Champions Cup – Page 2 – HARPIN' ON RUGBY

426 : Leinster v Glasgow preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

LEINSTER : 15 Hugo Keenan 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Jordie Barrett

11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Cian Healy 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. RG Snyman

6. Max Deegan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan (c)

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Andrew Porter 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Diarmuid Mangan

20. Caelan Doris 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Robbie Henshaw

GLASGOW : 15 Kyle Rowe 14 Jamie Dobie 13 Stafford McDowall 12 Tom Jordan

11 Kyle Steyn (c) 10 Adam Hastings 9 George Horne

1 Nathan McBeth 2 Johnny Matthews 3 Sam Talakai 4 Gregor Brown 5 Alex Samuel

6 Matt Fagerson 7 Rory Darge 8 Sione Vailanu

16 Grant Stewart 17 Jamie Bhatti 18 Patrick Schickerling 19 JP du Preez

20 Max Williamson 21 Euan Ferrie 22 Ben Afshar 23 Sebastian Cancelliere

Referee : Luke Pearce (Eng)

AR1 : Anthony Woodthorpe (Eng)

AR2 : Adam Leal (Eng)

TMO : Andrew Jackson (Eng)

Weather for Dublin 4 (Fri eve)

9° “Partly cloudy”

Wind SSE 9-13 kmh Rain 0%

(from accuweather.com)

425 : Leinster v Harlequins wrap

Josh van der Flier of Leinster scores his side’s fourth try during the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 match between Leinster and Harlequins at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

🏉 Quins purple patch

🏉 Some Leinster tries

🏉 More tries

🏉 Even more tries

🏉 Shutout

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CIARÁN DUFFY [Post to Post Sport blog]

HUGO GORDON

FULL TIME TAKES

David Ryle

I thought it was going to be a hard day at the office on the first 10 mins. I think the held up ball knocked the wind out of them.

Kevin Kelehan

Quins turned up, sadly only for 10 minutes, great to see JVdF back to his rampaging best, Ringrose lethal in defense and incisive in attack and Jordie Barrett’s team first and self second distribution showing why he was signed.

Chris McDonnell

As complete a performance as I have seen in ages.

Alan Murphy

Quins over 80 mins were never going to win that. Not taking the 6 points on offer for two kickable penalties in the first 10 mins was really naive. Aimless kicking to a Leinster back 3 was naive. Kicking all their restarts to the same space in the first half was naive. Very poor from a last 16 team. I hope they get rid of this round in future as very average teams are winning one game (Ulster) in 4 in the ‘group’ stages and making the knockouts. Others staggering in with 2 wins from 4. Go straight to the quarter finals in future.

Christy O’Connor

Dragons would’ve caused us more problems. I expect a much tougher game next week. I reckon Glasgow will beat Leicester and Glasgow will definitely give is a tough game

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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “EPCR QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

THURSDAY

THROWBACK THURSDAY

424 : Leinster v Harlequins preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Preview also available on our YouTube channel

Our guest : MARK JACKSON

LEINSTER : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jamie Osborne 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Joe McCarthy 5. RG Snyman 6. Jack Conan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (C)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Jack Boyle 18. Tadhg Furlong 19. Ryan Baird 20. Max Deegan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Jordie Barrett

HARLEQUINS : 15. Leigh Halfpenny 14. Tyrone Green 13. Oscar Beard 12. Ben Waghorn 11. Nick David 10. Marcus Smith 9. Will Porter

1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Joe Launchbury 5. Chandler Cunningham-South 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrandt (C)

16. Sam Riley 17. Wyn Jones 18. Simon Kerrod 19. Irne Herbst 20. George Hammond 21. Danny Care 22. Jamie Benson 23. Luke Northmore

Investec Champions Cup 24/25 Rd of 16

Saturday, April 5, 2025

KO 3pm Croke Park

Live on : RTÉ2 & Premier Sports 2

Referee : Pierre Brousset (Fra)

AR1 : Kevin Bralley (Fra)

AR2 : Thomas Charabas (Fra)

TMO : Tual Trainini (Fra)

402 : Leinster v Bath wrap

18 January 2025; Jack Conan of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s third try despite the attention of Finn Russell of Bath during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 2 match between Leinster and Bath at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

🏉 Ringer the winger?

🏉 Bath early

🏉 Super Slimani

🏉 Early bath

🏉 Mission accomplished

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICHARD MIFSUD

DAVID CORDIAL

FULL TIME TAKES

Denise O’Brien

Only just getting my breath back 🤣 Osborne, Henshaw, Slimani outstanding. All subs made an impact – great to see the attack firing against a team who are scoring so many points in the Prem!

David Ryle

Starting to get the balance between attack and defense.

Kevin Kelehan

Superb atmosphere at the Aviva, even 0-14 the crowd weren’t phased. Leinster were superb in the set piece, line out looks fixed, they won 4 or 5 scrum penalties, the development of Jamie Osborne is a joy to watch as was seeing Jack Conan back close to his best, RG Snyman continues to astonish in his ability to recycle out of contact and Doris and Van Der Flier are certifiable nuisances. Get those tickets for Cardiff

John Jones

Happy with the win but I’m not getting as excited as some people on here re: the attack. It only really started to flow once Bath had the red card. That was at 60mins and it was only 26-21 at that point. I think we still need to improve loads and I’m not convinced yet about playing that many players out of position

Greg Kelly

Have to wonder where the hallowed Premiership is left now? Their high flyers hammered by a team that was playing at max 70% only 50% of the game. I think Bath knew Leinster were going to unload on them with nasty hooks and body shots in the last 15-20 mins. Evidenced by them time wasting on 44 mins.

Jackie McEachern

I was really nervous through the first half but bench had a great impact in the second half. It’s the best I’ve seen our attack look in a long time! Here’s hoping it’s all starting to come together.

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401 : Leinster v Bath preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : MARK JACKSON

LEINSTER : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Garry Ringrose 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Jamie Osborne 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Max Deegan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan (c)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. RG Snyman 20. Caelan Doris 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Jimmy O’Brien

BATH : 15 Tom de Glanville 14 Joe Cokanasiga 13 Ollie Lawrence 12 Max Ojomoh 11 Ruaridh McConnochie 10 Finn Russell 9 Ben Spencer (c)

1 Beno Obano, 2 Niall Annett, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Miles Reid, 8 Alfie Barbeary,

16 Tom Dunn, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee

Investec Rugby Champions Cup 24/25 Rd 4

Saturday January 18, 2025

KO 5:30pm Aviva Stadium

Live on : Premier Sports 1

Referee : Luc Ramos (Fra)

AR1 : Thomas Charabas (Fra)

AR2 : Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)

TMO : Julien Castaignede (Fra)

400 : La Rochelle v Leinster wrap

12 January 2025; Jamie Osborne of Leinster offloads to teammate Joe McCarthy before he runs through to score his side’s first try during the Investec Champions Cup Pool 2 match between Stade Rochelais and Leinster at Stade Marcel Deflandre in La Rochelle, France. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

also available on Apple and most major platforms

🏉 80-minute D

🏉 The Porter Protocol

🏉 Jamie spin, Joe score

🏉 Missed kicks

🏉 Frantic finish

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

FULL TIME TAKES

John Hyland

Botia was a nuisance when he came on. Leinster were very physical and really ripped into them in the first half but lost a bit of intensity after the substitutions. Both sides need to improve their place kicking.

Gavin Hegarty

Ok let’s not call a spade a shovel here. We won but it was far from satisfactory. So many schoolboy errors that a better side would have hugely punished us on. Our lineout is an utter sham, I don’t get how a pro team can have one so bad. I think some of the subs, like Byrne and McGrath, happened to early, prendergast was doing very well.

On a side note that TMO should be fired for raising the Doris tackle with the ref and for wasting everyone’s time reviewing it. I think he was aiming for the world’s first back to head penalty.

Jackie McEachern

Happy for the win away. Amazing defence and still lots to work on in attack. We can’t miss kicks like the one Byrne missed in games at this level. The kick Barrett missed was much more difficult and maybe we should have gone to the corner then?

For me MOTM was between JVDF and Doris.

Greg Kelly

We turned the tables on them. We had them running into brick walls and numerous times their sustained phase attack was driven 20-30m backwards. They did that to us in our 1st few encounters.

Ross Byrnes missed kick again I think will be another paving stone on his road out of the club. In a game like that you can’t miss those kicks

Kevin Kelehan

O’Gara had La Rochelle pumped, the crowd was extremely partisan. Leinster made mistakes but had the winning mentality, did not make it easy for themselves but did the hard work without the ball.

John Jones

Amazing defensive performance and we looked in control for the middle part of the game. Thought we really lost our shape once all the subs were on though and there were far too many players out of position- need a more balanced bench selection I think. Also, Ross is a great servant but Frawley has to be the back up 10 in these games i think. I just don’t trust Byrne in clutch games and that penalty miss was pretty unforgivable I think. Also wasn’t it very similar to the penalty that Frawley came off the bench and nailed in the same fixture last year?

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399 : La Rochelle v Leinster preview

NOTE – since recording the pod there were further changes made to the lineup, it reads correctly below

also available as a podcast

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Jordie Barrett 14. Jimmy O’Brien 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Jamie Osborne 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Cian Healy 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Andrew Porter 18. Rabah Slimani 19. RG Snyman 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Ciarán Frawley

LA ROCHELLE : 15 Brice Dulin 14 Jack Nowell 13 Ulupano Seuteni 12 Jules Favre 11 Dillyn Leyds 10 Antoine Hastoy 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow

1 Reda Wardi 2 Quentin Lespiaucq 3 Uini Atonio 4 Thomas Lavault 5 Kane Douglas 6 Paul Boudehent 7 Oscar Jegou 8 Greg Alldritt (C)

16 Nikolozi Sutidze 17 Alexandre Kaddouri 18 Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel 19 Ultan Dillane 20 Levani Botia 21 Judicaël Cancoriet 22 Matthias Haddad 23 Hoani Bosmorin.

Investec Rugby Champions Cup 24/25 Rd 3

Sunday January 12, 2025

KO 3:15pm Stade Marcel Deflandre

Live on : Premier Sports 1

Referee : Nika Amashukeli (Geo)

AR1 : Christophe Ridley (Eng)

AR2 : Sam Grove-White (Sco)

TMO : Ian Tempest (Eng)

394 : Leinster v Clérmont wrap

14 December 2024; Andrew Porter of Leinster is tackled by Pierre Fouyssac of ASM Clermont Auvergne during the Champions Cup Pool 2 match between Leinster and ASM Clermont Auvergne at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

🏉 Lineout shambles

🏉 Wraparound Sam

🏉 Tries left behind

🏉 Misty second half

🏉 Peak Porter

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN

DAVID CORDIAL

FULL TIME TAKES

Cormac Mannion

I can’t actually remember a worse Leinster lineout performance in over 20 years. Some of the handling was also atrocious.

Again, similar to some of Ireland’s performances recently, our players seem to constantly get isolated at the breakdown.

We also appeared to unnecessarily overcomplicate a lot of our handling and passing when being a bit more direct would have been the wiser choice.

Some worrying flaws from Ireland that have seeped into Leinster’s performances.

Kevin Kelehan

Line out is dysfunctional, I know Dan Sheehan is out but without him it has been a disaster, making sure he is fully fit has to be the number 1 objective for Leinster, the throwing today was so bad you’d nearly have JVdF throwing in and Kelliher/McCarthy in for scrummaging and loose play. Fix that problem and there are so many positives from today. The signings of Barrett, Snyman and Slimani are all hits, Sam Prenddergast was outstanding, his tactical kicking, distance to touch off penalties and passing were all really great. Henshaw and Ringrose both superb and Jimmy O’Brien looking close to his best again. A point dropped today but equally 4 points won against a slumbering European giant that was awake today.

Paul Lacey

Will we ever find another Andrew porter. He has to be burnt out .clarkson is playing brilliant rugby. Jvd & Morris need a break..

David Ryle

Scrappy game but a win is a win.

Colette Caddle

An amazing game, two excellent sides but Leinster line outs need a lot of work.

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393 : Leinster v Clérmont preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Jordie Barrett 14. Liam Turner 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Jimmy O’Brien 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Max Deegan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Cian Healy 18. Rabah Slimani 19. RG Snyman 20. Jack Conan 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Ross Byrne 23. Andrew Osborne

CLÉRMONT : 15. Alex Newsome, 14. Lucas Tauzin, 13. Pierre Fouyssac, 12. George Moala, 11. Alivereti Raka, 10. Irae Simone, 9. Baptiste Jauneau

1. Etienne Falgoux, 2. Etienne Fourcade, 3. Michael Ala’alatoa, 4. Peceli Yato, 5. Rob Simmons, 6. Killian Tixeront, 7. Alexandre Fischer, 8. Fritz Lee (c)

16. Barnabe Massa, 17. Giorgi Akhaladze, 18. Cristian Ojovan, 19. Oskar Rixen, 20. Antoine Chalus-Cercy, 21. Sebastien Bezy, 22. Ben Urdapilleta, 23. Theo Giral

Investec Champions Cup 24/25 Rd 2

Saturday, December 14, 2024

KO 5:30pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: RTÉ2, Premier Sports 1

Referee : Luke Pearce (Eng)

AR1 Jack Makepeace (Eng)

AR2 : Jamie Leahy (Eng)

TMO : Stuart Terheege (Eng)

392 : Bristol Bears v Leinster wrap

8 December 2024; Jordie Barrett of Leinster during the Champions Cup Round 1 match between Bristol Bears and Leinster at Ashton Gate in Bristol, England. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

🏉 Defences up

🏉 Scrum lottery

🏉 Yellow fever

🏉 Euro mode

🏉 Bench press

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICHARD MIFSUD

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post To Post Sport blog

FULL TIME TAKES

Aonghus O’Brien

First half was poor, but the second half was loads of fun and I especially enjoyed the two tries from Sam ‘Not A Running Threat’ Prendergast

Louis Hoffman

Could a scrum ‘expert’ explain to me, what all that nonsense was about? Was it the refs fault?

Kevin Kelehan

Dreadful ref, his scrum time nearly wrecked the game completely. The bench was ridiculously over strength but thankfully it worked a charm when introduced, a BP on the road is all that history will record in a game of two halves.

Jackie McEachern

Definitely a “game of two halves”. As others have said, our bench obviously made a huge difference. While the reffing was horrible, we showed good composure in the first half when we had two yellow cards to attack and score a try.

Brian Patrick Donnelly

match ruined by inept, pedantic, awful refereeing. We were good for 20 minutes and that was that.

Shane Mcdonald

Just watching it it now at half time but how on gods green earth did the ref linesman tmo miss the very very very obvious hands in the ruck when jvdf nearly got over in the corner

Stevie wonder could have seen that and tv kept showing it over over over 🤦

Greg Kelly

BP away to the 2nd placed team in England is not to be sniffed at. The officiating was poor. We got little change from the officials in the first half but credit to the lads they worked around it well. Not sure how the TMO doesn’t intervene to card Thacker for pulling the ball out of Joshs hands on the goal line in the first half but comes in to reverse a lineout🤷‍♂️

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