80+ column : July 17

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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).

“We believe he will be a great addition to the group, not only providing competition for the first team but also helping some of our young front row players learn and develop.”

Leinster Rugby confirm signing of Rabah Slimani

Marcus Ó Buachalla – LeinsterRugby.ie

JLP : We already knew this was happening but had only heard from the French media side of things so an article on the LEINSTER website is the equivalent of the fat lady singing.  Obviously we welcome him and hope he does exactly as Leo says in the quote.  Nothing about length of contract about length of his contract but I understand it to be one with rumblings about him being keen to be involved on the coaching side of things.  And you know on social media there will be those who spin it like this signing shows some kind of favouritism towards Leinster with the decision having been made to stop NIQ tightheads, as opposed to the more obvious explanation that this deal was already agreed before the new policy came into effect.  Much like the way Gibson-Park and Lowe qualified under the 3-year residency rules just before they increased to five.

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Marx suffered the injury in the second half of the Test against Ireland, during a horrific croc roll that earned captain Caelan Doris a yellow card

Season over for Marx?

SARugbyMag

JLP : My official take on the Doris/Ryan croc rolls….to my eye, Doris attempts a croc roll but doesn’t shift him.  Ryan also attempts one and succeeds, and in the process forces Doris into MVS’s leg (though even without Doris there it would of course have still been v dangerous).  I’d have been inclined to yellow card Doris and red card Ryan. Irish goggles or no, this is a very dangerous manoeuvre that needs to be stamped out, whether or not the player gets injured.

However, as much as I dislike ‘whataboutery’, it’s not easy to avoid responding to all the pearl-clutching by South African fans when only a few weeks ago we had Jamison Gibson-Park ruled out of the final stages of the URC quarterfinal because apparently he was ‘fair game’ for this challenge by Akker van der Merwe.

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BC Place in Vancouver will get proceedings underway…with Ireland set to face New Zealand in their opening fixture, having moved up the ranks from WXV 3

Ireland women’s rugby set for top tier action in upcoming WXV tournament

Mark Donlon – Extra.ie

JLP : I’m still not 100% sure about how this WXV tournament works but it seems Ireland’s improvement from last to third in the 2024 Six Nations earned them a place in the the top tier division for the second instalment and it also seems the draw has been relatively kind to us in that we avoid England.  Not that the Black Ferns, USA & Canada will be easy by a long stretch but it will definitely be a much needed test for this squad.  As ever with the women’s game we also have to hope that conditions back home will improve and I am already seeing talk about the 2024 Interprovincials which will be done and dusted before September this year so I’m not sure if the changes are happening quickly enough.

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The rugby star is accused of behaviour that caused his estranged wife “fear and alarm” over a seven-year period between January 1st, 2017, and March 30th, 2024.

Trial of former Scottish rugby captain Stuart Hogg to take place in September

Nick Forbes – BreakingNews.ie (via PA Scotland)

JLP : We keep track of the Hogg story because several publications tend to be dismissive over his legal situation.  That’s not to say I want to assume guilt, rather I want to keep it clear what he faces when he gets his day in court.

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***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***

Commentator are blasted for disgusting joke about a female physio performing a sex act on Jamie George

Ruck.co.uk

JLP : Going by the articles I have used for this feature so far it seems Ruck.co.uk is one of the more clickbaity sites out there and they came up trumps with this one for sure.  Sometimes I share the link anyway but decided against it this time.

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WRAP OF A WRAP

The second test was our final featured match of the season so definitely not a bad way to finish, and Conor and Rich did their usual excellent job going through the timeline with me.  Below you see their final thoughts as shared on YouTube.

If you missed the pod, click here to catch it on Spotify otherwise we’re on Apple as well as most major platforms.

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HARPIN ON…FRAWLEY TIME

I had a bonus chat planned for our pod recording where we were to talk about Andy Farrell and what we’ll be missing when he’s away with The Lions but I promised my 9 year old daughter I’d watch the second half of the Euros with her so when I saw our chat was going a bit long I made an “executive decision” to scrap the extra bit and instead I shared our chat on the eventful final stages of the match which as you can see I named “Frawley time”.

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U20s UPDATE

Here’s what I said on the wrap pod about the Wolfpuppies…

Also in South Africa we had the semifinal of the World Under 20s, Ireland got off to a flying start against England but once the reigning Six Nations champions were able to show their incredible dominance in the scrum we struggled to keep up with them and if anything we did well to be behind by just 11 at the end.  There’s still one more match for us that will be the 3rd place playoff kicking off at 3:30pm on Friday against New Zealand.

…and the only thing to add would be a shout out to the newly-formed women’s Under 20s who finished off their Summer Series with a convincing 37-7 win over Scotland which bodes well for the future. 

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TROLL PATROL

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They say it’s usually best not to engage trolls but often it can be a good thing when you can both knock them back and show your receipts.  As I said earlier the column, there are those who took Leinster’s Slimani signing as “further proof” that the province gets preferential treatment so fair play to Kenny for putting this poster, who isn’t appearing in this section for the first time, to rights.

If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.

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RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

Just setting up the 2024 competition with the fixture list here so I can follow it through the summer months.  It’s a shame that the travel distances involved prevent them from using a strict home and away schedule, I wonder if there’s a case to be made for holding the whole thing in AUS/NZ one year and in ARG/SA the next.  But still plenty to look forward to nonetheless.

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“SVNS” UPDATE

By the time next week’s column posts the Irish men will be about to start their campaign so I will post the fixtures here again and wish both teams all the best.  I really think we’re in with a shout of a medal or even two all going well.

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CURRIE CUP UPDATE

I still haven’t had the chance to catch a match from this season but it does seem that the Cheetahs are the form team, possibly because they get the chance to field their best possible team as opposed to the URC clubs.  I plan to pick a team to follow throughout the season but haven’t landed on one just yet.

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MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

A one week break between regular season and playoffs I get.  A two week break and I’m wondering if that’s long enough for people to forget the Laws of rugby, especially in the USA.  All I can do is wish our adopted team for this season The Chicago Hounds the best of luck in their match in New Orleans.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Fair play to Keego for going above and beyond the Laws of the HPL which state “he who finishes in the last place on the table at the end of the season must post a photo on social media of them wearing the Harpin Forfeit Jersey”.  As you can see, he only went and made a video!!!

It happened again @HarpinOnRugby pic.twitter.com/UFKV8U7Hx0

— Keego (@keegolaughs_irl) July 15, 2024

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Over the off season we’re going to keep this 80+ column going week to week just to have some content, but as for the podcast we’re planning two more to bring our fifth season to a close, one to wrap up the Under 20s and one to wrap the entire campaign.  No dates for them as of yet so keep up with all our social media channels and of course keep up with the usual amount of commenting, sharing, liking & subscribing.

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

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