Author: jlpagano

80+ column : Apr 17 (incl 338 : “Emergency pod”)

On this week’s column…

🏉 CENTRAL CONTRACTS

🏉 YET ANOTHER HURRICANE

🏉 MORE CC FORMAT REFORM?

🏉 SPOILS FROM WOMEN’S LIONS

🏉 ANGRY STEPHEN JONES

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 HARPIN ON…”CHAMPIONSHIP MINUTES”

🏉 “EMERGENCY POD”

🏉 THE LAZY ABL NARRATIVE

🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl W6N & AIL] 

FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

…the IRFU are undertaking a review of their contractual system, which will be completed before Humphreys takes over from Nucifora.

Blue bloods: IRFU ‘national’ contract system will continue to load the dice in Leinster’s favour

Gerry Thornley – Irish Times

JLP : Massive news dump in Leinster/Ireland news since the weekend, so much so that two stories broke after our “emergency pod” you’ll see further down the column.  Part of me thinks making all those announcements together was a bad idea from a PR standpoint, especially days after a weekend where Leinster became the only team left in European competition.  But then again the whole idea of a “news dump” is to concentrate all the supposedly negative info into one news cycle so maybe this is what happened, we’ll never know for sure.

On the subject of central contracts, of course 10 for Leinster and just 1 each for the other three provinces is not the best look.  But would making it an even 3 each or something like that be an answer based on where the talent is?  

All I’m saying is that it’s not straight-forward.  Yes, it’s part of the IRFU’s remit to oversee rugby in all four provinces, but when it comes to central contracts we have to remember what they are for, namely keeping our best players within the Irish system.  I can’t see a way of building a need for parity across the provinces into the process, especially when we have absolutely no control over the offers coming in from abroad.   Maybe as long as they are coming in for Leinster players, they are the ones we should be looking to hold onto for now.  Plus, as I say on the emergency pod, it’s not like the test team is doing badly, World Cup QF aside.  

Obviously none of that means I think the system is perfect, it’s just who else is going to push back on the over-simplistic “Leinster get everything while the other provinces get nothing” narrative we hear.  There are areas where the ratios should be closer to 1 for 1 across the provinces.  But there are others where they can’t help but be skewed more towards the balance of the so-called “demographic” differences.  And finding the right levels is never going to be easy.

It seems to be a majority opinion that David Nucifora’s tenure as the puppet-master across the sport in Ireland was one which failed to find those correct levels, particularly when you factor in the women’s game (also club level for both genders) into the equation.  If there is any “mitigation” it could be that it was a job that nobody had ever tried before, although it’s not like he didn’t have enough time to fix any errors as he went along.

Our only hope is that his successor David Humphreys can learn from those mistakes and find approaches that at least come a bit closer to pleasing everyone in the game here.  I feel like there’s an opportunity that comes with this changing of the guard, one that if done the right way can build on the many successes the men have achieved to make it a sport for absolutely everyone, a trick I always felt was tragically missed by the FAI after the accomplishments of the Irish teams in the early 90s.

Since retiring, the former New Zealand Under-20 captain has been part of the…coaching team…(of) The Hurricanes (who) are currently first on the Super Rugby table…

Another Kiwi joins Leinster set-up

Rugby365.com

JLP : Another announcement that missed the cut for our extra pod – as much as we’ll miss Andrew Goodman there’s definitely no harm getting someone over from the brains trust of the top team in Super Rugby right now.

To date the leagues have not agreed to EPCR’s request but there remains hope that change could still be introduced next season

Champions Cup overhaul planned after damaging defeat of weakened Bulls

Gerard Meagher – The Guardian

JLP : We can’t have a Champions Cup weekend come and go without more talk about formats, which is fair enough but like I always say, if the league can agree on going back to two more weeks for the pool stages that might be an improvement on what we have at the moment, but for me it definitely won’t fix the tournament’s biggest problem, namely that the matches are peppered out throughout the season forcing coaches to prioritise between playing in this year’s comp and qualifying for next year’s, which will always lead to selection like Jake White’s last weekend.

The Irish Rugby Football Union has elected to use the funds to host additional women’s U18 and U20 camps and training matches to accelerate player development

Women’s Lions sponsors will provide funding to avoid imbalance

The Rugby Paper

JLP : We often harp on negative things to do with women’s rugby so I suppose it’s only fair to mention good news, obviously we’ll have to see if this investment is sufficient to increase our player pool but at least it is good to see that money generated from a women’s team is going directly to the lower levels, with the caveat that there is much more still to be done of course, especially with the clubs.

“It is not to cast aspersions on anyone, but the last time they played an away game, their boots had wooden studs.”

Stephen Jones Incandescent Over Leinster Hosting Semifinal at Croke Park

Joshua Bell Curran – Balls.ie

JLP : Ireland is small and doesn’t have a lot of big stadia.  If we can sell out the Aviva Stadium and that’s not available for a given weekend, then we have to look at Croker.  It’s as simple as that, and what’s sad about this is that SJ knows this full well, he’s just feeding into that ridiculous and inaccurate “neutral venue” spiel that’s going around.

But looking at this article another way, if Leinster/Ireland success is somehow making him “incandescent”, then I take that as more success.

WRAP OF A WRAP

Normally I try to keep the wrap pods under an hour but for this match/performance I reckon it was ok to make an exception.  Tom & Mark earned the right to be the guests as they bravely stepped up to the plate after that Final Of Which We Much Never Speak last May, and they did their usual bang up 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 and/or leave a review if you can.

For a taste of the pod here’s a YouTube clip featuring their analysis of the “championship minutes” from the match.

QUICK TAP “EMERGENCY POD”

Normally I do a “Quick Tap”, aka a solo TikTok video, for this column but at the request of Keego and Kino, I instead set up an “emergency pod” recording on Tuesday to try and go over all the news that broke on the Monday…the Ross Molony news broke after I had set the whole thing up but still made the cut, while the Bleyendaal, JGP & Bank of Ireland sponsorship didn’t but I’ll touch on them in this column.  BTW I know we already did a full pod on the La Rochelle win but we hadn’t heard from these two yet so let’s just say we didn’t mind going over it once last time…

Topics were

  1. La Rochelle win
  2. Croke Park
  3. Dan Sheehan
  4. Jodie Barrett
  5. Ross Molony
  6. Demographics?

I also put out a sample from the pod on YouTube, covering topics 3, 4 & 5…

LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

Always tricky trying to anticipate who we plan to send to South Africa but I had a stab at Saturday’s 23 anyway.  I reckon whether Ross B will be available to play against  Northampton or not we should probably bring Harry anyway for some game time but as ever I should point out it’s with good reason that it’s not my decision to make!!!

Harpin’ matchday 23 v Lions

McErlean, Russell, Turner, Brownlee, A Osborne, Prendergast, Murphy

Healy (c), McKee, Clarkson, Deeny, Molony, Connors, Penny, Deegan.

Barron, E Byrne, Ala’alatoa, O’Tighearnaigh, Ruddock, Foley, H Byrne, King

NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

Luke McGrath: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from the Graduated Return to Play Protocols

INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:

Jimmy O’Brien: will be further assessed this week as he nears a return from a neck injury

Charlie Ngatai: will be further assessed this week as he nears a return from a calf injury

Garry Ringrose: will be further assessed this week for a shoulder injury as he nears a return

Ross Byrne: was withdrawn with a minor leg injury at the weekend and will be further assessed this week

INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

Hugo Keenan: has been managing a hip injury the last few weeks which had a minor flare up in the Captain’s Run last week

NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:

James Ryan (arm), Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot)

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS 

Here’s what I said on the wrap pod…

“…the incredible Irish women who recorded their first Six Nations win in two years with a convincing 36-5 victory over Wales at Musgrave park with tries from Higgins, Parsons, Jones, Corrigan & player of the match Aoife Wafer.  The victory has actually moved Ireland up to 3rd on the table and although that could change after facing the all conquering English Red Roses next, we can definitely look at our final match against Scotland in Belfast with more confidence.  Any for now, many congrats to all involved.”

Obviously the task against England is daunting to say the very, very least but what this convincing win over Wales has done is give us the confidence to look beyond to that final match with Scotland and the way the fixtures play out, 4th spot or possibly even 3rd are within our grasp which is an amazing position to be in.

ROUND THREE

SCOTLAND 0-46 ENGLAND

IRELAND 36-5 WALES

FRANCE 38-15 ITALY

ROUND FOUR

SAT APR 20

ENGLAND V IRELAND

ITALY V SCOTLAND

SUN APR 21

WALES V FRANCE

THE LAZY ABL NARRATIVE

I really don’t like harpin’ on this too much but still I have to give a hat-tip to contributor Kristian Ross for bringing this TikTok to my attention.  I have spoken and written much bout what I call the ABL narrative and it has been trotted out much over the past couple of days in written social media posts, but this….well, if this guy was looking to audition to be the face and voice of ABL then congrats mate, you have it.

Putting aside the neutral venue misinformation I already mentioned further up the article wrt Stephen Jones, I never thought it would be humanly possible to fit more worn out tropes into one clip, but these lads managed it, including going to that picture of two “typical Leinster fans” which has to be at least 10 years old by now.  For obvious reasons I won’t embed the thing on this page but if you want to check it out it’s here.

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Only two French teams left in Europe, Toulouse who have to be well placed for a double and Clérmont, who I thought might be more focused on their relegation battle but instead put Ulster to the sword at the Michelin.  Toulon v Toulouse looks like the pick of the bunch although it will be interesting to see how La Rochelle pick themselves up again as they must travel to Castres.

I also must hold my hand up and say I got a fact wrong the preview pod & radio slot, I was sure Clérmont played La Rochelle in this round, and, well, they’re not.  Apologies.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

Round 21

SAT APR 20

CASTRES V LA ROCHELLE

PERPIGNAN V LYON

OYONNAX V RACING 92

STADE FRANÇAIS V BAYONNE

PAU V MONTPELLIER

TOULON V TOULOUSE

SUN APR 21

BORDEAUX V CLÉRMONT

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

All Leinster eyes will be on Franklin’s Gardens as our Croker opponents Northampton might be top but certainly can’t afford to slip up in their derby against Leicester.  Bath v Exeter also catches the eye as both look to bounce back from Euro disappointment as well as stay in top 4 contention.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

ROUND 15

SAT APR 20

SARACENS V GLOUCESTER

NORTHAMPTON V LEICESTER

EXETER V BATH

SUN APR 21

SALE SHARKS V HARLEQUINS

BRISTOL V NEWCASTLE

AIL UPDATE 

UL Bohs just about held on to top spot in the Women’s AIL by beating Belvo as Railway Union won at Rock, at the time of writing I can’t seem to find details on their semifinals yet but the men’s definitely take place this weekend with both apparently being live-streamed, check out our Rugby On TV post on Thursday for details.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

ROUND 18

UL BOHS 19-10 BELVO

COOKE 12-19 GALWEGIANS

BLACKROCK 12-17 RAILWAY UNION

WICKLOW 20-10 SUTTONIANS

MEN’S AIL 1A

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS

SAT APR 20

CORK CON V CLONTARF

TERENURE V LANSDOWNE

PROMOTION PLAYOFFS

SAT APR 20

OLD WESLEY V GARRYOWEN

SHANNON V OLD BELVEDERE

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Last week I pointed out that Tahs v Saders would be the match of the round, and boy I wasn’t wrong.  Apparently the lead changed hands a dozen times and a last minute penalty put it into “golden point” extra time with Will Harrison nailing the game-winning drop goal to keep the Crusaders in danger of missing the playoffs, surely the unthinkable.  They go to Perth next, with the unbeaten Hurricanes playing the Drua.  Kudos to Moana btw for their 3rd win of the season (could be wrong but I don’t think they’ve done that before), this one over the Reds.

ROUND 8

MOANA PASIFIKA 17-14 REDS

WARATAHS 43-40 ET CRUSADERS

HURRICANES 36-23 CHIEFS

REBELS 47-31 HIGHLANDERS

ROUND 9

FRI APR 19

FIJIAN DRUA V HURRICANES

REDS V HIGHLANDERS

SAT APR 20

BLUES V BRUMBIES

WESTERN FORCE V CRUSADERS

MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Dave Kearney lined out at full back for Chicago Hounds as they got their second win in a row against the expansion side Anthem RC from Charlotte, North Carolina, and should fancy their chances for another W next week as they play the other new team, namely the reinvented Giltinis who are now just called “Rugby FC Los Angeles”.  Meanwhile New England & Seattle lead the conferences and guess what – they meet each other next.

ROUND 7

DALLAS 22-20 UTAH

HOUSTON 35-47 NEW ENGLAND

SAN DIEGO 33-20 NOLA GOLD

CHICAGO 59-26 ANTHEM RC

LOS ANGELES 5-36 SEATTLE

ROUND 8

SAT APR 20

NEW ENGLAND V SEATTLE

NOLA GOLD V MIAMI

OLD GLORY V HOUSTON

SUN APR 21

SAN DIEGO V UTAH

CHICAGO V LOS ANGELES

CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE

I really thought we’d get at least one from Ulster & Connacht through to the final four but it was not to be.  The remainder of the comp will take place in England since the semifinals cannot be in SA so the Sharks will host Clérmont at Twickenham Stoop.

QUARTERFINALS

GLOUCESTER 23-13 OSPREYS

CLÉRMONT 53-14 ULSTER

SHARKS 36-30 EDINBURGH

BENETTON 39-24 CONNACHT

SEMIFINALS

SAT MAY 4

SHARKS V CLÉRMONT

GLOUCESTER V BENETTON

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

The URC resumes this weekend which means so does the HPL and I have to regain my top spot somehow….meanwhile Keego has all but conceded the Jersey of Shame will be his for another year…

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Hopefully that’s the last I’ll have to harp on the ABL narrative for a while although I may have to stay off social media to make sure, anyway, the SA tour is next on our radar with the Lions up for Leinster next in Jo’burg.   Don’t forget our slot after the 5 o’clock news on Dublin South 93.9 radio this Friday, we’ll also post our own preview that afternoon with a wrap pod to come on Sunday.

As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are.  JLP

337 : Leinster v La Rochelle wrap

13 April 2024; Dan Sheehan of Leinster dives over to score his side’s fourth try despite the tackle of Jonathan Danty of La Rochelle during the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

🏉 Nienaber D

🏉 Frustrating restarts

🏉 Excellent exit

🏉 Ross the Boss

🏉 Monkey gone

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN & MARK JACKSON

FULL TIME TAKES

Neil ‘Keego’ Keegan

That was massive for between the ears

Rewatched highlights. There was only 1 horse in it

I’m trying to figure out the La Rochelle game plan 

Also trying to figure out why Leinster-jitzu didn’t work in the years previous

Today is a (nother) day my aul lad and others didn’t have. France were unbeatable and we were close to thinking the same about La Rochelle. 

Today we showed what the story is. It’s actually unreal because it dismantled a he entire O’Gara La Rochelle gameplan

Paul McSweeney

I went to the game thinking that Leinster at their best might just squeeze a win in. How wrong can I be? That was an emphatic performance. Leinster needed this win way more than LR and it showed.

Now I’m just hoping that Croke Park is fully open and that tickets will be reasonably priced. I have my tickets for the final already…

Kevin Kelehan

Been watching Leinster since 1986 when they beat Munster in that years inter-pro, without hesitation that is by some distance the best Leinster performance I’ve ever seen, no Hugo Kennan, no Gary Ringrose and no James Ryan, yet they completely and utterly destroyed and humiliated the reigning champions in some style. Looking forward to the final in Tottenham and the cinquieme etoile!!!!

Greg Kelly

Usual story. Another 5 year French dynasty falls. The Leinster dynasty and brand continues. A few 50/50 calls saved LAR some extra pain but it feels like a sort of redemption. LARs false economy was built on Leinsters back and it falls to Leinsters sword.

LAR went to Cork looking to harness the local energy and they certainly harnessed some Munster European Energy 😉

William Andrew

Very well thought out performance by the players and coaches. Expected a slug fest with the selection but Leinster were moving LR around the park mercilessly.

I have had my reservations about Neinabar, but my goodness he delivered a class performance today.

Great to see secondary players delivering an emphatic game when it matters so much.

Chris McDonnell

I am not a Ross fan but he was excellent today. Credit where its due. Leo gambled with some calls today and got them right. Well done to them all.

Alan Murphy

A Test quality performance. Professional and tactical perfection. Delighted with the lads today. High pressure game with a lot of nonsense coming out of Cork during the week. Onwards and upwards.

Martin Lynch

Just So Lucky To Be A Leinster Fan. The Relief In The Stadium Was Palpable. Roll On Croker .

John O Halloran

Best performance in a long time, they stepped up . Well done.

Josephine Boyd

A fantastic performance from our boys in blue.💙👕🏈👍👏👏💪☘️

@harpinonrugby

Have wait for the traffic to clear so might as well do an aul TikTok as ya do… #LEIvLAR #InvestecChampionsCup #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving 

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 
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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP

QUARTERFINALS

BORDEAUX 41-42 HARLEQUINS

LEINSTER 40-13 LA ROCHELLE

NORTHAMPTON 59-22 BULLS

TOULOUSE 64-26 EXETER

SEMIFINALS

SAT MAY 4

LEINSTER V NORTHAMPTON

SUN MAY 5

TOULOUSE V HARLEQUINS

HARPIN MATCH WRAPS

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336 : Leinster v La Rochelle preview

also available as podcast

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER :  15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Jason Jenkins 6. Ryan Baird 7. Will Connors 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Michael Milne 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Ross Molony 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ciarán Frawley 23. Josh van der Flier

LA ROCHELLE : 15. Dillyn Leyds, 14. Jack Nowell, 13. UJ Seuteni, 12. Jonathan Danty, 11. Teddy Thomas, 10. Antoine Hastoy, 9. Tawera Kerr-Barlow

1. Louis Penverne, 2. Tolu Latu, 3. Uini Atonio, 4. Ultan Dillane, 5. Will Skelton, 6. Judicael Cancoriet, 7. Levani Botia, 8. Grégory Alldritt (c)

16. Quentin Lespiaucq, 17. Alexandre Kaddouri, 18. Joel Sclavi, 19. Thomas Lavault, 20. Paul Boudehent, 21. Yoan Tanga, 22. Teddy Iribaren, 23. Ihaia West

Investec Champions Cup 2023/24 Quarterfinal

Saturday, April 13, 2024

KO 5:30pm  Aviva Stadium

Live on: RTÉ2, TNT Sports 3

Referee: Karl Dickson (ENG)

AR1: Luke Pearce (ENG)

AR2: Andrew Jackson (ENG)

TMO: Tom Foley (ENG)

Rugby on TV : Apr 12-14

FULL LIST

(all times Irish)

FWIW we’re not impressed at all with the overlap

between Ireland v Wales & Leinster v La Rochelle

FRIDAY, APRIL 12

8:05AM – MOANA PASIFIKA V REDS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

8:05AM – WARATAHS V REDS – SUPER RUGBY WOMEN – SKY SPORTS ARENA

10:35AM – WARATAHS V CRUSADERS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS MIX

8PM – GLOUCESTER V OSPREYS – CHALLENGE CUP – TNT SPORTS 1, S4C

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

1:30AM – DALLAS V UTAH – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

5:35AM – BRUMBIES V WESTERN FORCE – SUPER RUGBY WOMEN – SKY SPORTS ARENA

5:50AM – SHIZUOKA V TOKYO BAY – LEAGUE ONE – RUGBYPASS.TV

8:05AM – HURRICANES V CHIEFS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

10:35AM – REBELS V HIGHLANDERS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

12:30PM – SHARKS V EDINBURGH – CHALLENGE CUP – TNT SPORTS TBC

12:30PM – CLÉRMONT V ULSTER – CHALLENGE CUP – TNT SPORTS 3

2:15PM – SCOTLAND V ENGLAND – WOMENS SIX NATIONS – BBC ONE

3PM – BORDEAUX V HARLEQUINS – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 3

4:45PM – IRELAND V WALES – WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS – VIRGIN MEDIA TWO

5:30PM – LEINSTER V LA ROCHELLE – CHAMPIONS CUP – RTÉ2, TNT SPORTS 3

8PM – NORTHAMPTON V BULLS – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 3

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

1AM – HOUSTON V NEW ENGLAND – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

6:20AM – BRAVE LUPUS TOKYO V KOBE STEELERS – LEAGUE ONE – RUGBYPASS.TV

12:30PM – FRANCE V ITALY – WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS – VIRGIN MEDIA TWO

12:30PM – BENETTON V CONNACHT – CHALLENGE CUP – TNT SPORTS 1

3PM – TOULOUSE V EXETER – CHAMPIONS CUP – ITV1, TNT SPORTS 1

9PM – SAN DIEGO V NOLA GOLD – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

9PM – CHICAGO V ANTHEM RC – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

11PM – LOS ANGELES V SEATTLE – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

MONDAY, APRIL 15

8PM – CHAMPIONS CUP HIGHLIGHTS – TNT SPORTS 2

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80+ column : Apr 10

On this week’s column…

🏉 LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES

🏉 NOT LACKING CONVICTION

🏉 THE SCENIC ROUTE TO THE QFs

🏉 TOP TOMASSO

🏉 THE NIENABER WAY

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 CC+SR≠CWC

🏉 LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

🏉 THAT ROG ARTICLE

🏉 LA ROCHELLE FAN CLUB (IRISH BRANCH)

🏉 KINO CRUNCHES THE NUMBERS

🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl W6N & SVNS] 

FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

“Should be a prerequisite for international refs to at least be able to communicate, it doesn’t have to be perfect”

Referee Karl Dickson comes under fire for his behaviour at the weekend

Ruck.co.uk

JLP : Little bit of a nothing burger story to lead off with, but I do so for a number of reasons.  First, the name Karl Dickson caught my eye simply because he is reffing Leinster’s big match at the Aviva this coming weekend.  But this whole “come under fire” thing seems a complete misdirect because I don’t see why he should be judged on whether or not he speaks French.  Obviously I think it has been good for refs like Wayne Barnes to parlez some Francais and the same goes for the French refs who speak English but for any of it to be mandatory is a bit of a stretch.  Maybe with the vast majority of rugby nations being English speaking it should require the basic rugby terms to be known by all but we’re straying down the wrong road if we think it should be part of the job.  Being good at a foreign language should not be a metric for deciding whether or not you’ll be good as a referee.  Actually if this article has any relevance at all it’s in a negative way and leads me to my second Front 5 article this week…

“The perpetrator was subsequently convicted of one count of use carriage service to menace or harass via online communication.”

Individual prosecuted following online abuse towards official

Jack Tunney – RugbyDump

JLP : That Dickson headline was written that way for one reason and one reason only….LITERAL clickbait.  It wanted readers who are inclined to disagree with refereeing decisions to give the article a hit thinking the “behaviour” of the official had something to do with a decision on the rugby pitch.  So basically you are actively seeking to trigger the types who might end up leaning towards actions like those taken by this individual.  

Obviously it is very good news that legal action has led to a conviction in this area and the hope is that the spread of this news will help deter other, but I’d argue that work needs to be done in other areas to stop the gaslighting as well.  I’ll never say that we should never disagree with officials to be clear, just that a very clear line needs to be drawn where that criticism stops and I’m not sure that has been properly done as yet.

…a Qatar Airways partnership to fly the SA franchises for EPCR matches has caused yet more logistical issues for the Bulls…

SA Rugby hit back at Bulls’ travel complaints

SA Rugby Mag

JLP : Travel was always going to be up there with the top negatives with letting the SA teams into northern hemisphere competitions, and this Last 16-to-quarterfinal turnaround week was always going to be when it was most noticeable, not just for SA teams either seeing how many miles ROG & co have clocked up.  For me, this is just further proof that the overall European calendar needs a major overhaul, but I won’t harp on that too much this time, I suppose when it comes to this particular case I have to wonder how an airline thinks they are being seen in a positive light being associated with a rugby club when it makes them endure eight flights instead of helping them travel more comfortably.

Menoncello…becomes the youngest winner in the award’s history, and only the second Italian winner following Andrea Masi

Menoncello voted Guinness Player of the Championship

SixNationsRugby.com

JLP : You might think I’d give a big “harrumph” that the player of the tournament didn’t go to the champions, let alone that it went to a team that finished 5th, but that would absolutely not be the case.  For Italy to have a 50% record in a tournament where they’ve collected enough wooden spoons to stir a Mediterranean Sea full of bolognese over the years is enough to show they deserve some kind of honour and this is just the way to do it, with Tomasso being just the promising young player to be the one to get it.  Interesting how the last Irish player to win was Jacob Stockdale…

“…if you look at the reality and just look at the size of Irish players in the Irish national side compared to other national sides around the world, in the tier one nations there isn’t a bigger, heavier side than Ireland.”

Jacques Nienaber aims to bring South African knockout secrets to Leinster’s formula

Gerry Thornley – Irish Times

JLP : Finishing off with a straightforward Thorinho piece based on an interview, and any insight into the Nienaber revolution at Leinster is of course welcome.

WRAP OF A WRAP

Wouldn’t expect anything less that top podding from Messrs Jackson & O’Muilleoir and both were true to form.  If you’ve been a long time listener to our wraps you probably noticed we have streamlined the format a LOT, taking out the Front Five (which moved to this column) and the bonus clip (which I got rid of altogether, both features were meant to try and cover non-Leinster/Ireland topics but basically that’s what this column is for).  Now we get our recordings done in under an hour and it saves me a ton of time while still giving the match that full Harpin treatment.

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe and/or leave a review if you can.

QUICK TAP : CC+SR≠CWC

As soon as I saw this story my Quick Tap rant for the week had its topic.  There are several other metrics where I feel this proposal looks bad but if I outlined them all the “tap” would have been anything but “quick”!!!!

@harpinonrugby

Our latest Quick Tap video is part of our 80+ column which posts on Wed aft at harpinonrugby.com #rugbytiktok #irishtiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

I don’t see Ringrose returning and I reckon we should probably presume Healy is also out the way he limped off last Saturday.  The way Jamie Osborne & Michael Milne have been playing of late I’m not too concerned about either tbh.  What does interest me is what we will do in the pack.  Many are saying Will Connors should start again as he did back in the pool match in December, but I’m wondering if instead we’ll add his tree-felling tackles to the final half an hour where they have shown many times they can really gather momentum.  I’m pretty sure a 6/2 split is on the cards whichever way we go.

Harpin’ matchday 23 v La Rochelle

Keenan, Larmour, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park

Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Molony, McCarthy, Baird, van der Flier, Doris

Kelleher, Milne, Ala’alatoa, Jenkins, Conan, Connors, McGrath, Frawley

NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

Robbie Henshaw: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from the Graduated Return to Play Protocols

Hugo Keenan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a hip injury

Luke McGrath: has come through the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and will return to full training this week

Ciarán Frawley: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a foot injury

Andrew Porter: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a shoulder injury

INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:

Jimmy O’Brien: will be further assessed this week as he nears a return from a neck injury

Charlie Ngatai: will be further assessed this week as he nears a return from a calf injury

Garry Ringrose: will be further assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his availability

Cian Healy: will be further assessed this week for a leg injury picked up at the weekend before a final decision is made on his availability

INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

N/A

NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:

James Ryan (arm), Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot)

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS 

Big, big match for Ireland this weekend.  It is essentially a wooden spoon playoff and we need to make every scrap of our home advantage count.  Obviously the re-addition of Cliodhna Moloney to the squad (finally!) will be a huge boost but if they feel they need her and indeed the 7s players why didn’t they add them sooner?  To my admittedly untrained eye I thought against Italy our biggest problem was that we lacked cohesion and adding new players could make that even more difficult, but we should still all get behind the girls on Saturday, although the direct clash of their second half with Leinster men’s first won’t make it easy.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

ROUND THREE

SAT APR 13

SCOTLAND V ENGLAND

IRELAND V WALES

SUN APR 14

FRANCE V ITALY

THAT ROG ARTICLE

I couldn’t let this go…look, I know these comments were made many years ago and that may be important context but still it’s the first time I have heard them and I’m not so sure time does a whole lot to heal them.  Was it OK to say those things in 2016?   Maybe there was mischief in digging them up to start the week that was in it but I’m certainly not going to have a lot of sympathy with him over it.  I’ve put a lot of words into the public domain myself over the years and if something comes back to haunt me now I’d have to own them.

But that’s enough on the matter as far as I’m concerned.  

LA ROCHELLE FAN CLUB (IRISH BRANCH)

Lot of chatter about the way some Irish fans will be supporting La Rochelle this Saturday.  I really don’t want to add to it on these pages, but it’s worth mentioning.  Personally, I’m fine with it.  I mean, actually wearing the jersey or merch to the matches might be a bit, er, OTT, but hey, you do you.  There’s a reason many choose to hate on Leinster, and that’s repeated success.  So instead of focusing on the hating, instead I focus on the reason, which for me, is a good thing.  Moving on…

KINO CRUNCHES THE NUMBERS

When he’s not guesting on the pod, Cian ‘RugbyKino’ O’Muilloeir has been known to pore over some relevant rugby stats and he has done some interesting work here on the remaining Champions Cup teams and how they have performed in relation to the bookies’ point spreads…

“SVNS” UPDATE

Both genders made it out of the pool phase but only the men went on to get some decent standings points thanks to an amazing Terry Kennedy hat-trick against the USA in the quarterfinals…it went to sudden death extra time and when a scrum in a brilliant position for us went a bit awry I thought we were in trouble until TK kicked it ahead and sprinted past pretty much everyone to get to it.  As I watched, even though the rest of the house was in bed on a Saturday morning, from the moment he kicked it I whispered “no way” and then I kept saying it over and over until by the time he dotted down I was screaming it!!!  Unfortunately the French were too good for us in the semis (despite being sans AD) but we recovered well to win the bronze medal to keep us in a solid second spot on the table.  And to be fair to the women’s team, they have also secured a spot in the final tournament and don’t forget of the two Irish teams they are the only ones with a leg victory so overall it has been an excellent season for the sevens programme so far.

One final note – as you can see in the graphic below, the official SVNS site didn’t seem to be able to find a picture of Michael Hooper, you’d think there might be one or two rattling around the aul internet wouldn’t you…

HONG KONG SEVENS

WOMEN

POOL STAGE

V SOUTH AFRICA 20-7

V AUSTRALIA 0-35

V FIJI 5-21

QUARTERFINALS

V FRANCE 7-31

5TH-8TH PLAYOFF

V JAPAN 5-12

MEN

POOL STAGE

V SOUTH AFRICA 17-22

V SAMOA 12-7

V SPAIN 12-5

QUARTERFINALS

V USA 24-19 AET

SEMIFINALS

V FRANCE 10-26

3RD PLACE PLAYOFF

V AUSTRALIA 14-5

Under the new model, HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events plus a Grand Final. The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of the seventh round in Singapore will secure their opportunity to compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS 2024 champions will be crowned.

Madrid will also play host to the high stakes relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their place on HSBC SVNS 2025.

NEXT IN THE SERIES…

SINGAPORE MAY 3-5

MADRID (FINALS) MAY 31-JUN 2

AIL UPDATE 

STOP THE PRESSES!  UL BOHS LOST A MATCH!!! Railway got the better of them in Round 17, and the top four all lock horns again in the final round of matches this weekend, I’m assuming that was smart scheduling from the organisers to help them get into the knockout frame of mind.  Still a shame this is all going on during the Six Nations, however.

Meanwhile in the men’s Div1A the final four was actually set with everyone at the top winning in the final series to leave to very interesting semifinals in Terenure v Lansdowne and Cork Con v Clontarf, they will take place the weekend after next.  

Meanwhile down in 1B I always get confused with the promotion format, turns out it is actually four teams that get to fight for the right to join St Mary’s in the top flight, with 9th place Shannon from 1A among the contestants.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

ROUND 17

GALWEGIANS 21-22 WICKLOW

BLACKROCK 32-5 COOKE

OLD BELVEDERE 50-12 BALLINCOLLIG

RAILWAY UNION 43-22 UL BOHS

ROUND 18

SAT APR 13

UL BOHS V BELVO

COOKE V GALWEGIANS

BLACKROCK V RAILWAY UNION

WICKLOW V SUTTONIANS

MEN’S AIL 1A

ROUND 18

BALLYNAHINCH 15-34 TERENURE

CITY OF ARMAGH 24-40 CORK CON

CLONTARF 31-19 TRINITY

UCD 33-17 SHANNON

YOUNG MUNSTER 24-29 LANSDOWNE

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS

SAT APR 20

CORK CON V CLONTARF

TERENURE V LANSDOWNE

PROMOTION PLAYOFFS

SAT APR 20

OLD WESLEY V GARRYOWEN

SHANNON V OLD BELVEDERE

MEN’S AIL 1B

ROUND 18

OLD WESLEY 52-15 QUEENS

NAAS 29-34 OLD BELVEDERE

GARRYOWEN 31-10 HIGHFIELD

BUCCANEERS 12-32 ST MARY’S

BLACKROCK 19-26 UCC

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Four massive home wins didn’t exactly make for an exciting round 7, but Tahs v Saders could catch the eye next weekend.

ROUND 7

BLUES 50-3 WESTERN FORCE

REBELS 41-20 FIJIAN DRUA

CHIEFS 68-12 MOANA PASIFIKA

BRUMBIES 40-16 WARATAHS

ROUND 8

FRI APR 12

MOANA PASIFIKA V REDS

WARATAHS V CRUSADERS

SAT APR 13

HURRICANES V CHIEFS

REBELS V HIGHLANDERS

MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Great win for Chicago in New Orleans which make them look like serious playoff contenders.  Houston remain the only unbeaten team and the visit of East-leading New England looks like the tie of the next round.

ROUND 6

UTAH 44-19 ANTHEM RC

SEATTLE 34-32 DALLAS

NOLA GOLD 21-38 CHICAGO

OLD GLORY 22-22 LOS ANGELES

NEW ENGLAND 25-3 MIAMI

ROUND 7

DALLAS V UTAH

HOUSTON V NEW ENGLAND

SAN DIEGO V NOLA GOLD

CHICAGO V ANTHEM RC

LOS ANGELES V SEATTLE

CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE

I firmly believed both Ulster and Connacht could win their away ties in the round of 16 but to repeat that this weekend won’t be easy.  Two matches in South Africa and two in France is quite a way to start your tenure as Ulster coach but we know Richie Murphy is up to the task and I certainly wouldn’t rule them out of contention at the Marcel Michelin.  Meanwhile if the boys from the west can repeat their second half form from last weekend, while Benetton will be hot favourites, you just never know.

ROUND OF 16

PAU 30-40 CONNACHT

SHARKS 47-3 ZEBRE

MONTPELLIER 17-40 ULSTER

EDINBURGH 33-15 BAYONNE

OSPREYS 23-15 SALE SHARKS

BENETTON 27-17 LIONS

CLÉRMONT 27-22 CHEETAHS

GLOUCESTER 30-25 CASTRES

QUARTERFINALS

FRI APR 12

GLOUCESTER V OSPREYS

SAT APR 13

CLÉRMONT V ULSTER

SHARKS V EDINBURGH

SUN APR 14

BENETTON V CONNACHT

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

La Rochelle are obviously our focus this week, don’t forget our slot after the 5 o’clock news on Dublin South 93.9 radio this Friday, we’ll also post our own preview that afternoon with a wrap pod to come on Sunday.

As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are.  JLP

335 : Leinster v Leicester Tigers wrap

6 April 2024; Jamison Gibson-Park of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s third try during the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 match between Leinster and Leicester Tigers at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

🏉 Jamison

🏉 Gibson-

🏉 Park

🏉 Workons

🏉 Nemesis next

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

MARK JACKSON & CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

FULL TIME TAKES

Kevin Kelehan

Got the job done, next week facing into a La Rochelle battered by a round trip from west France to Cape Town and back where they botched their travel arrangements and now return to La Rochelle before moving to Dublin, it won’t be easy for them overcoming that round trip on top of a decent examination by the Stormers. Jamie Osborne really proved himself last night, given the age profile of the 3 best centres in Ireland that is a very positive development for the medium term.

John Hyland

That Leicester pack was good but the ref was astonishingly inconsistent at the set-piece. Only Leinster were asked to leave a lineout gap. Cole and Montoya were up to all kinds of skulduggery. I find that our front row doesn’t lack power but is short of guile at times. I hope Porter and Sheehan are ready for Atonio boring in as usual next week.

Niall Moonan

We have no 10, why will Leinster not give Frawley a consistent run at 10? Why keep trying Ross Byrne he’s proven time and time again he’s not up to it. He was anonymous tonight

Robert Cashell

A win but that performance won’t be good enough next week. Leicester should have exposed our narrow defence but botched it more than one.

Odran John OBrien

Leinster really needs a Five Eighth to win anything in my opinion

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving 

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 
in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP

ROUND OF 16

TOULOUSE 31-7 RACING 92

EXETER 21-15 BATH

HARLEQUINS 28-24 GLASGOW

BORDEAUX 45-12 SARACENS

NORTHAMPTON 24-14 MUNSTER

BULLS 59-19 LYON

STORMERS 21-22 LA ROCHELLE

LEINSTER 36-22 LEICESTER TIGERS

QUARTERFINALS

SAT APR 13

BORDEAUX V HARLEQUINS

LEINSTER V LA ROCHELLE

NORTHAMPTON V BULLS

SUN APR 14

TOULOUSE V EXETER

HARPIN MATCH WRAPS

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AT ELVERYS

334 : Leinster v Leicester preview

also available as podcast

Our guest : NEIL ‘KEEGO’ KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER :  15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Ross Molony 5. Joe McCarthy 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Jason Jenkins 20. Jack Conan 21. Ben Murphy 22. Harry Byrne 23. Ciarán Frawley

LEICESTER TIGERS :  15 Jamie Shillcock 14 Freddie Steward 13 Dan Kelly 12 Solomone Kata 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins 10 Handré Pollard 9 Jack van Poortvliet 

1 James Cronin 2 Julián Montoya 3 Dan Cole 4 Harry Wells 5 Kyle Hatherell 6 Hanro Liebenberg 7 Olly Cracknell 8 Jasper Wiese

16 Charlie Clare 17 Francois van Wyk 18 Will Hurd 19 Finn Carnduff 20 Emeka Ilione 21 Tom Whiteley 22 Phil Cokanasiga 23 Mike Brown

Investec Champions Cup 2023/24 Round of 16

Saturday, April 6, 2024

KO 8pm  Aviva Stadium

Live on: RTÉ2, TNT Sports 2

Referee: Pierre Brousset (FRA)

AR1: Jeremy Rozier (FRA)

AR2: Kévin Bralley (FRA)

TMO: Denis Grenouillet (FRA)

Rugby on TV : Apr 4-8

FULL LIST

(all times Irish)

NOTE : BT SPORTS IS NOW KNOWN AS TNT SPORTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 4

4:25PM – IRELAND V SCOTLAND – U18 MEN’S SIX NATIONS – IRISH RUGBY YOUTUBE

FRIDAY, APRIL 5

4:39AM – IRELAND MEN V SOUTH AFRICA – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

5:02AM – IRELAND WOMEN V SOUTH AFRICA – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

7AM – REBELS V REDS – SUPER RUGBY WOMEN – SKY SPORTS ARENA

7:05AM – BLUES V WESTERN FORCE – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

7:49AM – IRELAND MEN V SAMOA – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

8:35AM – IRELAND WOMEN V AUSTRALIA – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

9:35AM – REBELS V FIJIAN DRUA – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

8PM – HARLEQUINS V GLASGOW WARRIORS – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 1

8PM – GLOUCESTER V CASTRES – CHALLENGE CUP – PREMIER SPORTS 1 

SATURDAY, APRIL 6

3AM – UTAH V ANTHEM RC – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

3:39AM – IRELAND MEN V SPAIN – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

4:02AM – IRELAND WOMEN V FIJI – HONG KONG 7S – TNT SPORTS 2

4:30AM – SEATTLE V DALLAS – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

4:50AM – BLACK RAMS V YOKOHAMA – LEAGUE ONE – RUGBYPASS.TV

6AM – BRUMBIES V FIJIAN DRUA – SUPER RUGBY WOMEN – SKY SPORTS MIX

7:05AM – CHIEFS V MOANA PASIFIKA – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

8AM – WESTERN FORCE V WARATAHS – SUPER RUGBY WOMEN – SKY SPORTS MIX

9:35AM – BRUMBIES V WARATAHS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

12:30PM – BULLS V LYON – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 2

2:30PM – UCD V SHANNON – MEN’S AIL 1A – BF SPORTS ANALYSIS YOUTUBE

3PM – EXETER V BATH – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS  2

3PM – STORMERS V LA ROCHELLE – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 4

4:30PM – SCOTLAND V IRELAND – U18 WOMENS SIX NATIONS – SIX NATIONS U20 YOUTUBE

5:30PM – BORDEAUX V SARACENS – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 2

5:30PM – BENETTON V LIONS – CHALLENGE CUP – EPCRUGBY.COM*

8PM – LEINSTER V LEICESTER TIGERS – CHAMPIONS CUP – RTÉ2, TNT SPORTS 2

8PM – OSPREYS V SALE SHARKS – CHALLENGE CUP – S4C

8PM – EDINBURGH V BAYONNE – CHALLENGE CUP – PREMIER SPORTS 1 

10PM – NOLA GOLD V CHICAGO – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

10:30PM – NEW ENGLAND V MIAMI – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

11PM – OLD GLORY DC V LOS ANGELES – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

SUNDAY, APRIL 7

6:20AM – KOBE STEELERS V SUNGOLIATH – LEAGUE ONE – RUGBYPASS.TV

9:50AM – PORTUGAL V IRELAND – U18 MEN’S SIX NATIONS – SIX NATIONS U20 YOUTUBE

12:30PM – NORTHAMPTON V MUNSTER – CHAMPIONS CUP – ITV1, TNT SPORTS 1

12:30PM – MONTPELLIER V ULSTER – CHALLENGE CUP – PREMIER SPORTS 1 

3PM – TOULOUSE V RACING 92 – CHAMPIONS CUP – TNT SPORTS 1

3PM – SHARKS V ZEBRE – CHALLENGE CUP – EPCRUGBY.COM*

5:30PM – PAU V CONNACHT – CHALLENGE CUP – PREMIER SPORTS 1 

5:35PM – MERTHYR V LLANDOVERY – WELSH PREM CUP – S4C

MONDAY, APRIL 8

5PM – LEINSTER V LEICESTER (HIGHLIGHTS) – TNT SPORTS 3

10PM – CHAMPIONS CUP HIGHLIGHTS – TNT SPORTS 2

* paid streaming service

RUGBY ON TV 

IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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YOUTUBE CHANNEL

80+ column : Apr 3

On this week’s column…

🏉 LOWE ON NIENABER

🏉 KITSHOFF OFF?

🏉 BLOODGATE CALLBACK

🏉 WHITELOCK STAT

🏉 LRZ CHIEF CONCERNS

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 LUKE’S CHALLENGE

🏉 WHO’S THE FOOL?

🏉 LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl W6N & SVNS] 

FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

“Jacques [Nienaber] is mainly a defensive mastermind and he has brought in a completely different defensive system and it is working. I can understand why South Africa were so successful under him.”

James Lowe: ‘The only way you measure a season is trophies’

Johnny Watterson – Irish Times

JLP : Going by the few interviews I’ve seen with Lowe over the years, it seems like he talks like he plays, to say “he doesn’t understate things” would itself be an understatement.  But while the goals outlined his quote which is the title of the piece are yet to be fulfilled, the quote I chose speaks to the effect Neinaber has had on the Leinster set up.  When a quality coach joins an already quality organisation, it’s not about reinvention, rather refining, and not only have we seen results on the pitch, it sounds like the lads have bought into his ways off it too.  Obviously this will get tested even more as we go deeper into the business end of the season.

According to a  report over the weekend from Afrikaans newspaper Rapport, Kitshoff met up with Stormers coach John Dobson about a potential return.

Two-Time World Cup Winner Ready To Leave Ulster After One Season

Jonathan Browne – Balls.ie

JLP : Always need a pinch of salt with this kind of story, but this certainly wouldn’t surprise me if true, although not for the reasons you might think.  Many speculators are linking it with all that has been going on at Ulster Rugby, and it’s true that the Ravenhill garden has been close to rosy this season (bar one at the RDS on New Year’s Day of course, obvs I don’t like bringing it up but I know any Ulster fans reading are thinking it ha ha)  but I’m not 100% sure it only has to do with his current environment.  Moving can have a profound affect on people if it’s just up the road let alone across hemispheres.  Many NIQ signings haven’t worked out, to Leinster fans I’d say “remember Steven Sykes?” only I’d wonder if they all actually would.  Hey, maybe it’s just a Steven thing.  Anyway – if SK does move on they’re going to need a decent loose head option so it would be interesting to see what happens next.

Herbst was penalized and sent to the sin bin during the 63rd minute…he reentered the game after only seven minutes

RFU apologises for sin-bin error in Premiership game between Harlequins and Bath

Matthew Wood – Talking Rugby Union

JLP : Look – mistakes happen.  Ones like this absolutely shouldn’t, but they do.  It’s just as a Leinster fan, it’s interesting to see that even 15 years after #bloodgate Harlequins are still going onto the pitch when they shouldn’t… 😜

He didn’t want to be that guy who tarnished his reputation by playing too long 

Sam Whitelock retiring instead of shock All Blacks comeback is the right decision

Gregor Paul – NZ Herald

JLP : Paul makes all the right points here; all the greats need to acknowledge when it’s time to step away from the highest level.  What led me to include this story was the stat outlined in the tweet below…Russ Petty’s number-crunching offerings justify my continuing to endure the Musk-infested platform all on their own!

…maybe (he will have to) change his body type slightly so that he could then be ready to the physical challenges of playing American football.

NFL boss reveals how Louis Rees-Zammit ‘aced’ Kansas City Chiefs visit and why new rule is game-changing for him

Dylan James – WalesOnline

JLP : I would love to have the time to live my life, follow rugby enough to  run this site AND follow other codes like the NFL as closely but that’s never going to happen.  That’s not going to stop me opining on them though!!!!  While I would hope that the positive reports on LRZ’s efforts are genuine, I can’t help but be sceptical that this is a pudding that still needs to be proven, for two reasons.  First, signing with a franchise does not guarantee that you will actually take to the field when the season rolls around in September, even if it is the reigning champions.  Plus, I have to wonder about the way the league has made such a big deal about this “international player pathway”.  Why so keen to get players in from abroad?  Are participation levels dwindling at home?  With 32 professional rosters not to mention hundreds of college level ones to fill, could it be that the concussion element has had an effect on those taking up the sport?  Hey, I’m a blogger, crackpot conspiracies are kinda my thing, but I wonder how crackpot this one is.  Anyway, I wish LRZ all the best, although I was surprised to see the Chiefs list him as a running back, he will certainly need to work on his physique for that role.

WRAP OF A WRAP

Completely new experience for me when it came to the wrap – I actually got to watch the match sitting next to one of my guests with Nathan Johns beside me in the media box…obvs with him working and all we didn’t chat much (though since I forgot my headphones I may have bent his ear more than I should have done, sorry mate!).

He and Conor did a great job going back over the match, and a special mention to Harry Murphy of Sportsfile for the snap below which does a brilliant job of capturing the RDS experience for Leinster fans.

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe and/or leave a review if you can.

THE LUKE MCGRATH CHALLENGE

Midterm break means kids are off which in turn means I don’t have time for a Quick Tap video this week, instead I’ll share this clip from the wrap pod where we discussed at length Luke McGrath’s challenge on Kurt-Lee Arendse.  Obvs we don’t want to dwell TOO much on these things because it might put too much attention on one player and it goes without saying Luke himself is a major part of Leinster’s plans,

but we also must not forget the overall issue of player safety and the need to properly sanction these situations.  On top of that is the whole assumption that because we’re a Leinster-centric pod then we’d rather ignore it so I reckon this bit of harpin’ dispels that myth pretty well.

LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

Good news this week in that the “Unavailable for selection” portion of the update seems a hell of a lot lighter, but the heavy “further assessment required” section means it’s nigh on impossible to forecast a Leinster 23 for the Champions Cup knockouts…as you can see I have gone for the two extremes, one where any or all of those players are available (although I’m thinking neither Ringrose and Ngatai will make it whatever happens) and another (tactfully avoiding the word “worst”) where none of them are.

Harpin’ matchday 23 v Leicester

[BEST CASE]

Keenan, O’Brien J, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park

Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Molony, McCarthy, Baird, van der Flier, Doris

Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Jenkins, Conan, McGrath, H Byrne, Frawley

[LEAST BEST CASE]

Larmour, Russell, Henshaw, Osborne, Lowe, R Byrne, Gibson-Park

Healy, Sheehan, Furlong, Molony, McCarthy, Baird, van der Flier, Doris

Kelleher, Milne, Ala’alatoa, Jenkins, Conan, Foley, H Byrne, Turner

NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

Cormac Foley: has returned to full training this week after returning from a shoulder injury

INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:

Jimmy O’Brien: will be further assessed this week as he nears a return from a neck injury

Luke McGrath: has entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and will be assessed further in the week

Robbie Henshaw: has entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and will be assessed further in the week

Ciarán Frawley: will be further assessed this week for a foot injury before a final decision is made on his availability

Hugo Keenan: will be further assessed this week for a hip injury before a final decision is made on his availability

Garry Ringrose: will be further assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his availability

Andrew Porter: will be further assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his availability

Charlie Ngatai: will step up his rehabilitation from a calf injury this week as he nears a return to action

INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:

N/A

NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:

James Ryan (arm), Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot)

WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS 

Very frustrating watching Ireland on Sunday, they did so well right at the start and right at the end but the bits in between needed a lot of work.  I still firmly believe it was absolutely the right thing to take the likes of Eve Higgins and Beibhinn Parsons, but at the RDS the team did have the look of one that has had players parachuted in and it might take time for them to gel to the standards required for the Six Nations.  Maybe if they were together for the WXV as well the team would be better set, but look, we are where we are and now it’s imperative that we get ourselves ready for the Welsh in Cork on Apr 13, because with the Scots doing well and England being England, the schedule certainly does not get much easier from there.

Anyway like I always say you should probably take any analysis of mine on this with a pinch of salt so here’s a good thread on Ireland’s chances from friend of the pod @IrishWomens…

ROUND TWO

SCOTLAND 5-15 FRANCE

ENGLAND 46-10 WALES

IRELAND 21-27 ITALY

ROUND THREE

SAT APR 13

SCOTLAND V ENGLAND

IRELAND V WALES

SUN APR 14

FRANCE V ITALY

WHO’S THE FOOL?

Another April 1st has been and gone and the multitudes of Fake News articles thankfully has too.  As one who loves to kid around, you’d think I’d be all in favour of this practice but I’m actually the exact opposite, pretty boring at this stage if I’m honest…rather than have them all concentrated on one day I’d much rather have these scattered throughout the year; I did like most of the East Terrace stuff.

I’m also ashamed to say I DID fall for one tweet, by regular commenter and Leinster fan Cian Ormond (although this doesn’t fall into the boring category because I meant from content-creators rather than individuals)…

“SVNS” UPDATE

The series resumes this weekend with the famous Hong Kong festival which as you can see has a lot of unsociable kickoff times and some tricky tests for both Irish genders.  Still definitely worth a watch, remember they can all be played back via RugbyPass.tv.

NEXT IN THE SERIES…

HONG KONG 

FRI APR 5

4:39AM MEN V SOUTH AFRICA

5:02AM WOMEN V SOUTH AFRICA

7:49AM MEN V SAMOA

8:35AM WOMEN V AUSTRALIA

SAT APR 6

3:39AM MEN V SPAIN

4:02AM WOMEN V FIJI

SINGAPORE MAY 3-5

MADRID MAY 31-JUN 2

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Starting with the bottom of the table this week, Oyonnax look pretty much doomed and I have to say it’s starting to look worrying for Montpellier although they could well pick themselves up for a one game playoff if required.  Back at the business end, Stade Français and Toulouse both won by 2 to stay top while Stu Lancaster & ROG stayed in the barrage picture although with 6 rounds still to go you could say everyone down to 10th is in with a shout.  I’m going to go for Castres v La Rochelle as the pick of the next round although much will depend on their respective involvement in Europe at that stage.

Round 20

MONTPELLIER 10-12 STADE FRANÇAIS 

PERPIGNAN 43-12 CASTRES

LA ROCHELLE 40-21 OYONNAX

LYON 27-10 BORDEAUX

RACING 92 26-10 CLÉRMONT

TOULOUSE 31-29 PAU

BAYONNE 10-46 TOULON

Round 21

SAT APR 20

CASTRES V LA ROCHELLE

PERPIGNAN V LYON

OYONNAX V RACING 92

STADE FRANÇAIS V BAYONNE

PAU V MONTPELLIER

TOULON V TOULOUSE

SUN APR 21

BORDEAUX V CLÉRMONT

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

70% of the Premiership clubs have won 8 and lost 6 of their matches so far this season.  Might need a moment to let that sink in…but we still need to be clear that however well their 7th and 8th placed teams may be doing, it’s still not exactly fair that they should gain entry into the Champions Cup when it’s so much more difficult to qualify from the URC and 🔝🐱🐴 .  And I’m only pointing this out because it was the Premiership clubs/English media that was always pointing out European qualification injustice in the past.  Anyway…Northampton remain top of the pile with a decent home win over Sarries not the worst preparation for the visit of Munster.

ROUND 14

NEWCASTLE 13-19 LEICESTER

NORTHAMPTON 41-30 SARACENS

GLOUCESTER 24-33 BRISTOL

HARLEQUINS 40-36 BATH

SALE SHARKS 41-5 EXETER

ROUND 15

SAT APR 20

SARACENS V GLOUCESTER

NORTHAMPTON V LEICESTER

EXETER V BATH

SUN APR 21

SALE SHARKS V HARLEQUINS

BRISTOL V NEWCASTLE

AIL UPDATE 

If I were a betting man I’d say the Women’s AIL final would likely be between Railway Union and UL Bohs and guess who play each other next in the regular season?  Should be a fascinating encounter and might be the best chance of halting Bohs’ unbeaten run.

In the men, champions Terenure finally put their shaky start to the campaign behind them by reaching the summit after a convincing 29-15 win over Tarf at Lakelands with Leinster caps like John McKee and Aitzol King among the try scorers.

But while the top 4 teams are now set, the home semifinals are far from certain.  Despite being in pole position, Nure will find their final match at Hinch anything but easy and should they slip up, both Cork Con and Tarf are ready to overtake them should they overcome Armagh and Trinity respectively.  Although Dublin Univ face the drop to 1B they did have some glory with victory in the colours match over UCD, who had another Leinster player among their try scorers in Conor O’Tighearnaigh.

One last thing about Div 1A…while Trinners are down, the team finishing 9th must survive a playoff to avoid the drop and it is now a straight fight between City of Armagh (who host Cork Con) and Shannon (who go to Belfield Bowl) with the Ulster side having the points diff advantage should they remain level, although you could argue than maybe wins should be the first tiebreaker in which case Shannon would have the edge.

Then on the other end of that playoff, Old Wesley picked up a LBP at already-promoted St Mary’s to keep them in pole position but should they slip up at home to Queens in the final round, Garryowen and Highfield face each other with the winner likely to jump into 2nd.  Still much to play for in that second tier.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

ROUND 16

SAT MAR 30

BALLINCOLLIG 5-42 BLACKROCK

OLD BELVEDERE 18-34 RAILWAY UNION

SUTTONIANS 22-19 GALWEGIANS

WICKLOW 29-19 COOKE

ROUND 17

SAT APR 6

GALWEGIANS V WICKLOW

BLACKROCK V COOKE

OLD BELVEDERE V BALLINCOLLIG

RAILWAY UNION V UL BOHS

MEN’S AIL 1A

ROUND 17

CORK CON 10-7 BALLYNAHINCH

LANSDOWNE 64-31 ARMAGH

TERENURE 29-15 CLONTARF

TRINITY 22-13 UCD

SHANNON 37-22 YOUNG MUNSTER

ROUND 18

SAT APR 6

BALLYNAHINCH V TERENURE

CITY OF ARMAGH V CORK CON

CLONTARF V TRINITY

UCD V SHANNON

YOUNG MUNSTER V LANSDOWNE

MEN’S AIL 1B

ROUND 17

HIGHFIELD 21-7 BLACKROCK

OLD BELVEDERE 3-28 GARRYOWEN

QUEENS 33-31 NAAS

ST MARY’S 34-29 OLD WESLEY

UCC 48-7 BUCCANEERS

ROUND 18

SAT APR 6

OLD WESLEY V QUEENS

NAAS V OLD BELVEDERE

GARRYOWEN V HIGHFIELD

BUCCANEERS V ST MARY’S

BLACKROCK V UCC

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Crusaders are finally off the mark, putting away the Chiefs handily enough on home soil but they still very much need a bye week to regroup for the remainder of the campaign and the schedule has obliged.  The Hurricanes stay top after a big win in Otago with the Blues and Brumbies hot in pursuit.  Unfortunately none of the Round 7 ties really jump out at you.

ROUND 6

CRUSADERS 37-26 CHIEFS

WARATAHS 21-27 REBELS

FIJIAN DRUA 31-13 WESTERN FORCE

MOANA PASIFIKA 8-47 BLUES

HIGHLANDERS 12-47 HURRICANES

REDS 19-20 BRUMBIES

ROUND 7

FRI APR 5

BLUES V WESTERN FORCE

REBELS V FIJIAN DRUA

SAT APR 6

CHIEFS V MOANA PASIFIKA

BRUMBIES V WARATAHS

MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Houston won the Texas derby (tho I doubt they call it that over there) to stay top in the West while New England survived their bye week to stay in 1st over in the East.  My “adopted” team for this season Chicago Hounds dropped to their third defeat, this time at home to Seattle with Nick McCarthy, Conall Boomer and Luke Carty all starting while I forgot to mention Dave Kearney actually made his debut last week against New England although he didn’t feature this week.  They won’t have it any easier this coming next week as they must travel to New Orleans.

ROUND 5

DALLAS 27-30 HOUSTON

CHICAGO 26-34 SEATTLE

ANTHEM RC 32-46 OLD GLORY DC

MIAMI 21-22 SAN DIEGO

ROUND 6

SAT APR 6

UTAH V ANTHEM RC

SEATTLE V DALLAS

NOLA GOLD V CHICAGO

CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE

Time to return to having this update in the column especially with two provinces involved and both having 🔝🐱🐴 away dates.  If I had to say either assignment was “the easier” I’d have to say it was Ulster’s since Montpellier will most definitely be much more focused on their domestic situation (see update above) while despite Pau being in the playoff picture they might see this comp as a realistic chance of silverware.  Quite an interesting draw this when you study it closely.

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Although my actual performance this week was an improvement on the last round, I still gave up my long-standing 1st place status after Kino’s stats-based approach finally got the better of me in real “tortoise over hare” fashion although there is of course still quite a way to go and nobody can be ruled out of contention.  Well, when I say “nobody”, I mean of course nobody except ‘No Picks Keego’…

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Champions Cup is next, hopefully for both of the next two weeks when it comes to Leinster but first we must of course focus on the visit of the Tigers to the Aviva Stadium.  We’ll have our usual preview on Friday as well as our usual pod recording Sunday eve, and naturally we’ll continue to post our regular amount of content across all the different platforms.

As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are.  JLP

333 : Leinster v Bulls wrap

29 March 2024; Jack Conan of Leinster dives over to score his side’s sixth try despite the tackle of Devon Williams of Vodacom Bulls during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Vodacom Bulls at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
@harpinonrugby

Pod available on Apple, Spotify and most major platforms #rugbytiktok #URC

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

🏉 Somehow ahead

🏉 #Lukegate

🏉 Scoring & Scrambling

🏉 Eventually over

🏉 Leinster’s South African-ness

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & NATHAN JOHNS

FULL TIME TAKES

Martin Lynch

Tough First Half. Bulls Ran. Out Of Steam. We Upped It Big Time . Great To See Them Back To Their Best. 👍🏉💪💙

Jay Long

I was mainly thinking

Ahem

Leeeeeiiinnnnsssttteeeerrrr

Leiiiiiinnnnnssstttttteeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr

William Andrew

Good win , but scrums need attention. Lots of players came on hungry and contributing.

Farcical ending by the officials nothing for player safety

David Ryle

Was worried about this game. First half was poor but Leinster seemed to have found their mojo in the 2nd half.

Greg Kelly

Another testament to how competitive the URC has really become

URC WRAP

ROUND 13

LEINSTER 47-14 BULLS

DRAGONS 20-13 ZEBRE

BENETTON 18-14 CONNACHT

SHARKS 23-13 EDINBURGH

OSPREYS 36-21 LIONS

STORMERS 13-7 ULSTER

SCARLETS 3-45 GLASGOW

MUNSTER 20-15 CARDIFF

ROUND 14

FRI APR 19

ULSTER V CARDIFF

GLASGOW V SHARKS

SAT APR 20

LIONS V LEINSTER

BENETTON V DRAGONS

BULLS V MUNSTER

STORMERS V OSPREYS

CONNACHT V ZEBRE

EDINBURGH V SCARLETS

HARPIN MATCH WRAPS

ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE IRISH RUGBY SHOP

AT ELVERYS