JLP : Obviously the word ‘reports’ does a lot of heavy lifting in the title although just because a province and/or the Irish media hasn’t reported something yet doesn’t mean it’s not happening and there have been question marks over Leinster’s TH stocks after Ala’alatoa leaves. More on the general topic of NIQ signings further down the column.
“For those who knew Rob throughout his life, his determination and spirit in the face of MND over the last four and a half years came as no surprise.”
JLP : Needless to say it doesn’t matter what code is involved this was sad news across all of sport. Former players like Rob who have contracted MND have done outstanding work to raise awareness.
“I think at this pivotal moment in time…I wouldn’t be keen for him to move if I was involved with Leinster.”
JLP : We have of course been harpin’ on Leinster’s 10 dilemma for ages but it’s interesting to see it popping up in articles outside the four provinces. The Sam to Connacht thing was big news last week and looked like happening (even if the timing did seem strange right before he was getting ready to PLAY Connacht) but the tweet below from Joe Naughton would appear to have chucked some cold water on the spreading rumours…
Sam Prendergast to Connacht OFF
Well after all the pleading it seems Sam Prendergast loan deal won’t be happening.
It was nearly certain before another Champions Cup loss, but now Sam Prendergast could be Leinster number one by Xmas, so he ain’t moving.
As well as a lifetime playing ban, the player also received a 156-week ban – the equivalent of three years – from all forms of rugby, including coaching, refereeing and administration
Namibian rugby player handed life ban after attacking referee
Charles Richardson – NZ Herald (via Daily Telegraph UK)
JLP : Only two words of comment required here : “Proper” and “order”.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
Heaslip disagreed with Murphy’s summation of the danger of the incident, and argued it had “quite a high level of danger”.
Jamie Heaslip Has Theory On How RG Snyman Escaped Card Vs Ulster
Oisin Gaffey – Balls.ie
JLP : This wins COTWA for having all the basic elements of perfect clickbait for Irish rugby fans, following the simple “Leinster player disputes something good tht happened to Munster or vice versa” formula, with the name Ulster thrown in for good measure. Heaslip’s opinion does feature in the article, but so does Donal Lenihan’s, who also thought it could have been red. His name in the heading might not have stirred things up quite so much though…
WRAP OF A WRAP
I was on Caolán Scully’s pod the day after the Champions Cup final and the other guest was a fellow Leinster fan David Cordial so I asked him to come on our wrap pod and he took to it like a fish to water. Along with seasoned Harpin veteran Rich Mifsud we went back over the win over Connacht and for the final thoughts video we also looked at our favourite RDS memories as well as the upcoming URC quarterfinals.
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : QUALIFIED SUCCESS?
With all the talk stemming from the Jordie Barrett news I wanted to do a Quick Tap on the whole subject of NIQs and how we should handle them.
The actual update has been suggesting for weeks now that Garry Ringrose was available for selection but this week it was actually brought up in the text that they release with the update so it looks like it could happen this weekend, and not before time!
Hopefully we are able to go “full bore” for the rest of the season with the exception of Hugo Keenan who is committing to 7s. I know the South Africa series is big but it would be really unfair on Leinster fans to have our players denied knockout game time because of it.
Garry Ringrose is available for selection for this weekend's #BKTURC Quarter-Final against Ulster
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Charlie Ngatai: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a shoulder injury.
Garry Ringrose: is expected to return to full training this week after his return from a shoulder injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Jack Conan: was withdrawn as a precaution at the weekend and will be further assessed this week ahead of selection this weekend.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Tommy O’Brien: picked up a hamstring injury at the weekend and will enter a period of rehabilitation.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Jason Jenkins (knee), Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
I very much doubt there will be an open top bus inching through thousands of fans in Ballsbridge to celebrate Leinster’s retention of the Irish Shield any time soon, I’m pretty sure we’d have been happy with Munster winning it if we could swap for first place on the URC log. The most positive angle from this “sub-competition” for me was the fact that of the 12 matches this season, 9 were decided by 7 points or less.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER 33-7 CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER 29-24 ULSTER
TROLL PATROL
@mahasamatman12
“A zero point loss” You harpin’ clowns never cease to amaze!
Straightforward trolling here. For context, in our Connacht preview show I asked Keego what he made of the Champions Cup final and after he responded I pointed out that in recent finals we had lost by 1 or 2 points so with this one having been level after 80 minutes you could say it was a zero point loss. My overall point was that all the finals were close, not that we didn’t deserve to lose them, we have harped on that ad nauseum at other times. Anyway, this guy jumped on it so I wish to repeat my invitation for him to appear on our show anytime to “show us how it’s done”. You may be shocked to learn that he is yet to respond. I’m starting to think he may not want to.
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
LEINSTER PLAYERS’ GAZA STATEMENT
They say sports and politics shouldn’t mix. I say bollocks to that.
I mean, that’s not to say that if we have chosen sports as our principle topic for content, we should be using that platform to also share political views – that would be disrespectful. HOWEVER some subjects might be called ‘political’ when they actually transcend that, sport, and all other current affairs and IMO Gaza is one of them and I was extremely proud to see the Leinster players releasing this statement.
Also on the Quick Tap video above I chose to use my “final comment” to persuade people to vote in the upcoming local & European elections. To be clear, I would never say WHO anyone should vote for, just that they exercise their right to vote.
📰 | Statement below issued on behalf of the Leinster Rugby senior men and women squads ⬇️
Congrats to all, here’s the official Leinster copy…
Aoife Dalton and Jamison Gibson-Park were the big winners as they took home the Bank of Ireland Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards at the Leinster Rugby Awards Ball on Saturday evening.
It’s been an incredible 12 months for Dalton who picked up the Young Player Award at the 2023 event and has now backed it up a year later with the Senior Award after brilliant performances in blue as Leinster regained the Interpro title from Munster.
For Gibson-Park it caps a remarkable few years for the scrumhalf who has made the Leinster and the Ireland number nine jersey his own with a string of stunning performances for club and country.
Other players celebrating included Joe McCarthy and Aoife Wafer who were presented with the Laya Healthcare Men’s Young Player of the Year and BearingPoint Women’s Young Player of the Year Awards.
It it capped a brilliant few weeks for McCarthy and Wafer who were also recognised at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards, while McCarthy was also named the Just Eat Supporters Player of the Season at Friday’s game against Connacht Rugby at the RDS Arena.
Hosted by Joe Molloy, with musical entertainment provided by Manila Strings, the evening brought the curtain down on the 2023/24 domestic season across the 12 counties of Leinster, while also recognising the efforts of the senior men and women sides.
It also marked the final formal engagement for the province’s outgoing President Billy Murphy. The proud UCD club man opened proceedings with a fitting tribute to all those that contributed on and off the pitch and in particular that had helped him across his 12 months as Branch President.
After that it was over to Molloy to get the evening underway and over the course of the next few hours, the best of the game at all levels in Leinster was celebrated.
Departing players and staff were also acknowledged, with a brilliant ovation in particular for the departing trio of Ed Byrne, Ross Molony and Rhys Ruddock.
Mick Dawson was the latest inductee into the Guinness Hall of Fame. The former Leinster Rugby CEO was warmly received by the audience, in recognition of a stellar 21-plus years at the helm.
Another person to be acknowledged for a stellar contribution to the game of rugby in Leinster was the Chair of the Disciplinary Committee, James McCourt, who received the Energia Contribution to Leinster Rugby award for his tireless efforts.
He was presented with his award on behalf of Energia by the Leinster Rugby Culture Captain, Andrew McCarthy, who was also recognised for his efforts over the season by Leinster co-captains, James Ryan and Garry Ringrose.
Clontarf FC, Seapoint Rugby Club, St Mary’s College, Rathmines and Coláiste Mhuire CBS, Mullingar were other big winners on the night.
Jordan Larmour accepted the award for the Bank of Ireland ‘Never Stop Competing’ Tackle of the Year for his try-saving effort in the Champions Cup Final against Toulouse, while Ciarán Frawley’s effort against Connacht Rugby was the winner of the Irish Times Try of the Year.
2023/24 LEINSTER RUGBY AWARDS – LIST OF WINNERS:
Nissan Ireland Development School of the Year: Coláiste Mhuire CBS, Mullingar
Bank of Ireland ‘Never Stop Competing’ Tackle of the Year: Jordan Larmour
Beauchamps School of the Year: St Mary’s College, Rathmines
Energia Contribution to Leinster Rugby: James McCourt
Irish Times Try of the Year: Ciarán Frawley (v Connacht Rugby)
DigitalWell Junior Club of the Year: Seapoint Rugby Club
BDO Senior Club of the Year: Clontarf FC
Just Eat Supporters Player of the Year: Joe McCarthy
Guinness Hall of Fame: Mick Dawson
BearingPoint Women’s Young Player of the Year: Aoife Wafer
Laya Healthcare Men’s Young Player of the Year: Joe McCarthy
Band of Ireland Women’s Player of the Year: Aoife Dalton
Bank of Ireland Men’s Player of the Year: Jamison Gibson-Park
Aoife Dalton and Jamison Gibson-Park were the big winners as they took home the @BankofIreland Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards at the #LeinsterRugby Awards Ball on Saturday evening.
According to my Google Calendar, these 24/25 URC fixtures were actually due even earlier, the 22nd of May to be precise. But still, for them to come out a week later was still an excellent idea to help people plan ahead for trips and whatnot, although I do know many who are keen to wait for the Champions Cup draw before they go clicking for hotels and flights.
“SVNS” UPDATE
Overall you have to say 5th and 6th placed finishes are disappointing when you consider both our teams are capable of winning medals in Paris. But it certainly wasn’t all bad, in fact technically the men’s team went the entire weekend unbeaten. We had to push for last gasp tries in all three of our pool matches but only one of those produced a win and with the “golden point” system in place, we fell short against both Fiji and New Zealand which meant we had to make do with the playoffs for 5th place where we dispatched both GB and RSA. And going back to those extra time matches, we had more “poor luck” in both of them, with the Fijians lucky not to see red for that challenge and NZ shipping a penalty on our breakaway towards the end which really should have seen yellow. On the negative side I wondered if both of New Zealand’s opening tries against us were a result of Hugo Keenan being a bit match rusty in this code – I thought he tried to take a bit too much out of his carries allowing the opposition to pounce. He does have buckets of 7s experience of course he just needs a bit more game time.
Anyway on the women’s side, well nobody would get off to a good start to a comp when facing the Aussies, we couldn’t get past Fiji nor the USA either although wins over France and GB helped us stay away from the bottom two places.
Europe’s love triangle of close finishes involving Leinster, Toulouse and La Rochelle continues with the French sides also finishing the 80 minutes level on Sunday night. There are several fascinating battles in the simultaneous final round, best of which has to be the straight shoot out for an automatic semifinal spot between Stade and Toulon. But another shootout of note is ROG v Stu as the loser of La Rochelle v Racing could miss out on the barrages altogether.
Round 25
PERPIGNAN 37-30 BORDEAUX
OYONNAX 27-20 BAYONNE
CASTRES 27-18 STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER 41-26 LYON
RACING 92 24-15 PAU
TOULON 52-10 CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE 31-31 LA ROCHELLE
Round 26
SUN JUNE 8
BAYONNE V CASTRES
BORDEAUX V OYONNAX
CLÉRMONT V MONTPELLIER
LA ROCHELLE V RACING 92
LYON V TOULOUSE
STADE FRANÇAIS V TOULON
PAU V PERPIGNAN
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Have to admit I never got to see either of these matches although both had their moments by all accounts, not least of which was one after the final whistle at the Rec! Everything stayed with the seedings anyway and it should be an interesting “Battle of the Fin/ns” this weekend.
PLAYOFFS
NORTHAMPTON 22-20 SARACENS
BATH 31-23 SALE SHARKS
FINAL
SAT JUNE 8
NORTHAMPTON V BATH
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
Sad, but not surprising, to learn of the imminent demise of the Melbourne Rebels, and had they managed to overcome Fijian Drua in their final regular season match they actually could have sneaked the Crusaders into the final eight. But despite the defeat the Rebels still must take to the field at least one more time as they DID reach the knockouts where I doubt they’ll have enough to win in Wellington. In fact all the quarterfinals look like home bankers although the Reds could cause an upset at the Chiefs.
ROUND 15
CRUSADERS 43-10 MOANA PASIFIKA
WARATAHS 26-27 REDS
FIJIAN DRUA 40-19 REBELS
HURRICANES 41-14 HIGHLANDERS
BLUES 31-17 CHIEFS
WESTERN FORCE 19-24 BRUMBIES
QUARTERFINALS
FRI JUNE 7
CHIEFS V REDS
SAT JUNE 8
HURRICANES V REBELS
BLUES V FIJIAN DRUA
BRUMBIES V HIGHLANDERS
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Like I said on last week’s column, my adopted team for this season the Chicago Hounds probably needed the week off to prepare for the final push and from here on in there are no off weeks, just four weeks of rugby as the 12 clubs look to whittle themselves down to 8. In the east Chicago must look to keep up with NOLA and Old Glory ahead of them while New England look on track to finish first while in the west, Houston are still the team to beat although Seattle are likely to push them close over the coming month.
ROUND 14
OLD GLORY 47-29 ANTHEM RC
NOLA GOLD 7-21 HOUSTON
UTAH 20-27 SAN DIEGO
NEW ENGLAND 26-24 DALLAS
LOS ANGELES 45-15 MIAMI
SUN JUNE 9
OLD GLORY DC V NEW ENGLAND
HOUSTON V LOS ANGELES
SAN DIEGO V ANTHEM RC
MIAMI V NOLA GOLD
MON JUNE 10
DALLAS V CHICAGO
SEATTLE V UTAH
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
The regular season went right down to the wire with only the 1st tie-breaker of “winning predictions” separating Kino and Kristian. We now move into the URC playoffs where the usual points will be multiplied by factors of 1.5, 2 and 3 across the three rounds until we have a winner, so technically I still have a chance although I have to correctly predict multiple major upsets to do so. It’s not like I’m without form on this though…last season I was in 3rd place on the day of the URC final but being the only one to predict a Munster win I leapfrogged to the title, so you never know…
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Ulster up next – preview recording Friday, wrap pod on Sunday, and as ever there will be tweets and TikToks and Threads and all sorts in our other usual haunts in the ruggersphere – do keep in touch!
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
31 May 2024; Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster scores his side’s fifth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Connacht at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
pod also available on Apple & most major platforms
🏉 Early scores 🏉 Sam composure 🏉 TYVM RR,RM,EB,RDS 🏉 BP eventually 🏉 Tricky path ahead
Connacht seemed way off the pace, it was clear early on so much was going wrong for them.
Ruddock was immense he put everything into that game it was brilliant. Maloney and Byrne were also brilliant and gave excellent performances for their last games. I thought Ala’alatoa was unlucky for his card, yes he was high and he did hit Blades head, I’m not sure he hit it as hard as Blades reaction but that’s my bias(probably?). You could see though he wanted to out in a good shift.
Anyone doubting Leinster’s strength in depth can see in this game why it’s often quoted as being brilliant, no other club could make 14 changes and have a performance as strong as that. Keeping so many players involved and happy at the club is mind blowingly difficult, yet Leo does it year after year.
There was lots of things to like about that game even though 4 of the stalwarts are moving on & one of our backline was pretty jittery it was a pretty excellent performance from the other 19.
Chris McDonnell
Great performance from lots of the lads. Showed how awful last week’s selection was. Jenkins ahead of Molony, no Jimmy o brien , frawley just a lovely attacking player.foley I’d just miles better than mcgrath. Anyways hopefully ruddock and Molony gets to play again for us.
Cuan Mulligan
Felt Sam P had a great game, offered more options than other 10s in the squad. Was integral to a few of the tries; tried things, mixed it up. Should be where we invest and give him as much game time as possible. Might need some extra protein over the summer to bulk up
William Andrew
It was a good indicator of how valuable players like Ross, Max Ed and Ruddock are to Leinster. They provide the steel through a season.
Form was also on display, in some of the younger players
Leinster 33 Connacht 7
Overpowered & outplayed for long stretches Too many compound errors again Individual sparks in there but really not good enough The 2nd half showed improvement but lacked any kind of killer edge, any attack lost shape & defence was guts & fight#LEIvCON
JLP : After Leo Cullen, I really don’t think there has been a player who has personified what Leinster Rugby is all about other than Rhys Ruddock. Haven’t seen much of him this season and we’ve all kind of known this announcement was coming eventually, but while it is sad news after a really depressing weekend for fans of the province, in a way it has been a joy to be able to look back over his career and remember all the many good times. Leadership always came naturally to him which clearly our coaches spotted by handing him the armband so early. And in recent years the mere existence of the term “Rhys Ruddock All Stars” among the fans (meaning the teams we have sent for our late season South African tours) shows the high regard in which he is held.
“The lads literally just gave me slots of where they would normally address defence. I just went into that. I just slotted in with the programme, as it was.”
JLP : This was always going to be a tough week for Leinster coach at pressers, and Nienaber has done well to front up. And sadly since full time on Saturday the calls for Leo Cullen to step aside have started to get louder from Leinster fans, there were suggestions of it last year but now they are getting stronger, though to be clear I really don’t think I’m there yet – I mean, I’m never happy about actively looking for anyone to lose their job as it is, but in this specific case I can see where the viewpoint is coming from.
The thing about Leo is that if he stays, which I believe he will, absolutely nothing we do next season will matter except winning the CC, that is if we reach the final of course. So doubts will remain locked and loaded right up to the final whistle in Cardiff. Possibly that pressure will ease a bit if we win URC but still it’s going to be immense and it will be felt from the most casual fan right through the squad and into the coaches’ box. A new hierarchy structure would definitely ease that pressure somewhat, although having said that, Leinster are pretty much expected to be competing for titles regardless so the standards will have to remain high whatever the coaching ticket.
Much to ponder for sure.
Ireland will face stiff competition in Pool B, starting their campaign against Italy, followed by matches against Georgia and Australia.
JLP : With the senior season almost over it’s always good to get a reminder of the annual festival of rugby we get every June and July – this year it overlaps with the test team’s two-match series, also in South Africa, but it still gives us plenty to harp on before the Rugby Championship comes along to kill off the remaining weeks to the 2024/25 URC season and it all starts again! Love it.
The diminutive wing has bundles of pace and would provide further back three depth with Simon Zebo set to retire at the end of this season.
JLP : This article nearly won Clickbait of the Week with the way the headline dumps a ton of pressure on Thaakir Abrahams should he indeed be heading to Munster. But instead I have included it as one of a two-article set from Balls.ie, the second of which is this one by Gary Connaughton about Ulster’s new outhalf signing Aidan Morgan (also with clickbaity headline describing him as “intriguing”) and together the pieces highlight the fact that despite all the hoopla about Leinster’s recent announcements, the other provinces have also been busy on the acquisition front.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
The only way to fittingly respond is to go and win the URC the hard way, going away in the semi-final and final.
JLP : Again, to clarify, my COTWA is not meant for an article I necessarily disagree with, and much of the points ROC makes here are ones we have made on the pod. It’s more about the presentation of the article with both the headline and the promoting tweet, put in a way as to attract both angry Leinster fans AND gleeful ABL ones.
Chopping and changing at No 10, refusing to give Frawley the required backing, an attack that never functioned this season like it used to and an in-game strategy that didn't reflect the team's new identity – a piece on what went wrong for Leinster 🔽https://t.co/CSgfkkNOum
Confession time first – I made a claim on the first draft of the pod about Antoine Dupont’s first half wonder-5022 where I was totally wrong…I thought the ball had been carried back from our half but in fact there had been a breakdown or two and kudos to the person who got in touch for both setting me straight AND doing it discreetly. Still, the pod had already gotten about a hundred listens by the time I corrected it and I’m certainly not going to try and pretend I didn’t say it, that’s one of the reasons I have this column.
Anyway going back to what DID make the final cut, Tom & Mark were open and honest going back over the match and as I often find it does help to have a chat about it. Also a big shout out to both Keego & Kino for their contributions on the preview show, even if that does seem about a gagillion years ago by this stage!!!
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
Also here’s a clip where we looked mostly at how Leinster handled substitutions in the second half…
CC FINAL – THE FAN EXPERIENCE
We stopped recording “bonus clips” a while ago but on this week’s wrap pod had a section that was left on the ‘cutting room’ floor as I try to stay under an hour as much as I can so I put it out as extra YouTube content…Tom spoke about his experience in and around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
POST FINAL TIKTOK
No time (or motivation tbh) to put together a “Quick Tap” video this week (while I enjoy doing them you’re talking up to two hours work in total to produce just a 4-min vid) so instead I’ll share this one I recorded within about half an hour of the final whistle on Saturday. Got a lot of attention, possibly out of empathy from fellow Leinster fans but no doubt there were plenty of Nelson Muntzes out there too going “ha-ha”, such is the nature of sports fan content!!! TikTok following moved past 700 which I’m pretty pleased about since it’s far from my main focus, I should probably look to do more with the account next season.
Really, really difficult selection this week based on the update. We have said several times on the pod how we want us to go as strong as possible from now until the end of the season but what with the extra time in London, six-day turnaround AND Hugo Keenan off to join the 7s, to put a 23 together for the Connacht match sure wasn’t easy.
Obviously my “Ruddock as captain” choice is for a specific reason and it wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t feature at all and Penny has the armband, but overall I have to think at least a few who came off the bench in the final will have to do so again at the RDS. I certainly don’t see any from the “further assessment required” section to make it in time although it would be brilliant if even one of them did.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Connacht : McErlean, Russell, J O’Brien, Brownlee, A Osborne, H Byrne, McGrath
Kelleher, Boyle, Ala’alatoa, O’Tighearnaigh, Moloney, Foley, Prendergast, King
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Garry Ringrose: will increase his training load again this week as he continues to be assessed for a shoulder injury.
Tommy O’Brien: will return to training this week from a hamstring injury and will be further assessed before a decision is made on his involvement.
Charlie Ngatai: will return to training this week from a shoulder injury and will be further assessed before a decision is made on his involvement.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Jason Jenkins: picked up a knee injury against Toulouse and will not be available for selection this week.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
Just a quick reminder…for the past two URC campaigns, this shield was decided by overall league performance. Now it is only by the interpros, which is why in-form Munster are out of contention after their poor start to the season. Basically Leinster need a 5-pointer on Friday to force Ulster to require a win in Thomond Park on Saturday. Although they’ll probably want that anyway to help their league ranking.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
TROLL PATROL
We recently introduced Clickbait of the Week to point out cases of ADD (Article Description Deception) but for a long time now I have also been looking to launch Troll Patrol. Because why ridicule them online and fall down a rabbit hole when you can ridicule them here instead? What’s that? I could always not ridicule them at all? FFS where’s the fun in THAT?
Seriously though…the Game Management vid I posted above got a lot of comment reaction (at least a lot for our channel) and I thought one in particular was a worthy candidate for our first ever TP segment.
Credit where it’s due to this chap, he felt the need to come back three times before anyone had a chance to reply but it was his final point that put him over the top, so to speak.
@michaelflynn5123
Hugo Keenan played against Ulster week before final ! First time he has ever played in ravenhill ! First team not allowed to play away from home if there a chance they could lose ! Oh we lost because it was the b team
Why can’t you see ! Play your best team in the final ! What about the games leading up to the final! You have to play week after week to be ready for the big games! Oh they played ospreys couple weeks before the final! Last 3 years same thing
Leinster haven’t been put under pressure all year La Rochelle where lucky to get out of there group Northampton didn’t turn up on the day ! First team not allowed to play in south Africa! We’re under no pressure all year! Weren’t battle hardened! Munster would get 3 players on the Leinster team! But I think they would have beaten Toulouse! But then again they can leave home and fight
So…Munster would have beaten Toulouse? Because they can ‘leave home and fight’? And…how would they have gotten the chance to beat Toulouse? By leaving home, fighting, and defeating Northampton. How did they get on? 😜
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
“SVNS” UPDATE
Under the new series format, this weekend’s sevens event will actually decide the overall champions of the circuit. I know many don’t like that but I for one don’t mind. If nothing else it will be a good experience for both Irish teams as they prepare for the Olympics. With the tournament in Spain the kickoff times are definitely more friendly for Irish viewers for sure and of course there will be no easy matches.
I made my reservations on Hugo Keenan’s involvement clear on these pages already so no need to go over them again – he’s in the squad now and he will of course be a massive boost for our chances and I look forward to cheering on both teams over the weekend.
MADRID (FINALS)
IRISH POOL FIXTURES
FRI MAY 31
12:51PM – WOMEN V AUSTRALIA
1:37PM – MEN V SOUTH AFRICA
SAT JUNE 1
11AM – WOMEN V FRANCE
12:06PM – MEN V FIJI
2:05PM – WOMEN V FIJI
3:11PM – MEN V NEW ZEALAND
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Not sure how to word this point without making it look like I’m getting some consolation from it, but I assure you I’m not – I’d say the last place ROG would want to be heading this weekend is to a Toulouse town celebrating a sixth star. That said, he might equally view it as an opportunity to catch them on the hop and in a season where Leinster got the LAR monkey off our back and Toulouse did likewise with us, maybe this is just the weekend for him to end his recent run of poor results against ‘les rouge at noir’. Meanwhile the scramble to make the top 6 remains interesting with everyone down to Lyon in 12th mathematically still in the running by the looks of it, and 6th placed Racing v 7th place Pau the pick of the bunch this weekend.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
Round 25
SAT JUNE 1
PERPIGNAN V BORDEAUX
OYONNAX V BAYONNE
CASTRES V STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER V LYON
RACING 92 V PAU
SUN JUNE 2
TOULON V CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
While Northampton and Bath should by rights be the favourites, I have to say I don’t know how to call these semifinals, both could be close although you’d have to assume the home advantage should win out in each case.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
PLAYOFFS
FRI MAY 31
NORTHAMPTON V SARACENS
SAT JUNE 1
BATH V SALE SHARKS
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
As poor an all as the Crusaders’ form has been all season, with 8 of the 12 clubs making the playoffs, I have always maintained that it would be mad to rule them out completely until they mathematically can’t win yet another title and having defeated the table topping Blues last weekend, there’s every chance they could face the Auckland lads again in the quarterfinals. They’ll need to beat Moana in Round 15 and hope both the Drua and Western Force slip up, but none of that is impossible. Meanwhile the race for that top seed between the Blues and the Hurricanes should be interesting, both are at home in the final round but against fellow NZ franchises so no easy wins there.
ROUND 14
CHIEFS 17-20 HURRICANES
BRUMBIES 53-17 REBELS
MOANA PASIFIKA 27-12 WARATAHS
CRUSADERS 29-27 BLUES
REDS 59-13 WESTERN FORCE
HIGHLANDERS 39-3 FIJIAN DRUA
ROUND 15
FRI MAY 31
CRUSADERS V MOANA PASIFIKA
WARATAHS V REDS
SAT JUN 1
FIJIAN DRUA V REBELS
HURRICANES V HIGHLANDERS
BLUES V CHIEFS
WESTERN FORCE V BRUMBIES
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE
I had hoped to catch the Grand Final but needless to say after Saturday I wasn’t exactly in a place where watching any more rugby was on my radar but it sounds like an enthralling match with the seemingly invincible Wild Knights falling short against Richie Mo’unga’s Brave Lupus. Here’s the video if you want a look yourself.
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Another defeat for my adopted MLR team the Chicago Hounds this week, they definitely seem to need the week off in the next round so they can prepare for the push to the playoffs. Miami’s shock win over New England makes things tight at the top of the Eastern Conference while out west, it’s still Houston and Seattle battling it out.
ROUND 13
SEATTLE 26-24 OLD GLORY DC
MIAMI 15-13 NEW ENGLAND
CHICAGO 13-25 NOLA GOLD
LOS ANGELES 19-27 SAN DIEGO
ROUND 14
SUN JUNE 2
OLD GLORY V ANTHEM RC
NOLA GOLD V HOUSTON
UTAH V SAN DIEGO
NEW ENGLAND V DALLAS
LOS ANGELES V MIAMI
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I came from way behind to lift the title last season but I really don’t fancy my chances of doing it again this time around. In fact if I’m not careful I could drop as far as 7th, though that would still spare me from having to sport The Jersey of Shame. Looks like a straight fight betwen Kino and Kristian with just 15 matches left to predict, 8 of which are this coming weekend.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Very much looking forward to returning to the RDS on Friday and hopefully the boys in blue can help ease the pain from last weekend. We’ll have our preview pod for the Connacht match on Thursday afternoon, then our wrap pod is to hopefully introduce a new Harpin contributor, please do stay tuned and join in the conversation in any way you can.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
It was clear after 15-20 minutes that Toulouse were dominating the breakdown, and we did not change out tactics. When we kept it tight we made progress, as soon as we went out the back, we struggled.. Ross provided no treat so their defence could drift and we ended up with lone runners giving up turnovers… ref was inconsistent, but you know that’s a risk and you need to not let that dictate the outcome
Alastair McDermott
Gutted. Close game but not clinical enough from Leinster attack. Toulouse deserved the win.
Way too many 22 visits with nothing from it. Rushed the first drop goal attempt, delayed the second too much. Lot of dropped balls and too many conceded penalties.
And we have to credit Toulouse & Dupont was class with those turnovers!
William Andrew
Losing three finals is a horrible number but we are still getting to finals.
Converting the opportunities is becoming problematic.
ST and LR have given away penalties in the red zone as a matter of course to stop Leinster scoring a try. Clearly playing the odds and no yellows have been given for this gamesmanship.
Today was a good example of two identical offences punished differently.
Are these teams just doing a better job profiling Refs?
Certainly Leinster, maybe, need to change their finals decision making, to a pragmatic take three points at any opportunity. A drop goal at 15 mins out of the blue might just make these teams second guess what’s happening.
Throwing the toys out of the pram is not an answer.
The reaction should be silence and 100% focus on the URC trophy. There are no big turn arounds needed. It might be just about playing 3rd Bs Cup rugby mentality at Donnybrook for a final.
Leinster spend most of their time thrashing teams, they are used to playing with a cushion. Maybe a few plays about hard nosed cup rugby would be a bonus
Kevin Kelehan
Toulouse did their homework on the ref and managed the breakdown impeccably apart from the dangerous clear out of Cian Healy. Leinster tried to force it at times and paid the price, booking 4 tickets for Cardiff and will bring the same three friends who went to Tottenham yesterday. Leinster are still a great side and lets hope their laser focus on La Rochelle this season moves to Toulouse next term and sets up an even better final (for the neutrals) with Toulouse again next season. Doris has emerged as real leader of men and Porter has hit his full potential.
Brian Corr
Absolutely gutted and this has been very hard to take.
You could whinge about the not taking points but Toulouse were flying in defence.
Leinster players made great breaks only to have no one backing them up so turned over.
DuPont had an exceptional game, two inch perfect 50/22’s 4 turnovers even though Leinster marshalled him well, he had the ability to change it up.
They say you need a bit of luck and not for the first time Leinster luck deserted them, nothing seemed to stick and the mix up with Keenan and JVDF summed up the match, 4 Toulouse against 2 Leinster on the back foot, should have put boot to ball.
How can you criticise Sheehan after a 60m break, possibly should have passed, but DuPont was in like a light.
Greg Kelly
The problem I think is the IRFU welfare policy. A lot of guys out there looked undercooked and they took too long to get going. Hugo Keenan looked like he had forgotten who he was at times. It was evident in those who played up in Belfast last week too. Personally I think Champions Cup and interpros should not be counted towards limits or rest periods.
In the stadium it was evident that both teams were trading the same blows on attack and defence. To say Carley had a bad game is wrong but he was more then a little inconsistent. There were shades of Wales/Fiji at the world cup too because the majority of times Leinster entered the Toulouse 22 Toulouse gave away a penalty but he never issued them even a warning.
The truly sickening thing is we all know we’ll be back in Cardiff in 12 months…😩
Fergal Duffy
We’ve learned nothing. We’ve sent rusty, undercooked teams in to too many finals now. Leo is obsessed with resting players but how can a team that has played together once in 3 months be more cohesive than a team that plays together week in and week out. That exact 15 should have played in Ulster last week, we butchered 3 or 4 easy tries in the first 20 mins alone due to lack of match sharpness
Brian Patrick Donnelly
From the top tier of a wonderful stadium I was screaming at them to take their points Jeff. Toulouse attempted every single opportunity.
Not going to pretend it gets easier after three straight years of this but ultimately we're a very good team that yet again has come up against an even better one and fallen short.
Heartbreak again, alas. The match was Leinster’s season in microcosm – attack never fired and breakdown was terrible; our best suit was box kicks landing close to the 22 and scrum penalties. It just felt like winning was always tantalisingly out of reach.
Obviously frustrating but we made too many errors.
I hate having to say this every year but Leinster fans maybe switch off the social media for the next while the usual muppets will be out in force.#TLSvLEI
JLP : When I saw the headline for this article in the Irish Times I immediately thought “fluff piece”, admittedly without reading it since they made it “subscriber only” but it wasn’t a great leap to work out it was overwhelmingly positive about his time at the IRFU. I considered writing a counter article myself until I found out via a substack subscription to friend-of-the-pod IrishWomensSC that it had already been done for me. It’s quite simple. He took the job overseeing ALL of Irish rugby in June 2014. Just a couple of months late, the Irish women reach a World Cup semifinal. Jump ahead to 2023 and while the men may not have yet done the same, they are still winning Grand Slams, reaching number 1 in the rankings and ticking other long-standing “never done” boxes while the women sunk to missing a World Cup altogether and finishing rock bottom of the Six Nations. Has there been something of a rebound since those depths? Yes. But it’s all part of his legacy and for me the IT article cannot be appreciated without reading the IWSC one for context.
If you follow the link to her substack please subscribe and support her work if you can.
JLP : This 80+ column is meant to cover topics outside of Leinster rugby but when there’s a major final on the horizon a story or two is bound to creep in. And one of the biggest narratives leading into Saturday’s clash of the European titans is that Leinster have owned Toulouse on the last number of meetings, but given how we have handled La Rochelle’s ‘owning’ of us this season, it’s pretty clear that things can change and they are bound to be highly motivated, especially when you factor in Ireland’s BP win in France too.
O’Reilly might have reached even loftier heights in the game had his burgeoning business career not intervened at the age of 26
JLP : Have to admit my knowledge on this Irish rugby great wasn’t what it should have been, and articles like this one helped bring me up to speed after his sad passing.
Hogg, 31, who has been blighted by legal and personal problems since walking away from the sport at the end of last season
JLP : Look – whether he resumes his playing career is totally between himself and any club who wishes to avail of his services, but the framing in that quote??? “He has been blighted” suggests the whole thing is being done to him. I’m not going to list all the accusations against him here but I reckon Mr Fissler could have, as it would definitely bring proper context to the article.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
The pecking order at outhalf post Sexton seems a little clearer now but does it give comfort to fans?
JLP : Easy choice for COTWA this week. And I don’t necessarily mean it in a bad way, like I have said before, the “Anyone But Leinster” narrative is absolutely fine once everyone appreciates it exists. If nothing else articles like this one from OTHP are good when it comes to “keeping Leinster honest” and he does make good points. It’s the timing that earns the clickbait tag for me since it was posted knowing a full week of social media posts from Leinster fans looking forward to a major final was imminent.
WRAP OF A WRAP
I keep forgetting to mention our preview in this column – I suppose that since we are looking ahead to a match in the video and by the time I write this the match has been done and dusted, it’s easy to forget but those videos, mostly featuring Keego, are a vital part of our weekly content and the viewing figures have improved steadily in the last couple of years.
The latest wrap pod featured Mark Jackson and Jay Long and while we altered the format after the defeats in South Africa recently, we managed to stick to the status quo for this one and the lads did an excellent job.
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : FINAL WEEK
All I’ll say along with this video is…changing the tops a gagillion times? Totally worth it. Ahem.
Slightly different update section this week – we harped on a possible matchday 23 in our chat at the end of our wrap pod and it featured in our YouTube video so I have added it here.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Toulouse : see video below
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
James Ryan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from an arm injury.
Hugo Keenan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a hip injury.
Will Connors: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a minor injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Garry Ringrose: will continue to be assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his involvement against Toulouse.
Tommy O’Brien: picked up a hamstring injury against Ulster and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection this week.
Charlie Ngatai: picked up a shoulder injury against Ulster and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection this week.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
So Ulster’s win does put them in pole position for the first “proper” Irish Shield (in past seasons although Leinster won it the table was based on ALL results unlike this season which is just on the interpros), but if Leinster can max out a win against the Westies in the final match, Richie Murphy’s men will probably have to win in Thomond Park to lift the trophy. Not saying they can’t do it but it definitely won’t be easy given the form Munster are in.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
KEEN ON SEVENS
I’m adding this story after originally posting as I have just learned of it, apparently Hugo Keenan is to “do a Duponte” and join the Irish 7s squad for the Olympics.
From an Irish fan’s point of view and purely looking at the event itself, this is obviously excellent news and it greatly increases our chances of a medal.
However, overall my views on this are complicated. I can hardly change my opinion when it came to Antoine Duponte’s addition to the French set up. For one thing, this “ringer adding” takes a slot away from a squad member who helped the team qualify in the first place. Plus, much like AD, being with the squad will hurt a XVs team in that it seems Hugo will be unavailable for Leinster’s URC playoff push.
For me this goes against everything that rugby is meant to be. Sevens is great, of that there is no doubt, and I have given both Irish programmes full coverage and support on these pages. And the Olympics is not only a special event in its own right but it also offers a unique opportunity to showcase rugby in general so I get that having some XVs stars in there helps with that.
But still, I’m not a fan of this. For what it’s worth.
MAKING THE BEST LEAGUE EVEN BETTER
Yes, I am totally on board with all the “URC=Best League” hype, I just have a couple of teeny tiny quibbles on the format, do bear with me.
The first has to do with the criteria they use for separating teams level on points at the end of the regular season.
Having “matches won” as the number one tiebreaker is brilliant. Can’t fault it being there. I would definitely rank a team who had reached its points total by wins ahead of one that had accumulated bonus points. HOWEVER – why isn’t “most draws” in second place on this list? Surely a team with, say, 10 wins an 1 draw has a better record than one with 10 wins and 0 draws, yet if that team with 0 draws has a better PD they’ll get the higher position? I hope it never becomes decisive between qualifying and not for any team, and I don’t see that happening this season, but I still think it’s a tweak that needs to be made.
Another finicky point I have is with the final round being all derby matches. Three of the four “Shields” involve 4 teams that are governed by the one union and since the final round can be critical in deciding where the quarterfinals will be staged (remember…these matches are extra revenue-generators), for me anyway we don’t want any nation to be in a position where “producing” a particular result to help bring that QF into their jurisdiction might be possible. To be clear – I’m not suggesting any union would even consider that, it’s just ideally we’d like to avoid making it possible and cross-shield Round 18 matches would definitely help.
SUPER IDEA?
When it comes to Welsh Rugby, one thing is clear – they HAVE to do something to fix what’s wrong. And their latest attempt seems to be the formation of a tournament called “Super Rygbi Cymru” to exist between club and regional level, and the reaction of the ever critical ‘Welsh Rugby X’ contingent has been, well, predictable. I’m not one to judge (although perhaps the “Super” branding might be a stretch?) and all I can say is that I really hope it achieves its goals, which I would have thought was mending fences between clubs, regions and WRU while at the same time raising the standard for the prospects making their way to the top. Thing is though…all involved HAVE to give it time, as in MORE than one full season and I’m not sure all involved, including the media, can do that.
JIMMY G 500
Given his time at Leinster was during the Matt O’Connor era, one Leinster fans are keen to forget, this news may have missed a lot of fans but I for one can’t help but see his 500th appearance as an amazing achievement for any rugby professional. Besides, if a drop goal against Toulon had gone the other side of the post (and to this day I’m STILL not 100% sure it didn’t) then we may be having completely different conversations about Leinster’s history today.
“For almost fifteen years Simon Zebo has been the embodiment of all this is good in Munster Rugby. That’s why he will be missed.” – The Z Factor by Caolan Scully
I never had a problem with Simon Zebo and there has been no doubting his talent. But going by his social media offerings he has always had a problem with Leinster. To be fair, I reckon he’s taken a lot of shite coming in the other direction but so do a lot of public figures. Anyway – I do wish him all the best for his future but when it comes to offering a full reaction following his retirement announcement I reckon it’s best to hand it over to a Munster fan, in this case Caolán Scully.
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Toulouse, even depleted, won in round 24 to remained top while condemning Montpellier to a relegation playoff, and Stade F outlasted Bordeaux to put them on the brink of a guaranteed semifinal slot. ROG’s La Rochelle always seem to get a win just at the right time to keep them in the top 6 although their Round 25 trip to Toulouse won’t be easy whatever happens in London the week before.
Round 24
MONTPELLIER 22-29 TOULOUSE
BAYONNE 23-20 PERPIGNAN
OYONNAX 17-27 TOULON
CLÉRMONT 36-20 CASTRES
LYON 20-14 RACING 92
LA ROCHELLE 25-23 PAU
STADE FRANÇAIS 22-18 BORDEAUX
Round 25
SAT JUNE 1
PERPIGNAN V BORDEAUX
OYONNAX V BAYONNE
CASTRES V STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER V LYON
RACING 92 V PAU
TOULON V CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Looking at Northampton and Gloucester’s results this week you wouldn’t be sure which of them won 90-0 the previous weekend but both were virtually guaranteed their final positions, although the more Bath increased their lead the more that could have changed. We are now left with two very intriguing semifinals…the smart money would be a repeat of Bath/Saints in the final but you’d rule out Sale & Sarries at your peril.
ROUND 18
BATH 43-12 NORTHAMPTON
GLOUCESTER 54-14 NEWCASTLE
HARLEQUINS 28-53 BRISTOL BEARS
LEICESTER TIGERS 40-22 EXETER CHIEFS
SARACENS 10-20 SALE SHARKS
PLAYOFFS
FRI MAY 31
NORTHAMPTON V SARACENS
SAT JUNE 1
BATH V SALE SHARKS
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
The way Crusaders fell to their latest defeat, seen in x clip below, might be described as “bad luck” but given their overall campaign so far I’m not so sure. And their schedule doesn’t get any easier with the league leading Blues coming to town next weekend. Meanwhile the Hurricanes jumped into a 19-0 lead over Moana P only to be pegged back to an 8-point victory, providing a perfect example as to why the “score 3+ tries more than your opposition” is a much better way to earn a BP than “simply scoring 4 tries”.
#BRUvCRU Crusaders all out of luck this season – 24-24 – last min pen to Brumbies- hits post – crusaders player slaps ball out ….. pen try / Brumbies win by 7 pic.twitter.com/7o5MX9xGP7
The games were closer than expected but the semifinals produced the expected championship game with Wild Knights facing Brave Lupus in the early hours of Sunday morning.
SEMIFINALS
WILD KNIGHTS 20-17 CANON EAGLES
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS 28-20 SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
FINAL
SUN MAY 26
WILD KNIGHTS V TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Another narrow defeat for my adopted team the Chicago Hounds, although a one point loss to high flying Houston isn’t the worst outcome. They drop to 3rd but can move back up with a win against the Gold next weekend. The SaberCats and the New England Free Jacks are still the conference leaders.
ROUND 12
ANTHEM RC 29-33 LOS ANGELES
HOUSTON 23-22 CHICAGO
NOLA GOLD 21-14 UTAH
SAN DIEGO 23-24 NEW ENGLAND
DALLAS 14-7 SEATTLE
ROUND 13
SAT MAY 25
SEATTLE V OLD GLORY DC
SUN MAY 26
MIAMI V NEW ENGLAND
CHICAGO V NOLA GOLD
LOS ANGELES V SAN DIEGO
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I forgot to mention this last week, probably because I was so embarrassed I tried to scrub it from my memory…every Friday I send a WhatsApp reminder to everyone in the HPL so they remember to make their SuperBru predictions, only in the last round, I proceeded to forget myself to do the two URC matches on that Friday evening. O, the slagging I got, and of course, it continued the following Friday. Obviously that didn’t do my chances of moving back up the league any good and as you can see, it still looks like a two-horse race between Kino and Kristian.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
All that’s left now is Final Week. We plan to have Keego AND Kino on our preview show this Friday, as well as some special pre-final offerings from all of our contributors, then we’re going to leave the wrap pod recording until the Monday night as Tom will be travelling back from London to give a full report on the atmosphere and such. Hopefully we won’t mind the wait for the right reasons…
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 