sample from latest pod full episode available on Apple, Spotify, etc
A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape.
“HE’S TO BE” COACH
The appointment will see Easterby in place for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations and the Men’s summer tour next year, details of which are to be confirmed.
Compared with the increasingly buoyant and eye-catching Top 14, Newcastle v Dragons or Connacht v Sale on a Friday night would hardly be a gamechanger.
On Nevin Spence’s anniversary here is a repost of an article written on our old Harpin’ site by Munster & Ireland fan Trevor Murphy, days after the tragedy happened .
I was preparing to write my regular piece on Saturday evening when the news of the tragic events on the Spence family farm started to filter through. Nevin along with his Dad Noel and older brother Graham were sadly taken from us in a farming accident. As a fan I felt for the loss felt by Ulster fans, teammates and fellow professionals that were lucky enough to have met and played with and against Nevin. As a father and brother I can’t begin to understand the loss felt by the Spence family. To the Spence family and friends I offer my heartfelt condolences.
To say he will be missed is a huge understatement. From what I have read about Nevin, it is evident he had an enthusiasm for the game which was unmatched. When teammates weren’t enjoying the prospect of training he was leading from the front. They say a picture paints a thousand words… I think this one says it all.
Nevin was pointed out by Gary Longwell as a definite future rugby professional while at the Ulster academy. This is quite a statement from a man acutely in the know. It is a big step up from academy to full time professional and it takes a special player to cope with the difference in levels. In 2011 his ability was acknowledged by his peers when he was awarded the IRUPA Young Player of the Year. Nevin was brave beyond words and this was evident from a try he scored against Bath in 2010 where he flipped over onto his head and then back. He gave his all for his team and teammates. His final act, in a life cut too short, again displayed his fearless side going to the aide of family members with no thought to his own safety.
As someone who watches and follows all the rugby available, I did not miss Nevins appearance on the scene. The measure of what I thought about Nevin as a player is simply this: When he was on the Ulster team sheet against Munster I knew he was a going to be a real threat. He was strong with a good change of pace. At a smidge under 15 stone he was a difficult man to stop on the gain line. I always thought Nevin was going to achieve 50+ caps for Ireland.
The outpouring of support in the wake of Nevin’s untimely passing is and was a small measure of what the wider rugby family thought about him. He will never be forgotten.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dilis.
A phone recording of “Stand Up For The Ulster Men” being sung at the RDS at Leinster’s next home game following the Spence family tragedy.
Tune in after the 5pm news on Friday for the Harpin’ segment
UPDATE : The return of the Harpin slot on Dublin South FM has been pushed to Friday, September 20.
SEASON 6 PREMIERE
Recording Sunday September 15, looking ahead to the 24/25 season for Leinster & Ireland
A selection of eye-catching quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
…12 nations will be split into a European Conference and Rest of the World Conference, with each team playing the six entrants in the opposite conference across the July and November Test windows.
Hi, we’ve made a few changes in the offseason. For one thing this website has had a domain name change to harpinonrugby.blog but going forward we’re going to be promoting our content primarily through Linktree so you should see the above address replacing the old .com link we’ve featured for the past couple of years. I’ll explain a bit more on the next 80+ column video but if you’ve bookmarked the .com feel free to change now ahead of the new season, which isn’t too far away now!!!
Thanks as ever for following our stuff, looking forward to getting back to regular business soon!!!
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
***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.
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.
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”.
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.
ROUND 1
SOUTH AFRICA 57-7 FIJI
WALES 34-41 NEW ZEALAND
IRELAND 55-15 ITALY
AUSTRALIA 35-11 GEORGIA
FRANCE 49-12 SPAIN
ENGLAND 40-21 ARGENTINA
ROUND 2
IRELAND 22-16 GEORGIA
WALES 31-10 SPAIN
FRANCE 26-27 NEW ZEALAND
ENGLAND 48-11 FIJI
SOUTH AFRICA 12-31 ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA 12-17 ITALY
ROUND 3
IRELAND cancelled AUSTRALIA (2pts each)
ARGENTINA 52-12 FIJI
FRANCE 29-11 WALES
GEORGIA 28-17 ITALY
SOUTH AFRICA 12-17 ENGLAND
NEW ZEALAND 45-13 SPAIN
SEMIFINALS
ENGLAND 31-20 IRELAND
NEW ZEALAND 31-55 FRANCE
5TH-8TH PLACE
AUSTRALIA 36-29 WALES
ARGENTINA 34-24 SOUTH AFRICA
9TH-12TH PLACE
ITALY 28-15 SPAIN
GEORGIA 40-36 FIJI
FRI JULY 19
FINAL
ENGLAND V FRANCE
3RD PLACE
IRELAND V NEW ZEALAND
5TH PLACE
AUSTRALIA V ARGENTINA
7TH PLACE
WALES V SOUTH AFRICA
9TH PLACE
ITALY V GEORGIA
11TH PLACE (RELEGATION)
FIJI V SPAIN
TROLL PATROL
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.
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.
ROUND 1
AUGUST 10
AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA
NEW ZEALAND V ARGENTINA
ROUND 2
AUGUST 17
NEW ZEALAND V ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA
ROUND 3
AUGUST 31
SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V AUSTRALIA
ROUND 4
SEPTEMBER 7
SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V AUSTRALIA
ROUND 5
SEPTEMBER 21
AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V SOUTH AFRICA
ROUND 6
SEPTEMBER 28
NEW ZEALAND V AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AFRICA V ARGENTINA
“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.
OLYMPIC 7s
IREM7s
POOL STAGE
WED JULY 24 V SOUTH AFRICA 4:30PM
WED JULY 24 V JAPAN 8PM
THU JULY 25 V NEW ZEALAND 3:30PM
IREW7s
POOL STAGE
SUN JULY 28 V GREAT BRITAIN 2:30PM
SUN JULY 28 V SOUTH AFRICA 6PM
MON JULY 29 V AUSTRALIA 1:30PM
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.
ROUND 2
GRIQUAS 34-31 SHARKS
PUMAS 21-75 LIONS
CHEETAHS 37-17 WESTERN PROVINCE
GRIFFONS 10-52 BULLS
ROUND 3
FRI JULY 19
LIONS V GRIQUAS
BULLS V CHEETAHS
PUMAS V SHARKS
SUN JULY 21
GRIFFONS V WESTERN PROVINCE
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.
PLAYOFFS
SAT JULY 20
NEW ENGLAND V OLD GLORY
SUN JULY 21
HOUSTON V DALLAS
NOLA GOLD V CHICAGO
MON JULY 22
SEATTLE V SAN DIEGO
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!!!
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
One of the worst performances I’ve seen from South Africa in the first half and one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Ireland in the second. officials tried to screw us again but incredible finish
Dickson made quite a few 50-50 calls that always seemed to go in favour of the home team. From an Irish point of view, it felt almost endless.
But this happens in every game to every away team, so I don’t think it’s any particular conspiracy, it’s just the nature of sport!
Kevin Kelehan
Delighted Frawley got the chance to exorcise the ghost of Tottenham, ugly game but Farrell has built some team, 6 first choice players missing today, 5 of them in the back line and still got it done. Farrell is 80:20 win rate, Boks are 20:80 against the green machine in recent years!!
Sean MacDonnchadha
Very lucky I feel. Springboks only able to force penalties. We should’ve buried them in the first half with the energy, territory and possession we had. All the same, some balls from frawley
Paul Smith
Despite SA cheating and a horrendous performance by Dickinson, Ireland fully deserved the win and I’m absolutely delighted for Frawley who buried the memories of the Champions Cup last minute not once but twice with 2 superb drop goals.
John Willie Conroy
Osborne was unbelievable fair play to Andy Farrell for blooding. Questions need to be asked regarding Frawly not being picked at 10 at Leinster he’s a quality ball player and is head and shoulders above the Byrne brothers.
Brian Corr
So happy, what Irish team in the past could lose their starting scrum half, starting fullback, starting hooker and go to the world champions and get a result. 8 years since they’ve lost in Durban.
Delighted for Frawley to get the chance to make such a huge impact with two fantastic drop goals.
It’s said that tries win matches and that was the difference today
Take a bow Ciaran Frawley. Two outstanding kicks in the clutch. And we deserved it too. Again we were making mistakes, again SA were getting points but we stayed with them AND kept them tryless. What a way to end the season. Very happy out. #RSAvIRE
