80+ column : March 5

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WRAP OF A WRAP

Hello and welcome to our latest 80+ column where I generally harp on things outside our normal remit, namely the latest match involving the Leinster/Ireland men’s team.

Sorry if I’ve been harpin’ on too much about the fact I brought my 9 year old daughter to the Leinster match last weekend, loads of people do that all the time I know, but it’s very rare for me because in general I’m the only rugby nut in our house.  But she definitely wanted to see what the match was like and she really enjoyed it.

Anyway, it made for a different weekend when it comes to preparing for the wrap pod but in the end between myself, Tom and Conor I reckon we did an OK job going back over what happened.

ICYMI click here to check it out on Spotify or you’ll also find us on Apple and most major platforms.

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FRONT FIVE

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SIMON SAYS

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MACK & JOE

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TOMMY THE TRYSAVER

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BACK TO BOKS

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NOT FOOTBALL?

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HARPIN ON…THE LEINSTER FAN EXPERIENCE

For our bonus chat to go with the weekend that was in it I chose to get the lads to harp on what it’s like for the fans at Leinster matches.  Obviously not all spectators are the same but it’s good to keep tabs on what the overall experience is like.  Here’s the lead-in question…

“When I started Harpin’ On Rugby back in 2008 the intention was to not only harp on what was happening on the pitch, but also to keep tabs on what the experience of actually going to the matches was like for the spectators.  I suppose all the success enjoyed by Leinster and Ireland over the years has had the coverage leaning more towards the actual rugby, plus I now get more of a media’s eye view of things on matchdays.  But on Saturday when we played Cardiff I brought my 9 year old daughter along to see what it was like so for this bonus clip I’d like to share our story and also discuss it with our panel, who are themselves both regular frequentors of the stands whether its RDS, Aviva or Croker.  Starting with yourself Conor, how do you find the overall experience?”

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LIES, DAMN LIES… 

Ever wonder which rugby stats are actually worth a damn?  Well I reckon this list is at very least a step in the right direction towards finding out.

After 12 rounds, Leinster lead the URC by 13 points which I reckon means that the categories below that we’re not leading must indicate that, not so much that they don’t matter, but certainly don’t matter all on their own.  Like tackles, for example, possibly the most misunderstood stat of the lot.  Cardiff lead the league in tackles made, but how exactly is that a good thing?  Not easy to score a lot of tries if you’re doing a lot of tackling, and it certainly won’t help you in minutes 70-80 of close matches if you’re bolloxed.

And apologies to Connacht fans, but while leading the league in both carries and defenders beaten really looks impressive, but still if those breaks don’t result in enough scores, or for that matter if your opposition is also carrying and beating defenders going in the other direction, well it will hardly translate into a high position on the table.  

There are also key categories missing from the list; for one thing I have to assume it doesn’t matter just that Leinster are making tons of visits to the 22, it’s surely more about what percentage of those visits we’re converting into points.

Anyway, here’s the list of league leaders the URC sent out during the week…

IRELAND SQUAD UPDATE

One or two close calls here but as I’m typing the news is coming out that Tadhg Furlong could be available.  The best thing about this is that I’d have 00% confidence in Finlay Bealham to still start the match with Jukebox putting in a power 15-25m in the second half.  Elsewhere I’ve gone for POM over Baird since assuming one must miss out altogether if Conan is available.  And when it comes to 10 I’ve been putting Crowley in more often than not for these matches but it seems Sam has done enough to make the jersey his own so he makes my team too.

HARPIN’ POSSIBLE MATCHDAY 23 V FRANCE

caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley

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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.  

Munster vs the IRFU in the trolling department this week.  Even though Garry Ringrose is an integral part of Ireland’s overall plans, it seems some fans would rather bring receipts to help those who thought his punishment was too lenient make their argument instead of simply being happy he still has involvement to come in this 6N.  I gave my own views on this in the Front 5 video above.

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Women’s Six Nations

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Irish Shield

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U20 Six Nations

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Celtic Challenge

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All Ireland Leagues

WOMEN’S AIL

MEN’S AIL 1A

MEN’S AIL 1B

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LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP

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SVNS

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Premiership

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🔝🐱🐴

ProD2

Super Rugby Pacific

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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 passing the halfway stage, and we’ve also added a Cup (or Mug) competition to make things interesting.  Myself and Conor have already reached the semifinals, in the third quarterfinal Kino leads Kristian but just half a point with one more match still to forecast

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

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