80+ column : Nov 7

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WRAP OF A WRAP

Another Sunday, another enjoyable wrap pod recording, this time joined by Conor & Kino, this time for the Front 5 I asked them to choose an article/topic themselves, not sure why I never thought of that before, I’ll definitely look to do that more often as the season wears on.

ICYMI, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on most major platforms.

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HARPIN ON…THE LEINSTER CAPTAINCY

For our bonus clip to follow on from last week’s chat on the candidates for the Leinster 10 jersey after Sexton’s retirement, this time we looked at Leinster’s “leadership group” and how it should look when the Champions Cup rolls around.

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COPY-WRONGED

If content creators’ statuses were represented by rugby competitions, Squidge would be the World Cup while Harpin would be Junior 4ths….meh, maybe that’s doing myself down a bit too much, how about we go with Junior 2nds instead 😜.  

All which means I feel bad that I have actually used clips from rugby matches in TikTok videos in recent times – to be clear I never try to even come close to Squidge’s analysis and I certainly don’t put anywhere near as much time into my stuff as he does.  

One thing I can vouch for is that even for a 15 minute video there is a MOUNTAIN of work to be done even with help.  For example the simple two minute clip below took the guts of two hours altogether but definitely in this case it was worth it when it came to speaking out against the copyright enforcement.

As you can see I have included a link below to show the source of the stats on the Gen Z participation.

Again, seriously, CLIMBING????????????

After just a few hours up, the video has been taken down manually by an employee of World Rugby, and copyright strike given to the channel.

Some 60+ hours of work went into that one video, so rest assured we shall try our upmost to get it restored, but this is not in our hands. https://t.co/BSt9dZGfc4

— Squidge Rugby (@SquidgeRugby) November 6, 2023

Link for stats on Gen Z participation as cited in video

@harpinonrugby

JUST LETTHECLIPSPLAY – taken from our weekly 80+ column which posts every Tuesday afternoon at HarpinOnRugby.com #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok #rugbyunion🏉

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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THAT’S USING YOUR HEAD

Hat-tip to Harpin contributor Kristian Ross for drawing my attention to this article from the Ulster University site which is all about the science behind the “smart mouthguards” which are being used to gauge head injury impact in rugby.

  “Dr Gregory Tierney, Lecturer in Biomechanics, Ulster University worked in partnership with World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby to complete several studies using the smart mouthguard technology to better understand the level of impact players experience on the head during matches and training situations using g-forces as a measurement technique.”

I am far from a statistician but one thing I do know is that when researching a topic you can never have too much data, once it’s relevant and it really does sound like this is a near perfect way to gather data on the impact of head collisions in rugby.  And another thing we find is that proper research rarely backs up our prejudices 100%.

Usually those pushing back against attempts to make the game safer are mostly motivated by a fear that the game will be “ruined” by sending off and long TMO delays.  Personally I’d rather let the boffins do their thing and be open minded to seeing the results in the hope that the right alterations can be made.

The article offers some results from a paper published in 2021 after two years of extensive research…

“The ORCHID paper shows that in the men’s community game:

• 86 percent of forces measured are the same as or less than those experienced in other forms of exercise such as running, jumping or skipping
• 94 percent of forces are lower than those previously measured on people riding a rollercoaster
• The large majority of events resulting in the highest measured forces are as a result of poor technique in the tackle and at the breakdown
• Most contact events in elite rugby do not result in any significant force to the head.”

The poor tackle technique is the most significant part for me, and that leads me to believe that using sanctions to help promote proper technique is at very least one of the measures that we should pursue, whether some fans are annoyed by waiting a bit longer for TMO replays or not.

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FEELING THE HEAT

Negative comments obviously come with the territory when you’re producing regular content and normally I brush them off but I have to admit I was annoyed by one I got after last week’s bonus pod which featured an interview with Francisco Isaac.

The plan was to talk to him about Portugal’s success at RWC2023, the proposed World League and finally the Rugby Europe Super Cup which kicked off last weekend.

Unfortunately one follower was of the opinion that since the Super Cup involves a team from Israel, then that means we should have discussed the current horrible events in that part of the world, with the implication that if we didn’t then I obviously don’t care about it.

Just to be clear…I do have strong feelings about that situation but you can be 100% guaranteed that I will not share them here or anywhere else in the Harpin social media space.  Meanwhile, it has been a policy here to follow the RE Super Cup as we believe it is an invaluable mechanism for at least starting to bring up Europe’s tier 2 nations (Francisco even says as much on the pod).

To that end we will continue to cover the tournament, including adding them to our “update” section below as it unfolds over the coming weeks.

Click here to listen to the pod in question ICYMI, plus there’s a YouTube video with an extended version of the World League discussion as well.

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THROWING THE BOOK BY WAYNE BARNES

I’ve always had respect for Wayne Barnes – I know a lot of people had issues with his refereeing, and so did I, but IMO we have to know where to draw the line and whatever we might think about the actual decisions, that is not all that maketh the ref and his overall comportment throughout his career has been commendable for sure and he was a more than worthy appointee for the 2023 final.

Pretty sure I’m not the only one who wishes him all the best with his future endeavours, including his new book…

I never thought a working class lad from the Forest of Dean would end up writing an autobiography! But then again, I never thought I’d referee 111 international rugby matches either. I am delighted to present Throwing The Book. pic.twitter.com/DKnpE9gtdQ

— Wayne Barnes (@WayneBarnesRef) November 3, 2023

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LARNER THE TEACHER

A major rugby bugbear of mine is intellectual snobbery, as in when some look down on others who don’t understand the Laws as well as they do.  The way I see it if someone is looking for info we should give it.  It’s a goddam complex sport that needs all the clued-in fans it can get. 

Unless of course when I’m having a few pints in a crowded pub watching a match and people cop on that I know what’s going on and thus bombard me with questions for the remainder, they of course can FRO….but it doesn’t always go exactly the way the Grand Slam match back in March did…😁

Seriously though, social media should be an ideal way to help those who might not know certain terms yet are afraid to ask, and it’s always good to have tweets like this one from Sam Lerner to see people right…

Thread: A Map of Rugby

There's a lot of terminology in rugby that is taken for granted and isn't always explained. I thought I would try and help.

Different teams/countries will use different language so this isn't a dictionary. But should help you find the way!

1) pic.twitter.com/xx2vKUi4j3

— Sam Larner (@SamLStandsUp) November 2, 2023

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URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

As one tournament, namely the WXV, drops out of our expanded Update Section, it gets replaced by two more, and first we are going to keep a close eye on the race for the Irish Shield.  Some may joke about it but starting this season it is to be awarded to the winner of a points table featuring ONLY the matches between the Irish provinces throughout the season, a really good idea IMO which needs support by regular coverage.  Obviously Connacht’s victory over Ulster in the season’s first interpro has them top of the shield standings as well as the entire URC, we’ll see how things look after Munster visit the Kingspan on Friday.

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1. CONNACHT P 1 PTS 4
2. ULSTER P 1 PTS 1
3. LEINSTER P 0 PTS 0
4. MUNSTER P 0 PTS 0

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Leinster’s first Champions Cup opponents are exactly the same as our last ones, but things haven’t been going too well for La Rochelle since that day in the Aviva, or at least since Ntamack broke their hearts in their quest for a first Brennus in July.  They have now lost 4 out of 5 this season and are now flirting with the relegation zone, but as Kino pointed out on our pod, they will be getting the bulk of their internationals back well in time for our visit in December so will likely be a much different prospect then.

In January we host Stade Francais and they continue to do well as their 39-16 win over Castres kept them in a three-way tie at the top with Pau and Stu Lancaster’s Racing.

Toulon v Racing on Sunday evening seems to be the pick of the Round 6 matches and hopefully Dan Biggar’s back spasm isn’t too serious, that really, really looked nasty.

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

Sale Sharks come to the RDS in December and their decent start to their Premiership campaign continued with a handy win over Glaws leaving them in 3rd place behind Exeter and Quins.  Meanwhile Leicester Tigers, our fourth opponents, continue to struggle as they could not overcome Sarries.  They could get things back on track in round 5 with a win over Quins but the standout tie of the round has to be the West Country derby at Kingsholm.

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AIL UPDATE 

Here’s a transcript of my piece for Front 5 on last Sunday’s wrap pod…

Every week on our 80+ column at harpinonrugby.com we round up the state of play in the Energia AIL but for once I thought I’d do it here on the main pod because, well, I keep harpin on how poor the overall coverage is of the next level down from provincial rugby so I should really practise what I preach.

I’ll start with the Women’s AIL which this season may not have added to its 9 clubs but at least it HAS gone to a full home and away calendar with Round 6 taking place at the weekend.  And even though we’re only a third of the way through the schedule it’s pretty clear which teams are favoured to make the top 4 and with Rock, Belvo, Railway Union and leaders UL Bohs all avoiding each other in this round, meaning there wasn’t much change at the top with the only unpredicted outcome being Wicklow’s waterlogged pitch preventing them from hosting Railway, who themselves play Belvo next weekend in what is easily the match of Round 7.

Meanwhile on the men’s side of things, league leaders Lansdowne saw their perfect start to the season come to an end when they fell to Cork Con although the away losing bonus point wasn’t the worst result.  This left Clontarf as the only unbeaten side in the top division after they overcame their own tough southern assignment and held off a strong fightback by Young Munster to win 44-39. 

Back to the subject of media coverage, it’s still poor overall outside the individual club social media accounts, in fact some weeks it’s been difficult to find decent reporting on even the top AIL divisions as late as Tuesday morning, but there are definite exceptions to this rule, starting of course with the weekly Club Scene Podcast and also there is live streaming from the likes of the BF Sports Analysis YouTube channel where I watched reigning champions Terenure overcome UCD on Saturday afternoon – I’ll put a link in the programme notes.  Unfortunately I couldn’t watch it live as it clashed with Leinster’s match at the RDS but it’s always available to replay and as ever is a great way of keeping tabs on those on the fringes of the Leinster squad like Chris Cosgrave and Conor O’Tighearnaigh.

So we’ll continue to keep tabs on the AIL throughout the season and for your own part please do what you can to get out and support your local club in any way you can.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

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MEN’S AIL

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RE SUPER CUP UPDATE

As discussed on the bonus pod linked earlier, the RE Super Cup has a slightly different format this season.  The World Cup has shrunk it to a three-match pool phase and what’s more, the two pools are weighted with the four best in A with the next 4 in Pool B – the top three from A and the winner of B make the semifinals.

There is also a new nation joining the competition, with Bohemia Warriors from Czechia getting a baptism of fire courtesy of the Romanian Wolves in Round 1, while reigning champions Black Lion, who also take part in this seasons Challenge Cup don’t forget, started off with a comfortable enough win over Castilla.  Pick of Round 2 has to be their trip to Portugal to face Lusitanos in a repeat of last year’s final.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

I’m still happy enough to be lurking in the bronze medal position after 3 rounds but Kristian and Conor are starting to open up a gap at the top.  Meanwhile Keego, who to be fair was in New York last week so possibly wasn’t thinking too much about the URC, has dropped back down to the dreaded Jersey of Shame position.

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	AFTER RD 3	PTS
1	KRISTIAN	33.50
2	CONOR	33.00
3	JEFF	28.50
4	KINO	26.00
5	JAY	24.00
6	TOM	22.50
7	MARK	19.50
8	KEEGO	17.00

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Right, that’s it for another week’s 80+ column thanks for checking in.  Next up there’s the Dragons, we’ll have the preview on Friday and even though we don’t play until Sunday afternoon, we’re still planning to record the wrap pod that evening at 8 o’clock, with all the other usual features all over our various social media channels as well.

As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are.  JLP