🏉 Reiko’s 1st start
🏉 Joe McC
🏉 Defensive concerns
🏉 The road ahead
🏉 Paddy McC
THIS WEEK’S GUEST
FULL TIME TAKES
Cian O’Muilleoir (WhatsApp)
The more I think on that performance, the more I reckon the 1% is right.
The previous big obvious things (scrum, lineout, discipline) are more or less fixed, certainly improved.
Outside of that we’re getting into the right patterns and areas both sides of the ball, pretty much, but then… it falls apart. The reason differs. Sometimes it’s ruck resourcing. Sometimes it’s ball placement. Sometimes it’s offence or defence position or role confusion. Sometimes it’s accuracy/execution.
None of them feel like they’d be a massive issue to fix by themselves. But they’re all happening in every match like a random failure generator.
It needs fixing, and quick.
Darach Kennedy
An away win in Welford road. I’ll take that. Someone else can try and gather up some negatives.
Greg Kelly
Leinsters poor attack and sloppy execution continues. You wonder what’s really going on. We were the better team overall and they never really looked like scoring in the second half but our attack was woefully sloppy.
Irish rugby should be concerned overall with the loose head situation. Regardless of what happens referees seem to think we are weak there. There were some real garbage calls against McCarthy in the first half but as with Porter there is a perception.
Christy O’Connor
Another poor performance overall with some good individual performances. So many poor passes and spilled balls. At least our lineout was the best I’ve seen in a good while.
Doris needs to be careful moaning at the ref so much, the hit on Conan was a rugby incident and nothing more.
Our defense is not going to be good enough when we come up against better teams
Kevin Kelehan
Very happy that despite conceding two really well taken tries against the run of play the lads kept their belief and upped their work rate. The coming six weeks will make or break Leinster’s season, Ulster, Munster, Connacht, La Rochelle and Bayonne. Great to be heading into that run knowing that when the opportunity for players to go missing, they refused to take it.
Odran John OBrien
Brilliant win away from home but the Leinster attack is simply awful
anyone have Isa’s number? We could all do a whip around to persuade him to come back and coach
Chris McDonnell
If we could only put the straps Robbie henshaw has on his accordion on to a rugby ball, he might not drop the ball as much.
Craig Grehan
Win is a win. Grafted that one out
Tom Fingleton
Look at all the stats from tonight and the try return from the dominance . Tells you all really
Richard Collumb
4 points away, despite playing at times like they only met each other in the dressing room.
Eamon Saunders
Not a great team performance but again some very good individuals
Lorcán Murphy
The good news is they’re getting gritty away wins playing poorly with injury disruption. Can only get better
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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP
ROUND 2
Leicester Tigers 15–23 Leinster
Stormers 42–21 La Rochelle
Clermont 14–35 Sale Sharks
Sharks 28-23 Saracens
Munster 31–3 Gloucester
Bordeaux-Bègles 50–21 Scarlets
Glasgow Warriors 28–21 Toulouse
Cardiff 29–26 Ulster
Castres 33–0 Edinburgh
Harlequins 68-14 Bayonne
Northampton Saints 50-5 Bulls
Toulon 45-34 Bath
Bristol Bears 61-12 Pau
Round 3
Friday, 9 January 2026
Castres v Bath
Edinburgh v Gloucester
Saturday, 10 January 2026
Bulls v Bristol
Clermont v Glasgow
Leinster v La Rochelle
Sale Sharks v Sharks
Scarlets v Pau
Leicester Tigers v Bayonne
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Harlequins v Stormers
Toulon v Munster
Bordeaux-Bègles v Northampton Saints
Saracens v Toulouse
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “THE RISE AND RISE OF PADDY McCARTHY” (YOUTUBE)
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN (SUBSTACK)
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 