on in tonight’s Claire Byrne Live (RTÉ One, 9.35pm), it won’t be as fractious as last week’s episode.
It’s probably safe to say that the Claire Byrne Live abortion debate didn’t go quite as planned.
In fact, it was probably the most boisterous audience since the Late Late Valentine’s special, although there wasn’t much love in the studio air last Monday.
As often happens in these scenarios, everybody just shouted everyone else down so expect the host to stay on slightly safer ground this evening.
But the rancour hasn’t stopped and tomorrow night sees the last RTÉ debate on Friday’s referendum.
Prime Time – The Referendum Debate (RTÉ One, tomorrow, 9.35pm) sees Miriam O’Callaghan and David McCullough provide campaigners with their last RTÉ TV chance to make an impact (Pat Kenny is also hosting a similar debate on his TV3 show on Wednesday night).
At the time of writing, the contributors hadn’t been announced, but we already know that Leo Varadkar won’t be taking part in any televised debates...
Nice one, Leo. Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the Manchester bombing and Manchester: The Night Of The Bomb (BBC Two, tomorrow, 9pm) tells the story of Britain’s worst terror attack since 7/7.