WRAP OF A WRAP

I give a shout out to Mark Jackson on the pod but I’d just like to give another one here, hope things are better after that weekend and that we can have you back on the pod soon.

Normally I try to avoid having contributors on the pod for two weeks in a row…whether that’s because I have so many who are keen to chat to me or because they generally need a break after chatting to me I’ll leave to your imagination!

Anyway Tom Coleman was thankfully willing to return for a second week in a row along with Irish Times columnist Nathan Johns and they combined to bring a top notch perspective to Saturday.  When this was an article based site back in the day my writeups were totally coming from my own point of view but now the pods offer a much broader perspective thanks to my team of fellow fans volunteering their time and expertise. 

ICYMI, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on most major platforms.

HARPIN ON…LEINSTER’S CHAMPIONS CUP POOL

For this week’s bonus clip for YouTube my pod guests offered some insights to the teams Leinster must overcome to qualify from Champions Cup pool 4.  Tom looked at our first two opponents La Rochelle and Sale, Nathan covered Stade Francais and Leicester whom we face in January and finally I harped on the Stormers who we avoid playing yet still mustn’t ignore altogether.

Definitely worth a look between now and the tournament kickoff in over a week, and sure while you’re there why not subscribe as well we often put up other videos including match previews there.

LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

Some very interesting choices to be made for Leinster’s impending trip to Galway.  Far from a match we can afford to take for granted, especially with them hurting from defeat in Pretoria and also likely to have the Akis and the Hansens back in their lineup.  That said, it’s hard to ignore the assignment at the Stade Marcel Deflandre eight days later.

The Ross Byrne injury makes our 10 selection the most crucial one.  With Frawley seeming to be the best bet to be first receiver against La Rochelle does he need game time or cotton wool?  The consensus in the Harpin WhatsApp group is, quite rightly when you think of it, to lean towards the latter by starting Harry Byrne or Sam Prendergast in Galway and give Frawley 20-30 minutes.  

But since this column is where I give my own view, I’d rather push the risk v reward side of things, possibly drawing lessons from that URC semifinal, and give Frawley the 10 jersey so he can go the week preparing for a starting role and thus be ready for the following week.  If the worst should happen injury-wise, then so be it.

Those are just my thoughts for that particular position, however.  As you can see by the 23 below I have gone mostly for a conservative team, yet still one that could do a job in the Sportsground.

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

BLUE SKY AHEAD

Don’t really have time for a Tik-Tok rant this week, they may only be around two minutes of actual content but they take over an hour to produce and I barely have that on “normal” weeks.  

So instead I’ve decided to take the plunge and give another Musk-less Twitter alternative a go.  I went big into Mastodon last year but I have to say the engagement was underwhelming and after resisting the move for a good while now I finally caved and set up an account at Blue Sky, thanks to long time friend of the pod and super Leinster/Ireland fan Catherine Kavanagh who hooked me up with an invite.

Liking it so far, the follower count after less than 24 hours is already a third of what I got at Masto in over a year.  They still don’t publish videos and GIFs yet but no doubt that will come.  

Anyway the main feature of my decision is that by starting a Blue Sky account I now must forget Mastodon completely, as my list of social media accounts had grown too large as it was.

Curse you Elon and the sink you walked in with!!!

https://bsky.app/profile/harpinonrugby.bsky.social

BE NICE TO REFS…

Having Nathan Johns on the wrap pod every so often gives us a decent glimpse into the world of the “official” media and while often sources like to decry them for being “mainstream” the fact remains their access gives them insights which can’t be ignored.

After covering one of his own articles as part of our “Front Five” portion, he went on to pen this article on Monday which looked at the two times Jamison Gibson-Park was punished 10 metres for dissent after penalties were awarded to Munster at the Aviva Stadium.

Since it’s my own team involved I reckon it’s a good opportunity for me to point out that I agree that once the second rebuke happens there should be a further sanction and Whiskey was very lucky not to get sent to the naughty step.  I certainly wouldn’t blame ref Chris Busby for having an attitude like “look, lads, you guys already have TWO captains, I certainly don’t need to be hearing from a third!” 

I’ve always been in favour of a zero tolerance approach when it comes to awarding that extra 10 metres and it really can punish teams.  Hopefully if there is to be more of it, we will see it done consistently.

…AND VICE VERSA 

Now to the flip side – much has been made of this exchange between Owen Farrell and Luke Pearce in the Premiership over the weekend.

Look – it’s a top flight sporting contest.  Adrenaline is pumping, tensions are high, and that’s just with the fans commenting on social media so I can only imagine what it’s like for the players and officials!!!

Obviously your opinion on this is going to greatly depend on your allegiance, whether it’s for or against Saracens, for or against Owen Farrell, maybe even for or against officials in general.

My first impression was that Faz’ response seemed a bit precious, with possibly an air of “do you not know who I am?” about it.  Pearce was definitely being a smart-arse but I don’t know if it quite went as far as being “rude”…

O TO BE (ON THE) 18 AGAIN

For the 40+ years I’ve lived in Ireland I have lived in several different addresses and all but one have been close to at least one of the two bus routes that crossed South Dublin without ever going near the City Centre, namely the 17 and 18.  And for the years I have been Harpin’ when I’m planning on a beverage or two after the rugby it has been the 18 that always saw me safely home, but now the number has been retired with two different routes replaces it, an “S4” that goes near me but not to RDS and an “S2” that covers the other half.

It was always great to see the 18 full of Leinster fans on match days, and there would be plenty already on it having travelled through Ballyfermot/Drimnagh/Crumlin/Kimmage before it ever got to the likes Rathmines.

The only time I never enjoyed being on it was for Christmas fixtures when as well as the rugby fans there would also be legions of youngsters heading to Funderland in various states of inebriation!

But as the tweet below points out, the route will still be an institution long remembered.

GEORGIA ON EPCR’S MIND 

We’ve harped a lot about the whole “get the likes of Georgia more top class rugby” over the years, hopefully this statement is just one point on the road to actually doing it.

ARROWS SHAFTED

Before we leave what I call the “Middle Aisle” portion of the column and go into the “Updates”, some sad news from Major League Rugby, which I plan to include below for the 2024 season.  Most professional sports in the US include at least one Canadian team but sadly it has transpired that the Toronto Arrows won’t be able to field a team for the coming season, and given neither country qualified for the 2023 World Cup the news does not bode well for things getting better in 2027.

At least there has been a team added from last season, with Miami Sharks joining for the coming season.  No doubt eventually we’ll reach a stage where every league in the world has Sharks, and I’m not suggesting that’s a bad thing, once they don’t put mouthfuls like “Hollywoodbets” before the name, of course.

URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

Saturday’s win in the Aviva was Leinster’s first match in defence of our Irish Shield title (you can’t see me but my tongue was definitely in my cheek while typing that).  As you can see Ulster still lead the way but the winner  of Saturday evening’s interpro at the Sportsground will lead the table after two matches.  Munster haven’t started well although a pair of losing BPs definitely keeps them in the hunt.

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

With Leinster & Munster battling on Saturday, it’s hard to avoid referencing the same rivalry 24 hours later when Stu Lancaster’s Racing faced ROG’s La Rochelle.  A resounding win for the Paris-based club which sent them to the top of the table although Pau are the real story of the season so far as they are close behind them in 2nd after a similar scoreline against the other Parisiens whom Leinster play in January and now sit in 3rd.  Stade v Toulouse  seems to be the pick of Round 9.

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

Leinster’s Champions Cup pool mates Sale stay top of the pile here after grinding out a 11-9 with over Bath, while Leicester Tiger, also in Pool 4, crawled out of the bottom two with a big win at Kingsholm.  Much like the 🔝🐱🐴 there’s a 3rd v 4th clash in the next round that catches the eye as Exeter travel to the Rec.

AIL UPDATE

Just the one rescheduled match in both genders last weekend, with the scoreline between Railway and Wicklow pretty much what you’d expect.  Some big matchups coming up this weekend with the top four playing against each other which will bring the season to its halfway point.

Over on the men’s side the match of the round is an easy one to spot, with Clontarf, 1st place with 26pts, hosting Cork Con, 2nd with 25.  UCD v Hinch also has top four implications while Trinity really need to start putting some points on the board when they host Lansdowne.

Also on the club scene it was announced that an Irish Club XV will travel to play a Portugal A side in March 2024.

#SupportYourLocalClub

RE SUPER CUP UPDATE

Semifinal time already in the Super Cup and expectations will be high for a Black Lion v Tel Aviv final, we’ll see if the Spaniards or Romanians can have something to say about that.

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

The wins for Cardiff and Benetton on Friday night made it a bad start to the weekend for all of us, but the rest of the weekend went much much better for yours truly as I got my second “yellow cap” in three weeks to jump into 2nd spot in the table right behind Conor.  Meanwhile “No Picks Keego” continues to live up to his name, he must really like that jersey…

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Connacht are up next for Leinster, I’ll be chatting to Stephen “Master Of None” Murphy for an Opposition View pod which will publish on Wednesday, then it’s the usual Friday preview and wrap pod on Sunday.  Stay tuned to all the usual social media channels, plus the new one on Blue Sky of course, for all the latest harpin’.

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