Rugby Daily | Why can't Irish fans love the URC? James Lowe Japan-bound, Philip Browne RIP

Welcome to Thursday's Rugby Daily, I'm Cameron Hill.Coming up, James Tracy fumes over the decision by the IRFU to let go of James Lowe,Caelan Doris a doubt for the URC Final against the Bulls next Friday,And Aoife Wafer is crowned the Women's Six Nations Player of the Championship once again.Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Wednesday's Rugby Daily, with Cameron Hill,Coming up, James Lowe laments no "fairytale ending" as he confirms his Leinster exit,Munster have snapped up a former Ireland international as part of their coaching team for next season,And after Antoine Dupont's successful sevens Sabbatical, another France superstar could switch codes ahead of the next Olympics...Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Tuesday's Rugby Daily, I'm Cameron Hill.Coming up, another Croke Park date for Leinster in the URC final, but is there enough buy-in from fans?Tributes paid to former IRFU chief executive Philip Browne, who has died at the age of 66.And with his Leinster exit imminent, news on where James Lowe will end up next...Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Friday's Rugby Daily, I'm Cameron Hill.Coming up, Andy Farrell signs a new deal with the IRFU to stay on as head coach through to 2031,Leinster head coach Leo Cullen praises "genius" senior coach Jacques Nienaber,And Maggie Alphonsi slams the RFU over a sexism row involving one of its council members.Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Thursday's Rugby Daily, with Cameron Hill.Coming up, Irish rugby mourns the passing of legendary back-rower Fergus Slattery at the age of 77,John Dobson sends out a warning to critics of Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber,And Munster's hopes of signing All Blacks prop Tyrel Lomax have been dealt a fatal blow.Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Fergus Slattery, one of Ireland’s greatest rugby players, has died at the age of 77.In a statement, Blackrock College RFC announced the news this morning, hailing their former flanker as a “Lion of Lions”.Born in 1949, Slattery attended Blackrock College and won the 1966 Leinster Schools Senior Cup, before joining the club as a 17-year-old and excelling in senior rugby.He went on to win 61 caps for Ireland, captaining the country and winning the Five Nations Championship in 1974 and Triple Crowns in 1982 and 1985 as part of a legendary back-row with Willie Duggan and John O’Driscoll. He was also part of the 1979 series win in Australia.Slattery is also a legendary Lion and was called up to the tours of New Zealand in 1971 and South Africa in 1974 where he played in the Test series win.He was also a key part in the Barbarians’ most famous try against the All Blacks in 1973. In total, he played 18 times for the invitational club.After retirement, Slattery remained heavily involved in rugby through his media work with the BBC and with Blackrock College where he was a keen proponent of the sport’s amateur values.In recent years, his family disclosed that Slattery suffered from dementia, revealing the scale of his illness in an interview with The Sunday Times.He is survived by his wife Margo, daughter Nikki, son Cameron and his grandchildren.Here is former Ireland and Lion back row Slattery speaking to our own Nathan Murphy ahead of the Lions tour of 2017, and about his memories of being a Tourist back in the early 1970s.Become a member and subscribe at offtheball.com/join

Munster greats Alan Quinlan and Fiona Hayes join Off The Ball's Ruairi O'Hagan to look back on the URC quarter final defeat to the Bulls, to reflect on the season as a whole, and to look ahead to the next campaign.Subscribe to The Rugby Channel for new episodes every week! #TheRed78The first twenty minutes of this week's podcast is unlocked, but to listen to the full podcast, get on over to the Go Loud app, or become a member at offtheball.com/join

Welcome to Wednesday's Rugby Daily, I'm Cameron Hill.Coming up, Matt Williams responds to Jacques Nienaber's fiery press conference ahead of the URC semi-finals,A major England international is leaving Harlequins, with a move to the controversial R360 a live possibility,And could Racing 92 be hit with a points deduction ahead of next season's Top 14?Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Tuesday's Rugby Daily, with Cameron Hill.Coming up today, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber bite back at media criticism following Leinster's URC playoff win over the Lions,Munster head coach Clayton McMillan assesses a first season at the helm,And Connacht sign off for the summer with a narrow defeat away to Glasgow Warriors. Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting

Welcome to Friday's Rugby Daily, with Cameron Hill.Coming up, the team news, and all you need to know ahead of the URC playoffs this weekend.Breakfast reacts to Sam Prendergast getting the start at 10 for Leinster, with Ciaran Frawley not in the matchday 23.And could Jordie Barrett return for a second stint at Leinster in the near future?Rugby on Off The Ball with Bank of Ireland | #NeverStopCompeting