Category: 80+ column

80+ column : Nov 7

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT 

TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF OUR

FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

Another Sunday, another enjoyable wrap pod recording, this time joined by Conor & Kino, this time for the Front 5 I asked them to choose an article/topic themselves, not sure why I never thought of that before, I’ll definitely look to do that more often as the season wears on.

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

HARPIN ON…THE LEINSTER CAPTAINCY

For our bonus clip to follow on from last week’s chat on the candidates for the Leinster 10 jersey after Sexton’s retirement, this time we looked at Leinster’s “leadership group” and how it should look when the Champions Cup rolls around.

COPY-WRONGED

If content creators’ statuses were represented by rugby competitions, Squidge would be the World Cup while Harpin would be Junior 4ths….meh, maybe that’s doing myself down a bit too much, how about we go with Junior 2nds instead 😜.  

All which means I feel bad that I have actually used clips from rugby matches in TikTok videos in recent times – to be clear I never try to even come close to Squidge’s analysis and I certainly don’t put anywhere near as much time into my stuff as he does.  

One thing I can vouch for is that even for a 15 minute video there is a MOUNTAIN of work to be done even with help.  For example the simple two minute clip below took the guts of two hours altogether but definitely in this case it was worth it when it came to speaking out against the copyright enforcement.

As you can see I have included a link below to show the source of the stats on the Gen Z participation.

Again, seriously, CLIMBING????????????

Link for stats on Gen Z participation as cited in video

@harpinonrugby

JUST LETTHECLIPSPLAY – taken from our weekly 80+ column which posts every Tuesday afternoon at HarpinOnRugby.com #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok #rugbyunion🏉

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

THAT’S USING YOUR HEAD

Hat-tip to Harpin contributor Kristian Ross for drawing my attention to this article from the Ulster University site which is all about the science behind the “smart mouthguards” which are being used to gauge head injury impact in rugby.

  “Dr Gregory Tierney, Lecturer in Biomechanics, Ulster University worked in partnership with World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby to complete several studies using the smart mouthguard technology to better understand the level of impact players experience on the head during matches and training situations using g-forces as a measurement technique.”

I am far from a statistician but one thing I do know is that when researching a topic you can never have too much data, once it’s relevant and it really does sound like this is a near perfect way to gather data on the impact of head collisions in rugby.  And another thing we find is that proper research rarely backs up our prejudices 100%.

Usually those pushing back against attempts to make the game safer are mostly motivated by a fear that the game will be “ruined” by sending off and long TMO delays.  Personally I’d rather let the boffins do their thing and be open minded to seeing the results in the hope that the right alterations can be made.

The article offers some results from a paper published in 2021 after two years of extensive research…

“The ORCHID paper shows that in the men’s community game:

  • 86 percent of forces measured are the same as or less than those experienced in other forms of exercise such as running, jumping or skipping
  • 94 percent of forces are lower than those previously measured on people riding a rollercoaster
  • The large majority of events resulting in the highest measured forces are as a result of poor technique in the tackle and at the breakdown
  • Most contact events in elite rugby do not result in any significant force to the head.”

The poor tackle technique is the most significant part for me, and that leads me to believe that using sanctions to help promote proper technique is at very least one of the measures that we should pursue, whether some fans are annoyed by waiting a bit longer for TMO replays or not.

FEELING THE HEAT

Negative comments obviously come with the territory when you’re producing regular content and normally I brush them off but I have to admit I was annoyed by one I got after last week’s bonus pod which featured an interview with Francisco Isaac.

The plan was to talk to him about Portugal’s success at RWC2023, the proposed World League and finally the Rugby Europe Super Cup which kicked off last weekend.

Unfortunately one follower was of the opinion that since the Super Cup involves a team from Israel, then that means we should have discussed the current horrible events in that part of the world, with the implication that if we didn’t then I obviously don’t care about it.

Just to be clear…I do have strong feelings about that situation but you can be 100% guaranteed that I will not share them here or anywhere else in the Harpin social media space.  Meanwhile, it has been a policy here to follow the RE Super Cup as we believe it is an invaluable mechanism for at least starting to bring up Europe’s tier 2 nations (Francisco even says as much on the pod).

To that end we will continue to cover the tournament, including adding them to our “update” section below as it unfolds over the coming weeks.

Click here to listen to the pod in question ICYMI, plus there’s a YouTube video with an extended version of the World League discussion as well.

THROWING THE BOOK BY WAYNE BARNES

I’ve always had respect for Wayne Barnes – I know a lot of people had issues with his refereeing, and so did I, but IMO we have to know where to draw the line and whatever we might think about the actual decisions, that is not all that maketh the ref and his overall comportment throughout his career has been commendable for sure and he was a more than worthy appointee for the 2023 final.

Pretty sure I’m not the only one who wishes him all the best with his future endeavours, including his new book…

LARNER THE TEACHER

A major rugby bugbear of mine is intellectual snobbery, as in when some look down on others who don’t understand the Laws as well as they do.  The way I see it if someone is looking for info we should give it.  It’s a goddam complex sport that needs all the clued-in fans it can get. 

Unless of course when I’m having a few pints in a crowded pub watching a match and people cop on that I know what’s going on and thus bombard me with questions for the remainder, they of course can FRO….but it doesn’t always go exactly the way the Grand Slam match back in March did…😁

Seriously though, social media should be an ideal way to help those who might not know certain terms yet are afraid to ask, and it’s always good to have tweets like this one from Sam Lerner to see people right…

URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

As one tournament, namely the WXV, drops out of our expanded Update Section, it gets replaced by two more, and first we are going to keep a close eye on the race for the Irish Shield.  Some may joke about it but starting this season it is to be awarded to the winner of a points table featuring ONLY the matches between the Irish provinces throughout the season, a really good idea IMO which needs support by regular coverage.  Obviously Connacht’s victory over Ulster in the season’s first interpro has them top of the shield standings as well as the entire URC, we’ll see how things look after Munster visit the Kingspan on Friday.

Match 1

CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER

  1. CONNACHT P 1 PTS 4
  2. ULSTER P 1 PTS 1
  3. LEINSTER P 0 PTS 0
  4. MUNSTER P 0 PTS 0

Match 2

FRI NOV 10

ULSTER V MUNSTER

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Leinster’s first Champions Cup opponents are exactly the same as our last ones, but things haven’t been going too well for La Rochelle since that day in the Aviva, or at least since Ntamack broke their hearts in their quest for a first Brennus in July.  They have now lost 4 out of 5 this season and are now flirting with the relegation zone, but as Kino pointed out on our pod, they will be getting the bulk of their internationals back well in time for our visit in December so will likely be a much different prospect then.

In January we host Stade Francais and they continue to do well as their 39-16 win over Castres kept them in a three-way tie at the top with Pau and Stu Lancaster’s Racing.

Toulon v Racing on Sunday evening seems to be the pick of the Round 6 matches and hopefully Dan Biggar’s back spasm isn’t too serious, that really, really looked nasty.

Round 5

OYONNAX 19-17 LA ROCHELLE

PERPIGNAN 26-22 TOULON

BORDEAUX 26-13 MONTPELLIER

CLÉRMONT 46-14 BAYONNE

STADE FRANCAIS 39-16 CASTRES

RACING 92 22-20 LYON

PAU 13-9 TOULOUSE

Round 6

SAT NOV 11

TOULOUSE V PERPIGNAN

CASTRES V OYONNAX

LYON V STADE FRANCAIS

MONTPELLIER V CLÉRMONT

PAU V BORDEAUX

LA ROCHELLE V BAYONNE

TOULON V RACING 92

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

Sale Sharks come to the RDS in December and their decent start to their Premiership campaign continued with a handy win over Glaws leaving them in 3rd place behind Exeter and Quins.  Meanwhile Leicester Tigers, our fourth opponents, continue to struggle as they could not overcome Sarries.  They could get things back on track in round 5 with a win over Quins but the standout tie of the round has to be the West Country derby at Kingsholm.

ROUND 4

SALE SHARKS 24-10 GLOUCESTER

HARLEQUINS 40-12 NEWCASTLE

NORTHAMPTON 24-18 BATH

SARACENS 32-17 LEICESTER TIGERS

EXETER CHIEFS 29-20 BRISTOL

ROUND 5

FRI NOV 10

GLOUCESTER V BATH

SAT NOV 11

BRISTOL V SALE SHARKS

LEICESTER V HARLEQUINS

SUN NOV 12

NEWCASTLE V SARACENS

NORTHAMPTON V EXETER

AIL UPDATE 

Here’s a transcript of my piece for Front 5 on last Sunday’s wrap pod…

Every week on our 80+ column at harpinonrugby.com we round up the state of play in the Energia AIL but for once I thought I’d do it here on the main pod because, well, I keep harpin on how poor the overall coverage is of the next level down from provincial rugby so I should really practise what I preach.

I’ll start with the Women’s AIL which this season may not have added to its 9 clubs but at least it HAS gone to a full home and away calendar with Round 6 taking place at the weekend.  And even though we’re only a third of the way through the schedule it’s pretty clear which teams are favoured to make the top 4 and with Rock, Belvo, Railway Union and leaders UL Bohs all avoiding each other in this round, meaning there wasn’t much change at the top with the only unpredicted outcome being Wicklow’s waterlogged pitch preventing them from hosting Railway, who themselves play Belvo next weekend in what is easily the match of Round 7.

Meanwhile on the men’s side of things, league leaders Lansdowne saw their perfect start to the season come to an end when they fell to Cork Con although the away losing bonus point wasn’t the worst result.  This left Clontarf as the only unbeaten side in the top division after they overcame their own tough southern assignment and held off a strong fightback by Young Munster to win 44-39. 

Back to the subject of media coverage, it’s still poor overall outside the individual club social media accounts, in fact some weeks it’s been difficult to find decent reporting on even the top AIL divisions as late as Tuesday morning, but there are definite exceptions to this rule, starting of course with the weekly Club Scene Podcast and also there is live streaming from the likes of the BF Sports Analysis YouTube channel where I watched reigning champions Terenure overcome UCD on Saturday afternoon – I’ll put a link in the programme notes.  Unfortunately I couldn’t watch it live as it clashed with Leinster’s match at the RDS but it’s always available to replay and as ever is a great way of keeping tabs on those on the fringes of the Leinster squad like Chris Cosgrave and Conor O’Tighearnaigh.

So we’ll continue to keep tabs on the AIL throughout the season and for your own part please do what you can to get out and support your local club in any way you can.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 6

SAT NOV 4

BALLINCOLLIG 5-69 UL BOHS

BELVO 48-7 COOKE

SUTTONIANS 12-33 ROCK

WICKLOW [UNPLAYABLE PITCH] RAILWAY UNION

Round 7

SAT NOV 11

ROCK V BALLINCOLLIG

COOKE V WICKLOW

GALWEGIANS V SUTTONIANS

RAILWAY UNION V BELVO

MEN’S AIL

SAT NOV 4

BALLYNAHINCH 31-5 SHANNON

CITY OF ARMAGH 25-23 DUBLIN UNIV

CORK CON 23-17 LANSDOWNE

UCD 28-45 TERENURE

YOUNG MUNSTER 39-44 CLONTARF

ROUND 5

SAT NOV 11

CLONTARF V CITY OF ARMAGH

DUBLIN UNIV V BALLYNAHINCH

SHANNON V CORK CON

TERENURE V LANSDOWNE

UCD V YOUNG MUNSTER

RE SUPER CUP UPDATE

As discussed on the bonus pod linked earlier, the RE Super Cup has a slightly different format this season.  The World Cup has shrunk it to a three-match pool phase and what’s more, the two pools are weighted with the four best in A with the next 4 in Pool B – the top three from A and the winner of B make the semifinals.

There is also a new nation joining the competition, with Bohemia Warriors from Czechia getting a baptism of fire courtesy of the Romanian Wolves in Round 1, while reigning champions Black Lion, who also take part in this seasons Challenge Cup don’t forget, started off with a comfortable enough win over Castilla.  Pick of Round 2 has to be their trip to Portugal to face Lusitanos in a repeat of last year’s final.

ROUND 1

ROMANIAN WOLVES 76-7 BOHEMIA WARRIORS

BRUSSELS DEVILS 41-12 DELTA

LUSITANOS 23-31 TEL-AVIV HEAT

BLACK LION 39-19 CASTILLA

ROUND 2

FRI NOV 12

DELTA V ROMANIAN WOLVES

SAT NOV 11

BOHEMIA WARRIORS V BRUSSELS DEVILS

LUSITANOS V BLACK LION

SUN NOV 12

CASTILLA V TEL-AVIV HEAT

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

I’m still happy enough to be lurking in the bronze medal position after 3 rounds but Kristian and Conor are starting to open up a gap at the top.  Meanwhile Keego, who to be fair was in New York last week so possibly wasn’t thinking too much about the URC, has dropped back down to the dreaded Jersey of Shame position.

AFTER RD 3PTS
1KRISTIAN33.50
2CONOR33.00
3JEFF28.50
4KINO26.00
5JAY24.00
6TOM22.50
7MARK19.50
8KEEGO17.00

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Right, that’s it for another week’s 80+ column thanks for checking in.  Next up there’s the Dragons, we’ll have the preview on Friday and even though we don’t play until Sunday afternoon, we’re still planning to record the wrap pod that evening at 8 o’clock, with all the other usual features all over our various social media channels as well.

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

80+ column : Oct 31

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT 

TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE OF OUR

FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

Leinster Rugby is back at the RDS and all’s right with the world…well apart from having to swim back to my car afterwards to make it home in time for the RWC final, it was great to get the home season underway, naturally the result helped with this as well.  Mark Jackson & Ciarán Duffy joined me on the pod Sunday evening to offer their top insights.

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

HARPIN ON…LEINSTER’S 10 JERSEY POST-SEXTON

For the bonus clip this week Mark & Ciarán helped me look at Leinster’s options to start the post-Sexton era for the Leinster 10 jersey.

PURE V PUKE?  NEITHER. JUST RUGBY.

Kids are off school this week so little or no time to organise a TikTok rant (for a clip no longer than two minutes there’s a ton of work involved, though I do enjoy them and hope to get back to it after the midterm) but what I would have harped on was the way the sport of rugby was presented to the world over the past couple of months in the French festival.

You’re reading a blog about rugby and I’m writing one so it’s pretty clear we’re both massive fans who would not only watch every moment of most other tournaments as well on top of the 24/7 online content, but we all know that World Cups more than any other event are key for promoting the sport outside its bubble, aiming to convince non- and casual- fans to pay a lot more attention over the next four years.

I guess before analysing how RWC2023 did in this regard, we first must look at what we’re up against when it comes to people who are naturally inclined to be negative.  Well first there’s a particular brand of Irish sports fan who for some reason feel it’s not enough to see competition within a particular code, but they also want to compare different codes with each other and thus only watch rugby so they can find the flaws to show how much better their sport is.  Obviously we have those types in rugby as well (“rugby values”/“wouldn’t happen in our sport”) but my point is that no matter what you do you’ll never get that lot so it’s not worth even trying.

Next we have to rule out those who expect to be entertained to the fullest in every single sporting encounter.  In rugby I guess that means that to these people the only type of game worth watching is one where there’s “free-flowing rugby” with tries raining in from end to end with a series of fancy offloads and miss-passes.  Those people are never going to be happy, because they clearly forget that there are defensive coaches doing their level best to stop that happening.

I mean is it too much to expect people to appreciate that there’s plenty to entertain us even without that so-called “purist” style.  Take the World Cup final itself.  I’ve seen several articles from journalists from within and outside rugby trying to take the shine off of the Springboks’ historic victory by banging on about their approach.  This is of course all clickbait garbage – whether you win a match by 1 point or 100, you still win and getting finicky about the style of play says more about the commenter than it does the subject matter.

But even if you weren’t fully clued in on the Laws of the game (and I give a TON of leeway to viewers for this because let’s face it, while it’s no cricket, there’s still a hell of a lot of jargon and conventions to get the hang of) if you couldn’t at least appreciate all the excitement before the match like the rivalry between two great rugby nations, all the passion and anticipation surrounding the anthems, the performance and reaction to the cultural challenge, during the match with the dozens of pivotal moments from the first minute to the last, and eventually after it the contrasting celebrations and disappointment of the two squads, then I reckon you should probably be looking for entertainment elsewhere.

And over the course of the eight weeks there actually was a lot of rugby that could be described as “worldie”, with several so-called YouTube moments with free flowing play and there were even some upsets; just Portugal’s pool stage adventure would make a decent feature film all on its own.  

Overall I think there’s only so much a sport can do to make itself more appealing to the masses, at least when it comes to the brick and mortar of the Laws themselves.  What you could do to help stimulate interest is try and spread it around the globe and encourage more nations to play to a higher standard, but that has me straying near a Nations League debate that is worthy of a rant all on its own. 

I mean it’s not just rugby that tries to change, GAA makes rule changes every season, cricket gets so much shorter that eventually a match is going to be just one ball being bowled, and even soccer is tinkering with the format of its top competitions with both its World Cup and Champions League set to change.

For me anyway, the game is pretty much fine the way it is, maybe a few law tweaks here and there wouldn’t hurt but to be honest I’d much rather they focused on ways to make the game safer without altering the overall feel and flow we all tune in for.

The likes of Off The Ball and Pat Spillane can go do one.

PRE MATCH VIKING CLAP 

Speaking of changes, I mentioned on the pod that Mike McCarthy came down to the pitch to get the Leinster fans revved up ahead of kickoff by encouraging them to do a Viking Clap, though I didn’t mention what I thought of it.  

I can imagine a lot of people of my generation not being too happy with it but for my part, I’m all for it.  I have said many times over the years harpin’ on these pages that the atmosphere at the RDS hasn’t always been what it could be.  The lack of a proper chant/song has certainly contributed to that…”Allez les blues” is too French, “molly Malone” too Dublin centric, “Come on you boys in Blue” too generic, and as for the run of the mill “Lehhhhhhn-ster, Lehhhhhhn-ster”, well that’s fine once and a while but it’s hardly the go to option for every situation.  And anyone remember “Leinster’s glory”?  No?  Exactly.

Now just to be clear I’m having a go more at the crowd rather than the organisers, they do a lot to create an atmosphere with the pre-match music and of course Leo the Lion but I thought Mike’s more direct challenge to the crowd was a much better way of getting them fully match ready and assuming it’s to become a regular thing, the “scenes” should get even more “absolute” down the line.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

It happens quite a lot that I disagree with the decision for Player of the Match, and when it’s for Leinster or Ireland it’s a bit awkward making that disagreement known because it’s a bit like having to choose your favourite kid, but since I have this 80+ column I suppose that gives me a chance to express that opinion.

But I hope it doesn’t give the impression that I have anything against the person who got the award, and in Saturday’s case it was Max Deegan.  He did have a great match overall, and I know it was the occasion of his 100th cap, but for me the standards are such at the province that when he drops a ball from the base on an attacking 5m scrum (again, very unlike him, and if it were me I’d drop it every time) we might look elsewhere this time and for me Tommy O’Brien was a much more worthy recipient.

One last time, to be perfectly clear, I am NOT having a go at him, nor at James Downey who made the call.  Just saying I saw it differently that’s all.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOKS

Congrats to all those honoured in World Rugby’s awards list, especially Andy Farrell who thoroughly deserved it.

And while I certainly wouldn’t hold a view like this from All Black fan and clearly sour grape-connosseiur Ben Smith about the Springboks’ success, I for one wasn’t that surprised that their players didn’t feature too heavily in the team of the tournament.

I could probably see Malherbe ahead of Furlong if I had to make one change but overall the selections seem sound to me.

Maybe, just maybe, RSA representation on the TOTY is low because other nations had better individuals while the Boks had the best team, hence three 1pt wins and the 🏆.

KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES

I have dedicated a column segment to mention the Eddie Jones news but I don’t see any point going too deep in the weeds on the topic because pretty much everything has been said about him.  Literally none of the negative stories and opinions about him surprise me.  Actually it’s just boring at this stage.  He may have even climbed to my “least favourite Jones” chart ahead of journo Stephen, but even that’s just one article away from changing back.

B&I SUPER LEAGUE?

Once again this topic has crept into the headlines so once again I am forced to state my position.

I am 100% opposed to the suggestion of creating a “British & Irish Super League”.

However, I would be ok with the possibility of Premiership clubs JOINING the United Rugby Championship, once each one can prove financial viability throughout a campaign before preseason starts.

The URC has been through enough branding upheaval over the years and has finally found a form which may not suit everyone at the moment, but surely even the Welsh fans might come on board if they got some regular fixtures with the English.

But to create an entirely new identity just because the Premiership has been proven to be a failed business model just wouldn’t cut it for me.

W.XV UPDATE

I covered Ireland’s latest WXV match on the pod, here’s the transcript…

This is the story of an international rugby finale that could have gone either way right up to the final whistle but as you can probably tell I’m not talking about Saturday night’s battle in Paris.

After two extremely comfortable victories against Kazakhstan and Colombia, the Irish women had a much more formidable opponent in Las Leonas from Spain in their 3rd WXV3 encounter, and although Scott Bemand’s side enjoyed pretty much all the early territory and possession, we had to contend with an early spell with inspirational co-captain Edel McMahon in the sin bin plus an extremely stubborn Spanish defence which was not only difficult to break down but also was able to punish mistakes as outside-centre Claudia Peña Hidalgo pounced on a loose pass to put her side 7-0 up after just ten minutes.   

Spain stretched their lead to 10 until a Dannah O’Brien penalty got Ireland on the board, but it was our own defence which needed to be strong before the break and although we managed to stop them from scoring after a prolonged visit to our 22, we did cough up another yellow card this time for Linda Djougang and the resulting penalty saw us go into the break both short handed and behind by 13 points to 3.

We still came out strongly for the 2nd half however, comfortably seeing out the sin bin period without Spain entering our 22 and we gradually wore down their resistance until a succession of penalties marched us into their 22 where a strong maul allowed Grace Moore to fall over the line and Dannah O’Brien added the extras to bring us within three.

Our dominance continued and although we only needed a draw to finish top of the pool, it was a brave decision to ignore the three points on offer from a kickable penalty, and we backed up that confidence with another series of mauls making the Spanish defence crack and this time it was Neve Jones getting the ball down to nudge Ireland in front for the first time.

But the match still had to be seen out and to their credit the Spaniards kept at it right to the 80th minute and beyond until a brilliant lineout steal from Eimear Corri saw us put the ball dead and secure the title and puts them in a good position to go up to the second tier for next season.

I talk a lot on the pod about the problems in Irish womens rugby but this is a time for celebration for a job well done in searing heat over three weeks in Dubai and hopefully the squad can bring these performances through to 2024.  One thing I will say however is that the Spanish performance provided further evidence that the women shouldn’t follow the men’s Six Nations model and instead expand to include themselves and possibly more teams down the line.

As ever if you want to keep tabs on the women’s game I find the best sources are Scrumqueens.com and on Twitter or X follow accounts like @IrishWomens.

Round 3

KAZAKHSTAN 0-118 FIJI

KENYA 21-5 COLOMBIA

IRELAND 15-13 SPAIN

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Not a great round for Leinster’s Champions Cup opposition, with our good friends La Rochelle falling at home to Castres making it three defeats out of four to start the season, while Stade Francais got knocked off top spot when they could only muster 3 points in Bayonne.  Pau lead the way with Joe Simmonds helping to lead them to a hefty win at Perpignan, while also on 14 points at the top are Castres and Stu Lancaster’s Racing, soon to have a certain RWC winning captain join their ranks.

Leaders Pau v champions Toulouse would appear to be the pick of the Round 5 matchups, perfect for the marquee Sunday night slot.

Round 4

SUN OCT 29

BAYONNE 16-3 STADE FRANCAIS

PERPIGNAN 24-39 PAU

LYON 41-22 CLÉRMONT

MONTPELLIER 16-19 RACING 92

TOULON 41-7 OYONNAX

LA ROCHELLE 24-27 CASTRES

TOULOUSE 29-22 BORDEAUX

Round 5

SAT NOV 4

OYONNAX V LA ROCHELLE

PERPIGNAN V TOULON

BORDEAUX V MONTPELLIER

CLÉRMONT V BAYONNE

STADE FRANCAIS V CASTRES

RACING 92 V LYON

SUN NOV 5

PAU V TOULOUSE

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

A late Shillcock penalty gave Leicester a one-point win at the Rec although Bath still stay top since none of the 10 teams managed to win all of their opening 3 matches.  Saracens finally put one in the win column while Sale Sharks got their fins handed to them by Exeter.

Saracens/Tigers would seem to be the pick of the ties from Round 4, with Leinster set to travel to play both of them in January (Sarries being a friendly).

ROUND 3

GLOUCESTER 3-24 SARACENS

BRISTOL 21-23 HARLEQUINS

EXETER CHIEFS 43-0 SALE SHARKS

BATH 24-25 LEICESTER

NEWCASTLE 14-16 NORTHAMPTON

ROUND 4

FRI NOV 3

SALE SHARKS V GLOUCESTER

SAT NOV 4

HARLEQUINS V NEWCASTLE

NORTHAMPTON V BATH

SARACENS V LEICESTER TIGERS

EXETER CHIEFS V BRISTOL

AIL UPDATE 

Both genders AIL return to action after a weekend off, with the top four, all of whom seem destined to reach the semifinals at this stage, avoiding each other so I doubt there will be any real change to the table come next week.

Meanwhile in the men’s Div1A, Lansdowne will be hoping to keep their maximum points record going but certainly won’t have it easy away to Cork Con, who are fresh from toppline the reigning champions in round 3.  As for Nure themselves, they’ll surely be looking to come away from Belfield Bowl with some points to get them away from just above the relegation places.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 6

SAT NOV 4

BALLINCOLLIG V UL BOHS

BELVO V COOKE

SUTTONIANS V ROCK

WICKLOW V RAILWAY UNION

MEN’S AIL

ROUND 4

SAT NOV 4

BALLYNAHINCH V SHANNON

CITY OF ARMAGH V DUBLIN UNIV

CORK CON V LANSDOWNE

UCD V TERENURE

YOUNG MUNSTER V CLONTARF

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Happy enough to remain in 3rd place after 2 rounds although there was a change at the top as Kristian got this week’s yellow cap to leapfrog Conor.  Meanwhile in the dreaded Jersey of Shame position down the bottom Tom dragged himself away leaving this week’s pod guest Mark to fall even below Keego.

Early days of course.

AFTER RD 2PTS
1KRISTIAN23.00
2CONOR21.00
3JEFF19.50
4KINO17.00
5JAY15.00
6TOM14.00
7KEEGO13.00
8MARK11.00

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

A bonus pod for during the week, I’ll be chatting to Francisco Issac about Portugal, the proposed World League and also the RE Super Cup which kicks off next weekend.  Then it’s full attention on the visit of Edinburgh to the RDS on Saturday with a preview before and a wrap pod on Sunday evening so stay tuned for all of that.

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

80+ column : Oct 24

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

Sadly another defeat to harp on but still Messrs Mifsud & Long did a great job putting the match into perspective, even though with the Sunday kickoff we didn’t get to do a full rewatch before recording, although I’ not sure we really wanted to anyway!

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

HARPIN ON…LEINSTER’S OUTLOOK FOR 23/24

The bonus clip is back this week and Rich, Jay and myself had a look an Leinster’s prospects for the coming season, especially when factoring all the changes in their leadership group.

STOP POLISHING THE 3RD

I harp on this every four years, this time I’m doing it in TikTok form.

For the record, here’s a list of the 3rd place playoffs there have been so far…

1987 WAL 22-21 ARG 27,000 Rotarua

1991 NZL 13-6 SCO 47,000 Cardiff

1995 FRA 19-9 ENG 44,000 Pretoria

1999 RSA 22-18 NZL 60,000 Cardiff

2003 NZL 40-13 FRA 62,712 Sydney

2007 ARG 34-10 FRA 45,958 Paris

2011 AUS 21-18 WAL 53,014 Auckland

2015 RSA 24-13 ARG 55,925 London

2019 NZL 40-17 WAL 48,842 Tokyo

2023 ENG v ARG Paris

@harpinonrugby

Check out our 80+column which posts every Tuesday afternoon at HarpinOnRugby.com

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

KANT DECIDE

Needless to say this has taken a lot of oxygen on twitter since Saturday’s semifinal, and since there is an ongoing investigation I suppose I shouldn’t be throwing more fuel on the fire, but I do have queries…

“We can confirm that we are formally reviewing the allegation made by England’s Tom Curry’s in relation to the use of discriminatory language during the England versus South Africa Rugby World Cup 2023 semi-final on Saturday.”

So goes the World Rugby statement.  HOWEVER…I think an important distinction needs to be made here.  Does the word “allegation” mean just his question to the ref on the pitch that was picked up on the mic, or has he or England Rugby made a formal one since the match was over?

If it’s the latter, then to my mind things would be working as they should.  BUT – if, as I suspect, this is only happening because the media picked up on something we just happened to overhear then we’re in a completely different territory. 

Again, I have no idea what actually happened, and I freely admit that my on-pitch Springbok vernacular is more than rusty, but going by the information I have so far, AP Cronje’s suggestion seems a much more plausible explanation than that which the media is using to generate headlines and clicks.

Plus, as it turns out, in researching AP’s twitter timeline I have gotten an answer to my question above…

NOVEL GRAPHICS

Speaking of Twitter/X, I got myself into a spot of bother last week.

With it being the first round of matches in this season’s URC, on Thursday and Friday we had the first round of matchday squad announcements from the 16 clubs.  And one or two tried to get, let’s just say, maybe a little too creative with their graphic designs, Ospreys and Sharks in particular.

I can’t remember what exactly I was doing when I decided to give my opinion but whatever it was it clearly didn’t allow me to think clearly about how I was wording my response…

As you can see many agreed with me but still many others, mostly from AIL clubs (totally understandable they thought I was referring to them as I did not make it clear) took exception.  And the most surprised to read my opinion was the Terenure College RFC social media folks, who must have wondered why I appeared to have done a 180 after praising their “Aertel” homage a few weeks ago.

Once more, this was all totally my fault for not making myself clear.  Simply putting “URC” ahead of “clubs” would have avoided all the confusion.  I must do better, and I mean that sincerely.

Just to be clear, I have ironically made a graphic of my own to show presentations I think are perfect and those I think are, well, not so much.

And going back to Terenure for a moment, I did like their response when they thought I was having a pop at them…

…just to be clear, I do know we’re only talking about graphics which is hardly the most important topic in the world but this column is for all kinds of topics that normally fall through the cracks when I focus mostly on Leinster & Ireland matches!!!!

LIONS DEN, AND NOW

With the World Cup almost over, the next rugby event on a 4-year cycle that is to start creeping into the headlines is of course the Lions, who go to Australia this time around.

Talk of banning or at least greatly reforming the tour has been going on for years and years now (at least a decade as this 2013 Harpin op-ed from @curates_egg shows) and while I always enjoy the debates and selections and matches when they happen, my views are pretty much in line with Hugh Gordon’s in his tweet below.

For me the best arguments in favour would be 1) it would be a shame to end the tours from the POV of the cross-border fan alliances that tend to travel, like the one that formed for the 2017 tour which had their adventures greatly described by Michelle Tobin here on Harpin, and also there’s an argument to be made that the game in Australia really needs this kind of exposure right now given all that is happening there on and off the pitch.

W.XV UPDATE

I covered Ireland’s latest WXV match on the pod, here’s the transcript…

When it comes to Ireland’s performance in this 64 to 3 win over Colombia, while the scoreline may not have reached the heights of last week’s century of points against Kazahstan, Scott Bemand’s side still dominated throughout with the back row of Grace Moore, Edel McMahon and Brittany Hogan particularly impressive as the ten tries were evenly spread throughout the team with only Neve Jones and Beibhinn Parsons getting more than one.  As ever John Birch does an excellent job relating the particulars of the match for Scrumqueens.

And when it comes to Ireland’s standing in this WXV3 tournament in Dubai, while the two big wins certainly puts them in a strong position to finish 1st and earn promotion to the second tier for next year, they will surely find Spain a much bigger challenge in their final match next weekend.

But as ever is the case with the Irish women’s team of late, we still have to wonder about the broader picture and unfortunately even scoring over a point a minute in two matches raises at least many questions as it answers.  

One of the top reasons for Ireland playing in the third tier of this competition is that we finished last in the 2023 Six Nations when many of our top players were sent to play Sevens instead, and while that did pay some dividends with Olympic Qualification plus a respectable 5th place finish in the World Series, you have to wonder if even that can generate as much interest in the women’s game as does putting out our strongest team in XVs.  

And we’ll be in very much the same situation in 2024, with the Hong Kong Sevens falling right in the middle of the Six Nations, plus the decent chance of achieving a medal in the Paris Olympics, making for more big selection decisions to come.

But for now anyway, Ireland’s focus is only on that decider against Spain next weekend, it kicks off at 2pm on Saturday with free streaming available on RugbyPass.tv and hopefully the Irish rugby family will be able to give them our full support.

WXV3 – Round 2

KAZAKHSTAN 18-12 KENYA

SPAIN 26-19 FIJI

IRELAND 64-3 COLOMBIA 

Round 3

FRI OCT 27

KAZAKHSTAN V FIJI

KENYA V COLOMBIA

SAT OCT 28

IRELAND V SPAIN (2PM IRISH TIME) 

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

You certainly can’t blame the 🔝🐱🐴 for pushing a whole round of matches to the Sunday in the hope that there might be ongoing celebrations in the country from the night before, but alas like Ireland it was not to be for France so they return to their domestic programme after a quick burst of three matches towards the end of August.

Our “Eurowatch” series will return from next week where we keep an eye on all Leinster’s opponents and it’s different this year with the format change – instead of two we now have four teams to cover, and on the French side of things we certainly won’t have it easy against league leaders Stade Francais plus our old pals La Rochelle.

Round 4

SUN OCT 29

BAYONNE V STADE FRANCAIS

PERPIGNAN V PAU

LYON V CLÉRMONT

MONTPELLIER V RACING 92

TOULON V OYONNAX

LA ROCHELLE V CASTRES

TOULOUSE V BORDEAUX

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

I was a bit hasty having a quiet chuckle about Saracens’ poor start to the season and rightly got what I deserved when Leinster went down in Glasgow (hopefully it isn’t some kind of Castore curse), still it is strange seeing them at the bottom of the Premiership even if it is only after two rounds.

Leinster’s Euro opponents played each other with Sale prevailing and things don’t get any easier for Leicester Tigers this week as they must go to the 100% leaders Bath.

ROUND 2

NEWCASTLE 14-18 GLOUCESTER

NORTHAMPTON 27-33 BRISTOL

SARACENS 16-25 BATH

LEICESTER 17-24 SALE

HARLEQUINS 22-14 EXETER

ROUND 3

FRI OCT 27

GLOUCESTER V SARACENS

SAT OCT 28

BRISTOL V HARLEQUINS

EXETER CHIEFS V SALE SHARKS

BATH V LEICESTER

SUN OCT 29

NEWCASTLE V NORTHAMPTON

AIL UPDATE 

As of Tuesday morning the IrishRugby site was yet to update the AIL tables & results so I had to wing it a bit with the update this week, but for what I can gather the big winners in the Women’s AIL were UL Bohs, who overcame Champions Rock to stay top of the league, and Belvo, who despite having to play twice in just a few days managed a full 10 match points to climb into 3rd.  

Meanwhile on the men’s side of things champions Terenure won’t be happy having been nilled at home by Cork Con while Lansdowne made it three 5-pointers out of 3 with a decent win at home over Hinch.  And a very honourable mention must go to newly promoted City of Armagh who got themselves a fine first win in the top flight away to Shannon.

The Energia AILs take a weekend off before resuming on the weekend of November 4.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 4

OLD BELVEDERE 31-5 SUTTONIANS

Round 5

UL BOHS 29-10 BLACKROCK

COOKE 0-44 SUTTONIANS

GALWEGIANS 19-33 OLD BELVEDERE

RAILWAY UNION 46-19 BALLINCOLLIG

  1. UL BOHS P5 PTS19
  2. RAILWAY UNION 4-20
  3. BELVO 4-16
  4. BLACKROCK 4-15
  5. BALLINCOLLIG 5-15
  6. SUTTONIANS 4-9
  7. WICKLOW 4-1
  8. COOKE 4-0
  9. GALWEGIANS 5-0

Round 6

SAT NOV 4

BALLINCOLLIG V UL BOHS

BELVO V COOKE

SUTTONIANS V ROCK

WICKLOW V RAILWAY UNION

MEN’S AIL

ROUND 3

SHANNON 13-25 CITY OF ARMAGH

CLONTARF 43-19 UCD

DUBLIN UNIV 8-22 YOUNG MUNSTER

LANSDOWNE 45-19 BALLYNAHINCH

TERENURE 0-20 CORK CON

ROUND 4

SAT NOV 4

BALLYNAHINCH V SHANNON

CITY OF ARMAGH V DUBLIN UNIV

CORK CON V LANSDOWNE

UCD V TERENURE

YOUNG MUNSTER V CLONTARF

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

This year’s league expanded from 6 to 8 competitors as I defend my title and Keego hopes to get rid of The Jersey of Shame.  And both “rookies” got the most results right in Round 1 of the URC with 7 out of 8 although it was Conor Cronin who’s margins were closer putting him in pole position to start the season.

After my earlier rant about 3rd place playoffs it is of course fitting that I find myself in the bronze medal position but I’m happy enough to sit there for the time being.

AFTER RD 1

1 CONOR 12.00

2 KRISTIAN 10.00

3 JEFF 9.00

4 KINO 8.50

5 JAY 8.00

6 MARK 6.50

7 KEEGO 6.00

8 TOM 4.00

WORLD LEAGUE

As I’m about to publish, news is just filtering through that World Rugby have decided to go ahead with the World League, complete with ringfencing in the top tier until 2030. A couple of weeks ago on this column I suggested they could at least allow relegation from the top tier from the start but it seems to elitism remains. We’ll harp more on this next week, and I have also booked Francisco Isaac for a bonus pod and I’m pretty sure it will come up so stay tuned!

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Leinster home opener this weekend!!!! The visit of the Sharks will of course be getting the full Harpin treatment with a preview on Friday, tweets and comment throughout and the wrap pod on Sunday evening.  I’m also a guest on Caolán Scully’s pod recording on the Monday night.

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

80+ column : Oct 17

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

Since we switched to a pod-based format here at Harpin Manor at the start of the 22/23 season, I make it that we have done 44 “match wrap pods” covering competitive matches for both Leinster and Ireland.  

Of those, just FOUR have involved matches in which Leinster or Ireland finished on the losing side, and our wrap recorded on Sunday evening was the first involving the test side.  So it probably goes without saying that even when you factor in the whole “QF hoodoo” nonsense, it had to be easily the most difficult podcast to produce, especially since the scheduled recording time was less than 24 hours after the final whistle.

But full credit to both Mark Jackson and Conor Cronin for being ready, willing and able to take part in a full show regardless, and offering their usual excellent and honest perspectives in the process.  Credit also to Cian “RugbyKino” O’Muilleoir for offering yet another set of comments before kickoff, at halftime, and, obviously the most difficult, right after the fulltime whistle blew.

Let’s face it – very few Irish fans want to be reminded of Saturday night so the result was always going to affect our listening figures.  But I still hope I don’t need to explain just how important it was for us to record the pod anyway.  I haven’t been Harpin’ on Rugby since 2008 just because I want to celebrate victories for my teams.  I’ve been doing it because I love supporting my teams.  And to not do a show would have been in really poor taste IMO, plus there wasn’t even a tiny bit of hesitation from Mark, Conor and Cian to play their parts either.

So if you do ever get around to wanting to listen, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on most major platforms.

HARPIN ON…IRISH FULL TIME TAKES

One job I did spare the lads when we recorded the wrap pod was that of our weekly “bonus clip”, where we normally have an extra chat on a wider topic for sharing exclusively on YouTube.  

Instead I chose to try and capture some of the fan reaction, with videos done by myself, Kino & Keego within an hour of the final whistle, plus we’ve displayed comments posted on our regular post-match post on our Facebook page.  There’s also a clip from the actual wrap pod where Mark & Conor offer their final thoughts.

Again, I knew we wouldn’t get many viewers/listeners but I still feel it’s just as important to share our thoughts win or lose.

THANK YOU JOHNNY

Like many others I stressed that it was important for Irish fans to be mindful going online after a crushing defeat like that one, and while I did stay away for a while, when you run an online entity that focuses on fan opinion, you do have to take a peek at social media reactions eventually no matter how unpleasant.

And to be fair, when it comes to the predictable banter/slagging/taunting from fans of other nations, I totally get it.  Much of it was OTT but pretty much all of it was pretty boring and for me anyway, part and parcel of sport and certainly not worth getting triggered over.

What did get me however was the contributions from  some (a minority yes but still a significant one) Irish accounts (have trouble calling them fans) which seemed to fall into certain categories…

  1. not really fans of the sport, might watch 2 or 3 matches a year yet “always knew we’d lose”
  2. fans of the sport, know a good bit about the Laws etc, yet decided to use that knowledge by spending the last year or so doing loads of different tweets explaining why the team would “fail” so they could pick the one that looks the most accurate now and show how they “told us so”
  3. the saddest lot for me – those who only seem to watch so they can see players from their province take part and complain about the ones who don’t, and when test the team loses they imply that it would have been different with those same missing players involved.

And what makes all that most difficult to take is that, and I’ve said this many many times over the past while but I don’t mind repeating again, Andy Farrell & co literally could not have done any more in the build up to the quarterfinal – Triple Crown, series win in NZ, long winning streak, world number 1, and, oh yeah – Grand Slam.  

So maybe, just maybe, there’s a case to be made that rather than Ireland playing as underdogs against the All Blacks as we have done in World Cups past, what we had instead this time was two absolutely top notch teams going at it, and if they played each other ten times over ten weeks you could be pretty certain it would be something like 5 wins each, only on this night it was New Zealand who deserved to progress.

But another thing I have said often here is that it’s clear that different fans follow sport for different reasons.  So I guess all I can do is hope that the begrudgers are happy in themselves having the kind of mindset that produces the comments I keep seeing.  Luckily I have this column where I can vent rather than tumbling down a rabbit hole on social media.

Anyway…it goes without saying that a lot of the abuse was directed at Johnny Sexton (mostly that Crowley should have come on in the closing stages and we did suggest on the pod that it was an option though to say this is why we lost is just nuts) so I decided to do a quick tribute video which you see below.

Finally as I type I see Keith Earls has formally announced his retirement and of course we also appreciate his contributions to rugby over his career and indeed we have said so many times on the pod.

@harpinonrugby

Absolutely nothing, and we mean NOTHING can take away from what has been a heroic career. #ThankYouJohnny #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok

♬ Juliana Hyper Techno Rave Mystical – Beat Charger

W.XV UPDATE

Safe to say the Irish women had a better weekend of it, with their absolute thrashing of Kazakhstan in their opening match in the third tier of the inaugural WXV tournament.  

However much the result might look more like a strong opening spell of batting in the Cricket World Cup, the margin is not insignificant because it does appear that there is promotion from this level into next season’s WXV2 and with the format meaning we only have three matches to top a six-team pool where we don’t face all the other teams, the off the charts points difference will come in very handy indeed.

Best of luck to the girls in their second match against Colombia on Saturday, here’s to more of the same, you’ll be able to see it at 2pm Irish time via this link (after free registration).

Meanwhile the top tier doesn’t get underway until the second weekend and as you can see there are some interesting matchups, although the pick of the whole tournament surely has to be the repeat of the WRWC final in the final round when the Red Roses look for revenge against the Black Ferns.

WXV1 – Round 1

ENGLAND V AUSTRALIA

CANADA V WALES

NEW ZEALAND V FRANCE

WXV2 – Round 1

USA 36-26 SAMOA

SCOTLAND 31-17 SOUTH AFRICA

ITALY 28-15 JAPAN

Round 2

USA V SCOTLAND

ITALY V SOUTH AFRICA

JAPAN V SAMOA

WXV3 – Round 1

SPAIN 32-0 KENYA

IRELAND 109-0 KAZAKHSTAN

FIJI 67-13 COLOMBIA

Round 2

KAZAKHSTAN V KENYA

SPAIN V FIJI

IRELAND V COLOMBIA (OCT 21 2PM)

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

For well over a decade pretty much the entire northern hemisphere has remarked on how Leinster go without our “elite” players at the start of the season and let me tell you, if we had ever shipped 65 points in our season opener whatever our lineup, it would be headline news.

So I don’t see why reigning Premiership champs Saracens should get any mitigation when they get tonked by Exeter in Round 1.  

As for Leinster’s Champions Cup opposition, they had mixed fortunes as Sale overcame Northampton at home while Leicester fell short at Bristol, and the two of them actually play each other at Welford Road in Round 2.

One interesting team selection was that of Finn Russell on the Bath bench and it seems he played a part in their win over Newcastle at the Rec, which would make you wonder if he’ll start next weekend against Saracens, might be worth a watch if so.

ROUND 1

BRISTOL 25-14 LEICESTER

EXETER 65-10 SARACENS

BATH 34-26 NEWCASTLE

GLOUCESTER 29-28 HARLEQUINS

SALE 20-15 NORTHAMPTON

ROUND 2

FRI OCT 20

NEWCASTLE V GLOUCESTER

SAT OCT 21

NORTHAMPTON V BRISTOL

SARACENS V BATH

LEICESTER V SALE

HARLEQUINS V EXETER

AIL UPDATE 

There remains three unbeaten teams in the Women’s AIL but something will have to give at Annacotty next weekend as UL Bohs host champions Blackrock in what won’t be a million miles away from a rerun of the recent Intepro final.

Also I hope it’s a mistake on the fixture list that both Old Belvedere and Suttonians are expected to play two league matches each in five days?  Not an ideal turnaround at the best of times but when you only have eight matches altogether in a tournament it doesn’t really seem fair to me.

Over in the men’s Div1A, champions Terenure fell to Clontarf in the repeat of last season’s final so Tarf join Shannon and Lansdowne as the only 100% sides so far. City of Armagh seem to have done well to get so close in their first ever home match in the top flight while UCD took the honours in the first Colours Match.

Nure will look to return to winning ways in Round 3 as they host Cork Con while there’s to be another North/South Dublin derby at Castle Ave as this time UCD are the visitors.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 4

BALLINCOLLIG 18-17 WICKLOW

BLACKROCK 55-5 GALWEGIANS

UL BOHS 57-5 COOKE

Round 4

TUE OCT 17

OLD BELVEDERE V SUTTONIANS

Round 5

SAT OCT 21

UL BOHS V BLACKROCK

COOKE V SUTTONIANS

GALWEGIANS V OLD BELVEDERE

RAILWAY UNION V BALLINCOLLIG

MEN’S AIL

ROUND 2

UCD 35-8 DUBLIN UNIV

BALLYNAHINCH 31-28 CORK CON

CITY OF ARMAGH 26-29 LANSDOWNE

CLONTARF 26-16 TERENURE

YOUNG MUNSTER 7-35 SHANNON

ROUND 3

SAT OCT 21

SHANNON V CITY OF ARMAGH

CLONTARF V UCD

DUBLIN UNIV V YOUNG MUNSTER

LANSDOWNE V BALLYNAHINCH

TERENURE V CORK CON

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE RETURNS

The return of the URC also means the return of the HPL…for those new to this column, this will be the third season a group of Harpin contributors predict the full URC season on Superbru and while it’s only bragging rights available for finishing first (as you see below I enjoy those rights after last season!!!) there is a booby prize for finishing last and Keego had the “honours” last time around…

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Obviously it would have been ideal to have the dilemma of having to cover both Leinster and Ireland next weekend, but at least the URC kickoff is there to keep us busy and we will of course be giving Sunday’s opener in Scotstoun the full Harpin treatment with a lot more besides throughout the week so keep in touch on all the usual social media channels,

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

80+ column : Oct 10

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE
OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

I have to be honest, those permutations had me nervous right up to kickoff on Saturday, especially the one where an 8-pt Scottish win put us out; my scrambled brain concocted a scenario where they led by 5 in the dying moments before the ref awards a contentious penalty that Russell slots to send us home…but that’s the life of a sports fan, logic rarely enters into the equation.

Let’s just say those thoughts had evaporated by the 2nd minute of the match!!!

And clearly by the time we sat down to do the wrap I was wondering what all the fuss was about, and this week it was the turn of Tom “@LeinsterRoyalty” Coleman and Ciarán “@PostToPostSport” Duffy to harp on the match as well as other events from the World Cup weekend, as ever they did a bang up job.  

Click here to catch it on Spotify, and there’s a clip below

@harpinonrugby

Check out our latest pod on Apple, Spotify and most majr platforms. #IREvSCO #RWC2023 #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

HARPIN ON…GETTING THROUGH THE WEEK

Just in case it needs pointing out, we here at Harpin Manor consider ourselves fans first and “experts” second.  Sure, when you’ve played and followed a sport for so long, and especially when it comes to Leinster and Ireland you’ve watched every single match at least twice for over a decade, you pick up a few things, BUT it’s the fan element we like to promote more than anything else; we certainly aren’t trying to suggest we know more than the TV pundits.

Well, at least not ALL of them….

Anyway, for our bonus clip this week we wanted to lose the analytical hat for once and harp instead on what it’s like actually being a fan, and Tom & Ciarán helped me look at just how we get through a week before what is arguably the biggest test match in Irish rugby history.

IT CAN’T END IN TIERS

For this week’s TikTok opinion I had a look at how World Rugby handles the dilemma of navigating the space between the rock which is appeasing the corporate sponsors and the hard place which is fulfilling the mandate implied in their name.

@harpinonrugby

Check out our 80+ column every Tuesday at HarpinOnRugby.com

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

10K TIKTOK

On the one hand, we were always going to be chuffed here at Harpin Manor to have a TikTok reach over 10,000 views for the first time – over the past few weeks I’ve selected a portion of Ireland matches to focus on a particula positive aspect of Ireland’s play.

But….there’s another side to that coin.  Obviously we’re not considered important enough to have our clips taken down by World Rugby???!!!  In fact each time I put them up I’m EXPECTING them to be removed, but so far they all remain out there in TikTokLand so there you go!  

Maybe I shouldn’t go focusing on the clouds when there’s such an obvious silver lining…

@harpinonrugby

You have to play with what you’ve got and make it count. #RWC2023 #IREvSCO #Irishrugby #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok

♬ Juliana Hyper Techno Rave Mystical – Beat Charger

FIJI JOINING TRC

Following on from the Portugal point above, I’m hearing rumblings that despite Fiji’s loss there might be a chance they are admitted to an expanded Rugby Championship.  I’m assuming World Rugby is looking for some kind of balance with the Six Nations so it’s possible Japan might be in with a shout as well, but we’ll have to see.

I’m mostly for moves like this, I just wish it was a more holistic approach to the game rather than admitting one or two nations to the top table every decade or so like it has been since the game went pro.

Again, a lot depends on what the plans are for this “World League”.  I have a feeling it is not going to go down well with fans in general.

NEW MUNSTER POD

We’ve had Caolán Scully on the pod several times over the past year or so, and he has been hosting his own pod but it now seems he has put together a new project focusing on Munster for the upcoming season, best wishes to himself and Patricia for The Red Army Podcast, hopefully we’ll be able to get them on to harp about it at some point, possibly before the annual St Stephens Day match.

W.XV KICKOFF

Speaking of World Leagues, the new Womens’ version gets underway this weekend.  Ireland’s poor run of form puts them in a “third tier” but I THINK that promotion to the second one is possible.

Obviously I’m not happy with what I’ve been hearing from the Irish camp, about having to live in and around Dublin to name just one, and I’m definitely not happy about this tournament being held in Dubai for all the obvious reasons.

But, as fans when the green jersey is being worn we give them our support and for the next few weeks it’s important to get behind new coach Scott Bemand and his squad as they try to top this league.

The explanations of the format I’ve sought so far haven’t been great, but the way I think it works is that while the 6 teams in WXV3 have been separated into two groups of three, they actually only play the 3 in the opposite pool AND I’m pretty sure all six are presented in the same league table.  It doesnt look like there are any playoffs, it’s just the team with the most points after 3 matches finishes first? 

I will definitely update this if I learn any more, but best wishes to the squad nonetheless.

As for the top tier WXV1, I have to wonder about the timing…surely after already moving the Women’s World Cup to a different year to distinguish it from the men’s, the last day they’d want to launch this new product is the same weekend as RWC2023 semifinals?

Well I guess at least the Australian fans won’t have any conflict, amirite?  Too soon?

WXV3 – Week 1

Fri Oct 13
FIJI V COLOMBIA
IRELAND V KAZAKHSTAN (KO 4:30pm Irish time)

Sat Oct 14
SPAIN V COLOMBIA

PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

I know how we’re supposed to feel about English rugby but hopefully even the most hardcore Irish fans of the sport has to feel for the players, staff and fans of the clubs over there which have ceased operations over the past few years.

What’s left is an embarrassingly tiny Premiership of just ten clubs and in some ways maybe it makes sense that they’re kicking off on the same weekend that England are playing in a RWC quarterfinal.

The plan is to keep tabs on the results and such here this season much as we have done for other leagues.

ROUND 1

BRISTOL V LEICESTER
EXETER V SARACENS
BATH V NEWCASTLE
GLOUCESTER V HARLEQUINS
SALE V NORTHAMPTON

AIL UPDATE 

After the women’s league has already had three rounds, the men got underway last weekend and by the looks of things defending champions Terenure didn’t have everything their own way against Ballynahinch yet still came out with a win to start the season.

New boys City of Armagh managed to get out of Cork with a losing bonus point while Tarf, Lansdowne and Shannon were the other winners from round 1.

Next up we have some interesting derbies, with top of the list being a repeat of last season’s final as Nure head to Castle Avenue as Young Munster host Shannon, all after the Friday Night Colours Match at Belfield Bowl.

Over in the women’s comp, Railway Union, UL Bohs and champions Blackrock all continued their perfect starts although Rock have only played twice over the three rounds so far.   The trio have also been kept apart in Round 4.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 3

SUTTONIANS 3-38 UL BOHS
GALWEGIANS 5-63 RAILWAY UNION
COOKE 15-24 BALLINCOLLIG
WICKLOW 10-27 BLACKROCK

Round 4

SAT OCT 14
BALLINCOLLIG V WICKLOW
BLACKROCK V GALWEGIANS
OLD BELVEDERE V SUTTONIANS
UL BOHS V COOKE

MEN’S AIL

ROUND 1

DUBLIN UNIV 24-34 CLONTARF
LANSDOWNE 29-14 YOUNG MUNSTER
SHANNON 27-22 UCD
TERENURE 16-13 BALLYNAHINCH
CORK CON 28-21 CITY OF ARMAGH

ROUND 2

FRI OCT 13
UCD V DUBLIN UNIV

SAT OCT 14
BALLYNAHINCH V CORK CON
CITY OF ARMAGH V LANSDOWNE
CLONTARF V TERENURE
YOUNG MUNSTER V SHANNON

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Big, big week coming up, obviously we’ll be giving Ireland QF date with destiny the full Harpin treatment with a preview on Friday and a wrap pod on Sunday, and also take note that this time the team will be announced on Wednesday at noon Irish time.

So please comment, like, share & subscribe to our feeds & channels whenever the mood takes you.

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

80+ column : October 3

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A (NOT REALLY A) WRAP

Had a brilliant chat with Messrs Kelly, Scully & Lockhart on Sunday evening, with another one earlier in the week with Mr Long to edit in, and the lads did brilliantly going over the RWC so far.

Then I sat down to do said editing and found out that my own audio sounded like I was talking from behind a cushion!!!!  It was really, really, bad.  So I had to go back and re-record all of my bits and I think I just about managed to fix it but it took ages.

For the first part the lads summarized Pool B so far, then they each took one of the other pools, and finally we got their expectations for the rest of the tournament.  Click here to catch it on Spotify, and there’s a clip below

@harpinonrugby

We’re partial to an all-provincial panel or two here at Harpin Manor… #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok #RWC2023

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

HARPIN ON…THE PROVINCES PRE-URC KICKOFF

For the bonus clip since I had an all-provincial panel I thought it would be rude not to get them to also harp on their own URC squads with the kickoff just a few weeks away.

On the audio problems I mentioned above, I also had to re-record mine for this and in the intro I tried to slow down my words just a bit to get it to align with the video but instead I ended up sounding like I was stoned!!!!  So needless to say I didn’t bother altering it for the rest of the video.

Honestly….I wasn’t stoned.   HONEST!!!!!  Stop looking at me like that!!!

DON’T TAKE THE BAIT

Truth be told, I never really liked the word “clickbait” because it suggests that it’s only bad faith actors online who are tricking you into giving them your attention.  Why don’t we call a beautiful movie star holding a beer on a billboard “lookbait”?

But when you appreciate that it only really applies to specific types of links, for me it’s not called out often enough so when I saw this article on the totally-media-fabricated bullshit narrative that is the “Ireland and Scotland colluding to produce a result to qualify them both” non-story, I decided to make it the subject of this week’s 80+ TikTok.  

@harpinonrugby

Check out our 80+ every Tuesday at harpinonrugby.com #irishtiktok #Irelandtiktok #rugbyunion rugby

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

POOL B PERMUTATIONS

Following on from my TikTok bit above, the X below shows what little I thought of the actual theories being shared by some Springbok fans as well as being stupidly suggested in a press conference.

Now to the serious matter of what the actual permutations actually are.  The bonus point system as used in this World Cup, which we also see in the URC, Premiership and HCC, means that there are a crazy amount of different ways the match points can be divided, which along with the added wrinkle of points difference means there’s a lot of ways Saturday’s match in Paris can go.

SIDEBAR : just to point out that the alternative bonus point system I have been harping on for years to be standard across the sport, namely the one used in the 🔝🐱🐴 and Super Rugby where you must get 3 more tries than your opponent to get the bonus point, reduces the amount of possibilities a LOT.  But I digress.

Full kudos to Glasgow Warriors fan Kevin Millar who took the time to put together this graphic which fully outlines all the possibilities…

And finally, going back to the unlikely option where the Boks get eliminated, I could not have a segment on permutations without a RugbyKino contribution so here is an X from him on the likelihood (barring conspiracies of course)…

WORLD RUGBY SNAFU

Can’t believe I can do a third segment on permutations but they are actually so confusing that even the World Rugby account got them mixed out, with Russ Petty having to point out the error of their ways as they tried to srt out what could happen in Pool A…

ANOTHER ONE GONE

Tragic news for yet another club in the English system, with the Jersey Reds, ironically the reigning Championship, er, champions, suddenly announcing they’ve gone under, despite the fact that the 2023/24 season had already kicked off with the Premiership Cup which for the first time in a while includes the sides from the next tier down.

I really, really, really don’t understand how professional clubs aren’t forced to prove their financial viability not only before a season begins, but even before the fixtures are released!!!!  Obviously going out of business is always terrible for news for all involved with a club, but to let a few matches go before pulling the plug surely has to affect everyone involved a whole lot more, from employees assuming job security right through to fans who had purchased season tickets and merch.

And what’s more it doesn’t look like this is the end of it.  I know the Reds weren’t part of the PLR group, but their demise is clearly part of the problem the failed business model English club rugby has operated since the game went pro.

BALL IN PLAY

Had to laugh at Ian Foster’s soundbite about “ball in play”.  Apparently the suggestion is that a match with a high BIP time is better entertainment for the fans than one with a low one. 

Well if that’s the case, then using the All Black’s drubbing of Italy and the Springboks/Ireland classic weren’t really the best examples for him to use to make his case.

Now I totally get that when a low BIP can often be down to a frustrating series of reset scrums, and in general, I’d agree it would be a good idea to speed things up. 

But as for that match last week….come on.  Oftentimes, for me anyway, the time leading up to set pieces was a large part of the entertainment!!! Like when the Boks had a couple of scrums under the Irish posts in the first half.  South Africa would have been expected to score more often than not, until you factor in the Irish defence.

We have often harped on how missed tackle stats can be misleading, IMO the only thing Foster has done with his remarks is point out that BIP can be too.

AIL UPDATE 

Just one rearranged match in the Women’s AIL last week so not much change in the league table.  The champions Blackrock travel to Wicklow in round 3 this weekend.

Meanwhile the men’s league gets underway with a full round of matches.  Terenure begin the defence of their title by hosting Ballynahinch at Lakelands while the top division’s newly-promoted second Ulster club, City of Armagh, get their first taste of Division 1A action when they travel to Temple Hill to play Cork Con, a match which is to be livestreamed.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

Round 2

SUTTONIANS 10-47 RAILWAY UNION RFC

ROUND 3

SAT OCT 7

SUTTONIANS V UL BOHS

GALWEGIANS V RAILWAY UNION

COOKE V BALLINCOLLIG

WICKLOW V BLACKROCK

MEN’S AIL DIV 1A

ROUND 1

SAT OCT 7

DUBLIN UNIVERSITY V CLONTARF

LANSDOWNE V YOUNG MUNSTER

SHANNON V UCD

TERENURE V BALLYNAHINCH

CORK CON V CITY OF ARMAGH

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Back to Ireland action this weekend, so Ireland v Scotland will of course be getting the full Harpin treatment with a preview Friday, wrap pod Sunday and a whole lot more the rest of the week.

So please comment, like, share & subscribe to our feeds & channels whenever the mood takes you.

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

80+ column : Sep 26

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT

TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

Obviously after such a big Irish win the wrap pod is that much more enjoyable, but even on top of that I had two excellent analysts in Mark Jackson and Tom Coleman helping me harp on the 80 minutes.  There may not have been a lot of scores but there were definitely a lot of critical moments and as ever we worked our way through the exciting timeline from start to finish.  Click here to catch it on Spotify but you’ll also find it on Apple and most major platforms.

HARPIN ON…FINAL THOUGHTS AFTER RSAvIRE

With matches kicking off at both 4:45 and 8pm on Sundays during the World Cup, that puts time restraints on our wrap pod recording and unfortunately we had to ditch plans for a bonus pod this week, instead I put a clip from the actual pod up on YouTube which you see below.

But with Ireland off next weekend, Mark Jackson has kindly agreed to come back and harp on the topic we had chosen, namely how coaches adapt during a match when one part of the game plan isn’t working, hopefully I’ll be able to post this by Saturday.  

TENACIOUS IRISH D

It goes without saying but the RSAvIRE rewatch was beyond fascinating, and I for one was fixated on a pair of Springbok scrums in our 22 around the mid point of the first half.  We hadn’t even troubled the scorers at this stage and we were in grave danger of going ten points down but with some determined defending, helped out a bit by poor opposition decision making, we kept them out and we put together the TikTok below, all while knowing full well of course that at some point it will be taken down. #LetTheClipsPlay

@harpinonrugby

In a low scoring battle between the best teams on the planet, defence is everything. #rwc2023 #ShoulderToShoulder #RSAvIRE #irelandtiktok #irishtiktok

♬ Juliana Hyper Techno Rave Mystical – Beat Charger

SING WHILE THEY’RE WHINGING

Here’s another TikTok video, this my weekly “rant” I suppose you could call it.  I didn’t really want to have to weigh in on the whole Zombie nothing-burger but in the end it seemed to be the perfect topic for this segment.  I’ve added the tweet that appears in the clip plus another one I thought of using.

@harpinonrugby

Check out our latest 80+ column at HarpinOnRugby.com every Tuesday. #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com
https://twitter.com/canice_clooney/status/1705974007621619941?s=20

AIL UPDATE RETURN

I’m very much kicking myself that I missed the Women’s AIL kickoff last week in this column so I’ll try to make up for it here (still means I’m giving the league more coverage than most outlets unfortunately).

As you can see, with a 9-team league plus a postponement and a Round 2 fixture still to be played this Thursday, this year’s league is still getting off the ground but still there have been some predictable results for the big teams, although the big opening day Dublin derby between Rock and Belvo was close and got good coverage with a live screening on YouTube.

We’ll be following the competition here throughout as well as the men’s when that kicks off in October.

Round 1

BLACKROCK COLLEGE 22 – 17 OLD BELVEDERE

GALWEGIANS 12 – 25 BALLINCOLLIG

SUTTONIANS P-P RAILWAY UNION RFC

WICKLOW RFC 7 – 27 UL BOHEMIAN

Round 2

OLD BELVEDERE 32 – 0 WICKLOW RFC

RAILWAY UNION RFC 71 – 7 COOKE

UL BOHEMIAN 82 – 0 GALWEGIANS

Thu Sep 28

SUTTONIANS v RAILWAY UNION RFC

WXV SQUAD

While we’re on the subject of the Women’s game the squad for the WXV3 tournament was announced by new head coach Scott Bemand.  Obviously I’m not crazy about the fact that we’re in the third tier of this new competition, nor am I crazy about the whole “being played in Dubai” aspect of it either, and finally there’s this “your chances of playing for Ireland are better if you live in or around Dublin” mantra which really does sound tone deaf considering not only all the women’s game on these shores has gone through in recent years, but also how much it has progressed elsewhere.

Still, we plan to give the girls our full support ounce the competition rolls around. 

WXV3 Ireland Fixtures

• 13th October v Kazakhstan 16.30 Irish time

• 21st October v Colombia 14.00 Irish time

• 28th October v Spain 14.00 Irish time

All games will be streamed for free on World Rugby’s RugbyPass platform.

MAD DOG RETIRES

Very sad to hear of the retirement of Ian Madigan, although it does look like he has a promising future in the punditry game as he has been demonstrating throughout the World Cup so far.

ICYMI we dedicated a Throwback Thursday post to him last week, looking back to an article I wrote when he announced he would be leaving Leinster, to which he graciously replied.

POSSIBLE RWC FORMATS

This is an issue which comes up every World Cup going way, way back.  What is the best way of actually staging a RWC?  The four pools of five has been going quite a while now, yet with one team missing out each round and an insistence on midweek matches it has offered some serious challenges to organisers.  For example, France play their four pool matches over 30 days while Namibia complete theirs in just 19.

What is the answer?  Honestly none will be perfect.  Some say they are planning to move to 24 nations, which would be good in one aspect as it would include more lower tier nations, yet while four pools of six might solve the uneven fixture problem, it also adds one extra match which would put extra pressure on squads meaning they would probably have to be increased, thus putting financial pressure on those same smaller nations.

I’ve wondered if some kind of “cross pool” method might work  with a draw instead creating six pools of four.  With the pools paired off AB, CD and EF, everyone in one pool could get four matches against teams from the other one.  Then the top eight (pool winners + 2, old school HCup style) could advance to the quarterfinals, with possibly a plate competition for the next eight with next RWC qualification on the line.  That way no team plays more than 7 matches, plus with 3 set groups of teams playing each other, they could be held exclusively Friday, Saturday and Sunday thus ensuring 7-day turnarounds for all squads.

Everyone seems to be offering suggestions so that’s mine!

MORE PERMUTATIONS 

When he’s not going back and forth to Paris offering excellent reports from Ireland’s RWC matches, Cian “RugbyKino” O’Muilleoir has also been known to produce excellent spreadsheets allowing us number crunching fans to look at all the possibilities with bonus points and what-not, and here he has done one for the four World Cup pools, simply plug in the results you think might happen and find out who makes the last 8 and who plays who.  Simples!

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

By rights I should be taking things easy this week what with Ireland off next weekend, but I guess the World Cup bug has got hold of me so I have a few little things planned for the coming days.  Biggest one is on Sunday and instead of a wrap pod I’m assembling another “all-provincial panel” to look at not only the tournament so far, but also the prospects for the 4 provinces with the URC kickoff coming think and fast.

Please comment, like, share & subscribe to our feeds & channels whenever the mood takes you.

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

80+ column : Sep 19

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

For new readers, listeners, our main feature each week here at Harpin On Rugby is a “wrap pod” where we go through Leinster or Ireland’s match from the previous weekend.  This week I was joined by Conor Cronin and Rich Mifsud with a couple of reports from Cian “RugbyKino” O’Muilleoir recorded from the stadium in Nantes on the night.  Also there’s more “time travel” like last week, since we now record at 6:30pm for RWC it means we can’t give our report on the 8pm kickoff so we hand over to “Future Jeff” who will be getting a lot of work over the coming weeks.  As ever the lads did a bang up job, click here to listen on Spotify or you’ll find it on most major platforms, see a small sample below.

@harpinonrugby

Our #IREvTON wrap pod now available on Apple, Spotify and most platforms #RWC2023 #ShoulderToShoulder

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

HARPIN ON…BUNDEE AKI

Should have been PotM last week, deservedly was PotM this, so we decided to dedicate our bonus clip to Bundee Aki and how he has made a strong claim for Ireland’s 12 jersey for the big matches to come.

SH*T RASSIE SAYS

For the week that’s in it, this week’s harpin’ point for TikTok is about our good friend Rassie Erasmus.

@harpinonrugby

SH*T RASSIE SAYS #RWC2023 #rugby #rugbyunion #Irishrugby #IREvRSA #ShoulderToShoulder #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

LEINSTER V ULSTER

Although of course we’re mostly wearing our green goggles these days, the blue need to be kept close – after the comprehensive win down in Musgrave Park a couple of weeks ago Leinster are closer to home this Friday evening as they host Ulster at Navan RFC.  Just over a month to go until the URC kicks off so it will be interesting to see how the squad is shaping up.  I have a ticket but I’m still not 100% sure I’ll be able to make it, fingers crossed.

#LETTHECLIPSPLAY

As a counter to the really annoying call from certain quarters of the ruggersphere to “Let The Boys Play”, I’m trying to get this hashtag going in defence of much more prolific content creators like Squidge who are being denied by World Rugby (although it has the whiff of corporate overlords about it) when it comes to sharing and analysing clips and images from the Rugby World Cup.

It’s 2023 FFS.  No matter how much broadcasters might live in a world where fans only want to consume their output, the fact remains that a significant portion rely on the independent sector, and while I certainly wouldn’t expect myself to be included, I really do think accommodation should be made for the top influencers, it has to be good for the sport and also has to be good for the sponsors.

Obviously it needs to be monitored but isn’t that the case with all broadcast material mainstream or no?  Let the clips play!!!!

PS – literally as I finished typing the above bit, I spotted this poll on “x” so you can probably guess how I voted…

COMING HOME? 

In “Future Jeff”s report on England’s win over Japan at the weekend he may have been a little bit harsh about the English performance, I mean any team would take two wins out of two to start a World Cup however they were achieved, and however the opposition was playing.

But you still need to check the reactions, and many on English media, mainstream and social, seem to have forgotten what caveats are.  Yes, yes, I know this is an Irish rugby site so we’re far from their biggest fans, but goggles aside, if England are genuinely happy with their performances to date, especially when you factor in the standards they should be expecting given player pool etc, then I’ll have whatever they’re having, thank you very much.

PS found this quote on “x”…

IT’S VERY SIMPLE, SIMON

“There was one tweet that pissed me off, however, because rather than come from a random fan this was by an actual member of the Munster squad.  Only thing I will add to posting it below is this : imagine the uproar if it were a Leinster squad player after the boys in blue won a trophy.  Articles would be written about it.  Hang on never mind articles….PLAYS would be written.“

I wrote the above in the final 80+ column of the 22/23 season about a tweet by Simon Zebo and I was careful not to use his name because I really thought it was a “one off” but no, it really does look like he has little or no control over either himself or his social media accounts.

Now I guess we have to take him at his word about the posts he was “liking” (although if it really was his kids I’m not sure I’d be too keen to involve them in all of this) but even without that side of it, I have to say he really needs to make a simple decision as to whether he wants to slag off Leinster fans or be a serious pundit, and when I say “serious” of course I know they need an element of humour and banter but he really has been not only crossing “the line” but also catapulting himself way beyond it.

I guess I qualify as a “Dermot” to him so he probably wouldn’t listen to me but hopefully someone around him has had a word.

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Next up here at Harpin Manor we’re all about the clash with the reigning World Champions.  Preview will drop either late Thursday or in the afternoon on Friday, we’ll be on “x” throughout the match and finally of course the wrap pod on Sunday.  If I can make it to Navan on Friday I hope to do a TikTok report so keep an eye out for that as well.  Please comment, like, share & subscribe to our feeds & channels whenever the mood takes you.

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

80+ column : Sep 12

A WEEKLY COLUMN LOOKING AT TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

WRAP OF A WRAP

With World Cup matches coming thick and fast over the next couple of months, our pod recording schedule has to be modified.  We normally kickoff the wrap pod at 8pm on a Sunday but due to Wales v Fiji we moved it up an hour.  Plus, since that match was something we wanted to harp on, I had to use a time machine of sorts to get my report in!  As ever both Cian O’Muilleoir and Ciarán Duffy did a bang up job going over the match be sure to check it our at this Spotify link or on whatever platform you use.

HARPIN ON…IRELAND WITH/WITHOUT SEXTON

With Sexton back on the pitch for the first time since the Grand Slam was in the bag, we had a chat for our bonus clip 

DISAGREEMENT?👍DISRESPECT?👎

This week’s TikTok harpin point looks at whether or not it’s ok to analyse a referee’s performance.  Since the Wales v Fiji match I’ve been hearing the “we must never criticise the ref” mantra from some surprising sources, I have to say.

In the video I mentioned one of the tweets I posted while the match was still on, for full disclosure I’m adding the other ones.  Maybe, just maybe, the Oprah one is straying towards disrespectful?  I don’t think so but others might.  

The point is that while I know social media isn’t the be all and end all of anything, it can be a decent gauge of opinion from hard core fans and in all my years following rugby on Twitter/x I have never seen this much agreement across the board on a referee’s performance, including some Welsh fans.

Does it mean the ref in question should never hold a whistle again?  I really don’t think so, and if there are to be “repercussions” I really don’t want to know.  In fact he’s actually AR1 for Ireland’s next match against Tonga and I for one have no problem with that FWIW.

One last point on the video…you have no idea how close I came to taking out all the recording equipment and doing it over when I saw that curled up collar!!!!  And if you haven’t noticed it yet it’s probably all you can see now!!!! Ah well….

@harpinonrugby

Check out harinonrugby.com for our weekly 80+ column looking at topics from all across the ruggersphere

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

LEINSTER PRESEASON FRIENDLY

Loads of TikToks in this week’s column, I pledged to get in front of the camera more this season, so here’s one I did Sunday morning on Leinster’s comprehensive preseason win down in Musgrave Park on Friday evening.

And as you can see I really pushed the boat out with the special effects – I tell ya, between time travel and magic jersey changes, we spare no expense here at Harpin Manor!!!!

@harpinonrugby

Popped the aul blue jersey back on for a quick vid on the Munster v Leinster preseason friendly from Friday night

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

AISLING’S RWC2023 TRAVEL GUIDES

Unfortunately there have many reports of fans having difficulties getting to matches on time, like Ireland’s opener against Romania.  Obviously it’s very easy to go on social media and call the organisation (or lack of it) a “shambles” but Irish fan Aisling O’Connor has found a much more practical way forward.

I very much doubt they’ll be able to improve their transport infrastructure much in time for fan heading to matches over the coming weeks so Aisling, a former president of the Official Leinster Supporters Club and a well seasoned rugby traveller all over the world at this stage, has been posting logistical information as well as directing people how to get more.  If you’re over in France or planning to travel I strongly recommend you follow her.

BIGGAR PROBLEMS

After my agreeing with most of social media over the Wales v Fiji officiating, I think I’m actually swimming against the tide when it comes to my thoughts on Dan Biggar giving his team mates a rollicking at the end of the first in the very same match.

He wanted the ball put dead but the others played on and while I do get the importance of showing a united front out on the pitch, I can also appreciate the frustration from the leadership because, let’s face it, it was absolutely right and proper that the ball needed to be put dead.  I saw loads of comments directed at Dan but I think I’d be inclined to back him here.  It’s a World Cup, emotions are high, you’ve just played 40m of test rugby, no matter how much experience you have it’s not always easy to switch on the filter.

SCREECHING TO THE CHOIR

I have four kids, and possibly more to the point I was one myself back in the day, so I can totally imagine how exciting a prospect it would be to be allowed to sing at a massive global event like the Rugby World Cup.

But let’s face it…while the choir might work for some national anthems like The Flower Of Scotland (remember at Murrayfield they actually stop playing instruments at one point and let everyone sing like they’re a choir anyway) the more military style ones like for Argentina and, yes, especially France, have had the life sucked out of them by the format.

Personally I’m not always the biggest fan of going too strongly into symbols of nationalism, however I don’t reckon singing anthems before international matches is too strong to begin with, and I have always been of the opinion that each nation should be able to have theirs performed in a manner of their choosing.

But anyway for this World Cup, I understand they are considering a change, and though that would be tough on those who have been looking forward to their moment in the spotlight, I think it would be the right call.

EITHER/OR FOR THE ALL BLACKS PLEASE

Speaking of performances before kickoffs, I was never a fan of the All Blacks and others getting to do extra ones when others can’t, although with the Haka, Cibi and such practically being part of the sport’s DNA at this stage it would probably be harsh to ban it altogether.  

But I reckon for the All Blacks to take even more extra time to have a huddle before they did their haka ahead of the opener against France was very much taking the piss.

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Next up here at Harpin Manor we’re looking ahead to our next Pool B assignment with Tonga.  There will be a preview at the end of the week, social media coverage throughout, a wrap pod on Sunday evening and all the usual extra bits in between.  As well as the podcast feed we’re on X, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Mastodon so please follow us wherever you can 

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

80+ column : Sep 5 2023

A TUESDAY COLUMN LOOKING AT

TOPICS BEYOND THE SCOPE 

OF OUR FEATURE MATCH OF THE WEEK

GUEST POD

With one more weekend without an Irish men’s match ahead of RWC2023 I decided to take it easy on the content-creating front but I did agree to do a pod for Caolán Scully which was part of his preview series and looked specifically at Ireland’s chances.

In the pod I suggest that if Ireland should have “Adversity” as a buzzword we should also go with “Belief” as well, and just to get ahead of the jokes I pointed out that I know my accent makes it sound like I’m a rugby version of Tad Lasso and apparently one of Caolán’s mates agreed…

Anyway the pod was released as a joint project so it’s on my feed as number 272 but I’d also like to plug Caolán’s pod so if you haven’t heard it already check it out below.

HARPIN ON…IRELAND’S OPTIONS AT 5, 7 & 14

This week I am grateful to Caolán for letting me use his pod recording for getting two more instalmetns of my “Ireland’s options” series done, and I am also grateful to Cian “RugbyKino” O’Muilleoir for taking the time to record his bit on jersey number 7.

IRELAND’S BENCH AT RWC2023

There are only two positions left to do in our “Ireland’s options” series, I gave each contributor a choice of jersey numbers so the two that got left behind are 13 and 15 so I will do them myself in a video to be recorded Wednesday.  I also did a brief TikTok on Ireland’s bench which you can see below, the plan is to do video like that every week throughout the season so you have been warned!

@harpinonrugby

from our latest 80+ column over on harpinonrugby.com

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

MORE CONGRATS TO LEINSTER WOMEN

I’ve said it on Twitter/x and on the pod already but I literally can’t give enough praise to Leinster’s women’s squad over their Interpro title secured at Musgrave Park they had to do it the hard way yet ended up doing it in style.

I’ve also said this many many times before but I’ll keep repeating it until it happens…the provincial teams need to play more often throughout the season IMO.  I know circumstances are different but a few friendlies with Scots and Welsh teams plus a home and away calendar for the Interpro itself must be doable.

PREDICTION SPREADSHEET

When we’re not calling him Rugby Kino here at Harpin Manor, Cian O’Muilleoir is The Prince Of Permutations as his tournament spreadsheets are legendary in that they allow you to plug in different scores to see what happens next.

He has worked with another Irish twitter rugby fan/legend Justin Deegan to produce one for RWC2023, just follow the instructions below to sample it for yourself…

Just save a copy to your own Google account, then plug in the scores and bonus points as they happen or as you predict and it’ll do the rest, all the way through to the finals. It includes most of the tiebreaker calculations and can handle head to head result extraction for up to 5 teams on tied points in any given group, for all the groups.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15sAj0aIeO999HbtoOxyzk-OxRzvaVt1r/edit?usp=drivesdk&ouid=101401552175354143604&rtpof=true&sd=true

LEINSTER MEN PRESEASON

Almost as if to taunt us with one final reminder of how last season’s URC went just before the RWC kicks off, Munster have not only scheduled a men’s friendly with Leinster kicking off at 6pm on Friday (therefore finishing just as France v New Zealand gets underway), but if fans of the boys in blue are unable to travel we will have to pay at least €6 to Access Munster for the privilege.  Since it’s money that technically goes to support Irish Rugby, it should be worth it but I’ll leave that determination with yourselves.  I for one am very interested to see what kind of lineup we put out.  And don’t forget there’s a second match set with Ulster taking place on Friday September 22 kicking off at 6:30pm at Navan RFC, tickets can be bought here.

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

It’s barely the beginning of September and the Top Quatorze is already three rounds in, because of course it is.  I fully expect within the next couple of years the first round in a new season will actually take place before the previous year’s final, rule it out at your peril.

With the league’s penchant for teams skimping on away selections, it’s actually not that often that teams win or lose all of their opening three matches, and this year is no exception with only Stade Francais at the top and USAP at the bottom being perfect in their own way.

And because the World Cup is actually on French soil, they had to leave a massive gap between rounds 3 and 4 so it’s very difficult to speculate how the league is going to unfold from here but you whatever happens we’ll be following it all on this column throughout the season.

Round 1

Montpellier 26-15 La Rochelle

Perpignan 7-29 Stade Francais

US Oyonnax 36-17 Clérmont

Castres 24-23 Pau

Lyon 27-15 Toulon

Racing 92 23-18 Bordeaux

Bayonne 26-7 Toulouse

Round 2

Toulouse 38-13 Montpellier

Toulon 19-14 Bayonne

Bordeaux 25-23 Castres

Clérmont 38-14 Perpignan

Pau 19-17 Racing 92

La Rochelle 35-14 Lyon

Stade Francais 28-18 Oyonnax

Round 3

Bordeaux 22-17 Toulon

Clérmont 11-10 La Rochelle

Castres 37-0 Bayonne

Stade Francais 24-9 Montpellier

Pau 40-10 Lyon

Racing 92 59-10 Lyon

Oyonnax 21-27 Toulouse

Round 4

Sat October 29

Bayonne v Stade Francais

Perpignan v Pau

La Rochelle v Castres

Lyon v Clérmont

Montpellier v Racing 92

Toulon v Oyonnax

Toulouse v Bordeaux

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Back to full swing this week here at Harpin’ Manor, I’ll be working on that final video for the series on Ireland’s starting options this Wednesday, with just jerseys 13 and 15 left, then on Thursday our “Upcoming Rugby on Irish TV” post is back with a vengeance before we turn our full attention to Ireland v Romania with a preview featuring Mark Jackson on Friday, social media commentary throughout the match itself and of cours the wrap pod recording Sunday evening where we’re planning on attempting some time travel so be sure and look out for that, 

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