On this week’s column…
🏉 SLIMANI REPORTS
🏉 ROB BURROW RIP
🏉 GALWAY FOR SAM?
🏉 LIFETIME BAN
🏉 CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK
🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP
🏉 HARPIN ON…RDS MEMORIES
🏉 QUALIFIED SUCCESS?
🏉 LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
🏉 TROLL PATROL
🏉 LEINSTER PLAYERS’ GAZA STATEMENT
🏉 LEINSTER AWARDS
🏉 PERFECT RDS VID
🏉 EARLY FIXTURES
🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl IRISH SHIELD & SVNS]
FRONT FIVE
A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).
“A surprising but rather logical destination given the Irish squad next season.”
Leinster leading the race for Clermont’s Rabah Slimani – reports
Cian Locke – Irish Examiner
JLP : Obviously the word ‘reports’ does a lot of heavy lifting in the title although just because a province and/or the Irish media hasn’t reported something yet doesn’t mean it’s not happening and there have been question marks over Leinster’s TH stocks after Ala’alatoa leaves. More on the general topic of NIQ signings further down the column.
“For those who knew Rob throughout his life, his determination and spirit in the face of MND over the last four and a half years came as no surprise.”
Rugby league star Rob Burrow dies aged 41 after motor neurone disease battle
RTE.ie
JLP : Needless to say it doesn’t matter what code is involved this was sad news across all of sport. Former players like Rob who have contracted MND have done outstanding work to raise awareness.
“I think at this pivotal moment in time…I wouldn’t be keen for him to move if I was involved with Leinster.”
Debate rages around Irish Rugby’s biggest prospect’s future
Philip Bendon – RugbyDump
JLP : We have of course been harpin’ on Leinster’s 10 dilemma for ages but it’s interesting to see it popping up in articles outside the four provinces. The Sam to Connacht thing was big news last week and looked like happening (even if the timing did seem strange right before he was getting ready to PLAY Connacht) but the tweet below from Joe Naughton would appear to have chucked some cold water on the spreading rumours…
As well as a lifetime playing ban, the player also received a 156-week ban – the equivalent of three years – from all forms of rugby, including coaching, refereeing and administration
Namibian rugby player handed life ban after attacking referee
Charles Richardson – NZ Herald (via Daily Telegraph UK)
JLP : Only two words of comment required here : “Proper” and “order”.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
Heaslip disagreed with Murphy’s summation of the danger of the incident, and argued it had “quite a high level of danger”.
Jamie Heaslip Has Theory On How RG Snyman Escaped Card Vs Ulster
Oisin Gaffey – Balls.ie
JLP : This wins COTWA for having all the basic elements of perfect clickbait for Irish rugby fans, following the simple “Leinster player disputes something good tht happened to Munster or vice versa” formula, with the name Ulster thrown in for good measure. Heaslip’s opinion does feature in the article, but so does Donal Lenihan’s, who also thought it could have been red. His name in the heading might not have stirred things up quite so much though…
WRAP OF A WRAP
I was on Caolán Scully’s pod the day after the Champions Cup final and the other guest was a fellow Leinster fan David Cordial so I asked him to come on our wrap pod and he took to it like a fish to water. Along with seasoned Harpin veteran Rich Mifsud we went back over the win over Connacht and for the final thoughts video we also looked at our favourite RDS memories as well as the upcoming URC quarterfinals.
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : QUALIFIED SUCCESS?
With all the talk stemming from the Jordie Barrett news I wanted to do a Quick Tap on the whole subject of NIQs and how we should handle them.
LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
The actual update has been suggesting for weeks now that Garry Ringrose was available for selection but this week it was actually brought up in the text that they release with the update so it looks like it could happen this weekend, and not before time!
Hopefully we are able to go “full bore” for the rest of the season with the exception of Hugo Keenan who is committing to 7s. I know the South Africa series is big but it would be really unfair on Leinster fans to have our players denied knockout game time because of it.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Ulster : J O’Brien, Larmour, Henshaw, J Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park.
Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Ryan (c), Baird, van der Flier, Doris.
Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Molony, Conan/Connors, McGrath, Frawley, Ringrose.
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Charlie Ngatai: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a shoulder injury.
Garry Ringrose: is expected to return to full training this week after his return from a shoulder injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Jack Conan: was withdrawn as a precaution at the weekend and will be further assessed this week ahead of selection this weekend.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Tommy O’Brien: picked up a hamstring injury at the weekend and will enter a period of rehabilitation.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Jason Jenkins (knee), Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
I very much doubt there will be an open top bus inching through thousands of fans in Ballsbridge to celebrate Leinster’s retention of the Irish Shield any time soon, I’m pretty sure we’d have been happy with Munster winning it if we could swap for first place on the URC log. The most positive angle from this “sub-competition” for me was the fact that of the 12 matches this season, 9 were decided by 7 points or less.
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 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER 33-7 CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER 29-24 ULSTER
TROLL PATROL
@mahasamatman12
“A zero point loss” You harpin’ clowns never cease to amaze!
Straightforward trolling here. For context, in our Connacht preview show I asked Keego what he made of the Champions Cup final and after he responded I pointed out that in recent finals we had lost by 1 or 2 points so with this one having been level after 80 minutes you could say it was a zero point loss. My overall point was that all the finals were close, not that we didn’t deserve to lose them, we have harped on that ad nauseum at other times. Anyway, this guy jumped on it so I wish to repeat my invitation for him to appear on our show anytime to “show us how it’s done”. You may be shocked to learn that he is yet to respond. I’m starting to think he may not want to.
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
LEINSTER PLAYERS’ GAZA STATEMENT
They say sports and politics shouldn’t mix. I say bollocks to that.
I mean, that’s not to say that if we have chosen sports as our principle topic for content, we should be using that platform to also share political views – that would be disrespectful. HOWEVER some subjects might be called ‘political’ when they actually transcend that, sport, and all other current affairs and IMO Gaza is one of them and I was extremely proud to see the Leinster players releasing this statement.
Also on the Quick Tap video above I chose to use my “final comment” to persuade people to vote in the upcoming local & European elections. To be clear, I would never say WHO anyone should vote for, just that they exercise their right to vote.
LEINSTER AWARDS
Congrats to all, here’s the official Leinster copy…
Aoife Dalton and Jamison Gibson-Park were the big winners as they took home the Bank of Ireland Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards at the Leinster Rugby Awards Ball on Saturday evening.
It’s been an incredible 12 months for Dalton who picked up the Young Player Award at the 2023 event and has now backed it up a year later with the Senior Award after brilliant performances in blue as Leinster regained the Interpro title from Munster.
For Gibson-Park it caps a remarkable few years for the scrumhalf who has made the Leinster and the Ireland number nine jersey his own with a string of stunning performances for club and country.
Other players celebrating included Joe McCarthy and Aoife Wafer who were presented with the Laya Healthcare Men’s Young Player of the Year and BearingPoint Women’s Young Player of the Year Awards.
It it capped a brilliant few weeks for McCarthy and Wafer who were also recognised at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards, while McCarthy was also named the Just Eat Supporters Player of the Season at Friday’s game against Connacht Rugby at the RDS Arena.
Hosted by Joe Molloy, with musical entertainment provided by Manila Strings, the evening brought the curtain down on the 2023/24 domestic season across the 12 counties of Leinster, while also recognising the efforts of the senior men and women sides.
It also marked the final formal engagement for the province’s outgoing President Billy Murphy. The proud UCD club man opened proceedings with a fitting tribute to all those that contributed on and off the pitch and in particular that had helped him across his 12 months as Branch President.
After that it was over to Molloy to get the evening underway and over the course of the next few hours, the best of the game at all levels in Leinster was celebrated.
Departing players and staff were also acknowledged, with a brilliant ovation in particular for the departing trio of Ed Byrne, Ross Molony and Rhys Ruddock.
Mick Dawson was the latest inductee into the Guinness Hall of Fame. The former Leinster Rugby CEO was warmly received by the audience, in recognition of a stellar 21-plus years at the helm.
Another person to be acknowledged for a stellar contribution to the game of rugby in Leinster was the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, James McCourt, who received the Energia Contribution to Leinster Rugby award for his tireless efforts.
He was presented with his award on behalf of Energia by the Leinster Rugby Culture Captain, Andrew McCarthy, who was also recognised for his efforts over the season by Leinster co-captains, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose.
Clontarf FC, Seapoint Rugby Club, St Mary’s College, Rathmines and Coláiste Mhuire CBS, Mullingar were other big winners on the night.
Jordan Larmour accepted the award for the Bank of Ireland ‘Never Stop Competing’ Tackle of the Year for his try-saving effort in the Champions Cup Final against Toulouse, while Ciarán Frawley’s effort against Connacht Rugby was the winner of the Irish Times Try of the Year.
2023/24 LEINSTER RUGBY AWARDS – LIST OF WINNERS:
Nissan Ireland Development School of the Year: Coláiste Mhuire CBS, Mullingar
Bank of Ireland ‘Never Stop Competing’ Tackle of the Year: Jordan Larmour
Beauchamps School of the Year: St Mary’s College, Rathmines
Energia Contribution to Leinster Rugby: James McCourt
Irish Times Try of the Year: Ciarán Frawley (v Connacht Rugby)
DigitalWell Junior Club of the Year: Seapoint Rugby Club
BDO Senior Club of the Year: Clontarf FC
Just Eat Supporters Player of the Year: Joe McCarthy
Guinness Hall of Fame: Mick Dawson
BearingPoint Women’s Young Player of the Year: Aoife Wafer
Laya Healthcare Men’s Young Player of the Year: Joe McCarthy
Band of Ireland Women’s Player of the Year: Aoife Dalton
Bank of Ireland Men’s Player of the Year: Jamison Gibson-Park
PERFECT RDS VID
Not much more comment required here, this video was brilliant.
EARLY FIXTURES
According to my Google Calendar, these 24/25 URC fixtures were actually due even earlier, the 22nd of May to be precise. But still, for them to come out a week later was still an excellent idea to help people plan ahead for trips and whatnot, although I do know many who are keen to wait for the Champions Cup draw before they go clicking for hotels and flights.
“SVNS” UPDATE
Overall you have to say 5th and 6th placed finishes are disappointing when you consider both our teams are capable of winning medals in Paris. But it certainly wasn’t all bad, in fact technically the men’s team went the entire weekend unbeaten. We had to push for last gasp tries in all three of our pool matches but only one of those produced a win and with the “golden point” system in place, we fell short against both Fiji and New Zealand which meant we had to make do with the playoffs for 5th place where we dispatched both GB and RSA. And going back to those extra time matches, we had more “poor luck” in both of them, with the Fijians lucky not to see red for that challenge and NZ shipping a penalty on our breakaway towards the end which really should have seen yellow. On the negative side I wondered if both of New Zealand’s opening tries against us were a result of Hugo Keenan being a bit match rusty in this code – I thought he tried to take a bit too much out of his carries allowing the opposition to pounce. He does have buckets of 7s experience of course he just needs a bit more game time.
Anyway on the women’s side, well nobody would get off to a good start to a comp when facing the Aussies, we couldn’t get past Fiji nor the USA either although wins over France and GB helped us stay away from the bottom two places.
MADRID (FINALS)
#IREW7s
13-44 AUSTRALIA
5-31 FIJI
26-19 FRANCE
5TH PLACE PLAYOFFS
20-0 GREAT BRITAIN
14-27 USA
#IREM7s
26-21 SOUTH AFRICA
21-26* FIJI
17-22* NEW ZEALAND
5TH PLACE PLAYOFFS
19-14 GREAT BRITAIN
12-7 SOUTH AFRICA
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Europe’s love triangle of close finishes involving Leinster, Toulouse and La Rochelle continues with the French sides also finishing the 80 minutes level on Sunday night. There are several fascinating battles in the simultaneous final round, best of which has to be the straight shoot out for an automatic semifinal spot between Stade and Toulon. But another shootout of note is ROG v Stu as the loser of La Rochelle v Racing could miss out on the barrages altogether.
Round 25
PERPIGNAN 37-30 BORDEAUX
OYONNAX 27-20 BAYONNE
CASTRES 27-18 STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER 41-26 LYON
RACING 92 24-15 PAU
TOULON 52-10 CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE 31-31 LA ROCHELLE
Round 26
SUN JUNE 8
BAYONNE V CASTRES
BORDEAUX V OYONNAX
CLÉRMONT V MONTPELLIER
LA ROCHELLE V RACING 92
LYON V TOULOUSE
STADE FRANÇAIS V TOULON
PAU V PERPIGNAN
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Have to admit I never got to see either of these matches although both had their moments by all accounts, not least of which was one after the final whistle at the Rec! Everything stayed with the seedings anyway and it should be an interesting “Battle of the Fin/ns” this weekend.
PLAYOFFS
NORTHAMPTON 22-20 SARACENS
BATH 31-23 SALE SHARKS
FINAL
SAT JUNE 8
NORTHAMPTON V BATH
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
Sad, but not surprising, to learn of the imminent demise of the Melbourne Rebels, and had they managed to overcome Fijian Drua in their final regular season match they actually could have sneaked the Crusaders into the final eight. But despite the defeat the Rebels still must take to the field at least one more time as they DID reach the knockouts where I doubt they’ll have enough to win in Wellington. In fact all the quarterfinals look like home bankers although the Reds could cause an upset at the Chiefs.
ROUND 15
CRUSADERS 43-10 MOANA PASIFIKA
WARATAHS 26-27 REDS
FIJIAN DRUA 40-19 REBELS
HURRICANES 41-14 HIGHLANDERS
BLUES 31-17 CHIEFS
WESTERN FORCE 19-24 BRUMBIES
QUARTERFINALS
FRI JUNE 7
CHIEFS V REDS
SAT JUNE 8
HURRICANES V REBELS
BLUES V FIJIAN DRUA
BRUMBIES V HIGHLANDERS
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Like I said on last week’s column, my adopted team for this season the Chicago Hounds probably needed the week off to prepare for the final push and from here on in there are no off weeks, just four weeks of rugby as the 12 clubs look to whittle themselves down to 8. In the east Chicago must look to keep up with NOLA and Old Glory ahead of them while New England look on track to finish first while in the west, Houston are still the team to beat although Seattle are likely to push them close over the coming month.
ROUND 14
OLD GLORY 47-29 ANTHEM RC
NOLA GOLD 7-21 HOUSTON
UTAH 20-27 SAN DIEGO
NEW ENGLAND 26-24 DALLAS
LOS ANGELES 45-15 MIAMI
SUN JUNE 9
OLD GLORY DC V NEW ENGLAND
HOUSTON V LOS ANGELES
SAN DIEGO V ANTHEM RC
MIAMI V NOLA GOLD
MON JUNE 10
DALLAS V CHICAGO
SEATTLE V UTAH
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
The regular season went right down to the wire with only the 1st tie-breaker of “winning predictions” separating Kino and Kristian. We now move into the URC playoffs where the usual points will be multiplied by factors of 1.5, 2 and 3 across the three rounds until we have a winner, so technically I still have a chance although I have to correctly predict multiple major upsets to do so. It’s not like I’m without form on this though…last season I was in 3rd place on the day of the URC final but being the only one to predict a Munster win I leapfrogged to the title, so you never know…
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Ulster up next – preview recording Friday, wrap pod on Sunday, and as ever there will be tweets and TikToks and Threads and all sorts in our other usual haunts in the ruggersphere – do keep in touch!
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 