🏉 A Half of Four Eighths?
🏉 Val & Skel
🏉 Better bench
🏉 Dramatic conclusion
🏉 What next for Aus?
452 : Second Lions test wrap
Category: RugbyKino
443 : Leinster are URC Champions wrap
🏉 Kicking on
🏉 Pack Mentality
🏉 Defensive stands
🏉 Below par Bulls
🏉 Playing the conditions
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Kevin Kelehan
Great atmosphere in Croker from about 30 mins before kick off, hat tip to the support in the Hill they were so vocal. The defensive set for 5 minutes before half time was what won the game, Bulls threw everything they had at Leinster, recycling clinically but there was no way through. Was delighted to see Ross Byrne get point 32 at Croker as his last act, was even happier to see Sam Prendergast hit a lot of people today, he has redeemed himself.
Jackie McEachern
Brilliant team performance! So happy for everybody at Leinster rugby. I hope they all thoroughly enjoy celebrating this and that it can be the foundation that next season is built upon.
William Andrew
Elon Musk, Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron, Rassie Eramus, Trevor Noah your boys took some beating 💓 in Dublin today. 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀
Superb . Controlled aggression. Total focus at all times. I enjoyed the wins at the scrum as much the tries. The real slim shadys stood up today
Kevin OCeallaigh
That was a brilliantly coached performance, especially on defence. Thrilled for Sam. Thought he was really good today and probably one place kick away from POTM. He’s probably had a tough week. Also a great sign-off for Jordie, and the cheers from the crowd shows just how much he is respected by the fans. Loved the celebration from Ross when he showed that kick
Cuan Mulligan
Ryan Baird.. more of that please. Was good to see Sam P try some flare, looked like his mojo was back.. kicking off the tee is still a growth area for the summer…looked like he wanted contact more, although fell off tackles but not for lack of want. What they have tapped into.. they need to stay tapped into.
Daniel James
Thank god!! I could leave it at that but it was a brilliant performance where they went at the bulls like they did in the champions cup up to the semi final. Hopefully this lays a foundation to get over the line in next years knockout competitions. Also past time to win the URC now we need push all the way next year!
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URC WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “SAM’S ROLE” & “THE IMPORTS”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
437 : Leinster v Glasgow wrap
🏉 Stats v Vibes
🏉 Tremendous Tommy
🏉 Flat Track Bullies
🏉 The Ben Whitehouse Experience
🏉 In Our Defence
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Gavin Hegarty
I’m not going to comment on whitehouse.
We have real talent in Leinster but for some reason this talent is not firing. On paper we were 40+ better than this team yet we couldn’t string any phases together.
Why do we want to defend? We just keep on aimlessly kicking the ball away. Madness.
Tommy O’Brien is class and has to be capped in Georgia/Portugal.
On a positive note on spiral from Sam has to be the best kick I’ve ever seen! Simple exquisite
Chris McDonnell
No real spark but effort was very good. Gunne passed well but didn’t really offer any threat, Sam is not controlling the game, loads of really good stuff but not really getting a grip. Boyle is a good one. What’s going on with furlong? Why is he on the bench if he’s not getting much needed game time.
Christy O’Connor
This proves that Frawley should’ve been given more time at ten.
Andrew Bailey
It’s a sad situation when you know once referee is announced that he will be awful. Whitehouse did not disappoint. Aside from that we have a problem at 10
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URC WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “THE URC QUARTERFINALS”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
417 : Ireland v France wrap
🏉 70% possession
🏉 Ruckgate
🏉 Peter O’Matador
🏉 Billy Barry
🏉 2 little 2 late
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Warren Doyle
Game lost in first 20 minutes. We didn’t achieve the points to counter the French flair. What came after was very predictable.
Gavin Macarthur
France came to play rugby and they are a fantastic team. The Irish squad can learn a lot from this kind of defeat – at least the openings for the younger players are starting to appear. It is never good to see ‘supporters’ leaving the stadium early – poor form.
Cuan Mulligan
France deserved the win. However…. Odd decision about POM been taken out, French player then runs through that hole. Ref shouting at France to use the ball 3 or 4 times, well over 5 seconds and nothing. Conor Murray upright and we drive him over the line, utterly confusing strategy, should have got him to ground and gone again. Be interesting to get the stats of how many no tries Ireland have by been held up…
Ger Ecki
Another crunch match lost and lost comprehensively…..Another poor performance when challenged. Slams lost 2 years running by losing one crucial match. Got away with it last year by being over feted for winning the Championship…..not so lucky this time. Losing Lowe at the beginning meant we lost our only reliable backline try scorer but they lost DuPont so all bets were off. Ireland collapsed and didn’t fire a shot. Those last 2 trys were gifted by an exhausted French who knew they had the job done….
James Griffin
Outmuscled all day long. We didn’t have the power to break their defence or stop their offence.
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SIX NATIONS WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “TEST TICKET PRICING”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO
406 : Ireland v England wrap
🏉 Early worries
🏉 23 lineouts
🏉 That JGP step
🏉 Weary defenders
🏉 Bench impress
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Kevin Kelehan
Bench was the difference, Conan was clinical, Dan was Dan as only Dan can be Dan, Tom Clarkson stood up to Ellis Genge who is technically intimidating and Jack Crowley kept it simple and flowing. England were value for their lead on 10 mins but their persistent cynical fouling caught up with them. Ireland got out with 5 points, England very lucky to get 1
Hubert Gallagher
Really really good second half except for allowing the last 2 tries. Huge impact from bench. Conan made an immediate impact. Crowley was excellent as well. And Sheehan….was he ever away?
James Lowe has a knack of making something out of nothing so often. Recognise JGPs performance but Lowe must have been very close to MOTM!!
Discipline excellent and mental toughness to the fore.
Onwards to Scotland – they’ll fancy turning us over and it’s never a gimme in Murrayfield. We need to be even tougher there. Will be a very different game – they’re unlike to kick as much ball away and will challenge our defence our wide.
Jackie McEachern
Lineout and discipline much improved from Autumn Internationals. England getting the LBP is disappointing but getting 5 points from an England match is always a great feeling.
Gavin Macarthur
This kind of championship game should be a platform for developing new players, instead of allowing some of the older players to continue their international careers as ‘game-closers’. There are a few players in that category and they need to be cut loose. Anyone who is over the age of 35 is not really going to figure in the next world cup, so why continue to play them?
That said, it was a good test match, giving the squad an opportunity to put their systems and leadership under pressure.
David Ryle
Turning point was their winger not allowing the ball go dead resulting in an Ireland 5m scrum at 44 mins.
Dave Murray
Great second half (except letting England back in for the bonus point) and Dan Sheehan what an impact again along with Lowe back from their injuries.
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MEN’S SIX NATIONS WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CLIP ON YOUTUBE CHANNEL : “JACK OR SAM (OR TRUST?)”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO
400 : La Rochelle v Leinster wrap
🏉 80-minute D
🏉 The Porter Protocol
🏉 Jamie spin, Joe score
🏉 Missed kicks
🏉 Frantic finish
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
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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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP
386 : Ireland v Fiji wrap
Ireland’s Sam Prendergast takes a kick Mandatory Credit
©INPHO/Ben Brady
🏉 Sam, Gus & Izzy
🏉 Attacking flow
🏉 Discipline
🏉 Awkward positions
🏉 Pecking orders
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Hubert Gallagher
Sam P’s ability to pick out a late pass and put a player into a gap was otherworldly! Set up a number of clean breaks. Loved the fact he made a number of errors but the head didn’t do down and he just played on as if it didn’t matter. Great temperament.
Gus was also brilliant- another couple of games and he’ll be pushing Kelleher and of course Sheehan when he’s back! What a debut.
Lots of really good performances from more established players Henshaw, Aki, JVDF, Doris and loved Casey’s performances – much better then I’ve seen him play before.
Lastly a word for Frawley – he took some punishment and kept going and did very well!
Opposition was quite poor however and we need to keep that in mind.
Jackie McEachern
Bearing in mind that Fiji were poor, I think we can still take away positives. Great first time starts from Sam and Gus. And many of the veterns put in strong performances – Aki, Henshaw, Doris, VdF. I was also really impressed with Casey.
I think Crowley should definitely start next week and the #10 jersey is his. But I’m excited for what Sam will also bring as he matures and his skills grow.
Bert McLoughlin
Fijian discipline shocking. Gus McCarthy had a great debut 3 assists and a try👏. Sam had a mixed bag with the yellow and a few mistakes after he can back on, but his passing gains space for players around him and is definitely a playmaker 10.
Chris McDonnell
Casey played his best game, sam recovered from some silly mistakes and played well especially after frawley came on and took loads of the pressure off playing as a second play maker. Said before the game the balance on the bench with so many 12’s and no back 3 players was always going to go badly.
Eamon Saunders
A win is a win some great individual performances but for me Robbie Henshaw was back to his best but again great performances all over the pitch
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AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES WRAP
WEEK 3
FRANCE 37-23 ARGENTINA
IRELAND 52-17 FIJI
WALES 12-45 SOUTH AFRICA
ITALY 11-29 NEW ZEALAND
SCOTLAND 27-13 AUSTRALIA
ENGLAND 59-14 JAPAN
WEEK 4
SAT NOV 30
IRELAND V AUSTRALIA
377 : Connacht v Leinster wrap
🏉 Galway gusts
🏉 Fast start. Again.
🏉 Frawley
🏉 LaRGer than life
🏉 Defence. Again.
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Jackie McEachern
Happy enough with the Leinster performance. I was nervous when Frawley went off so early but thought Ross did a good job, especially in the conditions. Hope Frawley’s injury isn’t too bad.
Gavin Hegarty
Not much more else you can ask for. Top points from each outing. Yes we kinda let them back in it but we were never not dominant.
Clarkson for me had been coming into his own this season, he’ll be capped soon enough.
So utterly unlucky for frawley, this was his chance for the autumn series.
Craig Grehan
I think the match although winning shows some poorer choices of play by jpg at times.
Shows frawley is like the munster era snyman …and snyman is becoming a fan favourite.
Connacht as always put up a good fight and on another day would get more bang for their buck.
Cormac Mannion
I think we were switched on for a lot longer than last week. Hopefully Frawley’s injury isn’t too bad. Rotten luck for him
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URC WRAP
349 : Champions Cup Final Preview
OUR GUESTS
LEINSTER
15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Robbie Henshaw
12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne
9. Jamison Gibson-Park 1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan
3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Jason Jenkins
6. Ryan Baird 7. Will Connors 8. Caelan Doris (c)
16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. James Ryan
20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ciarán Frawley 23. Josh van der Flier
TOULOUSE
15 B Kinghorn 14 JC Mallia 13 P Costes
12 P Ahki 11 M Lebel 10 R Ntamack
9 A Dupont 1 C Baille 2 P Mauvaka
3 D Aldegheri 4 T Flament 5 E Meafou
6 J Willis 7 F Cros 8 A Roumat
16 J Marchand 17 R Neti 18 J Merkler 19 R Arnold
20 J Brennan 21 P Graou 22 S Chocobares 23 T Ramos
Investec Champions Cup Final 2023/24
Saturday, May 25, 2024
KO 2:45pm Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Live on: RTÉ2, TNT Sports & TV5MONDE
Referee: Matthew Carley (RFU)
AR1: Karl Dickson (RFU)
AR2: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
343 : Leinster v Northampton Saints preview
Our guest :
LEINSTER : 15 C Frawley 14 J Larmour 13 R Henshaw 12 J Osborne 11 J Lowe 10 R Byrne 9 J Gibson-Park
1 A Porter 2 D Sheehan 3 T Furlong 4 R Molony 5 J McCarthy 6 R Baird 7 J van der Flier 8 C Doris (c)
16 R Kelleher 17 C Healy 18 M Ala’alatoa 19 J Jenkins 20 J Conan 21 L McGrath 22 H Byrne 23 J O’Brien
NORTHAMPTON : 15 George Furbank 14 James Ramm 13 Tommy Freeman 12 Fraser Dingwall 11 George Hendy 10 Fin Smith 9 Alex Mitchell
1 Alex Waller 2 Curtis Langdon 3 Trevor Davison 4 Alex Moon 5 Alex Coles 6 Courtney Lawes (c) 7 Sam Graham 8 Juarno Augustus
16 Sam Matavesi 17 Emmanuel Iyogun 18 Elliot Millar Mills 19 Temo Mayanavanua 20 Angus Scott-Young 21 Tom James 22 Tom Litchfield 23 Tom Seabrook
Investec Champions Cup 2023/24 Semifinal
Saturday, May 4, 2024
KO 5:30pm Croke Park
Live on: RTÉ2, TNT Sports 2
Referee: Mathieu Raynal (Fra)
AR1: Pierre Brousset (Fra)
AR2: Luc Ramos (Fra)
TMO: Thomas Charabas (Fra)
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 