Highlights From Off The Ball

John Duggan and Shane Hannon spoke on Saturday's Newsround after news of the passing of legendary boxer George Foreman at the age of 76.They also paid tribute to F1 great Eddie Jordan, who died earlier this week, and discussed which teams do and don't necessarily want to play in an Allianz League final.

On Friday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack puts the final touches to Ireland's Women's Six Nations preparations. We hear from Linda Djougang and Fiona Tuite on the test that awaits in Belfast against France.RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett are back to reinforce Leinster in Pretoria. Ulster are getting stronger as they prepare to slay the Dragons. While Connacht shuffle their pack for their trip to the Ospreys.

John Duggan is back with us after a week of Cheltenham Racing along with Johnny Ward to give us their thoughts and reflections on the week of festival racing. As well as that, they'll get into the upcoming cards at Naas and Navan as flats racing begins!To hear all this and more, make sure to subscribe at offtheball.com/join  The Racing Pod on Off The Ball with William Hill, see Gamblingcare.ie 

On Friday's Football Daily, Phil Egan brings you all the reaction to the Republic of Ireland's Nations League playoff win away to Bulgaria. We speak to goalscorers Finn Azaz and Matt Doherty, as well as Troy Parrott to get their views of the first leg in Plovdiv. Plus, Phil rounds up all of last night's Nations League playoff and World Cup qualifier action. And here at home, Kerry add some international flavour to their attack.

On Thursday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack has the team news ahead of Ireland's Women's Six Nations opener with France in Belfast. Eve Higgins discusses what success looks like for Ireland in this year's tournament, plus head coach Scott Bemand shares his reasons for picking a new captain. Munster have rung the changes for their URC trip to Glasgow.Peato Mauvaka has received a ban for his headbutt against Scotland.And former Ulster lock Jeremy Davidson has a new job.

On Thursday's Football Daily, Phil Egan puts the finishing touches to the Republic of Ireland's preparations for tonight's Nations League playoff first leg with Bulgaria. Heimir Hallgrimsson discusses Evan Ferguson, Troy Parrott, Rocco Vata and his goalkeeping conundrum. A Liverpool stalwart leaves the Dutch camp carrying an injury.Brazil's preparations for their World Cup qualifier with Colombia have been hit by drone drama.

Legendary F1 team owner Eddie Jordan passed away on Thursday following a fight with pancreatic cancer. During the depths of Lockdown in 2021, the ebullient Dubliner looked back over his unique career in motorsport with Joe Molloy. Eddie looked at his days of working with a young Michael Schumacher, his recollections of Ayrton Senna, and his own travails on the F1 grid.

This is Thursday's OTB Breakfast Bite - your FREE bitesize taster of this morning's full Off The Ball Breakfast. On this morning's show, Nathan Murphy joined Kathleen and Colm from Plovdiv where he previewed the Republic of Ireland's Nations League playoff with Bulgaria. They, of course, aren't the only international teams in action this week, and football writer Graham Hunter examined the state of play elsewhere. We previewed the Women's Six Nations with former Ireland player Grace Davitt & The Telegraph’s Fiona Tomas. Plus, there was live reaction to the death of former F1 boss Eddie Jordan. And it's there we take our Bite this morning, with former Jordan F1 designer Gary Anderson reacting to the passing of his former boss, and then we check in on that W6N chat with Grace and Fiona. Catch Off The Ball Breakfast LIVE weekday mornings from 7:30am or just search for Off The Ball Breakfast and get the podcast on the Off The Ball app. SUBSCRIBE at OffTheBall.com/join

Gary Anderson, former technical director of Jordan F1, joins Off The Ball Breakfast to reflect on the life & times of the great Eddie Jordan.Off The Ball Breakfast w/ Optimum Nutrition | #unlockmoreyouCatch The Off The Ball Breakfast show LIVE weekday mornings from 7:30am or just search for Off The Ball Breakfast and get the podcast on the Off The Ball app.SUBSCRIBE at OffTheBall.com/joinOff The Ball Breakfast is live weekday mornings from 7:30am across Off The Ball

On Wednesday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack has the latest injury news ahead of the start of Ireland's Women's Six Nations campaign, and it's fair to say France have the worst of it. France men's head coach Fabien Galthié continues to moan about Ireland, despite their Six Nations title. Two more Leinster backs have extended their stays with the province. Another England winger has his Lions hopes dashed. And the RFU want a relaxation of the licensing laws around Twickenham.

On Wednesday's Football Daily, Phil Egan brings you the latest from the Republic of Ireland camp ahead of tomorrow night's Nations League playoff with Bulgaria. Heimir Hallgrimsson discusses the importance of staying in League B, what they've learned since their chastening trip to Wembley, and how best to utilise Finn Azaz. Jimmy Dunne talks Northern Ireland interest, and his hereditary resilience. Renee Slegers has her say on that 'disgraceful' pitch in Madrid. And could Dean Huijsen be heading back to Spain?

On Tuesday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack checks in with Ireland's preparations for the start of the Women's Six Nations. Defence coach Hugh Hogan believes Ireland can ask questions of France in Belfast on Saturday. Three Leinster players have extended their stays with the province, and we hear from Jacques Nienaber ahead of their double bill in South Africa. There's also contract news from Connacht today, with assistant coach Colm Tucker providing a squad update. Georgia head coach Richard Cockerill renews calls for promotion/relegation playoff from the Six Nations.Peato Mauvaka could be in hot water following his yellow card against Scotland. And the English Premiership remains a closed shop to Ealing.

On Tuesday's Football Daily, Phil Egan continues the build-up to Thursday's Nations League playoff with Bulgaria in Plovdiv. We hear from James Abankwah, Matt Doherty and John O'Shea, with Abankwah encouraging more young Irish players to try their luck on the continent. Mauricio Pochettino still harbours hopes of a reunion with Tottenham. Dougie Freedman's swapping South London for the. Saudi second tier.

Newstalk's Henry McKean was in Dublin Airport to get reaction from Team Ireland's incredible campaign at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin.

Here is a taster of what you can expect from Adrian Barry, who was joined by Hugh Farrelly & Jackie Shiels for this weeks edition of The Sunday Paper Review on Off The Ball.Catch the full thing in the SPR+ feed NOW!Catch The Off The Ball Breakfast show LIVE weekday mornings from 7:30am or just search for Off The Ball Breakfast and get the podcast on the Off The Ball app.SUBSCRIBE at OffTheBall.com/joinOff The Ball Breakfast is live weekday mornings from 7:30am across Off The Ball

On Friday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack has the latest from the Ireland camp ahead of their Six Nations closer away to Italy tomorrow. We hear from Ronan O'Gara on the enemy of complacency, and Alan Quinlan discusses those Jack Crowley links to Leicester. The Six Nations is set to remain on free-to-air television. Connacht lock down an out-half to a new two-year deal. The World U20 Championship is going back to Italy for the first time in a decade, and the draw's been kind to Ireland. Plus, Rocky Elsom has his prison sentence in France reduced on appeal.

On Friday's Football Daily, Phil Egan previews tonight's action in the League of Ireland. We hear from Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley ahead of our live game on OTB Sports Radio tonight - the clash of Drogheda United and the Hoops. There's brilliant news for Derry City on the financial front.Shelbourne's preparations for the visit of Cork City to Tolka Park have been ravaged, and we hear from the Leesiders' boss Tim Clancy. Keith Long on a tricky trip for Waterford out west. Arne Slot and Eddie Howe look ahead to Sunday's Carabao Cup final. And Chelsea's spending shows no signs of slowing down.

Gold Cup Day is finally here and Thom Malone and John Duggan are here with us once again to preview the last day of the Cheltenham racing festival!Horse Racing on Off The Ball is brought to you by William Hill

The much vaunted sports writer John Feinstein died on Thursday at the relatively young age of 69. He leaves behind a legacy as one of the best authors in his field, with a string of critically acclaimed books carrying his name. In December of 2006, he joined Off The Ball to discuss one of those titles, 'A Good Walk Spoiled', which captured a year on the PGA Tour pre-Tiger. Following that, from the depths of Covid, OTB's John Duggan shares why he sees 'A Good Walk Spoiled' as one of his favourite ever sports books.Another of John Feinstein's books 'A Season On The Brink', which covered the fiery Bob Knight and his Indiana Hoosiers basketball team was captured in a conversation on Off The Ball from February 2008.

On Thursday's Rugby Daily, Richie McCormack brings you the final batch of team news from this year's Six Nations. Jack Crowley is back in the Ireland no.10 jersey for Saturday's game away to Italy, and we hear Simon Easterby's explanation behind the changes he's made. The interim Ireland head coach has also fired back at France boss Fabien Galthié. Matt Sherratt's made a couple of tweaks to his Wales team as they look to extinguish any lingering England hopes of the title. Plus, Gregor Townsend names the Scotland team that Ireland hope will do them a massive favour in Paris.