Ilse van Staden: Ulster's Strongwoman

The gang are joined by top rugby journalist Brendan Fanning as we attempt to tackle some of the big issues facing Ulster Rugby.

The lads chat about the win over Ulster, who might be joining us from our feeder club in Dublin and what we need to do to salvage the season. To help us in our quest to answer all the big Ulster rugby related questions, rugby analyst and expert Jason Lear joins us.

Welcome to the Red Hand Podcast It’s been another tough week to be an Ulster fan as our Challenge Cup hopes were crushed by Clermont. Richie Murphy’s men were demolished in the second half after a pretty decent first half showing leaving fans and players feeling a bit shell shocked. Richie’s still at the wheel though and he needs time. He’s been parachuted in to a difficult situation and our new head coach and his squad need the backing of supporters. Depending on who you listen to in the Ulster camp we were either wrong to have such high expectations of the lads or we’re actually not to far away from clicking and we just need to fix a few things. Maybe we should just enjoy the last few games without hope or expectation and see how we get on? I’ve maybe lost all ambition for this season, but I am genuinely optimistic about the changes Ulster have made. Here to wrestle with some of the big Ulster rugby questions I’m joined by usual panelists Ian, Nathan and special guest this week is Cardiff fan and podcaster with the Wrap Podcast and Cardiff Central Podcast Harley Worthy.

A different and somewhat special episode this week as we zoom out and consider the bigger picture at Ulster Rugby. Don’t worry, we will discuss the weekend’s action as well of course! Ulster secured a 40-17 point win over Montpellier to book their place in the quarter finals of the Challenge Cup in a game that perfectly demonstrated the old adage ‘it’s a game of two halves’. More on that in a second. The usual panel have been given a break this week in line with rugby podcasters rest protocol.  So, I’ve drafted in a couple of special guests to help give us an outside perspective on some big questions. One of the underlying complaints from fans in recent years has been Ulster Rugby’s loss of identity. There is a sense in the past number of seasons that the club has drifted away from the culture and the values that made many of us fans in the first place.  It can be hard to articulate what defines us as a province but I think attempting a definition is a useful exercise as it can help determine our direction of travel as a club. To help wrestle with the big questions I’m incredibly honoured to be joined this week by Leinster Schools head coach and rugby analyst Brett Igoe and fellow podcaster with the mMunster based fan podcast Red Army Pod and rugby writer, Caolan Scully.

Have Ulster successfully weathered the storm? Everything seems better and brighter around Ulster Rugby at the minute. The coaching team look happier, fans are more positive, the team are battling for 80 minutes. I’m keen not to get carried away and talk of a transformation is certainly premature, but I think anyone who has been paying attention to ulster has noticed green shoots of progress in the most recent performances. It’s difficult to explain but even though we lost, everyone – myself included – was pretty happy with it. We’ll dig into why with Fergus, Ian and Dan. We’ll dig into why

The lads bid farewell to Jonny Petrie and consider what's next for Ulster Rugby...

I’m joined this week by a very special guest and a name that will be familiar to all Ulster Rugby fans. A combative and abrasive second-row who played 34 times for the Wallabies, Justin’s connection to Ulster came when he joined the province in 2005 and captained the side to the Celtic league - their last piece of silverware. Justin was a key player for Australia for several seasons, famously playing in memorable fixtures such as the third Lions test in 2001 and the Rugby World Cup final in 2003. I loved chatting to the legend that is Justin Harrison. Hope you enjoy listening.

The Ulster Rugby Soap opera continues. As we all know, following a recent plot-twist, one of the main characters was written out and the show has been revamped. New characters include understudy Dan Soper moving into the role of interim head coach and SPOILER ALERT he’s about to be reduced to a background character when Richie Murphy takes over the reins in the coming weeks. In Ulster, the script never seems to allow for a straightforward narrative, preferring to shake things up every few seasons and ‘refresh’ the ensemble cast to keep things interesting for fans. The start of the new series got off to an interesting start with the CEO’s address to LITERALLY dozens of fans failing to provide sufficient reassurance that there really is ‘nothing to see here’ with regard to rumours of a precarious financial situation and talk of an end of season exodus. A win at the weekend was a welcome interlude to the ongoing drama but fans are still left wondering what is going on.  Anyway, in an effort to find out what is actually going on I am joined by the usual panel of Nathan, Ian, Fergus and Daniel and a special guest this week: Jonny Drennan - Sportswriter at the Sydney morning herald and Huge Ulster fan.

Slow news day for Ulster Rugby... After the most dramatic 24 hours this season for fans of Ulster which saw head coach Dan depart the province, ending his tenure as the longest serving Ulster coach of the professional era, the panel have plenty to talk about. Where do we go from here? Who's next? Was there a game at the weekend? Sit back, enjoy the chat and don't forget to like and subscribe!

Where to begin? The Red Hand is back to discuss Ulster crashing out of the Champions Cup and where we go from here. Consider it group therapy for Ulster fans. We will always back the players on the pitch but is it time for some new ideas to inspire this talented squad to fulfil their full potential?