Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
WRAP OF A WRAP
Another Leinster win to harp on this week, naturally I’m tempted to put it all down to my new pod format but I guess I’ll go with the general impression that the lads have not only a winning mentality but we’re also learning how to face up to adversity within a match to dig deep and be ahead by the final whistle. As ever Keego and Rich did an excellent job summarizing the match.
One thing I didn’t mention on the pod was that I was reminded of an Ospreys v Leinster clash from 2012 when arguably the league’s most organic rivalry was at it’s closest, on this occasion rather than go 10-0 down we actually led by that score ourselves in the early stages and I vividly recall us winning a penalty in their half only for Leo Auva’a to take a quick tap only to lose it shortly afterwards.
We weren’t to score again in a 19-10 defeat and I was furious in my writeup which was unusual because even during the lean Matt O’Connor years I would do my best to find some kind of a positive. Anyway as we know the Ospreys went on to have a much longer “lean spell” themselves although there have been signs lately that they are at least on their way back and it would be great to see them and indeed other Welsh regions breaking into the top 8 of the URC.
If you missed the pod, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…KEEPING IRISH PLAYERS
This week’s extended chat on the Sunday pod recording was about the Ben Healy move to Edinburgh/Scotland, Rich gave his views for the main show but myself and Keego joined the discussion for the YouTube clip you see below.
To summarize my own view, yes of course it would be better to keep all Irish players on Irish shores all the time, but we can’t consider it a failure every time one leaves because we can’t expect as many as 6, 7 or 8 players in a particular position, especially one like out-half, to all stick around hoping for a test call up when there is an alternative out there.
If you’re playing the clip above maybe pop over and subscribe to the channel too? That’s where we post our Preview Show as well as other content throughout the week.
BOO TO BOOING THE BOOING
On the pod I mentioned a conversion attempt by Ross Byrne where he not only had to contend with the conditions, the referee complying with the stricter new timing laws and also the pressure of extending our lead to 8 points, but also the loud booing of many in the home crowd.
We never like to hear this kind of behaviour from fans, and we’ve been guilty of it ourselves here in Ireland, I’m remembering a Dan Parks conversion for Scotland at Croke Park in particular. But actually for this particular point I actually want to focus on something different, namely pigeon-holing entire groups of fans.
I’ve seen a lot of comments on social media saying how that booing is somehow typical of what you’d get from “Welsh fans” and I have to say that is absolute bollocks. I don’t like it when I see people take abuse from Leinster fans and tar us all with the same brush so I’m certainly not going to be happy when I see our fans doing it to others.
There is for sure a distinct group of Twitter accounts which we call “WRT” or “Welsh Rugby Twitter” and that’s fine as a collective (that tends to say everything is the URCs fault, reckons the Premiership is some kind of promised land, etc, etc) but I can absolutely guarantee that the vast vast majority of actual Welsh rugby fans are genuine every bit as much as Leinster, Ireland or any other nationality.
For me, failing to distinguish between groups within fan bases is just as much responsible for the toxic sludge we tend to see on social media as the trolling comments themselves.
Ignore. Mute. Block. Report. Whichever seems appropriate. Sharing and generalising only ensures it will continue IMO.
TIK TOK POTM
Disagreeing with the Player of the Match selection is becoming a feature in this column, although I do understand why the Welsh broadcaster would tend to go with a home team player and it is true that Kieran Williams did have a fine outing against Leinster (dropped ball just before hearing his name being called out notwithstanding) but I reckon Jack Conan was definitely in with a shout for the gong as well and as you can see below, Rich concurred.
I always say it, but I’ll still say it again. I would LOVE to have the time to give the Leinster women’s team exactly the same coverage as I do the men’s, but it’s just not possible for the time being so we will try to feature them as much as we can, and they opened their Interpro campaign at the weekend with a convincing enough victory over Connacht at Energia Park, although the score remained 0-0 for a long period in the first half.
Many many thanks for Conor Cronin for providing a report of his experience on the day, it was included in the pod but I have also shared the piece here ICYMI.
Next up it’s Munster at lunchtime on Saturday, and with them also having had a BP victory in round 1, this could be a tournament decider so definitely worth checking out on TG4.
INJURY REPORT
Our worst fears about Charlie Ngatai were realised after he was taken off at halftime in Swansea, hopefully he will be back soon. However despite Robbie also being out I see no drop in our talent with Jamie Osborne stepping in at Kingsholm on Saturday, here is a lineup they may go with…
1. Porter 2. Sheehan 3. Alaalatoa 4. Ryan 5. Molony 6. Baird 7. van der Flier 8. Doris
16. Kelleher 17. Milne 18. Healy 19. Joe McCarthy 20. Conan 21. Foley 22. H. Byrne 23. Larmour
…obviously there are one or two tight calls, Dan Sheehan has had a lot of gametime this season including an extra shift in Swansea when John McKee was forced off, so it’s very possible that Kelleher would start instead. Also Jimmy O’Brien/Jordan Larmour are very interchangeable.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Will Connors: will again look to step up his rehabilitation programme from a bicep injury
Thomas Clarkson: will step up his rehabilitation this week from an arm injury
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Johnny Sexton: suffered a cheekbone injury against Connacht Rugby and had a procedure last week and will be unavailable for the Gloucester game and will be further assessed next week but is expected to be back ahead of the Six Nations
Tadhg Furlong: has recovered from his ankle injury but had a minor setback last week in training with an unrelated calf injury and will be unavailable for selection this week as a result but is expected to be back ahead of the Six Nations
Charlie Ngatai: suffered a hamstring injury in the game against Ospreys and will be unavailable this week
There are no further updates on:
Luke McGrath (ankle), Max Deegan (ankle), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
Over in English football last weekend they have the 3rd round of the FA Cup where a drawn match means the teams have to meet again in a replay after a week or so. The reason I mention that is that the AIL men’s Div 1A had something similar as Dublin University and Cork Con played out a dramatic 35-35 draw at College Park in their rearranged round 9 fixture, with the three points keeping them in 3rd and 4th respectively although still inching them closer to the top two. And technically there is to be a replay of sorts, as this weekend’s Round 10 pits them together again, this time at Temple Hill.
Meanwhile at the other end of the table Ballynahinch put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone with a bonus point win over UCD, although the students also benefited getting a try and losing bonuses themselves to move up two places, and they also face a rematch in round 10.
The rest of the action this weekend sees leaders Terenure hoping to return to winning ways, getting another chance to beat Young Munster on their home patch at Lakelands. Clontarf, also in the top four, travel to Dooradoyle to play bottom of the table Garryowen while Shannon and Lansdowne square off each hoping to stay out of the bottom two.
Men’s AIL
Ballynahinch 31-25 UCD
Dublin University 35-35 Cork Con
Sat Jan 14
Garryowen v Clontarf
Cork Con v Dublin University
Shannon v Lansdowne
Terenure v Young Munster
UCD v Ballynahinch
HARPIN’ PREDICTION LEAGUE
Not only is Kino really starting to pull away at the top of the HPL but I’m also now anxiously looking over my shoulder at Messrs Coleman & Jackson behind me. Although having had to wear the Jersey of Shame for my wooden spoon last season, I wouldn’t really mind slipping a spot or two once Keego stays where he is!
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Back into European action we go, with Kingsholm the destination and we will of course be giving it the usual Harpin treatment with Keego joining me for our preview on Friday, the wrap pod recorded on Sunday evening with the help of Mark Jackson & Conor Cronin, and all of our other usual features in between.
In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
7 January 2023; Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship between Ospreys and Leinster at the Swansea.com Stadium in Swansea, Wales. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Conor Cronin A few key things from this game that concern me.
The pack were bullied in the first half, and let themselves be.
Harry Byrne struggled behind the pack, but they’re not entirely to blame for his struggles. He needs a lot more time and needs to build confidence behind a dominant pack.
The scrum was awful. We have suffered as a province since Fogarty went to the Ireland set up, that needs to be dealt with.
Grinding out the win is great, and you learn much more from a game like that. But we need to learn fast, especially if the injury Ross Byrne picked up last night is bad.
Paul Smith Probably the poorest we’ve played in a good while, but the sign of a good team is to still manage to win while playing poorly so we’ll the gladly take the points and move on.
TWITTER
Shows how good we are atm. Not played well, great effort by Ospreys and still win. Bench won us the game, Ross Byrne is a seriously good player. Amount of times we’ve won through his calmness. Farrell has to seriously consider him. He can step in and more than do a job #OSPvLEI
Leinster were very very lucky to win that tonight. The bench made the difference for Leinster tonight. Leinster going to need a huge turnaround for next weeks game. Ospreys played such a good game tonight so unlucky. #OSPvLEI#URC
Disappointing for Ospreys to be on the losing side tonight, but it was a cracking game. Recent performances have been a marked improvement on the past couple of seasons and they’re going in the right direction Doesn’t feel like they are far away from clicking. #OSPvLEI#BKTURC
Brian Nisbet @natural20 19-24 in Swansea. Come back was quite late, but a win is a win and well done to the lads for doing what needed to be done.
Jay Long @Jay_Long_626 Seriously good win on the road and Ospreys were proper up for it. Turned it on when it counted, I think Nick McCarthy won us that game imo. Just slipped us into a flow. Never in doubt
Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
WRAP OF A WRAP
It was a near perfect start to 2023 in every sense for this Leinster fan when it came to my RDS experience.
First there was the actual journey to Ballsbridge; normally at this time of year the bus doubles as what I call “The Funderland Express” on which I’ve been forced in the past to sit upstairs with dozens of 10-14 year olds passing around naggins and spliffs for over half an hour. This time while the numbers of youth were about the same as always, their behaviour was not, thankfully. They were mostly silent looking at their phones.
Then we had the match itself, which Tom & Conor did a perfect job helping me wrap on the latest pod, and as a fan I can’t have too many complaints about a bonus point win that wasn’t always a one-sided affair, the obvious wrinkle of course being the injury to Johnny Sexton, more on that to come later in the column.
Last but certainly not least there was my journey home; generally I leave the ground anxious to get my bus home as often I can be left waiting for up to an hour but this time I was at the stop just a few minutes before it arrived so like I say it was a near perfect night all round.
If you missed the pod, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ ON…THE CHEEK OF SEXTON
Predictably there was a lot of reaction to the incident which resulted in Johnny Sexton’s injury, a lot of it maybe a bit OTT from certain quarters but I’ll touch on that a bit more in the next segment – for now here’s this week’s extended YouTube clip taken from the podcast where I reckon we provide an honest take on both Sexton’s collision itself and how it probably should have been dealt with by the officials, as well as comparing it to the Jack Carty sanction which came just before it.
If you’re playing the clip above maybe pop over and subscribe to the channel too? That’s where we post our Preview Show as well as other content throughout the week.
GOING FOR A SONG
I mentioned earlier about rushing from the RDS to get my bus, and when I’m travelling on my own I generally play music on my headphones so when I say I didn’t hear the controversial song played after the match, I mean it as truth and not in the “Karl Dickson says he didn’t hear anything” sense.
My view on the matter itself is simple. It should not have been played, there are literally thousands of other songs that would have worked that don’t even have a hint of controversy about them, but IMO we should take at face value Leinster Rugby’s statement (which was issued while I was still on that bus home btw so they dealt with it fast) which implied that it was done without the knowledge of senior management. All of which means the matter itself should be done.
But is it? Of course not. We live in a social media age where everyone is looking for attention so it was inevitable that this was going to be dragged through a couple of news cycles.
To be fair, in some cases I agree the continued discussion was warranted, especially when it comes to a comparison between the reaction to this and what happened when the Irish women’s soccer team was filmed singing after qualifying for the World Cup finals. No questioning the disparity here, that’s for sure.
But there was much indignation from other angles too, and one which really got me was a suggestion that Leinster were getting a “pass” that would have been denied to other provinces. For me this was drifting towards something we were talking about on the pod in pre-season, namely the “ABL Narrative”, which I define as a groupthink within the Irish rugby discourse that essentially looks for ways, if not to actually demonize Leinster itself, to at least diminish the province’s success by suggesting there is a prevailing favouritism from media and blazers alike. The same mindset was often applied to the non-call of Sexton’s challenge.
Again…was this a mistake? Yes. Do we need a long drawn out debate about the songs themselves? No. Should a statement acknowledging the mistake be sufficient to put it all to bed no matter what the province, sport or gender involved? Absolutely.
TIK TOK POTM
On last week’s column I disagreed with Scott Penny being named Player of the Match, thinking it should have been Dan Sheehan. Again I’ll point out I don’t share that opinion because I’m against the former player, nor because I’m biased towards the latter, it’s just how I felt about that particular 80 minutes.
Well the same kind of happened in the Connacht match, although when Larmour got his second try I was pretty sure he’d get the award even though it was early in the second half. However over the 80 minutes I am pretty much in agreement with Tom in this clip…
I harped on this in last week’s column, but the incident was always going to bleed into this one given there has been a ruling on it since. Again we had pretty much full agreement on the pod that two weeks was a ridiculously low sanction, and the most annoying element to all of this has been the reaction which comes from a place of “FFS it’s a man’s game, things are said on the pitch, let them play”.
Yeah, about that. For one thing, that narrative suggests it was Heenan that had the problem, when in actual fact the whole thing escalated when Marler was responding to something said to him. All of which means that while of course there will be an element of “sledging” in pretty much every team sport, there surely has to be a line drawn and officials need to know where that is.
Now while I appreciate that finding the right words to effectively define “wrong” words is far from easy, and I’m glad I’m not being paid to find them. But the fact is, those running the game ARE being paid, so they need to crack on with it.
When it comes to Marler’s punishment, I couldn’t understand why saw any mitigation at ll given he has been done for this before. The previous incident involving Samson Lee wasn’t even mentioned in the report that I could see.
Maybe if and when the officials do find a way to define “the line”, we can name it after Joe and let the effect on his legacy be the punishment since he seems comfortable with having this reputation? Just a thought.
WOMEN’S INTERPROS
The Women’s Interpros kick off this weekend, including Leinster’s only home match of the campaign against Connacht at Energia Park.
Personally I’d prefer it if the competition could be a full six rounds with everyone playing each other home and away, but I do appreciate that while the women’s game does need to progress it has to be measured until they reach full professionalism and besides, there are already extra matches to the schedule what with the new Celtic Nations competition which will take place before the Six Nations kicks off at the end of March.
As for the Leinster squad it’s exciting to see the first competitive squad being named by new head coach Tania Rosser and I look forward to watching her side compete over the coming weeks. The full competition is getting live broadcast coverage courtesy of TG4 and BBC NI.
Saturday, 7 January 2023 – Round One
Leinster v Connacht, Energia Park, 2.30pm (TG4)
Munster v Ulster Musgrave Park, 4.45pm (TG4)
Saturday, 14 January 2023 – Round Two
Munster v Leinster, Musgrave Park, 12:15pm (TG4)
Ulster v Connacht, Kingspan Stadium, 2.30pm (BBC NI)
Saturday, 21 January 2023 – Round Three
Connacht v Munster, The Sportsground, 1.00pm (TG4)
Ulster v Leinster, Queen’s University Upper Malone, 5.30pm (BBC NI)
BEN HEALY
News of Ben Healy’s move to Edinburgh with a view to qualifying for Scotland is just coming through as this is posting so I’ll just add my initial thoughts…it has been expected for a long time so it’s no great surprise. What is interesting is that they announce it right after he produces a match-winning seven points at the Kingspan! Also there are rumblings that Ulster’s John Cooney could be making a similar move.
Overall it’s hard to blame players for taking advantage of the change in “second nation” rules, in fact it’s good to see more options available. Is it a “mistake” on the part of Munster & the IRFU to let them go? I’m not so sure, but that is in no way a reflection on Healy himself or indeed any player.
When it comes to province and country, we have to make decisions on pecking order in every position and if those who find themselves fourth or lower have an opportunity to go elsewhere, they should be free to take it. And we should wish them all the best, so much so that even if they succeed in their new role it should be celebrated rather than used as “proof” that the initial decision to let them go was wrong.
Obviously the ideal scenario is to have all Irish players at the provinces all the time but for several different reasons, one big one being simple maths, that’s just not possible. There will always be opportunities outside our “bubble” and that’s just how the world works.
INJURY REPORT
We were all waiting on reports on Sexton’s cheekbone but the text doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know apart from the date of the “procedure”. A trusted source passed on this message over WhatsApp…
[“A mate of mine who is a maxillofacial surgeon looked at that photo and said it’s probable he’s broken’s his zygomatic arch and would say 4 to 6 weeks recovery if that’s what has actually happened!“]
…BUT do please appreciate that the above is at best second hand information and we can only go by official releases by the province & IRFU.
Elsewhere I’m hoping that both Furlong & Connors will be available for selection soon and when it comes to next weekend’s trip to Swansea I reckon we could be looking at a fair amount of cotton wool in our selection with a starting XV of something like this…
Cosgrave, Russell, Turner, Osborne, Kearney, H Byrne, Foley.
Still a decent squad in fairness although the Ospreys do seem to be on a decent run of late which could make it an interesting contest.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Tadhg Furlong & Will Connors: will again look to step up their rehabilitation programmes from ankle and bicep injuries respectively
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Johnny Sexton: suffered a cheek bone injury during the game against Connacht Rugby and will have a procedure today and will be further assessed then
Luke McGrath: will be unavailable for selection for the Ospreys game after picking up an ankle injury
Max Deegan: will be unavailable for selection for the Ospreys game after picking up an ankle injury
There are no further updates on:
Thomas Clarkson (arm), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
Club season is over for the women while the men are only at the halfway stage and Division 1A has two big rescheduled matches this weekend taking place at either end of the table.
Dublin University and Cork Con both have 29pts lying 3rd and 4th respectively and they go head to head at College Park, with a familiar name holding the whistle in George Clancy.
Meanwhile as Garryowen look like they need a miracle to avoid relegation 9 defeats from 9 to start the season, there’s some congestion above them for the other spot including Ballynahinch and UCD who meet at Ballymacarn Park.
Men’s AIL
Sat Jan 7
Ballynahinch v UCD
Dublin University v Cork Con
HARPIN’ PREDICTION LEAGUE
I made up a bit of ground on Kino this week in a round where there were more unexpected results than usual. Tom got the Yellow Cap while Keego, well, I really don’t think there’s any coming back from there.
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
We play Those Pesky Birds next, and as I suggested in the Injury Report section they might fancy themselves to nick this one so we’ll be talking about that in our Harpin Preview on Friday when I’ll be joined by Ciarán Duffy, with the wrap pod being recorded on Sunday evening, with of course all of our other usual features in between.
In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
1 January 2023; Ryan Baird of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s sixth try during the United Rugby Championship between Leinster and Connacht at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
Gavin Hegarty Boring. It’s tiresome how even after they get ahead we don’t fear the result. Yes I know it’s a good position to be in but we’ve suffered as a result before, Saracens, la Rochelle etc. We need to be challenged more.
Chris McDonnell Another shocking day at the lineout. Its been a while since we had one if them but that was not acceptable. Kelleher will not get his starting jersey back from sheahan until he learns how to throw the ball
TWITTER
Well that's that Leinster 41 Connacht 12 Never expected to come up & get a win especially with the disruption with illness during the week Some elements were good lineout the star both side of the ball Looked to be attacking better but the ruck protection is off#LEIvCON#URC
Hard to know how to feel after that. Connacht played better than the score line would suggest. Was always going to be tough to live with Leinsters depth and pressure.
Scrum, line out and maul were great and attack looked sharper. Just beaten by a far better team. #LEIvCON
rhubarbsticks Ryan Baird in full flight is a sight to behold. A scrappy enough performance but plenty of positives to go forward with.
RugbyKino A tale of 3 parts to that match. A tight, well-matched fast-paced game gave way to more of a broken-up tussle in midfield in the second half. But come the final quarter Leinster flexed their handling muscle and put Connacht to the sword.
A shame Connacht don’t come away with something as the scoreline doesn’t do them justice.
However, Johnny coming off with a big dent in his face is a worry, possibly for the next 2-6 weeks.
RichardMifsud Really entertaining match at the RDS Connacht competitive deep into it but a couple of late tries put a gloss on the score line Good performance from the much changed side with a fair crop of youngsters Lineout issues need to be resolved but that apart a good enough performance Top of the pile in January 2023 let’s see how it pans out 🤷🏻♂️ Good performances from JL and Ryan B Deeny looked good and the Foley cameo was exciting
james @gortoshay putting 40 pts on Connacht while still having plenty of work ons is a nice place to be. Leinster being made to work for their victories this season. I’m hoping it stands to them at the business end. Sexton definitely a worry.
Welcome to my 80+ column, a weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone
WRAP OF A WRAP
Hard to believe this week’s wrap pod is the 19th under the new format, and it was good to have Ciarán Duffy back on along of course with Mark Jackson to talk about St Stephen’s Night’s victory down in Thomond Park.
If you missed it, check it out here or on most major platforms.
HARPIN’ OFF…
With the week that’s in it I’m leaving out a few of the website’s regular features, including YouTube & TikTok clips from the wrap pod. Back to “normal” next week all going well.
PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS ON POTM
I hope it’s obvious that when I disagree with a Player of the Match selection it doesn’t mean I have anything against the winner of the award. Scott Penny got the gong from the TG4 commentary team at Thomond Park while I felt it should have gone to Dan Sheehan. It’s a simple point and since I write this column every week I might as well bring it up but I certainly don’t do it to put anyone down.
I CAN’T COUNT
Maybe one of the reasons I don’t want to produce too much extra content from the wrap pod is that I made a major howler in the recording that I’d rather forget! Although I will offer full disclosure here as it involves an issue I’m interested in…
As I watched the game live, let’s just say, I had been enjoying “the Christmas spirit” a bit too much which, let’s also just say, “clouded my judgement” a tad. One thing I misjudged was the amount of tries Leinster had scored, and in that final sequence as we were attacking the Munster line I was really hoping we’d go for it because I thought it would give us a fourth try and a BP.
Then my thoughts went on to the BP system itself, and how we’ve been saying on the pod this season that the “4 try” method used in URC, Prem, 6N & RWC isn’t as fair as the “3 tries more” one used in Super Rugby & the 🔝🐱🐴. This led me to form the “harpin’ point” that if we had gotten the try it would actually prove the 4-try way needs to be scrapped as it wouldn’t have been right that this particular match could possibly end in a 5-0 split of match points to the visitors.
Now that’s all well & good when I had a few beers on me (ok, maybe more than a few) but somehow my brain held on to the harpin’ point for 24 hours and I brought it up on the pod only for Mark to rightly explain that we had in fact only scored the two tries so the point was as moot as moot could be.
So as you can imagine that clip didn’t survive the editing process, however I still think the bonus point system needs to switch to the “3-tries” method.
ASSHOLES ARE ASSHOLES
I am so, so, sick of this sequence and would love for it to be broken. Sadly it usually comes to my attention most whenever Leinster play Munster
Thing happens in rugby match
A few people claiming to be “fans” of one team get abusive on social media towards fans of the other
A few of those fans on the receiving end then expose the abuse, making it look like this is what fans of that team are like
A long exchange ensues which many blame entirely on “rugby twitter”
To be absolutely clear, the 2nd stage of the sequence is the worst by far. Obviously. All forms of insults, abuse and bullying are wrong wherever they are found and need to be called out.
But someone also needs to push back on stages 3 and 4.
No, this is NOT what fans of that team are like in general.
No, this is NOT what fans of rugby are like in general.
And no, this is NOT even what Twitter itself is like in general.
IMO people who are capable of this behaviour don’t need to follow any particular team, follow any particular sport, or even use one or another particular platform.
When it comes to these exchanges, we need to make sure 100% of the negative attention goes on these instigators, yet when we respond by tying them to decent people who follow the same team, or same sport, or use the same platform, I reckon we siphon off some of that negativity for ourselves.
Call out the assholes as assholes by all means. But we must also be sure to separate them from the decent people who just want to have a conversation. And most of all, mute/block them. It may be a vicious cycle the way things are now, but I believe it is one we have the power to stop.
It might be a worn out cliché by this stage, but “haters gonna hate” is as true as it is concise.
JOE MARLER
Speaking of assholes, Joe Marler.
And actually he seems to be getting positive attention on social media because he apologised for what he is reported to have said to Jake Heenan on the rugby pitch.
Eh, no. He’s got form. He’s certainly no hero for apologising, that is the bare minimum of what he should have done. Maybe, just maybe if he can go a whole calendar year without it happening again we can celebrate that, but in my book he has ruled himself out of any praise until then at the very very least.
RULE CHANGES
This week’s column has already gone longer than I intended, with this point being the only one I originally intended to harp on.
Obviously I want to see rugby take measures to speed things up, yet I still feel somebody needs to push back a little against this introduction of rule changes, because I definitely have concerns.
First of all, while I know the rugby calendar is different all over the world, to make significant changes right smack in the middle of the European season goes against pretty much everything I believe is fair for a sporting competition. I shouldn’t have to spell out reasons for why a tournament shouldn’t change its rules halfway through.
Plus there’s the added factor that we’re making changes just before a World Cup. Maybe, just maybe I have too much “skin in the game” on this point being a Leinster & Ireland fan because Johnny Sexton does have a reputation for taking time on his placekicks, but since he’s such a high profile player, to bring the change halfway through a club season as well as three-quarters of the way through a RWC cycle would seem to affect him more than others.
But my biggest reason for pushing back on these changes has to do with player safety.
Yes, we want to avoid time wasting in the game where possible and this will definitely help keep the “casual fans” interested, but I have to ask, just how much of a problem is this REALLY? Is it possible we might be over-reacting a bit when it comes to stoppages?
The actual playing time of a rugby match is one hour and 20 minutes. Factor in fifteen for halftime and you’d really hope the final whistle will blow well short of the two-hour mark after kickoff time. And that’s what we should be aiming for.
For example, Leinster’s recent Heineken Champions Cup match against Gloucester at the RDS kicked off at the later than usual time of 8pm of a Friday night. That meant I was always going to be anxious getting my bus home as it can often take a while leaving the ground given the press box is right at the back of the Grandstand so I have to wait until the bulk of the supporters leave before I can.
Yet I not only made it to my bus stop to catch it at 10:15, I actually waited seven minutes before it came. Maybe the one-sided nature of the scoreline helped but I still didn’t stand up to leave until the final whistle blew. And for me personally, that’s fine. I really don’t know how many tweaks and changes to the Laws we’d have to make that would actually be worthwhile getting me out of there any sooner.
On the subject of water breaks, they don’t bug me as much as they do most other viewers although one concern I would have about them is that I fear they are being brought in to facilitate matches being played in places like Dubai & Qatar in future, and there have been rumblings in the press recently that this does look like happening.
Which brings me back to player safety. For me, this is a much bigger issue we need to address, and there are areas when it comes into direct conflict with the time-saving. Whether we like to admit it or not, tackle technique is still a major grey area in our beautiful sport and it’s one we have to keep working at.
And unfortunately some of this “work” involves teams of officials making sure they get their calls right especially in the high profile matches as their exposure will hopefully trickle down to all levels through the sport.
So as I have said before on these pages and I won’t tire saying it again in the future, when it comes to TMO calls the last thing the officials need is added pressure from the viewing public simply because we’re worried about a few extra seconds being somehow taken from us.
Like I say, if matches start lasting two hours or more then we know things are going wrong, but we should also appreciate that efforts need to be made to help ensure that actual careers last as long as they possibly can.
INJURY REPORT
Good news, there were no new names added to the list and it’s great to see Messrs Furlong & Connors close to being available.
The final group still contains many concerns however. I don’t like suggesting some injuries are worse than others but Henshaw is a name Leinster & Ireland would want to see moving up the list sooner rather than later and for the province it doesn’t look good to see Jenkins there either.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Tadhg Furlong: will again step up his rehabilitation this week from an ankle injury and will be assessed as the week goes on
Will Connors: will look to step up his rehabilitation programme further this week as he nears a return from a bicep injury
There are no further updates on:
Thomas Clarkson (arm), Ed Byrne (knee), Jason Jenkins (hamstring), Robbie Henshaw (wrist), Martin Moloney (knee), Ciarán Frawley (knee), Charlie Ryan (knee) and Tommy O’Brien (knee)
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
The 22 portion of the 22/23 is done for Leinster and we kick off the 23 at the RDS with Connacht the visitors. We’ll have the preview on Friday and the wrap will record on Monday. In the meantime, have a happy and safe New Year and be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 