20 January 2024; Joe McCarthy of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s first try during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 4 Round 4 match between Leicester Tigers and Leinster at Mattioli Woods Welford Road in Leicester, England. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
At this rate, Caelan Doris will be getting World Rugby Player of the Year…… Unbelievable in all aspects of his game currently. ☘️💪🏉👏
Jamie Bermingham
Good win and great going getting the BP at the end. We really seem at times to be pushing the physical game this season, as a way to show we can deal with it
Eamon Phelan
Good win harry byrne struggled in forts 10 mins when Leicester were on top after that class . Very good team with loads of options from a jealous Munster fan
Andrew Byrne
I can’t be the only person who is this excited to see just how high the ceiling is for Joe McCarthy…still just 22 years old and he’s playing like an old master. I feel like we are witnessing the start of something special here.
Michaela Monaghan
Can’t believe we’re playing Leicester again In round 16!!
Brian Corr
I thought they showed great determination to chase the bonus point, in the past they’ve kicked out on 80 mins happy with what they got, fair play to Leicester for also trying to get the losing bonus and the ref for not blowing up straight after their knock on.
Leinsters big squad is showing its true value and they’ve shown players stepping in and out doesn’t make much difference
Kevin OCeallaigh
The first time in a long time that I’ve seen true grit, determination and old-school grind by a Leinster side to get that bonus point on 85 minutes. Lowe was imperious in the air. Henshaw looked to be back to where we know he can be, and McCarthy just gets better and better. What a great game!
Bernie Cunningham
Great performance 27 unanswered points after going behind by 10. Lads were brill
I had to head out the door the second Doris got his iconic BP try and couldn’t tweet at the FT whistle like I normally do but Whiff of Cordite pretty much said what I would have…
Great away day stuff from Leinster. Doris’ turnover on 5m line broke Leicester. Counter ruck the difference, it’s really working for Leinster this season especially in these sorts of dogfights. Joe Mc, Lowe, Doris all with huge performances. Hope Harry’s ok – played well.
The news will be a big blow for both La Rochelle and France as the 26-year-old has been in impressive form since his return from the World Cup campaign. Pierre Bourgarit set to miss France’s Six Nations campaign Frank Nickson – Talking Rugby Union
Note – views expressed in “Front Five” links do not necessarily reflect those of HarpinOnRugby
WRAP OF A WRAP
Had a go at our new wrap format this weekend having switched the Front Five segment over to this column as you see above. It certainly gave us more time to harp on our feature match and as ever Conor & Tom did a bang up job getting it done.
If you missed it, 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.
NEW LOOK BONUS CLIP
The bonus clip also got a mini makeover; instead of three of us harping on one topic we will now each bring our own chosen subjects for a brief rant. I’ve posted the transcript from my Duponte bit below FWIW.
A TONY BRIDGE TOO FAR?
2024 is an Olympic year and of course it has been great for rugby to have been included as a discipline even if it is the shortened sevens version of the game.
And from an Irish point of view we have both genders taking part in the tournament in Paris and going by the way both have played so far on the world circuit there’s every possibility for us to be in contention for a medal or two all going well.
But what I’d like to harp on here is the decision to include Antione Duponte in the French squad for the tournament. Obviously there are many benefits for this…France will certainly want to do well on their own patch especially given how the World Cup turned out. And anyone who watched the Ulster Toulouse game on Saturday evening will know he is still very much at the top of his game and given how he can create space from nothing on a pitch with 30 bodies on it, you can only imagine how he’d tear it up in sevens so when the Games are actually taking place at the end of July it should be a good advertisement for all forms of the sport.
For me though, none of those positives outweigh the downsides. Obviously for this I have to take off both my Leinster and Ireland hats because the fact that he will be unavailable for both the Six Nations and the business end of the Champions Cup certainly won’t hurt our chances at all. But with an overall rugby supporters hat on, you really do want the best players available for all the top matches and as exciting as all as the sevens code may be, surely the fifteens version has to trump it every time.
Then there’s the fact that Duponte parachuting into the French sevens squad means that someone who has been involved with sevens regularly for the past while is likely to miss out. I have also heard talk of Irish fifteens stars like Nick Timoney doing likewise and while the addition of talent like that would certainly help our chances, the actual Irish sevens men’ squad has become quite settled over the past few seasons and given these players are being denied the opportunity to achieve the honours afforded by playing for provinces, for any to also miss out on a medal chance just doesn’t sit well with me.
Of course on the women’s side the issue is even bigger since they don’t even need the Olympics to deprive the senior fifteens squad of the best available players. I could be wrong but you have to assume our last place finish in the 2023 Six Nations could have been avoided with the likes of Beibhinn Parsons and Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe involved.
At the end of the day there’s no disputing that seven into fifteen just doesn’t go evenly in every sense. The best way forward has to be to keep them apart and prioritise the version of the sport that came first.
FORMAT REFORM
I’m wary of doing these TikToks just to go along with popular views on rugby matters so this week I have gone with the (admittedly not exactly sexy) topic of Champions Cup format reform. Again I have included the transcript.
With the final round of Champions Cup pool matches coming up I suppose it’s time to have another crack at addressing the much debated issue of the format, but for this I actually don’t agree with what seems to be the popular opinion.
Having said that I should probably start by pointing out that I’m not exactly a fan of the current method either, I just disagree with what most people are finding wrong with it. Judging by comments on social media it seems that the biggest flaw of the current system is the fact that you can lose three of your four pool matches and still qualify for the knockouts.
Personally I don’t think that’s as ridiculous as you might think. For one thing, under the round robin pools of four everyone is saying we should go back to, you weren’t trying to get into the last 16 it was the last 8 and besides, teams still have qualified for the quarterfinals winning just 3 of their 6 pool matches for example in 2016 Exeter actually topped their pool despite three losses so it’s not like your record had to be all that perfect.
But more importantly we have to remember that the last 16 stage is actually replacing rounds 5 and 6 from the pools in the old method. So instead of up to 24 matches a lot of which are dead rubbers, we now actually have 8 matches all of which are straight knockout rugby and even if you did qualify with just one win, you most certainly aren’t guaranteed an easy task for getting any further.
But look like I said, I’m not wild about the current way myself so I won’t try to defend it anymore than that, what I will say is that we need to be clear on what is actually causing the problem. The domestic leagues, specifically the English & French ones, just don’t seem to be willing to give back the extra weekends required to go back to the old way so until that happens, we’re bound to be having this debate every season whatever way they structure this competition.
All I’m saying is that if there is to be a change it needs to one that fixes issues that were even there in the format during the so-called golden years, like the fact that teams have always been forced to choose between the continental and domestic fixtures when it comes to picking their strongest sides.
Until that happens it seems pointless arguing over the format, we might as well focus on the actual rugby-related questions like can anyone stop Toulouse and Bordeaux, can La Rochelle overcome their shaky start and, of course, can Leinster finally get that fifth star?
[Besides, debating formats is just boring]
LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
It goes without saying the uncertainty over both Harry and Ciarán is a major concern for Leinster, nothing at all against Sam Prendergast but the hope is that at least one will be available for what could be a tricky outing at Welford Road. Elsewhere it was great to see the likes of Ryan, Lowe and Furlong get through the Aviva match unscathed, though the section at the bottom of the update still looks far from ideal.
Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Ryan, Baird, van der Flier, Doris
Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Molony, Conan, McGrath, Frawley/Prendergast/Tector, O’Brien T
NB : the above matchday 23 is completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
James Ryan: came through the game against Stade Francais with no issues and will be available for selection this week
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Harry Byrne: picked up an ankle injury at training and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection
Ciarán Frawley: picked up a rib injury during the Stade Francis game and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Michael Milne: picked up a calf injury last week and will be unavailable for selection this week
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Jimmy O’Brien (neck), Martin Moloney (bicep), Alex Soroka (foot), Charlie Ngatai (calf), Cormac Foley (shoulder), Ross Byrne (arm) and Jamie Osborne (shoulder)
LRZ TO USA
News is only breaking as I’m posting this column so haven’t had much time to react with any more than the tweet blow plus the realization that Welsh rugby seems to be in an even worse state than once thought. If they had won a RWC or Grand Slam in the past year or so I wonder if he’d be even considering “doing a Christian Wade”. Interesting POV from Harpin contributor Mark Jackson too.
I knew LRZ had a shot at starting for the Lions, I just didn't think it could be Detroit.
The Leinster-heavy Wolfhounds won in Glasgow to keep them at the top of the Celtic Challenge table as the competition goes into a bye weekend. The Clovers made it another Irish double as they edged the Lightning.
Meanwhile in the men’s AIL the top 5 were kept apart in Round 10 and all won which has of course opened up something of a gap in the middle of the table. The Dublin derby at Castle Avenue between Clontarf and Lansdowne has to be the pick of round 11.
#SupportYourLocalClub
WOMEN’S CELTIC CHALLENGE
ROUND 3
GLASGOW WARRIORS 12-40 WOLFHOUNDS
CLOVERS 19-17 GWALIA LIGHTNING
BRYTHON THUNDER 17-22 EDINBURGH
ROUND 4
SAT JAN 27
GLASGOW WARRIORS V CLOVERS
WOLFHOUNDS V BRYTHON THUNDER
SUN JAN 28
GWALIA LIGHTNING V EDINBURGH
MEN’S AIL
ROUND 10
LANSDOWNE 30-26 UCD
BALLYNAHINCH 36-10 CITY OF ARMAGH
SHANNON 20-24 CLONTARF
TERENURE 26-17 DUBLIN UNIV
CORK CON 23-13 YOUNG MUNSTER
ROUND 11
SAT DEC 23
CITY OF ARMAGH V TERENURE
CLONTARF V LANSDOWNE
TRINITY V SHANNON
UCD V CORK CON
YOUNG MUNSTER V BALLYNAHINCH
CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE
No second win for Black Lion yet and it looks like they’ll need to beat Clérmont in round 4 to make the knockout stages but anything is possible. Gloucester & Montpellier remain the only unbeaten sides with the latter’s trip to Benetton seeming to be the pick of the ties for the next round, unless of course the Top 14 outfit decide their home match against Pau the following weekend is more important, which I have a feeling they will.
ROUND 3
NEWCASTLE 18-57 BENETTON
OSPREYS 25-3 PERPIGNAN
SHARKS 38-7 OYONNAX
CLÉRMONT 38-17 SCARLETS
ZEBRE 20-17 DRAGONS
CASTRES 28-6 BLACK LION
EDINBURGH 20-21 GLOUCESTER
MONTPELLIER 13-3 LIONS
CHEETAHS 20-33 PAU
ROUND 4
FRI JAN 19
GLOUCESTER V CASTRES
SCARLETS V EDINBURGH
SAT JAN 20
BLACK LION V CLÉRMONT
PAU V ZEBRE
OYONNAX V CHEETAHS
BENETTON V MONTPELLIER
SUN JAN 21
PERPIGNAN V NEWC ASTLE
LIONS V OSPREYS
DRAGONS V SHARKS
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
No URC matches for a few weeks but given I’m still top of the league I don’t mind if I keep publishing the table any chance I get!!!
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Next up for us is of course Leinster’s trip to Leicester next weekend, Kino will join me for a preview on Friday then the wrap pod will be recorded Sunday evening. Keep up with all the latest happenings on our social media channels and please help us by commenting, liking, sharing & subscribing wherever you can.
As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
13 January 2024; James Lowe of Leinster dives over to score his side’s first try during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 4 Round 3 match between Leinster and Stade Francais at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Wasn’t the strongest display V poorish opposition tbh. The pure world class of each individual player was clear but as a collective it lacked overall. I’m forever impressed by the strength, skill and athleticism of Baird, McCarthy and especially Doris…… Next week away V Tigers SHOULD be a proper test of where we are currently.
Jamie Bermingham
Looks like the team are still adjusting to a new play style, seeing flashes of great plays but also a lot of silly mistakes and errors. I’m going to hold judgement till later in the season, that being said we may just be holding back till the business end.
Gav Heg
Quite disappointed that we didn’t nil them. We should easily have topped 60 here but we’re let down by stupid and unforced mistakes. It could be put down to an adjustment period but we lacked the ability to just finish moves off.
Ringrose should have been motm but Doris also deserving. I felt sorry for Baird that he didn’t go over after that colossal run.
Can’t help but feel that a decent would have picked is apart. For Leicester we need a far better performance.
Johnny McGovern
Frawley in Leinster is jinxed …Is he robust enough for professional rugby ? I could say unlucky but he just isn’t …happening too often – he actually took two knocks during the game tonight and seemed to have effected his vision. The physios checked one eye and the second issue was the heavy tackle he took . I didn’t see the end of the tackle but he was in bits . Leo said he got a knee in the back which then spasmed but the tackler must have connected with his kidneys . Not a great Leinster performance given a very poor SF team .
Andrew Bailey
Let’s not get carried away. Given the selections – the result was a formality ((When is the last time there has been a decent contest in the Aviva group game). Sloppy game punctuated by mistakes and aimless kicking. The return of Lowe a huge positive. Lineout improvement once Ryan on the pitch marked. Just worry about sluggish performances by so many
Was really pulling for a zero there because the D deserved it but while far from perfect against a second string Stade that was a decent enough job done. Still much to work on but biggest concern Frawley's injury. Doris rightful PotM, congrats to Luke on 200. #LEIvSTF
A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere.
“If it wasn’t for O’Mahony’s age profile and rumours of a departure, they would be neck and neck in the race; but you would have to favour the lanky Leinster lock to pip it at the death” Farrell’s New Year Headache is Selecting A New Captain Caolán Scully – CaolánSRugby
Note – views expressed in “Front Five” links do not necessarily reflect those of HarpinOnRugby
NEW WRAP UNWRAPPED
As you can see above, we’ll be doing things a little differently at Harpin Manor in 2024. The wrap pod from now on will be just that…a pod wrapping the latest Leinster & Ireland fixture and the “Front Five” feature will return to a written format, appearing at the tart of this column each week.
I started the Front 5 way back in July 2014 and it was a daily post which helped with regular content and also helped keep me up to date with issues outside my chosen remit. I chose to keep it when I switched to a pod format but I reckon it’s better to launch straight into the subject matter so this seems to be a logical resting place for it, although with more and more publications putting themselves behind firewalls we’ll see how long interesting links remain accessible!
HARPIN’ ON…MOST VIEWED VID OF 2023
We will still have a “bonus clip” segment in our wrap recordings except rather than me choosing a topic I’m going to let my guests harp on things they’d like to discuss.
The videos will remain in this portion of the 80+ column so for this week I will share the video which got by far the most views over the past year, namely my thoughts on the Jean Kleyn situation which I’m assuming got shared around the Springbok fan base.
SENSIBLE V SILLY TIK TOK
Since I’ve had a TikTok account I have seen a lot of different types of post; some I find hilarious but others kind of make me cringe. One of the latter for me is the “talking to myself” style so to announce the return from my “mini break” I decided to make my own. You probably think it is just as cringeworthy as any other and I wouldn’t argue as that is kind of the point!
The scene is meant to be between two versions of myself, a “sensible” one and a “silly” one – and this is actually symbolic of my general approach to content production, part of me wants to be a straight laced presenter while another can’t resist dad jokes and such. So in a way this format worked, but as I say, it will more than likely be the first AND last time I ever use it. I’m also a bit annoyed I fucked up the subtitles in a couple of places but let’s just say I’m not losing any sleep!!!
Thanks for all who gave positive feedback anyway though!
“Number of months” are obviously the last words you want to see in an injury update, particularly at the midpoint of a season which could very well mean yours is all but over. Jimmy O’Brien and Martin Moloney both got that horrible news over the holidays, the former would have of course been heavily involved in the plans for both Leinster and Ireland while Moloney is probably cursing his luck even more as he has yet to appear for Leinster after returning from a previous spell on the sidelines which began just as he broke into the team.
The “no further updates” section is also full of players who would feature heavily in Leinster’s plans but as you can see from the “x” below there was some extra good news announced after the update was published…
Good news for Leinster and Ireland – James Lowe and Tadhg Furlong are both in line to return against Stade Francais on Saturday.
NB : the above matchday 23 is completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
James Ryan: was withdrawn before the game against Ulster Rugby as a precaution and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Jimmy O’Brien: has picked up a neck injury and will be unavailable for a number of months
Martin Moloney: has picked up a bicep injury and will be unavailable for a number of months
Alex Soroka: picked up a foot injury in training last week and will be unavailable for selection this week
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Charlie Ngatai (calf), Cormac Foley (shoulder), Ross Byrne (arm) and Jamie Osborne (shoulder)
THE MIDDLE AISLE
This is the “middle aisle” portion of the column where I will briefly harp on issues of the day, or at least it will be from next week – that TikTok involved so much work I really don’t have the time right now to delve into much else!
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
I know there will be no more URC interpros until May, but I thought I’d post the state of play one last time before that as it is so well poised.
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 V CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER V LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
“SVNS” UPDATE
The Sevens circuit is still on a break but I’ll still post the update to remind us all how things stand. Big year for the Irish programme of course with the Olympics in July also on the schedule.
NEXT IN THE SERIES…
PERTH JAN 26-28
VANCOUVER FEB 23-25
LOS ANGELES MAR 2-3
HONG KONG APR 5-7
SINGAPORE MAY 3-5
MADRID MAY 31-JUN 2
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
From a Leinster POV the drab draw for Stade catches the eye and makes me wonder just how much they will prioritise their Champions Cup campaign over the coming weeks after 2 defeats from 2 and a trip to 2nd place Bayonne next up at home.
Racing held off Castres in a shootout to stay top while La Rochelle moved closer to the playoff spots by winning at Pau, and have to overcome Premiership opposition over the next two weeks if they are to also revive their Champions Cup hopes.
Round 12
SAT JAN 6
PAU 20-29 LA ROCHELLE
PERPIGNAN 27-12 OYONNAX
BORDEAUX 24-23 BAYONNE
STADE FRANCAIS 14-14 CLÉRMONT
RACING 92 34-30 CASTRES
TOULOUSE 45-0 LYON
MONTPELLIER 27-17 TOULON
Round 13
SAT JAN 27
BORDEAUX V STADE FRANCAIS
BAYONNE V OYONNAX
CASTRES V CLÉRMONT
LYON V PERPIGNAN
MONTPELLIER V PAU
TOULON V LA ROCHELLE
SUN JAN 28
RACING 92 V TOULOUSE
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Northampton stay top after an impressive win at Exeter, and will probably stay their after the next round with lowly Newcastle coming to Franklin’s Gardens. Sale fell out of the playoff places after getting done at home by Bristol. After 11 rounds, 70% of the league have more wins than losses so there are many twists and turns left.
ROUND 11
SALE SHARKS 14-22 BRISTOL BEARS
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 3-24 HARLEQUINS
EXETER 36-42 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
LEICESTER TIGERS 19-10 SARACENS
BATH 17-10 GLOUCESTER
ROUND 11
FRI JAN 26
HARLEQUINS V LEICESTER TIGERS
SAT JAN 27
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS V NEWCASTLE FALCONS
BRISTOL BEARS V BATH
SARACENS V EXETER CHIEFS
SUN JAN 28
GLOUCESTER V SALE SHARKS
AIL UPDATE
Both Irish clubs were victorious in round 2 of the Celtic Challenge but the Welsh franchise Gwalia Lightning are top of the table and visit the Clovers next. The Leinster-heavy Wolfhounds side will aim to keep their 100% record intact when they travel to Glasgow and all games are available to watch for free on RugbyPass.tv
Meanwhile the new competition has put pressure on the Women’s AIL clubs – while there are no league fixtures while it’s on, there is an “All-Ireland Women’s Cup” and Old Belvedere of all teams found themselves unable to put out a side to face Galwegians in Round 1 and had to concede the match points.
I like to consider myself an ally to those pushing for the IRFU bringing the standards up to where they should be but in this one case I’m not sure it really counts as another stick to beat them with. The Celtic Challenge seems to be a net positive and given it has to be run in conjunction with other unions, there was always going to be a chance it would affect the clubs. Last year, the complaints were that the clubs didn’t have enough matches (and this was correct as the AIL was done and dusted by Christmas) so while the Belvo concession clearly demonstrates there is still a long way to go, I’d still hope at least we’re heading in a decent general direction.
Meanwhile the men’s AIL is back this week while the Bateman Cup final was retained by Terenure (who had arguably their best social media team announcement yet see below) after they overcame Young Munster and with lowly Trinity visiting Lakelands next in the league, they have every chance to climb further.
Ballynahinch will need another win over their Ulster rivals City of Armagh to stay in touch with the top four while leaders Clontarf make the trip to Shannon.
#SupportYourLocalClub
WOMEN’S CELTIC CHALLENGE
ROUND 2
EDINBURGH 17-27 WOLFHOUNDS
CLOVERS 20-5 BRYTHON THUNDER
GWALIA LIGHTNING 36-19 GLASGOW WARRIORS
ROUND 3
SAT JAN 13
GLASGOW WARRIORS V WOLFHOUNDS
SUN JAN 14
CLOVERS V GWALIA LIGHTNING
BRYTHON THUNDER V EDINBURGH
WOMEN’S AIL
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
Round 11
SAT FEB 10
SUTTONIANS V BALLINCOLLIG
COOKE V RAILWAY UNION
GALWEGIANS V UL BOHS
WICKLOW V BELVO
MEN’S AIL
BATEMAN CUP FINAL
TERENURE 22-15 YOUNG MUNSTER
ROUND 10
FRI JAN 12
LANSDOWNE V UCD
SAT DEC 16
BALLYNAHINCH V CITY OF ARMAGH
SHANNON V CLONTARF
TERENURE V DUBLIN UNIV
CORK CON V YOUNG MUNSTER
Bully’s got a special prize in store this week… but you’re going to have to be in Lakeland’s tomorrow to see what it is 👀🏆 Here’s your 23 man squad who will take to the field at 2:30 on Saturday on a quest for back to back Bateman Cups 🎯 #Onwardspic.twitter.com/zmGX54AVuy
Not many eyes in the wider rugby world fall on the Challenge Cup but those that do will no doubt be on Black Lion’s progress…the 5 match points they already have could well be enough to see them into the knockouts but who’s to say they won’t get more? This weekend they go to Castres who could well be putting more focus on their domestic standing.
ROUND 3
FRI JAN 12
NEWCASTLE V BENETTON
SAT JAN 13
OSPREYS V PERPIGNAN
SHARKS V OYONNAX
CLÉRMONT V SCARLETS
ZEBRE V DRAGONS
CASTRES V BLACK LION
EDINBURGH V GLOUCESTER
MONTPELLIER V LIONS
SUN JAN 14
CHEETAHS V PAU
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
Just the one URC match last weekend and the only HPL combatants to predict that the Lions would win at the Sharks were Kristian, who leapfrogged Kino into 3rd, and…wait for it…KEEGO!!! Still can’t see him making up the gap to avoid keeping the Jersey of Shame though, even if we aren’t quite yet at the halfway stage of the season.
I’m considering adding a “cup competition” to the HPL starting in Round 10 but I’ll let you know when it gets closer to the time.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Right that’s it for now, great to be back to whatever “normal” is. The Rugby on TV feature returns as it’s regular stand alone post on Thursday, then Keego will join me for Friday’s preview of the visit of Stade while our new-look wrap pod will feature Tom & Conor recording on Sunday evening.
As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
As pointed out in the social media posts leading readers here, this is the first of two 80+ columns to bookend a mini-break from content-producing here at Harpin Manor what with the URC taking this coming weekend off.
Our schedule was thrown out of whack by the holiday period but for the most part we gave Leinster’s interpros the full Harpin treatment although Keego swapped from the previews to the wraps with both Jay Long and Conor Cronin doing top work stepping in for the preview shows.
If you didn’t catch the Ulster wrap pod itself, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on Apple and most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…LOOKING AHEAD TO 2024
Last week’s bonus clip was a look back to 2023 so it made sense to switch to crystal ball mode for the year ahead this time around. Keego & myself offered suggestions as to what might happen as well as outlining what rugby is in store for both Leinster & Ireland.
LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
It’s very possible we won’t get a new update until next week’s column but I will still have a go at selecting a team for the Stade match based on the info I have.
NB : the above matchday 23 is completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
UPCOMING RUGBY ON IRISH TV
We normally do this as a separate post but like last week I’ll include it here. I can’t find any 🔝🐱🐴 , normally it’s on Premier Sports Ireland but they seem to be concentrating on the FA Cup – I’ll update if anything shows up.
FRIDAY JANUARY 5
7:45PM – SALE SHARKS V BRISTOL BEARS – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 1
7:45PM – NEWCASTLE v HARLEQUINS – PREMIERSHIP – PR.TV*
Obviously Ulster’s win at the RDS threw the race for the shield wide open with the May 18 rematch in the Kingspan looking like it’s going to be the decider. I’m also still amazed how close all the matches have been – if it wasn’t for a last-gasp interception try at the Sportsground, all 8 matches so far will have been decided by 7pts 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 V CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER V LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Racing slipped up getting just a losing BP at lowly Bayonne yet still remain top while Leinster’s next opposition Stade F came away from Toulon with nothing although despite being 5th they’re still within striking distance of their Parisian rivals. Meanwhile La Rochelle’s relatively comfortable dispatching of Toulouse had me wondering if the LAR>LEI>TLS>LAR cycle has finally been broken! ROGs lot can get even closer to the top six with a win at Pau in the next round.
Round 11
OYONNAX 34-13 PAU
CLÉRMONT 35-40 BORDEAUX
LYON 20-18 MONTPELLIER
BAYONNE 27-23 RACING 92
TOULON 19-5 STADE FRANCAIS
LA ROCHELLE 29-8 TOULOUSE
CASTRES 13-17 PERPIGNAN
Round 12
SAT JAN 6
PAU V LA ROCHELLE
PERPIGNAN V OYONNAX
BORDEAUX V BAYONNE
STADE FRANCAIS V CLÉRMONT
RACING 92 V CASTRES
TOULOUSE V LYON
SUN JAN 7
MONTPELLIER V TOULON
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Not often the top team in all three main Euro domestic leagues lose in the same weekend, however Sale were the only one to see themselves knocked off their perch as defeat to Northampton moved the Saints up to the summit with Exeter climbing to second. Leicester Tigers scoffed a decent home win over Bath although their schedule doesn’t get much easier with just the 9 Champions Cup between their next three opponents Saracens, La Rochelle and of course Leinster.
ROUND 10
BRISTOL 14-24 EXETER
SARACENS 37-19 NEWCASTLE
NORTHAMPTON 21-17 SALE SHARKS
HARLEQUINS 32-26 GLOUCESTER
LEICESTER TIGERS 35-22 BATH
ROUND 11
FRI JAN 5
SALE SHARKS V BRISTOL BEARS
NEWCASTLE FALCONS V HARLEQUINS
SAT JAN 6
EXETER V NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
LEICESTER TIGERS V SARACENS
SUN JAN 7
BATH V GLOUCESTER
AIL UPDATE
No action in the AIL but the women’s Celtic Challenge did kick off with the two newly-created Irish teams Wolfhounds & Clovers meeting at Musgrave Park. The Leinster/Ulster based side overturned a halftime deficit to finish on top, round 2 is this coming weekend all the matches will be streamed live on RugbyPass.tv the links are in the TV section further up the page.
#SupportYourLocalClub
WOMEN’S CELTIC CHALLENGE
ROUND 1
WOLFHOUNDS 21-15 CLOVERS
EDINBURGH 28-12 GLASGOW
BRYTHON THUNDER 5-20 GWALIA LIGHTNING
ROUND 2
SAT JAN 6
EDINBURGH V WOLFHOUNDS
CLOVERS V BRYTHON THUNDER
SUN JAN 7
GWALIA LIGHTNING V GLASGOW WARRIORS
WOMEN’S AIL
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
Round 11
SAT FEB 10
SUTTONIANS V BALLINCOLLIG
COOKE V RAILWAY UNION
GALWEGIANS V UL BOHS
WICKLOW V BELVO
MEN’S AIL
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
ROUND 10
FRI JAN 12
LANSDOWNE V UCD
SAT DEC 16
BALLYNAHINCH V CITY OF ARMAGH
SHANNON V CLONTARF
TERENURE V DUBLIN UNIV
CORK CON V YOUNG MUNSTER
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
The Welsh regions have been good to me in this round but still my lead at the top has been whittled down to just 1.5pts with a group forming right down to 6th ready to pounce. Round 9 is unusual as it includes two extra fixtures for the Lions in January so we’ll see how the lads get on remembering their picks! If they’re lucky I might even remind them in the WhatsApp group…
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
We’re going to take full advantage of the URC off week here at Harpin Manor to do absolutely NOTHING content-related for a few days. The plan is to be back with another 80+ column which will be back on it’s regular day, which I guess means I’ll actually see you next Tuesday!!! 😜
As ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
1 January 2024 – Jason Jenkins of Leinster in a maul during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Ulster at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Ulster exploited our D in the first 20 and that was very significant.
A game like this shouldn’t be decided by an interpretation of the laws, or lack thereof, but I really feel it was today, players on or off their feet, when use it is called or not, whether or not a tackler is held, they are big moments and weren’t decided by the players.
That said, the wrong pass at the wrong time at the end, not looking for the drop goal, there are problems to be fixed
Rich Mifsud
Well can’t say we didn’t deserve that tbh and the stupid fucking ending simply drew a line under that performance. Fair fucks to Ulster putting in a huge shift on D but our game management and decision making left a lot to be desired.
All the right decision making and game management in similar conditions at LAR went to rat shit (admittedly with different personnel)
To be honest I actually expected more of these types of performances given the changes in systems brought in by Nienaber. Not to have seen more is to our credit
Kevin Kelehan
Fair play to Ulster closing it out, they took the squad rotation handicap perfectly, James Ryan’s absence once again fatal for Leinster in a tight game
Sean Michaels
Ulster showed greater desire in awful conditions. Thought some of our decision making on field was questionable. We seemed intent on giving possession away with some poor box kicking, and kicking out of hand, when it seemed more logical to keep it tight and build momentum. Unfortunately, whilst Mr Murphy was not too kind to Leinster he was not the reason we lost. Apart from the LR game I think we have been generally poor and have had a couple of fortunate results which has tended to paper over the cracks
Cian Ormond
Beaten by the better team, no complaints there. The chances to win were available and they were missed. Still top of the table though, the clash with Benetton is more interesting now.
Colin McConaghie (Ulster fan)
Brilliant! Loved every minute 😁 we really exploited the space out wide and Billy Burns was absolutely superb
Well done Ulster. Could have went either way. #LEIvULS
Credit to Ulster, took the points when they could and held us up well on their own line in final qtr though our decision making not the best IMO the DG was right there. Time to regroup and rethink before visit of Stade. #LEIvULS
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 