80+ column : April 9

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WRAP OF A WRAP

I really don’t think even my most loyal listeners would have wanted to endure an hour long pod about a 62-point whitewash and fair play to both Ciarán & Hugo for both keeping it brief and covering all the action.

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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CAPITAL LOSSES

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RE-COUPE DU MONDE?

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7/1 ODDS

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TACKLING TACKLES

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CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK

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HARPIN ON…EUROPEAN QFS PREVIEW

Here’s the lead-in question : 

“Now that the European fields has been whittled down to just eight teams, it’s time to focus on the contenders for the final in Cardiff, or should I say fi-NALS, as Connucked are also in serious contention for a spot in the Challenge Cup decider.  So while we will of course be harpin’ on Leinster v Glasgow towards the end of the coming week, our panel are first going to have a quick look at some of the other quarterfinals, starting with Hugo who is going to cover Bordeaux v Munster & Northampton v Castres! [Ciarán looked at Toulon v Toulouse & Connacht v Racing 92]”

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LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE

I have a feeling Leinster won’t stray TOO far from last week’s selection but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a couple of swaps from starter to bench like Slimani/Furlong or Henshaw/Barrett although Robbie is the only Leinster player to have been on the pitch for all of our Champions Cup minutes so far.

caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley

OFFICIAL UPDATE posted Monday

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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.

Obviously for the most part trolling is a bad thing, but I wouldn’t want you thinking I was an absolute angel all the time myself, and I couldn’t resist this shortly after the full time whistle when Munster scored an impressive knockout win in the “ROG derby”.  I mean, it’s a mild troll when you think of it, I did say “seriously” for the next bit…

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Women’s Six Nations

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All Ireland Leagues

WOMEN’S AIL

The fixture details for the Women’s Energia All-Ireland League semi-finals have been confirmed, promising an exciting weekend of club rugby action.

Two high-stakes clashes are scheduled for this Sunday, April 13. Railway Union will host Old Belvedere at 12:30pm, while UL Bohemian take on Blackrock College at 2:30pm. Both Railway and UL Bohemian will be looking to capitalise on home advantage as they aim to secure a place in the 2025 final. Both semi-finals will be streamed Live on IrishRugby+.

Women’s Division Semi-Finals – Sunday, April 13

Railway Union vs Old Belvedere – 12:30 PM, in Park Avenue

UL Bohemian vs Blackrock College – 2:30 PM, in Annacotty

MEN’S AIL 1A

MEN’S AIL 1B

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SVNS

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Challenge Cup

Premiership

🔝🐱🐴

ProD2

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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..

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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 with room to spare but down at the foot of the table, an impressive couple of rounds has seen Keego move of the bottom for the first time in two years.

We’ve also added a Cup (or Mug) competition to make things interesting, and partly thanks to my prediction of Leinster to win in Durban, I just about edged HPL runaway leader Kino to reach the first ever Harpin’ Mug Final where I’ll play the winner of Tom v Conor in the next round.

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

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