Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
WRAP OF A WRAP
Another strong performance by Leinster in Europe for us to wrap in the latest Sunday pod, and also another strong performance by both my guests Mark Jackson and Conor Cronin as they highlighted the positives but also acknowledged the things that we need to work on for the latter stages of the competition.
If you missed the pod, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…CIAN HEALY’S CAREER
For this week’s ‘bonus clip’ we harped on the career of Cian ‘Proper Church’ Healy who made his 100th appearance in Europe for Leinster, becoming only the 5th player in the history of the competition to do so. The other four are also Irish as I say in the clip, which probably should come with the caveat that in the first years of the competition the provinces were nominated by the IRFU as opposed to qualifying as did the English and French clubs which is why they don’t have names as high up on the list, but it still counts as an honourable milestone in Healy’s career and as I also say in the clip, it’s not like he’s finished quite yet.
If you’re playing the clip above maybe pop over and subscribe to the channel too? That’s where we post our Preview Show as well as other content throughout the week.
THE OTHER PROVINCES
Munster and Connacht both had good wins on Saturday, maybe one was a tad more comfortable than the other, but still good to see both on the way to the knockouts.
As for Ulster…they really can’t buy a bit of luck these days, can they. How could Leinster fans in particular have anything but empathy for them as they were desperately trying to hold out La Rochelle in the dying minutes after what had been a torrential slog up to that point and they obviously considered themselves unlucky not to have been even further ahead by that point anyway.
Thing is though, they can still qualify for the knockouts with a decent win over Sale at the weekend, and maybe there’s a strong possibility their “reward” will be a trip to the Aviva in the last 16, but still a good performance against the Premiership outfit could well be the kick start they need for their season and I wish them all the best as we always want to see all four progressing beyond the pool stages whatever the format.
SPEAKING OF HCC FORMAT…
It’s still a bone of contention with many on HCC weekends; I have pushed back against the complaints before on these pages but I feel I must again. Once more I agree it’s not ideal, but I do wonder if the flaws people keep finding in it are necessarily solved by going back to the way the tournament used to be run?
Like I said in the previous segment about Ulster, even though they have lost all three of their matches, the fact that they picked up some BPs along the way means that with a win over Sale at the Kingspan on Saturday they can move into the top 8 and reach the last 16. Pretty much everyone giving out about the format says this “one win to qualify” thing is a negative, yet without it, this match against the Sharks could be a dead rubber so I’d argue it can at least be looked at from both directions.
When you compare this format to the previous one, the round of 16 is effectively replacing pool rounds 5 and 6 so I really don’t think it’s all that ridiculous for it to be easier to qualify. And even if you do scrape through with one win, it means you probably have to travel to the home of a team that has won all four, which means you’re either going to go no further OR you have to produce one of the all time great results in the competition.
Also, while I presume all the competing clubs knew the rules from the outset, one or two are just coming to light this week when it comes to the general public.
First we have a stipulation that if a South African team reaches the semifinals, they must give up home advantage even if they have earned it through the seeding from the pool stages. Again this is far from ideal from a fairness perspective, but right from the moment I first heard they were joining the competition I wondered what the organisers were going to do to limit the amount of travel, and this appears to be it.
Clearly that does put the SA teams at a disadvantage, but I should also point out something about this season’s competition that does work in their favour. With the Springboks not being involved in the Six Nations (yet?), this means that from the end of the pool stage to the knockouts they know none of their players are going to be involved in any test matches. Sure, there may be a few URC rounds in that time, but at least there they have control. The European clubs have none.
Just to be clear, I’m not pointing out the “no 6N thing” because I think it somehow cancels out the “no home SF” thing; on the contrary I reckon they are two wrongs which do not make a right. Still, I don’t see anyone else making the point about the 6N so I felt I’d do it here.
I will always contend that the one format tweak that would come closest to a “silver bullet” to fix all the problems we keep pointing out would be to play the tournament from start to finish in successive weeks. Or to put it another way, “It’s the calendar, stupid”.
YOU THOUGHT I WAS DONE WITH THE HCC FORMAT DIDN’T YOU…
…well, I’m not!
Caolan Scully, who has appeared on the pod a few times, pointed out on Twitter a little quirk in the method the HCC uses to rank teams in the pool stages. If two or more teams are tied on match points, points difference AND tries scored, the next thing to be looked at is apparently the amount of suspensions incurred by the clubs.
Granted, it’s HIGHLY unlikely this will ever actually need to be used, but it’s still a very curious thing to have as a possibility – imagine if two clubs vying for top 2/4/8 spots ended up tied on everything else while one of them was waiting on a citing during the week, meaning effectively the ruling from the commission would determine the final standings?
Unlikely or not, I would NOT want that to be even possible. In fact, I’m not too wild about the next criterion down on the list either, namely the tossing of a coin. My suggestion would be come up with a ranking system for all European clubs based on previous performance (similar to UEFA’s coefficient) and this ranking will force a separation between ALL clubs which means you can get a result no matter what the eventuality.
Apologies for the nerdery here, but I guess overthinking comes with the territory when you run a rugby website/podcast!!!
AWAY FANS
I see there’s a debate on the twitter machine about the possibility of ensuring all the away fans are together in a ground on match days.
Personally, I think it’s a good idea overall, since in many cases they would have travelled quite a way to get there and also it gives the visiting team’s players somewhere to aim at after the final whistle to show their appreciation. But that said, mixing isn’t the worst thing either and I’ve often had great chats during the match whether I’m for the hosts or the visitors.
What I want to point out here isn’t so much about the debate itself, rather the attitudes of some in the tweets on the topic. “We don’t want this in our sport, it’s too much like football”. You have no idea how much I dislike that narrative and I will always call it out when it rears its ugly head, and for this topic it was always going to.
The way I see it, if there’s anything that’s going to “ruin the values” of “our sport”, it’s outright snobbery.
JAMIE OSBORNE TIK TOK
For once I actually agreed with the TV broadcaster’s choice of Player (or ‘Star’ in HCC matches) of the Match, even it is was a previous holder of the Leinster 12 shirt who awarded it, there’s no doubt Jamie stood out as Conor explains in the TikTok below.
This is another point that’s more about Twitter opinion than the topic itself. Owen Farrell was cited for a tackle, although given both his history and his profile there was chatter and GIFs all over social media minutes after it actually happened.
All of which meant there was always going to be scrutiny over the decision, and what do you know, it turns out he was banned in such a way as to make him eligible for England’s Six Nations opener.
Which leads me to a simple question…are we REALLY that surprised? And while he’s hardly a big hit with Irish fans (despite his aul fella doing so well with our test team) I reckon we have to remind ourselves of the biggest factor behind this particular decision, namely the fact that the top rugby unions all retain a great deal of control over their own affairs.
So maybe when we see the RFU orchestrating an advantage out of some adversity, we should ask ourselves if there are other areas of the game’s administration where the IRFU does as well? Not to mention all the other unions? If we’re not going to have a central administrative body that regulates the majority of systems in an attempt to create a level playing field, then these stories will continue to happen, it’s as simple as that.
EDDIE JONES
To be honest, nothing that happens with this guy surprises me anymore, and if anything his taking over of the Wallabies ahead of RWC2023 makes that side of the draw even more interesting. Remember – we have NZL, FRA & RSA to contend with on our side, while it’s likely one from ENG WAL & AUS will reach the final, so to watch them go at it with new coaches plus a lot of recent history will make it worth getting some extra popcorn for sure.
WOMEN’S INTERPROS
Unfortunately Leinster fell short in what was always likely to be a decider in the Women’s interpros at the weekend, but it has to be said that Tania Rosser’s remit as coach was more about giving the squad game time at this level than it was results and she seems to be doing a bang up job so far by all accounts.
It may have taken them a while to get on the scoreboard in the opener against Connacht last week but given she has included so many different clubs in the wider squad there was bound to be a bedding in period and again I say this will benefit them in the long run. Best wishes to them against Ulster in the final round this weekend.
As I said in the preview pod it was a real shame that their big match in Musgrave Park had to clash with the men’s Heineken Cup match on Saturday, I certainly don’t want to quibble about which was “more important”, simply because we really shouldn’t be forced into making a decision like that. To be a little fair, given all four Irish men’s provinces were playing that day, some allowances had to be made – with the women not being full professionals (yet, hopefully) I’d say Saturday would be the best day over the weekend for everyone to be available. Still, I’d hope the overlaps can be avoided in future.
THE SEVENS ARE BACK!
Sometimes I don’t need to add much to the headline to get my message across, apart from the fact that both men and women are in action for the next two weekends in New Zealand and Australia respectively. Also it’s great to see Billy Dardis & Terry Kennedy back in the men’s squad. Below you see the schedule for their pool matches in NZ, if possible be sure to watch them for free via the World Rugby site and tweet your full support to show we’re ready to host a leg here asap.
Friday, January 20 –
Ireland Men v Uruguay, 8.54pm Irish time
Ireland Women v Brazil, 9.38pm Irish time
Saturday, January 21 –
Ireland Men v USA, 12.44am Irish time
Ireland Women v Spain, 1.18am Irish time
Ireland Men v Japan, 3.50am Irish time
Ireland Women v USA, 4.12am Irish time
Saturday, January 21 –
Play-off matches.
INJURY REPORT
Always good to see no new injuries after a weekend, also the five returnees will all benefit the wider squad in many ways. I’m particularly pleased to see Will Connors is close to a return and I really hope he gets a good healthy run he certainly deserves it.
Still, that’s a lot of quality languishing in the “no further report” column although reports are coming through as I type that Sexton took part in training on Monday and hopefully he’ll at least be recovered in time for the Six Nations.
Here’s a possible matchday squad for the Aviva next weekend, would like to see Tadhg F get a few minutes in his boots if possible…
Will Connors: is expected to train fully this week after recovering from a bicep injury
Thomas Clarkson: is expected to train fully this week after recovering from an arm injury
Max Deegan: is expected to train fully this week after recovering from an ankle injury
Luke McGrath: is expected to train fully this week after recovering from an ankle injury
Joe McCarthy: is expected to train fully this week after recovering from an ankle injury
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
There was no new injury news from the game against Gloucester at the weekend
There are no further updates on:
Johnny Sexton (cheek bone), Tadhg Furlong (calf), Charlie Ngatai (hamstring), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
The AIL has moved into the second half of its regular season, with some interesting results in Round 10.
Nure & Tarf both got wins over Munster opposition to keep themselves in the top 2, while Cork Con got the better of Trinity to move ahead of them into 3rd. Meanwhile at the bottom Charlie Tector guided Lansdowne to a crucial win over Shannon which allowed them hop two places with Ballynahinch’s whitewash of the Students at “the Bowl” actually putting them into the playoff picture.
There are some big matches in Round 11 with the top four playing each other plus there’s bound to be a lot of Leinster involvement on the back pitch at the Aviva as Lansdowne face UCD in a relegation battle.
Men’s AIL
Garryowen 13-19 Clontarf
Cork Con 32-27 Dublin University
Shannon 24-34 Lansdowne
Terenure 21-11 Young Munster
UCD 0-24 Ballynahinch
Fri Jan 20
Lansdowne v UCD
Sat Jan 21
Ballynahinch v Garryowen
Clontarf v Cork Con
Dublin University v Terenure
Young Munster v Shannon
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Next up it’s Racing at the Aviva; we will of course be giving it the full Harpin treatment with a preview featuring Keego on Friday, a wrap with Tom Coleman & Nathan Johns on Sunday as well as all the usual features in between. Follow us and/or subscribe to all our social media channels to keep in touch and get involved in the conversation when the mood takes you.
In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
14 January 2023; Michael Ala’alatoa of Leinster makes a break during the Heineken Champions Cup Pool A Round 3 match between Gloucester and Leinster at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester, England. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
🏉 MUN, ULS & CON
🏉 Jamie Osborne
🏉 Clinical finishing
🏉 Cian Healy’s career
🏉 Leinster’s scrum
Harpin’ On Rugby match wraps are brought to you by The Irish Rugby Store
Our guests…
MARK JACKSON
https://twitter.com/hoomanbear
CONOR CRONIN
https://twitter.com/ccbooms
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
RFU intervenes to let Borthwick pick Farrell in England Six Nations squad | Owen Farrell | The Guardian [Gerard Meagher]
Women’s interprovincials: Munster claim bonus-point win over Leinster to move closer to title – The Irish Times
Fourteen-man Munster hold off Northampton in Champions Cup thriller | Rugby365
‘Heartbroken’ Dan McFarland bemoans decision not to award Ulster penalty try in late La Rochelle defeat – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley]
Clinical Connacht put 61 points on Brive to progress to Challenge Cup knockouts (the42.ie) [Daragh Small]
Where to find Harpin’ On Rugby
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Andrew Potts The scrum is a concern, probably just needs a little collective focus. Nice to see them using short penalty moves in the red zone, it’s a good variation then going to a line out, plus suits Leinster tempo. Some of the Leinster play was excellent and Ross has developed into quite the facilitator
Richard Collumb Says it all about current European competition when URC is providing more challenges. Great to see Osborne step up & some game time to replacements.
Chris McDonnell Too good just too good.
TWITTER
Pretty fun. Lots of positives. Scrum in bit of bother, 2 PTs also not ideal. Still way more good than bad. Enjoyed it a lot! #GLOvLEI
Brian Nisbet @natural20 14-49 A match with a couple of lessons for Leinster (discipline, line-outs), but ultimately another emphatic victory in Europe and the match goes on.
Colin Mehigan @colinmehigan@mas.to @vnvobit @HarpinOnRugby @rugby Lots of impressive performances in Kingsholm today – Jamie Osborne really standing out
Adam Ashby (Gloucester fan) @adamashby@mas.to Well. That was worse than I expected.
Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
WRAP OF A WRAP
Another Leinster win to harp on this week, naturally I’m tempted to put it all down to my new pod format but I guess I’ll go with the general impression that the lads have not only a winning mentality but we’re also learning how to face up to adversity within a match to dig deep and be ahead by the final whistle. As ever Keego and Rich did an excellent job summarizing the match.
One thing I didn’t mention on the pod was that I was reminded of an Ospreys v Leinster clash from 2012 when arguably the league’s most organic rivalry was at it’s closest, on this occasion rather than go 10-0 down we actually led by that score ourselves in the early stages and I vividly recall us winning a penalty in their half only for Leo Auva’a to take a quick tap only to lose it shortly afterwards.
We weren’t to score again in a 19-10 defeat and I was furious in my writeup which was unusual because even during the lean Matt O’Connor years I would do my best to find some kind of a positive. Anyway as we know the Ospreys went on to have a much longer “lean spell” themselves although there have been signs lately that they are at least on their way back and it would be great to see them and indeed other Welsh regions breaking into the top 8 of the URC.
If you missed the pod, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…KEEPING IRISH PLAYERS
This week’s extended chat on the Sunday pod recording was about the Ben Healy move to Edinburgh/Scotland, Rich gave his views for the main show but myself and Keego joined the discussion for the YouTube clip you see below.
To summarize my own view, yes of course it would be better to keep all Irish players on Irish shores all the time, but we can’t consider it a failure every time one leaves because we can’t expect as many as 6, 7 or 8 players in a particular position, especially one like out-half, to all stick around hoping for a test call up when there is an alternative out there.
If you’re playing the clip above maybe pop over and subscribe to the channel too? That’s where we post our Preview Show as well as other content throughout the week.
BOO TO BOOING THE BOOING
On the pod I mentioned a conversion attempt by Ross Byrne where he not only had to contend with the conditions, the referee complying with the stricter new timing laws and also the pressure of extending our lead to 8 points, but also the loud booing of many in the home crowd.
We never like to hear this kind of behaviour from fans, and we’ve been guilty of it ourselves here in Ireland, I’m remembering a Dan Parks conversion for Scotland at Croke Park in particular. But actually for this particular point I actually want to focus on something different, namely pigeon-holing entire groups of fans.
I’ve seen a lot of comments on social media saying how that booing is somehow typical of what you’d get from “Welsh fans” and I have to say that is absolute bollocks. I don’t like it when I see people take abuse from Leinster fans and tar us all with the same brush so I’m certainly not going to be happy when I see our fans doing it to others.
There is for sure a distinct group of Twitter accounts which we call “WRT” or “Welsh Rugby Twitter” and that’s fine as a collective (that tends to say everything is the URCs fault, reckons the Premiership is some kind of promised land, etc, etc) but I can absolutely guarantee that the vast vast majority of actual Welsh rugby fans are genuine every bit as much as Leinster, Ireland or any other nationality.
For me, failing to distinguish between groups within fan bases is just as much responsible for the toxic sludge we tend to see on social media as the trolling comments themselves.
Ignore. Mute. Block. Report. Whichever seems appropriate. Sharing and generalising only ensures it will continue IMO.
TIK TOK POTM
Disagreeing with the Player of the Match selection is becoming a feature in this column, although I do understand why the Welsh broadcaster would tend to go with a home team player and it is true that Kieran Williams did have a fine outing against Leinster (dropped ball just before hearing his name being called out notwithstanding) but I reckon Jack Conan was definitely in with a shout for the gong as well and as you can see below, Rich concurred.
I always say it, but I’ll still say it again. I would LOVE to have the time to give the Leinster women’s team exactly the same coverage as I do the men’s, but it’s just not possible for the time being so we will try to feature them as much as we can, and they opened their Interpro campaign at the weekend with a convincing enough victory over Connacht at Energia Park, although the score remained 0-0 for a long period in the first half.
Many many thanks for Conor Cronin for providing a report of his experience on the day, it was included in the pod but I have also shared the piece here ICYMI.
Next up it’s Munster at lunchtime on Saturday, and with them also having had a BP victory in round 1, this could be a tournament decider so definitely worth checking out on TG4.
INJURY REPORT
Our worst fears about Charlie Ngatai were realised after he was taken off at halftime in Swansea, hopefully he will be back soon. However despite Robbie also being out I see no drop in our talent with Jamie Osborne stepping in at Kingsholm on Saturday, here is a lineup they may go with…
1. Porter 2. Sheehan 3. Alaalatoa 4. Ryan 5. Molony 6. Baird 7. van der Flier 8. Doris
16. Kelleher 17. Milne 18. Healy 19. Joe McCarthy 20. Conan 21. Foley 22. H. Byrne 23. Larmour
…obviously there are one or two tight calls, Dan Sheehan has had a lot of gametime this season including an extra shift in Swansea when John McKee was forced off, so it’s very possible that Kelleher would start instead. Also Jimmy O’Brien/Jordan Larmour are very interchangeable.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Will Connors: will again look to step up his rehabilitation programme from a bicep injury
Thomas Clarkson: will step up his rehabilitation this week from an arm injury
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Johnny Sexton: suffered a cheekbone injury against Connacht Rugby and had a procedure last week and will be unavailable for the Gloucester game and will be further assessed next week but is expected to be back ahead of the Six Nations
Tadhg Furlong: has recovered from his ankle injury but had a minor setback last week in training with an unrelated calf injury and will be unavailable for selection this week as a result but is expected to be back ahead of the Six Nations
Charlie Ngatai: suffered a hamstring injury in the game against Ospreys and will be unavailable this week
There are no further updates on:
Luke McGrath (ankle), Max Deegan (ankle), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
Over in English football last weekend they have the 3rd round of the FA Cup where a drawn match means the teams have to meet again in a replay after a week or so. The reason I mention that is that the AIL men’s Div 1A had something similar as Dublin University and Cork Con played out a dramatic 35-35 draw at College Park in their rearranged round 9 fixture, with the three points keeping them in 3rd and 4th respectively although still inching them closer to the top two. And technically there is to be a replay of sorts, as this weekend’s Round 10 pits them together again, this time at Temple Hill.
Meanwhile at the other end of the table Ballynahinch put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a bonus point win over UCD, although the students also benefited getting a try and losing bonuses themselves to move up two places, and they also face a rematch in round 10.
The rest of the action this weekend sees leaders Terenure hoping to return to winning ways, getting another chance to beat Young Munster on their home patch at Lakelands. Clontarf, also in the top four, travel to Dooradoyle to play bottom of the table Garryowen while Shannon and Lansdowne square off each hoping to stay out of the bottom two.
Men’s AIL
Ballynahinch 31-25 UCD
Dublin University 35-35 Cork Con
Sat Jan 14
Garryowen v Clontarf
Cork Con v Dublin University
Shannon v Lansdowne
Terenure v Young Munster
UCD v Ballynahinch
HARPIN’ PREDICTION LEAGUE
Not only is Kino really starting to pull away at the top of the HPL but I’m also now anxiously looking over my shoulder at Messrs Coleman & Jackson behind me. Although having had to wear the Jersey of Shame for my wooden spoon last season, I wouldn’t really mind slipping a spot or two once Keego stays where he is!
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Back into European action we go, with Kingsholm the destination and we will of course be giving it the usual Harpin treatment with Keego joining me for our preview on Friday, the wrap pod recorded on Sunday evening with the help of Mark Jackson & Conor Cronin, and all of our other usual features in between.
In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
7 January 2023; Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship between Ospreys and Leinster at the Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Conor Cronin A few key things from this game that concern me.
The pack were bullied in the first half, and let themselves be.
Harry Byrne struggled behind the pack, but they’re not entirely to blame for his struggles. He needs a lot more time and needs to build confidence behind a dominant pack.
The scrum was awful. We have suffered as a province since Fogarty went to the Ireland set up, that needs to be dealt with.
Grinding out the win is great, and you learn much more from a game like that. But we need to learn fast, especially if the injury Ross Byrne picked up last night is bad.
Paul Smith Probably the poorest we’ve played in a good while, but the sign of a good team is to still manage to win while playing poorly so we’ll the gladly take the points and move on.
TWITTER
Shows how good we are atm. Not played well, great effort by Ospreys and still win. Bench won us the game, Ross Byrne is a seriously good player. Amount of times we’ve won through his calmness. Farrell has to seriously consider him. He can step in and more than do a job #OSPvLEI
Leinster were very very lucky to win that tonight. The bench made the difference for Leinster tonight. Leinster going to need a huge turnaround for next weeks game. Ospreys played such a good game tonight so unlucky. #OSPvLEI#URC
Disappointing for Ospreys to be on the losing side tonight, but it was a cracking game. Recent performances have been a marked improvement on the past couple of seasons and they’re going in the right direction Doesn’t feel like they are far away from clicking. #OSPvLEI#BKTURC
Brian Nisbet @natural20 19-24 in Swansea. Come back was quite late, but a win is a win and well done to the lads for doing what needed to be done.
Jay Long @Jay_Long_626 Seriously good win on the road and Ospreys were proper up for it. Turned it on when it counted, I think Nick McCarthy won us that game imo. Just slipped us into a flow. Never in doubt
Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
WRAP OF A WRAP
It was a near perfect start to 2023 in every sense for this Leinster fan when it came to my RDS experience.
First there was the actual journey to Ballsbridge; normally at this time of year the bus doubles as what I call “The Funderland Express” on which I’ve been forced in the past to sit upstairs with dozens of 10-14 year olds passing around naggins and spliffs for over half an hour. This time while the numbers of youth were about the same as always, their behaviour was not, thankfully. They were mostly silent looking at their phones.
Then we had the match itself, which Tom & Conor did a perfect job helping me wrap on the latest pod, and as a fan I can’t have too many complaints about a bonus point win that wasn’t always a one-sided affair, the obvious wrinkle of course being the injury to Johnny Sexton, more on that to come later in the column.
Last but certainly not least there was my journey home; generally I leave the ground anxious to get my bus home as often I can be left waiting for up to an hour but this time I was at the stop just a few minutes before it arrived so like I say it was a near perfect night all round.
If you missed the pod, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…THE CHEEK OF SEXTON
Predictably there was a lot of reaction to the incident which resulted in Johnny Sexton’s injury, a lot of it maybe a bit OTT from certain quarters but I’ll touch on that a bit more in the next segment – for now here’s this week’s extended YouTube clip taken from the podcast where I reckon we provide an honest take on both Sexton’s collision itself and how it probably should have been dealt with by the officials, as well as comparing it to the Jack Carty sanction which came just before it.
If you’re playing the clip above maybe pop over and subscribe to the channel too? That’s where we post our Preview Show as well as other content throughout the week.
GOING FOR A SONG
I mentioned earlier about rushing from the RDS to get my bus, and when I’m travelling on my own I generally play music on my headphones so when I say I didn’t hear the controversial song played after the match, I mean it as truth and not in the “Karl Dickson says he didn’t hear anything” sense.
My view on the matter itself is simple. It should not have been played, there are literally thousands of other songs that would have worked that don’t even have a hint of controversy about them, but IMO we should take at face value Leinster Rugby’s statement (which was issued while I was still on that bus home btw so they dealt with it fast) which implied that it was done without the knowledge of senior management. All of which means the matter itself should be done.
But is it? Of course not. We live in a social media age where everyone is looking for attention so it was inevitable that this was going to be dragged through a couple of news cycles.
To be fair, in some cases I agree the continued discussion was warranted, especially when it comes to a comparison between the reaction to this and what happened when the Irish women’s soccer team was filmed singing after qualifying for the World Cup finals. No questioning the disparity here, that’s for sure.
But there was much indignation from other angles too, and one which really got me was a suggestion that Leinster were getting a “pass” that would have been denied to other provinces. For me this was drifting towards something we were talking about on the pod in pre-season, namely the “ABL Narrative”, which I define as a groupthink within the Irish rugby discourse that essentially looks for ways, if not to actually demonize Leinster itself, to at least diminish the province’s success by suggesting there is a prevailing favouritism from media and blazers alike. The same mindset was often applied to the non-call of Sexton’s challenge.
Again…was this a mistake? Yes. Do we need a long drawn out debate about the songs themselves? No. Should a statement acknowledging the mistake be sufficient to put it all to bed no matter what the province, sport or gender involved? Absolutely.
TIK TOK POTM
On last week’s column I disagreed with Scott Penny being named Player of the Match, thinking it should have been Dan Sheehan. Again I’ll point out I don’t share that opinion because I’m against the former player, nor because I’m biased towards the latter, it’s just how I felt about that particular 80 minutes.
Well the same kind of happened in the Connacht match, although when Larmour got his second try I was pretty sure he’d get the award even though it was early in the second half. However over the 80 minutes I am pretty much in agreement with Tom in this clip…
I harped on this in last week’s column, but the incident was always going to bleed into this one given there has been a ruling on it since. Again we had pretty much full agreement on the pod that two weeks was a ridiculously low sanction, and the most annoying element to all of this has been the reaction which comes from a place of “FFS it’s a man’s game, things are said on the pitch, let them play”.
Yeah, about that. For one thing, that narrative suggests it was Heenan that had the problem, when in actual fact the whole thing escalated when Marler was responding to something said to him. All of which means that while of course there will be an element of “sledging” in pretty much every team sport, there surely has to be a line drawn and officials need to know where that is.
Now while I appreciate that finding the right words to effectively define “wrong” words is far from easy, and I’m glad I’m not being paid to find them. But the fact is, those running the game ARE being paid, so they need to crack on with it.
When it comes to Marler’s punishment, I couldn’t understand why saw any mitigation at ll given he has been done for this before. The previous incident involving Samson Lee wasn’t even mentioned in the report that I could see.
Maybe if and when the officials do find a way to define “the line”, we can name it after Joe and let the effect on his legacy be the punishment since he seems comfortable with having this reputation? Just a thought.
WOMEN’S INTERPROS
The Women’s Interpros kick off this weekend, including Leinster’s only home match of the campaign against Connacht at Energia Park.
Personally I’d prefer it if the competition could be a full six rounds with everyone playing each other home and away, but I do appreciate that while the women’s game does need to progress it has to be measured until they reach full professionalism and besides, there are already extra matches to the schedule what with the new Celtic Nations competition which will take place before the Six Nations kicks off at the end of March.
As for the Leinster squad it’s exciting to see the first competitive squad being named by new head coach Tania Rosser and I look forward to watching her side compete over the coming weeks. The full competition is getting live broadcast coverage courtesy of TG4 and BBC NI.
Saturday, 7 January 2023 – Round One
Leinster v Connacht, Energia Park, 2.30pm (TG4)
Munster v Ulster Musgrave Park, 4.45pm (TG4)
Saturday, 14 January 2023 – Round Two
Munster v Leinster, Musgrave Park, 12:15pm (TG4)
Ulster v Connacht, Kingspan Stadium, 2.30pm (BBC NI)
Saturday, 21 January 2023 – Round Three
Connacht v Munster, The Sportsground, 1.00pm (TG4)
Ulster v Leinster, Queen’s University Upper Malone, 5.30pm (BBC NI)
BEN HEALY
News of Ben Healy’s move to Edinburgh with a view to qualifying for Scotland is just coming through as this is posting so I’ll just add my initial thoughts…it has been expected for a long time so it’s no great surprise. What is interesting is that they announce it right after he produces a match-winning seven points at the Kingspan! Also there are rumblings that Ulster’s John Cooney could be making a similar move.
Overall it’s hard to blame players for taking advantage of the change in “second nation” rules, in fact it’s good to see more options available. Is it a “mistake” on the part of Munster & the IRFU to let them go? I’m not so sure, but that is in no way a reflection on Healy himself or indeed any player.
When it comes to province and country, we have to make decisions on pecking order in every position and if those who find themselves fourth or lower have an opportunity to go elsewhere, they should be free to take it. And we should wish them all the best, so much so that even if they succeed in their new role it should be celebrated rather than used as “proof” that the initial decision to let them go was wrong.
Obviously the ideal scenario is to have all Irish players at the provinces all the time but for several different reasons, one big one being simple maths, that’s just not possible. There will always be opportunities outside our “bubble” and that’s just how the world works.
INJURY REPORT
We were all waiting on reports on Sexton’s cheekbone but the text doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know apart from the date of the “procedure”. A trusted source passed on this message over WhatsApp…
[“A mate of mine who is a maxillofacial surgeon looked at that photo and said it’s probable he’s broken’s his zygomatic arch and would say 4 to 6 weeks recovery if that’s what has actually happened!“]
…BUT do please appreciate that the above is at best second hand information and we can only go by official releases by the province & IRFU.
Elsewhere I’m hoping that both Furlong & Connors will be available for selection soon and when it comes to next weekend’s trip to Swansea I reckon we could be looking at a fair amount of cotton wool in our selection with a starting XV of something like this…
Cosgrave, Russell, Turner, Osborne, Kearney, H Byrne, Foley.
Still a decent squad in fairness although the Ospreys do seem to be on a decent run of late which could make it an interesting contest.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Tadhg Furlong & Will Connors: will again look to step up their rehabilitation programmes from ankle and bicep injuries respectively
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Johnny Sexton: suffered a cheek bone injury during the game against Connacht Rugby and will have a procedure today and will be further assessed then
Luke McGrath: will be unavailable for selection for the Ospreys game after picking up an ankle injury
Max Deegan: will be unavailable for selection for the Ospreys game after picking up an ankle injury
There are no further updates on:
Thomas Clarkson (arm), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
Club season is over for the women while the men are only at the halfway stage and Division 1A has two big rescheduled matches this weekend taking place at either end of the table.
Dublin University and Cork Con both have 29pts lying 3rd and 4th respectively and they go head to head at College Park, with a familiar name holding the whistle in George Clancy.
Meanwhile as Garryowen look like they need a miracle to avoid relegation 9 defeats from 9 to start the season, there’s some congestion above them for the other spot including Ballynahinch and UCD who meet at Ballymacarn Park.
Men’s AIL
Sat Jan 7
Ballynahinch v UCD
Dublin University v Cork Con
HARPIN’ PREDICTION LEAGUE
I made up a bit of ground on Kino this week in a round where there were more unexpected results than usual. Tom got the Yellow Cap while Keego, well, I really don’t think there’s any coming back from there.
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
We play Those Pesky Birds next, and as I suggested in the Injury Report section they might fancy themselves to nick this one so we’ll be talking about that in our Harpin Preview on Friday when I’ll be joined by Ciarán Duffy, with the wrap pod being recorded on Sunday evening, with of course all of our other usual features in between.
In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
