A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT
TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF OUR
FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK
WRAP OF A WRAP
Keego usually does the previews so just to mix things up I asked him to do the wraps over Christmas with a much simpler format than usual we essentially just harped on the match itself though despite the low scoring there was much to go over.
If you didn’t catch the wrap pod itself, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on Apple and most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…LEINSTER & IRELAND 2023
For the bonus clip myself & Keego went back over the rollercoaster of results from the year.
THE HARPIN ‘WITHOUT WHOM’ DEPARTMENT
As I say in the TikTok, thanking my contributors is the very, very least I can do. To a man they all go above and beyond preparing for our chats as well as giving up their time to actually record them. Here is the actual list of 2023 caps…
Keego 31
Tom Coleman 20
Conor Cronin 20
Mark Jackson 18
RugbyKino 15
Rich Mifsud 11
Jay Long 8
Ciarán Duffy 5
Nathan Johns 3
Stephen Murphy 2
Pádraig Kelly 2
Peter Lockhart 2
Francisco Isaac 1
Ian Frizzell 1
Justin Middleton 1
Bryan Moylett 1
Ball handling Hooker 1
Thala Msutu 1
Also my apologies for Thala Msutu for pronouncing his name wrong in the video!
LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
Fingers crossed the JGP injury wasnt too bad sounded like a precaution. That really does lookk like the lightest injury update we have seen in quite a while although I reckon a good few will still be held back for the visit of Ulster with Europe & 6N on the horizon, although there is an off week to come which will help.
Normally I post a predicted team here but since this is posting on Friday rather than the usual Tuesday I can go one better by posting the team itself.
Available for Selection:
Luke McGrath: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after returning from a knee injury
Harry Byrne: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after returning from the Graduated Return to Play Protocols
John McKee: has returned to full training after recovering from a hamstring injury
Further Assessment Required:
Jamison Gibson-Park: was withdrawn before the game against Munster Rugby as a precaution and will be further assessed this week
No Further Updates:
Charlie Ngatai (calf), Cormac Foley (shoulder), Ross Byrne (arm) and Jamie Osborne (shoulder)
UPCOMING RUGBY ON IRISH TV
We normally do this as a separate post but just this once I’ll include it here.
FRIDAY DECEMBER 29
4PM – WOLFHOUNDS V CLOVERS – CELTIC CHALLENGE – RUGBYPASS.TV
7:45PM – BRISTOL BEARS V EXETER – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 1
8PM – CLÉRMONT V BORDEAUX – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 1
SATURDAY DECEMBER 30
12PM – EDINBURGH V GLASGOW WARRIORS – CELTIC CHALLENGE – RUGBYPASS.TV
1:30PM – BENETTON V ZEBRE – URC – PREMIER SPORTS 2, – URC.TV*
2:30PM – HARLEQUINS V GLOUCESTER – WOMEN’S PREM – TNT SPORTS 2
3PM – EDINBURGH V GLASGOW WARRIORS – URC – PREMIER SPORTS 2, URC.TV*
3PM – SARACENS V NEWCASTLE – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS EXTRA
3:05PM – NORTHAMPTON V SALE SHARKS – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 1
5PM – STORMERS V SHARKS – URC – PREMIER SPORTS 2, URC.TV*
5:15PM – RGC1404 V CARDIFF – WELSH PREM – S4C
5:30PM – HARLEQUINS V GLOUCESTER – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 1
6PM – TOULON V STADE FRANCAIS – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 2
8PM – LA ROCHELLE V TOULOUSE – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 1
SUNDAY DECEMBER 31
1PM – CASTRES V PERPIGNAN – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 1
3PM – LEICESTER TIGERS V BATH – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 1
MONDAY JANUARY 1
3PM – CONNACHT V MUNSTER – URC – TG4, PREMIER SPORTS 1, URC.TV*
3PM – OSPREYS V CARDIFF – URC – BBC1 WALES, PREMIER SPORTS 2, URC.TV*
5:15PM – DRAGONS V SCARLETS – URC – S4C, PREMIER SPORTS 1, URC.TV*
5:15PM – LEINSTER V ULSTER – URC – RTÉ2, PREMIER SPORTS 2.
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
Obviously the Leinster fan in me wants to point to the top of this table but actually I’d rather draw attention to the full collection of results between the provinces so far, all of which have been decided by 7 points or less which speaks volumes. Leinster v Ulster on New Year’s Day will obviously go a long way towards deciding the destination of the shield.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT V MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER V ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER V CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER V LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
I suppose it’s natural these days for a Leinster fan to be drawn to La Rochelle in this portion for all the obvious reasons but even without that their Round 10 defeat to Stade (whom we play next in Europe) plus their Round 11 date with Toulouse (repeat of last year’s Brennus decider) are easily the standout matches. Racing still top the league after a 60-burger on Oyonnax.
Round 10
PERPIGNAN 36-10 BAYONNE
BORDEAUX 46-10 LYON
MONTPELLIER 30-21 CASTRES
RACING 92 66-10 OYONNAX
PAU 22-11 CLÉRMONT
STADE FRANCAIS 18-13 LA ROCHELLE
TOULOUSE 25-17 TOULON
Round 11
FRI DEC 29
OYONNAX V PAU
CLÉRMONT V BORDEAUX
SAT DEC 30
LYON V MONTPELLIER
BAYONNE V RACING 92
TOULON V STADE FRANCAIS
LA ROCHELLE V TOULOUSE
CASTRES V PERPIGNAN
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Sale Sharks bounced back from their Dublin defeat to overcome Sarries and they have the most wins at the halfway stage of the Premiership but Bath pip them to top spot at this stage thanks to their bonus points. Their visit to Leicester will be a tricky one in round 10 while there’s a 3rd v 2nd clash at Franklins Gardens.
ROUND 9
NEWCASTLE 13-21 BRISTOL
SALE SHARKS 22-20 SARACENS
EXETER 29-10 LEICESTER
GLOUCESTER 29-31 NORTHAMPTON
BATH 25-17 HARLEQUINS
ROUND 10
FRI DEC 29
BRISTOL V EXETER
SAT DEC 30
SARACENS V NEWCASTLE
NORTHAMPTON V SALE SHARKS
HARLEQUINS V GLOUCESTER
SUN DEC 31
LEICESTER TIGERS V BATH
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I was kicking myself after missing my prediction for the Zebre v Benetton match (or as we call it in our Harpin WhatsApp group “doing a Keego”) but I recovered pretty well the rest of the round to stretch my lead at the top of the HPL. True story of the round was Kristian Ross who got the yellow cap to leap frog Conor and Kino into 2nd.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
That’s it for 2023, next there’s the Ulster preview which will be ready by Saturday morning, the wrap pod will record Tuesday night and with an off week to follow we’ll be taking things easy-ish though keep up with our usual social media channels we’ll be doing the odd post here and there.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your seasonal rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 