The Leinster Listen#88: Interview — TQL Rugby (Chris Collyer); Discussing Noel McNamara, IREvARG, and Leinster
Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!
Episode 88, and The Leinster Listen flips the script, Chris Coyler from TQL Rugby joins me for a collab catch-up. We rewind my earlier stint on TQL, then dig into how Chris went from Six Nations fan to club rugby, the Rugby Paper, National League interviews, and building the TQL show, and why both of us try to keep the tone constructive, not toxic.
Here is what we cover in this episode:
🔄 Collab setup; Mick and Chris on parallel podcast journeys, swapping the guest chair, and “good news” rugby coverage versus pile-on culture
✍️ Chris’s path; from forums and reader letters to feature-writing work, chatting to National League players, Devin Toner on the CV, and short-form vs long-form storytelling
🏉 Noel McNamara at Leinster; revisiting Mick’s earlier call on TQL, what McNamara brings from Bordeaux and the 20s, mood among supporters, and how a head coach who’s an attack specialist might build a staff (including talk of Nienaber and timing for announcements)
🇮🇪 Ireland vs Argentina (Nations Series); why the selection looks like a “statement” pack, Porter–Sheehan–Furlong vs a beefy Pumas front row, surprise picks, Craig Casey starting with Jamison Gibson-Park on the bench, Sean Jansen at 8, Bundee Aki off the bench, plus Baloucoune–McCloskey and the bench forwards
🔮 Scorelines; aligned predictions (including a shared 31–19 shout) and how the game might unfold at the Aviva
🔵 Leinster’s season; URC form after the South Africa block, academy depth (and names like Casper Gabriel), Chris’s read on retaining the URC and chasing a fifth Champions Cup star, European pool chatter (Gloucester–Bordeaux, English clubs in Europe), and Leo Cullen’s last campaign
The Run Home with Joel & Fletch
