WRAP OF A WRAP
Hello and welcome to our latest 80+ column where I generally harp on things not so Leinster-and-or-Ireland-men’s-team-related.
I think it was as far back as last August when Mrs P told me about a wedding to which we had been invited, not immediate family by any stretch rather the daughter of her work colleague. It’s almost an instinct for me to check the date at times like this to see if there’s a clash with a major sporting event and sure enough there was a head-on collision with the opening match of the Six Nations against the old enemy no less.
“Just don’t go” was the response of more than one friend I told about this in the meantime, but we couldn’t do that for several reasons, and when it came to the big day we certainly weren’t the only ones who we first reluctant to leave the hotel bar having watched the first 15m of the match and then had our phones out on the table as the various courses were being served! Judging from the cheers rings out across the room at the same time Bundee Aki got his try, either loads were watching the match or this was the best wedding soup ever served!!!!
Anyway, thankfully Kino and Hugo were able to watch in a more conventional fashion and when it came time to record I think they did an excellent job going back over the match. ICYMI click here to check it out on Spotify or you’ll also find us on Apple and most major platforms.
FRONT FIVE
GETTING YOUR KICKS
BLOODGATE 2
HE’S WHAT NOW???
MOANA RETURN
ULTRA MARATHON MAN
HARPIN ON…JACK OR SAM (OR TRUST?)
For our bonus chat this week, our panel looked at ‘the Jack v Sam debate’…is that the only way to discuss the Irish 10 jersey?
Here’s the lead-in question…
“On Feb 21 2020 the Irish Under 20s defeated England 39-21 at Franklins Gardens with a young lad named Jack Crowley at outhalf. On Mar 19 2023 the Irish Under 20s also defeated England, by a similar scoreline 36-24 only this time it was at Musgrave Park in Cork and wearing green 10 that day was a certain Mr Sam Prendergast. Unless you’re an Irish rugby fan who lives under a rock you’ll know that both players are currently vying for the national 10 jersey and they both featured in Saturday’s bonus point win at the Aviva. Naturally the Irish rugby media won’t shy away from stirring the debate over who should be starting, so we might as well throw our few euro cents in, but I’d like a slightly different angle…is it important to harp on who should be starting or should we have faith in the coaches’ decisions, especially while the team is actually winning?”
IRELAND SQUAD UPDATE
My logic behind selecting this 23 is simple…going by the language in the update, Tadhg & Joe won’t be available while Finlay and Mack will, so assuming the intent is to keep as much continuity as possible, the only changes I’d make would be swapping from started to bench at 2 and 6. I’m sure that makes me blue-goggled, so be it.
HARPIN’ POSSIBLE MATCHDAY 23 V SCOTLAND
Keenan, Hansen, Ringrose, Aki, Lowe, Prendergast, Gibson-Park
Porter, Sheehan, Bealham, Ryan, Beirne, Conan, vd Flier, Doris (c)
Kelleher, Healy, Clarkson, Henderson, Baird, Murray, Crowley, Henshaw
caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley
Munster’s Thomas Ahern and Connacht’s Shayne Bolton have been added to the squad this week.
Finlay Bealham and Mack Hansen will be monitored over the coming days after receiving treatment for leg injuries during Saturday’s win over England and it is hoped that both players will be available.
Tadhg Furlong (calf) and Joe McCarthy (concussion) have both stepped up their rehabilitation programmes and a decision on their availability will be made later this week.
The Ireland team will be named on Friday morning.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
This week’s detainee is something I call “good trolling”. The media-fuelled online Jack v Sam debate was annoying not just because it was ridiculous but also because it was so predictable. Thankfully some were happy to have a bit of fun with it, along with others on hand to fact-check…
U20 Six Nations
Celtic Challenge
All Ireland Leagues
WOMEN’S AIL
MEN’S AIL 1A
MEN’S AIL 1B
LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP
Super Rugby Pacific
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
RWC2027 QUALIFIERS
The RWC2027 tournament has expanded to 24 nations so with four extra spots up for grabs it makes for a fascinating qualifying process.
Rather than post the latest results and fixtures here however, I’d like to defer to the excellent work of frequent Harpin’ contributor Ciarán Duffy who has been keeping close tabs on the qualifying process over at his own site Post to Post Sport.
Follow this link to see how the Road to Australia is progressing.
Japan League One
Major League Rugby
Harpin Prediction League
This is the 4th season of our Superbru prediction league among Harpin’ pod contributors.
Kristian is the reigning champion, but the real competition is in avoiding finishing last, which means you must wear The Jersey of Shame. I had to wear it the first year, while Keego has had the honour the past two seasons. As you can see our resident stats expert Rugby Kino is leading the way but we’re only reaching the halfway stage, and we’ve also added a Cup (or Mug) competition to make things interesting.
For this coming weekend, we have the first of the Harpin’ Mug quarterfinals, and it’s me up against Jay Long. My Superbru score this weekend will be put up against his for a spot in the semifinals.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Fri 7th
Scotland v Ireland preview featuring Keego
Dublin South 93.9FM Harpin’ slot right after 5pm news
Sun 9th
Leave comments on our Facebook page at full time after SCOvIRE
Mon 10th
Our wrap pod featuring Tom Coleman & Conor Cronin
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 