Tom Coleman & Rich Mifsud were my contributors this week and they did their usual sterling work going back over Leinster’s win over the Lions last Saturday.
ICYMI click here to check it out on Spotify or you’ll also find it on Apple and most major platforms.
FRONT FIVE
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
Rowntree delivered Munster’s first trophy in 12 years when he concluded his first season in charge
“Remember, while it is part of a sporting spectacle, the haka is a cultural taonga, treasure, gifted to NZRU to perform respectfully, which they do now.”
With no injury report this week I thought I’d have a crack at selecting an ideal matchday 23 for Leinster if the Champions Cup were now, and all players were fit (bar the long term Dan Sheehan). Damn it ain’t easy!!! But I did want to make a point of leaving both Snyman and Barrett on the bench, not that I’ve anything against either, far from it, rather to highlight just how good the team can look without them. In the centre, our defensive standards have been so good this season I see no reason to throw Jordie Barrett in just yet, and as for RG I feel that when it came down to him or Ryan the South African would be better suited to an impact role. But the fact remains there are host of “toss up” calls all over the park, like Jimmy O’Brien for example although I like the idea of starting Ringer on the wing, but that’s just me.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
To be clear, not all of our Troll Patrol examples are necessarily bad or at least totally mean-spirited, it can often be both trolling and decent banter and this offering from Graham Love falls squarely into that category. I can totally see the benefit in a Scottish observer fanning the flames of the Leinster/Munster when they see the chance! Graham is definitely worth a follow if you’re not doing so already.
All Ireland Leagues
WOMEN’S AIL
MEN’S AIL
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
Harpin Prediction League
THIS SEASON THE HPL IS ADDING A NEW KNOCKOUT COMPETITION
CALLED “THE HARPIN MUG”
(BECAUSE THE PRIZE IS AN ACTUAL MUG SO WE COULDN’T CALL IT A ‘CUP’)
THE SEEDINGS ARE DETERMINED BY THE STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 6
AND YOU CAN SEE THE FULL BRACKET BELOW
THE FIRST KNOCKOUT CONTEST WILL BE DAVID V KRISTIAN
PLAYED ACROSS THEIR PREDICTIONS MADE FOR URC ROUND 7
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Sunday – Pod recording, “All provincial panel” looking ahead to Autumn Nations Series
Just for this week we’re going to return to our “old school” style of 80+ columns without the Front Five video. Real life got in the way of regular content production last weekend when a family emergency caused the postponement of our Sunday evening wrap pod recording. Thankfully everything turned out ok at home and I am also grateful to both my scheduled contributors Conor Cronin and Cian O’Muilleoir for making themselves available at lunchtime on Monday to help produce an abridged-yet-still-excellent account of Leinster’s bonus point win in Galway.
ICYMI the pod click here to check it out on Spotify or you’ll also find it on Apple and most major platforms.
FRONT FIVE
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from the rugby media landscape
Like I say above, I don’t have time to do a video to share my thoughts on this week’s Front 5, but I can briefly share them here.
On the Sexton thing of course, we’d be mad not to avail of his expertise in any way we can – though of course there are plenty of Irish ABL fans out there who will voice some sort of disapproval, especially with Ronan O’Gara doing so well as a coach. Personally I’d say why not try to get BOTH involved but you know, gaslighters gotta gaslight etc etc. On the two stories concerning actual coaches, both involve speculation but neither are surprising, Leinster have gotten off to a fast start to the season so why not inject suggestions of some behind the scenes uncertainty amirite? Then there’s the IRFU joining France in objecting to the 20m red being introduced to all top level tests, I really hope they can get more support in this effort to go against NZ & Aus and their absolutely absurd “ruining the game” narrative. Finally, our Clickbait of the Week feature returns with the old reliable Ruck.co.uk posing a question in the headline which I take great delight in answering with my choice of quote, thus saving you the click.
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
JOHNNY MENTOR BE?
He would not be with the squad on a full-time basis but would spend a few hours a week passing on some of his knowledge gained during his glittering career
Despite all the success, Wilkinson is adamant that he doesn’t want his son to experience the pressures he faced during his rugby career.
Jonny Wilkinson Reveals if His Son Will Chase Rugby Glory Like Dad
Ruck.co.uk
HARPIN ON…THE LIONS Part II “The Bolters”
The second of our Harpin series looks at possible bolters for Andy Farrell’s squad. We concentrate on Irish players for now, I hope to have guests on from the other nations at some point to go over their candidates before anyone thinks we believe the team has to be mostly Irish!!!! That said…..nah, I best remain diplomatic for now.
IRISH SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT
Just announced as we’re publishing, will comment on our Preview Show this Friday
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
HARPIN’ MATCHDAY 23 V LIONS
A Osborne, Turner, Henshaw, Tector, Lowe, Prendergast, McGrath
Smyth, Milne, Slimani, Deeny, Connors, Gunne, R Byrne, Cooney
Caveat : I have no “ITK”
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Robbie Henshaw: has resumed full training and will be available for selection this weekend.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Ryan Baird: is in the final stages of the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and subject to coming through them, will be available for selection at the weekend.
Ciarán Frawley: rolled his ankle in the first half in Galway and while not serious, will be further assessed as the week progresses before a final decision is made on his availability.
Joe McCarthy: will step up his training programme this week from a hamstring injury and will be further assessed before a final decision is made on his availability.
Jordan Larmour: will step up his training programme this week and will be further assessed towards the end of the week before a final decision is made on his availability.
John McKee: will step up his rehabilitation programme this week and will be further assessed towards the end of the week before a final decision is made on his availability.
INJURY UPDATE – NOT AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Lee Barron: won’t be available for selection this week as he manages a minor ankle injury sustained in the game against Munster.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Dan Sheehan, Paddy McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien, Rob Russell, Jack Conan, Rónan Kelleher and Tommy O’Brien.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
This week’s detainee is an x account that is apparently meant to defend the ‘Tier 2’ nations yet seems to spend a lot of time having a go at Irish rugby in general, Ronan O’Gara in particular. This time they trot out the tired old ‘private schools’ line, as ever forgetting that no matter where the funding comes from, the sport has to be organised from a tiny player pool compared to other nations.
Irish Women’s team
Rugby World Cup draw…
Irish Shield
All Ireland Leagues
WOMEN’S AIL
MEN’S AIL
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
RE Super Cup
Harpin Prediction League
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Friday – Harpin Preview Show featuring Keego
Saturday – Comment thread open after Leinster v Lions on our Facebook page
I was joined by David Cordial and Hugo Gordon to look back over the match at Croke Park, they did a bang up job so if you missed it by all means click here to check it out.
FRONT FIVE
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
Newly-crowned WXV 2 champions Australia head up band two as the fifth seeds, with Ireland, Scotland and Italy joining them.
“Although some believe that this rule will promote smoother play, statistics…show that a red card does not systematically mean defeat for the penalised team”
…a case this month…has raised questions over how Richard Boardman recruits players to join the lawsuit brought by his firm, Rylands Garth, against World Rugby
A Osborne, Turner, Henshaw, Tector, King, Prendergast, Gunne
Milne, G McCarthy, Clarkson, O’Tighearnaigh, Ryan (c), Deegan, Penny, Culhane
Smyth, Boyle, Slimani, Deeny, Soroka, McGrath, R Byrne, H Byrne
Caveat : I have no “ITK”
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Robbie Henshaw: returned to training last week after a minor injury and will be available for selection this weekend.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Lee Barron: went off at half-time at the weekend with an ankle injury and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on his availability.
Ryan Baird: has entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and will be assessed as the week progresses.
Jordan Larmour: was not available for selection at the weekend as a precaution and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made.
INJURY UPDATE – NOT AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Rónan Kelleher: had a procedure on an ankle injury last week and will be unavailable for between four to six weeks.
Jack Conan: will be unavailable for selection this week after being withdrawn in the first half against Munster with a hamstring injury.
Joe McCarthy: will not be available for selection this week after picking up a hamstring injury in the Benetton Rugby game.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Dan Sheehan, John McKee, Paddy McCarthy, Jimmy O’Brien and Tommy O’Brien.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
Last week we actually featured one of our own contributors in this segment because, well, you know, we’re fair like that. It was a Leinster fan trolling ahead of a clash with Munster. Now on the other side of the Croke Park clash, we’re also going to point out someone who has appeared on the pod before, only this time it’s a Munster fan.
Now to be clear, I wasn’t wild about the reports of Munster having difficulties bringing on a sub myself – I didn’t know about them until late Sunday evening, after our pod was recorded. A reaction like this, even if it is tongue in cheek (though that’s not obvious), might be a tad over the line. A real “John Delaney we should be the 33rd team” energy about it.
HOW TO BEAT LEINSTER
Here’s some more content from the URC site, I just thought the sub-editor’s choice of headline was a bit unfair to Pete Wilkins.
Connacht Reveal Formula For Beating Leinster
Connacht Rugby coach Pete Wilkins has been outlining what it will take to inflict the first defeat of the season on league leaders Leinster Rugby.
Wilkins says his team need to be brave, positive and fearless in Saturday night’s “massive” Irish interprovincial derby out in Galway.
Leinster have recorded bonus point victories in their first four BKT URC matches, so the big question is how can they be beaten?
“We have got to fire some shots,” replies Wilkins.
“It can’t be a game we are afraid to lose. It can’t be a mindset where we are trying to contain the opposition. “We have to be really positive and on the front foot in everything we do and that’s attack, defence and set-piece.
“The second part is recognising how important the first quarter of games are for Leinster. They are going after points early in terms of the intensity with which they start games.
“So that first quarter is going to be massive in terms of the foothold we can get in the game and how we can get the crowd engaged and the energy that comes from that.
“You’ve got to start well enough to ensure you are in the fight in the second half.”
Connacht have had mixed results so far, with two wins and two defeats, but they are certainly earning a reputation as an entertaining watch, having scored 17 tries in those opening four games.
“It’s a reputation I am happy for us to have and there are two reasons for that,” said Wilkins.
“One is we need to play a certain way to get enough wins to be competitive at the end of the season.
“With the type of players we have got, we need to be positive and brave in the way we play. I think it’s our best formula for success.
“The second part is it means we are staying true to the ethos of the club in terms of what this place is about. It’s about thriving sometimes in difficult conditions and it’s about firing shots and not daring to dream about what’s possible.
“That might sound a little bit twee, but we are making a conscious effort to try and embody that a little bit more strongly in the way we play.
“It’s making for a good watch at the moment. We are scoring tries and we are getting bonus points we wouldn’t have got last year.
“It’s certainly not dull, but the important thing is to keep striving towards winning.”
Maintaining their attacking strike-rate will be a tough ask against a Leinster side that has conceded just 54 points and eight tries in four league matches.
“It’s a brilliant challenge for us,” said Wilkins.
“There is such a clear identity to their defensive structure and intent, so it’s about being good enough to deal with it.
“It requires calm heads and a lot of accuracy to get either through it or around it.
“Any game against Leinster, you are going to have to score a good chunk of points to get a result.”
While Connacht have racked up 120 points so far – claiming victories over the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Scarlets along the way – they have conceded the same number and leaked 15 tries.
“We certainly need to be conceding less points,” said Wilkins.
“We conceded three maul tries against Ulster last week and I’ve no doubt that’s something Leinster will be looking to go after, which makes it an interesting challenge. We need to be good at both ends.”
In addition to losing 32-27 in Belfast last weekend, Connacht were also beaten 35-33 at Munster in the opening round.
So the question is whether they can make it third time lucky on the interprovincial front?
“We have played two really good Irish teams and the nature of our interpros is they tend to be the toughest going around compared to some of the other nations,” said Wilkins.
“To pick up four points from two interpros is four we wouldn’t have got last year.
“Would we have liked to have won one of them? Yes. Would we have liked to have won both? Absolutely.
“But we are getting better and we are not there yet.”
Connacht haven’t beaten Leinster in Galway since 2017, so a victory this weekend would be all the sweeter.
“The nature of our performance is incredibly important based on the previous Leinster visits, the progress we want to make and the quality of the opposition,” said Wilkins.
“If we can get that performance right, there’s competition points and a result there that’s entirely possible for us.
“Look, there’s a lot to play for. Our performances here at home are a source of incredible importance for this group. So it’s a massive game for lots of reasons.”
COMPETITION UPDATES
Irish Shield
All Ireland Leagues
WOMEN’S AIL
MEN’S AIL
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
RE Super Cup
Harpin Prediction League
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
THURSDAY : Weekly Harpin’ slot on DublinSouthFM after 5pm news
A weekly newsletter taking a broader view on the rugby world
WRAP OF A WRAP
Tom “@LeinsterRoyalty” Coleman & Ciarán “PostToPost Sport” Duffy joined me for the Benetton v Leinster wrap pod and did their usual bang up job. If you missed it, here’s a link for Spotify or it’s also on Apple and most major platforms.
FRONT FIVE
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
THANK YOU DAVE
“Thanks to everyone for their support over the last 15 years…it’s been an incredible journey”
Our latest bonus chat from our wrap pod recording looks at the other three provinces as Leinster “begin their defence of” the Irish Shield…
JOSH INTERVIEW
Some free content from the URC is always appreciated – I won’t pass everything on that I get but when it’s Leinster I’ll share when I can…
Ireland star Van der Flier doing it by the book
If you want an illustration of the dedication which has made Josh van der Flier a World Rugby Player of the Year, you only have to listen to him talking about his notebooks.
It reveals the kind of meticulous preparation which – along with abundant natural talent – has seen the Leinster Rugby and Ireland flanker become such a star performer.
“It’s something I have started doing in the last few years,” he reveals.
“I have one notebook for when I’m in Irish camp and one for Leinster.
“At the start of the book, that would be my goals for the season, my main work-ons.
“I will have an attack section, a defence section, a fitness section, all different things that I want to improve on. It’s every area of the game, whether it’s breakdown, carrying, passing or tackling.
“Then, if a coach or a player says something I definitely want to make note of, I write that at the back of the book.
“There will be all little bits of pieces I have gathered, feedback you will get from a coach or another player.
“Then, in the middle, I go week to week with a double page for each game and kind of structure it out that way.
“I have everything in that notebook then and, if I run out of space, I take pictures of the important stuff.
“The main stuff at the front and back is kind of important to keep. That’s how I do it anyway.”
Then there’s the mental preparation for the physical battle out on the pitch.
“That’s one thing that is hard about rugby,” said the 31-year-old openside.
“At times, I do get jealous of footballers or golfers or people in other sports.
“If you are going to play a sport like that, you are obviously pumped up and you are ready, but you are not going in having to be fairly violent and physical with people.
“You have to get yourself to a certain mental state for a rugby game. Certainly I do anyway, which takes a lot out of you.
“You have to get to a stage where you are happy to get stuck in and hit people hard and be real physical and also be kind of calm as well.
“That’s one thing that becomes mentally difficult, certainly the longer a season goes on because of how much it takes to get revved up for a game.
“It was 13 months in the end last year from starting pre-season to finishing.
“Physically, I felt great all year. At the end of the season, my body still felt really good. But mentally it’s difficult in a long season.”
With rugby being so demanding and such an all-consuming passion, Van der Flier acknowledges it is important to switch off on occasions.
“I have got a lot better at it since I met my now wife who is good at doing activities or different things,” he said.
“She’s been great for that. Before I met her, there were six of us living in a house together and we were all obsessed with rugby. All we talked about was rugby.
“If it was a day off, we would be outside throwing a rugby ball around, which is great and we absolutely loved it, but I have got a lot better at switching off away from rugby now.
“After we went out of the World Cup last year, it was very difficult because it was still going on. So, rather than doing something relaxing, we went and did as many tourist things as we could every day to be as busy as possible because I felt if I stood still I would just be playing all the games back through in my head, which is the nature any time you lose in a big tournament.
“That was a hard one to switch off from. But then, once the final was over, I was able to switch off a lot better because the World Cup was over for everyone.”
Having had a break following Ireland’s titanic tour of South Africa, the 2022 World Player of the Year is now up and running on another season and ready for next Saturday’s huge BKT URC derby against Munster Rugby at Croke Park.
“I had five weeks off after the summer tour and I think having that break definitely allowed me to freshen up,” he said.
“The body is feeling good, the mind is feeling good, I am feeling really fresh and I am excited to crack into another season.”
That campaign has begun really well for Leinster who have kicked off with three successive bonus point victories in the league as they look to secure their first piece of silverware since 2021.
“It was obviously tough not to pick up any trophies last year because everyone wants to win. It means everything to everyone here,” said Van der Flier.
“But there is definitely a huge amount of excitement for the year ahead.
“We have a great coaching staff, a lot of great players and a lot of depth in our squad, so there’s no reason why we can’t give it another big shot this year. We are in a great position. We are very hungry and excited for the year ahead.”
The man from Wicklow added: “One thing we have certainly learned is how close it is and the narrow margins you can look back on at the end of a campaign.
“If you win, you don’t tend to notice them so much, but you certainly do when you lose. One thing that sticks out for me is we probably played better in the European final against Toulouse than Ireland did in the last Test against South Africa. But a bit of magic from (Ciaran) Frawley and we managed to get the win in that Springboks game while we didn’t win the other and that’s just the nature of rugby, I suppose. It does come down to fine margins.”
So, despite all the ups and downs and the physical and mental toll it takes, does rugby still remain the job he would rather do than any other?
Porter, Barron, Furlong, McCarthy, Ryan, Baird, van der Flier, Doris (c)
McKee, Healy, Slimani, Snyman, Conan, McGrath, R Byrne, Ringrose
Caveat : I have no “ITK”
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
RG Snyman: came through the game on Saturday with no issues after his recovery from a foot injury.
Jack Boyle: due to return to training this week after his recovery from a foot injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Jordan Larmour: was not available for selection at the weekend as a precaution and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made.
Rónan Kelleher: will have assessment this week on an ankle injury after being withdrawn in the first half on Saturday.
Jimmy O’Brien: will have assessment this week on a hamstring injury after being withdrawn in the first half on Saturday.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Dan Sheehan, John McKee, Paddy McCarthy, Tommy O’Brien and Rob Russell.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
This week’s detainee comes directly from our own Harpin’ pod recording, a light hearted choice from our regular contributor Tom Coleman who not only knew his Zoom background would be seen in the week building up to the Croke Park rematch, but also that he was to be harpin’ on Munster for the bonus chat!!! Hey, we’re nothing if not fair with our Troll Patrol, nobody is safe not even our own…
Our weekly newsletter looking at the latest news around the ruggersphere
WRAP OF A WRAP
Joining me on this week’s wrap pod was Rich Mifsud & Jay Long they put an amazing amount of lipstick on the pig that was the Leinster v Dragons match, if you missed it please check it out here.
HARPIN ON…THE LIONS Part 1 : “The Bankers”
A selection of eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
VANCOUVER VICTORY
King rumbled over from close range again to level at 27-27. O’Brien kept her composure to deliver the winning additional two points from the tee.
Ireland Sevens Olympian Zac Ward (pictured below) is named on the left wing in a pacy-looking back three alongside Rob Russell and Ben O’Connor who starts at full-back.
Erasmus paid the price for leaving the majority of his starting XV at home for the defeat by Argentina in an otherwise perfect campaign in terms of results.
McKee, Healy, Slimani, Deeny, Baird, McGrath, R Byrne, McErlean
Caveat : I have no “ITK”
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Michael Milne: came through the game on Friday with no issues after his recovery from an ankle injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
RG Snyman: will step up his rehabilitation programme further this week as he nears a return from a foot injury.
UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION THIS WEEK:
Dan Sheehan, Jack Boyle, John McKee, Paddy McCarthy and Tommy O’Brien.
TROLL PATROL
LOADS of example to choose from to highlight what I was talking about in the Front 5 video but this was among my favourites and thus is this week’s Troll Patrol detainee.
Irish Women’s team
All Ireland Leagues
Women’s
Men’s
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
The Rugby Championship
RE Super Cup
Harpin Prediction League
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Friday – Benetton v Leinster preview feat Keego & Harpin segment on DublinSouthFM 93.9
Jamison Gibson-Park: Came through the game on Friday with no issues after his recovery from a hamstring injury.
James Culhane: Withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment towards the end of Friday’s game, and passed all assessments and will be available to travel with Emerging Ireland squad.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Tommy O’Brien: Withdrawn with a hamstring injury on Friday and will require further assessment this week before a final decision is made on his involvement with Emerging Ireland.
Michael Milne: Withdrawn with an ankle injury on Friday and will be further assessed this week.
RG Snyman: Will step up his rehabilitation programme this week as he nears a return from a foot injury.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Dan Sheehan (knee)
TROLL PATROL
WXV
Irish Shield
All Ireland Leagues
MEN’S AILWOMEN’S AIL
Premiership
🔝🐱🐴
ProD2
The Rugby Championship
RE Super Cup
Currie Cup
Harpin Prediction League
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Thursday – Leinster v Dragons preview
Friday – Dublin South FM Harpin’ slot (after 5pm news)
sample from latest pod full episode available on Apple, Spotify, etc
A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape.
“HE’S TO BE” COACH
The appointment will see Easterby in place for the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations and the Men’s summer tour next year, details of which are to be confirmed.
Compared with the increasingly buoyant and eye-catching Top 14, Newcastle v Dragons or Connacht v Sale on a Friday night would hardly be a gamechanger.
Tune in after the 5pm news on Friday for the Harpin’ segment
UPDATE : The return of the Harpin slot on Dublin South FM has been pushed to Friday, September 20.
SEASON 6 PREMIERE
Recording Sunday September 15, looking ahead to the 24/25 season for Leinster & Ireland
A selection of eye-catching quotes & links from around the rugby media landscape
NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
…12 nations will be split into a European Conference and Rest of the World Conference, with each team playing the six entrants in the opposite conference across the July and November Test windows.
A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).
“We believe he will be a great addition to the group, not only providing competition for the first team but also helping some of our young front row players learn and develop.”
Leinster Rugby confirm signing of Rabah Slimani
Marcus Ó Buachalla – LeinsterRugby.ie
JLP : We already knew this was happening but had only heard from the French media side of things so an article on the LEINSTER website is the equivalent of the fat lady singing. Obviously we welcome him and hope he does exactly as Leo says in the quote. Nothing about length of contract about length of his contract but I understand it to be one with rumblings about him being keen to be involved on the coaching side of things. And you know on social media there will be those who spin it like this signing shows some kind of favouritism towards Leinster with the decision having been made to stop NIQ tightheads, as opposed to the more obvious explanation that this deal was already agreed before the new policy came into effect. Much like the way Gibson-Park and Lowe qualified under the 3-year residency rules just before they increased to five.
Marx suffered the injury in the second half of the Test against Ireland, during a horrific croc roll that earned captain Caelan Doris a yellow card
JLP : My official take on the Doris/Ryan croc rolls….to my eye, Doris attempts a croc roll but doesn’t shift him. Ryan also attempts one and succeeds, and in the process forces Doris into MVS’s leg (though even without Doris there it would of course have still been v dangerous). I’d have been inclined to yellow card Doris and red card Ryan. Irish goggles or no, this is a very dangerous manoeuvre that needs to be stamped out, whether or not the player gets injured.
However, as much as I dislike ‘whataboutery’, it’s not easy to avoid responding to all the pearl-clutching by South African fans when only a few weeks ago we had Jamison Gibson-Park ruled out of the final stages of the URC quarterfinal because apparently he was ‘fair game’ for this challenge by Akker van der Merwe.
BC Place in Vancouver will get proceedings underway…with Ireland set to face New Zealand in their opening fixture, having moved up the ranks from WXV 3
JLP : I’m still not 100% sure about how this WXV tournament works but it seems Ireland’s improvement from last to third in the 2024 Six Nations earned them a place in the the top tier division for the second instalment and it also seems the draw has been relatively kind to us in that we avoid England. Not that the Black Ferns, USA & Canada will be easy by a long stretch but it will definitely be a much needed test for this squad. As ever with the women’s game we also have to hope that conditions back home will improve and I am already seeing talk about the 2024 Interprovincials which will be done and dusted before September this year so I’m not sure if the changes are happening quickly enough.
The rugby star is accused of behaviour that caused his estranged wife “fear and alarm” over a seven-year period between January 1st, 2017, and March 30th, 2024.
JLP : We keep track of the Hogg story because several publications tend to be dismissive over his legal situation. That’s not to say I want to assume guilt, rather I want to keep it clear what he faces when he gets his day in court.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
Commentator are blasted for disgusting joke about a female physio performing a sex act on Jamie George
Ruck.co.uk
JLP : Going by the articles I have used for this feature so far it seems Ruck.co.uk is one of the more clickbaity sites out there and they came up trumps with this one for sure. Sometimes I share the link anyway but decided against it this time.
WRAP OF A WRAP
The second test was our final featured match of the season so definitely not a bad way to finish, and Conor and Rich did their usual excellent job going through the timeline with me. Below you see their final thoughts as shared on YouTube.
If you missed the pod, click here to catch it on Spotify otherwise we’re on Apple as well as most major platforms.
HARPIN ON…FRAWLEY TIME
I had a bonus chat planned for our pod recording where we were to talk about Andy Farrell and what we’ll be missing when he’s away with The Lions but I promised my 9 year old daughter I’d watch the second half of the Euros with her so when I saw our chat was going a bit long I made an “executive decision” to scrap the extra bit and instead I shared our chat on the eventful final stages of the match which as you can see I named “Frawley time”.
U20s UPDATE
Here’s what I said on the wrap pod about the Wolfpuppies…
Also in South Africa we had the semifinal of the World Under 20s, Ireland got off to a flying start against England but once the reigning Six Nations champions were able to show their incredible dominance in the scrum we struggled to keep up with them and if anything we did well to be behind by just 11 at the end. There’s still one more match for us that will be the 3rd place playoff kicking off at 3:30pm on Friday against New Zealand.
…and the only thing to add would be a shout out to the newly-formed women’s Under 20s who finished off their Summer Series with a convincing 37-7 win over Scotland which bodes well for the future.
ROUND 1
SOUTH AFRICA 57-7 FIJI
WALES 34-41 NEW ZEALAND
IRELAND 55-15 ITALY
AUSTRALIA 35-11 GEORGIA
FRANCE 49-12 SPAIN
ENGLAND 40-21 ARGENTINA
ROUND 2
IRELAND 22-16 GEORGIA
WALES 31-10 SPAIN
FRANCE 26-27 NEW ZEALAND
ENGLAND 48-11 FIJI
SOUTH AFRICA 12-31 ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA 12-17 ITALY
ROUND 3
IRELAND cancelled AUSTRALIA (2pts each)
ARGENTINA 52-12 FIJI
FRANCE 29-11 WALES
GEORGIA 28-17 ITALY
SOUTH AFRICA 12-17 ENGLAND
NEW ZEALAND 45-13 SPAIN
SEMIFINALS
ENGLAND 31-20 IRELAND
NEW ZEALAND 31-55 FRANCE
5TH-8TH PLACE
AUSTRALIA 36-29 WALES
ARGENTINA 34-24 SOUTH AFRICA
9TH-12TH PLACE
ITALY 28-15 SPAIN
GEORGIA 40-36 FIJI
FRI JULY 19
FINAL
ENGLAND V FRANCE
3RD PLACE
IRELAND V NEW ZEALAND
5TH PLACE
AUSTRALIA V ARGENTINA
7TH PLACE
WALES V SOUTH AFRICA
9TH PLACE
ITALY V GEORGIA
11TH PLACE (RELEGATION)
FIJI V SPAIN
TROLL PATROL
They say it’s usually best not to engage trolls but often it can be a good thing when you can both knock them back and show your receipts. As I said earlier the column, there are those who took Leinster’s Slimani signing as “further proof” that the province gets preferential treatment so fair play to Kenny for putting this poster, who isn’t appearing in this section for the first time, to rights.
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE
Just setting up the 2024 competition with the fixture list here so I can follow it through the summer months. It’s a shame that the travel distances involved prevent them from using a strict home and away schedule, I wonder if there’s a case to be made for holding the whole thing in AUS/NZ one year and in ARG/SA the next. But still plenty to look forward to nonetheless.
ROUND 1
AUGUST 10
AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA
NEW ZEALAND V ARGENTINA
ROUND 2
AUGUST 17
NEW ZEALAND V ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA
ROUND 3
AUGUST 31
SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V AUSTRALIA
ROUND 4
SEPTEMBER 7
SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V AUSTRALIA
ROUND 5
SEPTEMBER 21
AUSTRALIA V NEW ZEALAND
ARGENTINA V SOUTH AFRICA
ROUND 6
SEPTEMBER 28
NEW ZEALAND V AUSTRALIA
SOUTH AFRICA V ARGENTINA
“SVNS” UPDATE
By the time next week’s column posts the Irish men will be about to start their campaign so I will post the fixtures here again and wish both teams all the best. I really think we’re in with a shout of a medal or even two all going well.
OLYMPIC 7s
IREM7s
POOL STAGE
WED JULY 24 V SOUTH AFRICA 4:30PM
WED JULY 24 V JAPAN 8PM
THU JULY 25 V NEW ZEALAND 3:30PM
IREW7s
POOL STAGE
SUN JULY 28 V GREAT BRITAIN 2:30PM
SUN JULY 28 V SOUTH AFRICA 6PM
MON JULY 29 V AUSTRALIA 1:30PM
CURRIE CUP UPDATE
I still haven’t had the chance to catch a match from this season but it does seem that the Cheetahs are the form team, possibly because they get the chance to field their best possible team as opposed to the URC clubs. I plan to pick a team to follow throughout the season but haven’t landed on one just yet.
ROUND 2
GRIQUAS 34-31 SHARKS
PUMAS 21-75 LIONS
CHEETAHS 37-17 WESTERN PROVINCE
GRIFFONS 10-52 BULLS
ROUND 3
FRI JULY 19
LIONS V GRIQUAS
BULLS V CHEETAHS
PUMAS V SHARKS
SUN JULY 21
GRIFFONS V WESTERN PROVINCE
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
A one week break between regular season and playoffs I get. A two week break and I’m wondering if that’s long enough for people to forget the Laws of rugby, especially in the USA. All I can do is wish our adopted team for this season The Chicago Hounds the best of luck in their match in New Orleans.
PLAYOFFS
SAT JULY 20
NEW ENGLAND V OLD GLORY
SUN JULY 21
HOUSTON V DALLAS
NOLA GOLD V CHICAGO
MON JULY 22
SEATTLE V SAN DIEGO
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
Fair play to Keego for going above and beyond the Laws of the HPL which state “he who finishes in the last place on the table at the end of the season must post a photo on social media of them wearing the Harpin Forfeit Jersey”. As you can see, he only went and made a video!!!
Over the off season we’re going to keep this 80+ column going week to week just to have some content, but as for the podcast we’re planning two more to bring our fifth season to a close, one to wrap up the Under 20s and one to wrap the entire campaign. No dates for them as of yet so keep up with all our social media channels and of course keep up with the usual amount of commenting, sharing, liking & subscribing.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 