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On this week’s column…

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FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

…several English press outlets have used strange language to subtly chastise Leinster and Toulouse for hosting their semi-final encounters in their home cities over the weekend.

English Press Push For Huge Champions Cup Change After Leinster’s Croke Park Triumph

Eoin Harrington – Balls.ie

JLP : Not even going to go into much detail here, because whatever way you slice the actual subject matter, these stories all boil down to the same thing.  English clubs winning Champions Cup = everything is fine.  English clubs not winning = format must change.  Boo hoo.  Maybe spend more time reporting on why the financial model has failed so many clubs and what’s being done to sort it?

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Mr Hogg will return to court on 15 July for an intermediate hearing ahead of his trial on 30 July.

Ex-Scotland rugby captain Hogg ordered to stay away from wife

BBC.com

JLP : Of course I believe in the concept of innocent until proven guilty but with the above dates so relatively close and given the severity of the accusations, I don’t see why any broadcaster would consider putting him in front of a camera or any microphone until due process has full taken place.  Just baffles me to have seen him since the first reports came out.  And it’s not just TV where we see his reputation-washing, this article on Ruck.co.uk from just last Sunday would have you think he wasn’t having any legal issues at all.

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“In the past, players would start in sevens, and move to 15s, which was the much bigger focus in Ireland. In the past few years, there has not been much movement, and look at the quality they have delivered. They are sevens players, and have consistently performed in that code.”

Singapore Sevens: resurgent Ireland banishing ‘impostor syndrome’, says bullish legend Brian O’Driscoll

Paul McNamara – South China Morning Post

JLP : The South China Morning Post is far from a normal source of Front Five material for these pages but I wanted to see if the Irish sevens were getting much coverage over the past week or so and well, this was up near the top of the list, despite some respectable results from both genders, especially the men who reached the final in Singapore as you’ll see further down the page.

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‘F***ed it. Sorry. Harlequins fans were huge. Boys were incredible. Juvé.’

Joe Marler admits he ‘f***ed it’ after cheap penalty giveaway vs Toulouse

Mark Donlon – Extra.ie

JLP : If you weren’t watching the Toulouse/Harlequins match then you heard Quins had a penalty towards the end that could have given them a chance of staging another amazing fightback, only for one of their players to go and get the penalty reversed, you wouldn’t believe it.  Unless you heard it was Joe Marler of course, in which case you’d TOTALLY believe it.  To his credit though, at least he owned it.  So there’s that.

"That's stupid from Joe Marler"#TLSvHAR pic.twitter.com/eA8VTYL6eS

— Harpin' On Rugby (@HarpinOnRugby) May 5, 2024

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***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***

Ulster are poised to steam the flow of players leaving Belfast after swooping on Champions Cup semi-finalists Leinster to land Ireland back row Max Deegan on a two-year deal.

Leinster No.8 Max Deegan to switch provinces

Neil Fissler – Rugbypass.tv

JLP : Now – to be fair, much like Joe, Neil has owned up to this and I have made more than my fair share of mistakes on these very pages over the years.  Still, this is a pretty big one, and the reports we’re hearing now since it was announced that Deegan has decided to stay at Leinster that the agreement was reached ‘several months ago’.  So assuming the story was rushed to maximise exclusivity and thus to maximise clicks, Neil wins this week’s COTWA.

I deserve a kick in the bollocks. Sometimes you get things wrong. I’ve gotten one wrong

— Neil Fissler (@neilfissler) May 7, 2024

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WRAP OF A WRAP

I brought the same team back from the quarterfinal against La Rochelle and Tom & Mark did a their usual excellent job going back over the match, striking the right tone when it came to the scary finish. We used the final thoughts section for our latest YouTube clip.

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.

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QUICK TAP : WOULD YOU BE ABL???

When I switched from an article-based to podcast-based format, our first show was a chat on the whole concept of what I call “ABL” or “Anyone But Leinster” but this TikTok is basically my taking another swing at defining it and expressing its relevance to contemporary Irish rugby discourse.

@harpinonrugby

Our 80+ column posts every Wednesday afternoon at http://www.harpinonrugby.com #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

We discussed on the pod how Leinster selections would go over the coming weeks and we kind of agreed we’d like to see a combination of returning injured players given game time and keeping the team for the final fresh, with some cotton wool for the likes of Lowe & JGP but not many more.

NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

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URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

The Shield comes back into play with Connacht still mathematically in contention and Munster trying to get off the mark.

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CHURCH 111

We didn’t actually mention this on our wrap pod, but it did come up in our preview with Kino and to be fair, when he did come on Leinster fans were kind of more focused on us, you know, winning the match!  And I thought the PA guy went a little bit too far with his announcement, they should never bleed into the actual gameplay IMO.

All that said, what an amazing achievement and so fitting for him to reach the milestone at Croke Park given he’s a link back to the classic 2009 encounter.

Commitment and dedication since 2007. 💙

Having become the most capped player in Champions Cup history at the weekend, @ProperChurch knows what it means to #NeverStopCompeting. 👊 😤#FromTheGroundUp @bankofireland pic.twitter.com/QOXtIDFeul

— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 6, 2024

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CROKE PARK ISSUES

Speaking of Croke Park according to reports all was not plain sailing, and not just when it came to getting the full complement of bums on seats either.  Look – overall I’m happy enough to accept that for what is effectively a one-off event rugby-wise there were always going to be some issues, but if this one below is genuine (and I’ve no reason to believe otherwise) then never mind what the policy of the stadium is, I’m looking squarely at the EPCR, as they had control of the event.  Surely it’s in their policy for these spectators to be guaranteed an unobstructed view, and if that meant keeping some areas clear that meant the attendance would be a thousand or so less, then so be it?  Will definitely have to be sorted before more matches are played there next year.

Disabled access viewing in the Cusack Stand. No way to have to watch a game. Thought @officialgaa would have sorted this problem out by now. @AccessForAll7. @leinsterrugby pic.twitter.com/t3NRQoaybH

— Matthew McGrath (@matmcgrath02) May 5, 2024

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THAT STAR WARS INTRO

Might as well get my money’s worth from this clip and repeat it here…I decided to go all in with some Star Wars puns what with the Leinster v Northampton match being on May the 4th and all, and after the preview show was recorded I got the idea to look for a site that helped produced a video like this one, I was very confident I would easily find one, and I was right.

@harpinonrugby

May D4s be with you (in D3) – check out our #LEIvNOR preview on our YouTube channel #LeinsterRugby #InvestecChampionsCup

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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“SVNS” UPDATE

Yet another exciting weekend for the Irish sevens programme, with the men coming within a whiskey of a first leg victory yet still closing the gap with Argentina at the top of the standings, and the women fighting back from defeat in the quarterfinals to clinch fifth spot with the help of the usual plentiful amount of tries from Aimee Leigh Murphy Crowe.  Now the circuit moves to its finals stage, the points are wiped clean and the top eight playoff in Madrid at the end of May.  No reason to believe why both Irish sides can’t push for podium finishes, same goes for the Olympics.

SINGAPORE 7S

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Under the new model, HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events plus a Grand Final. The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of the seventh round in Singapore will secure their opportunity to compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS 2024 champions will be crowned.

Madrid will also play host to the high stakes relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their place on HSBC SVNS 2025.

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Toulouse v Stade Français is obviously the match of the weekend as the home side have little time to be impressed by reaching another CC final.But I’d wonder if the Bordeaux v La Rochelle tie could have more significance.  When the last 16 bracket of the Champions Cup was set many thought this could have been the final, yet now defeat could leave either with doubts as to making the 🔝🐱🐴 playoffs at all.

NO MATCH LAST WEEKEND

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

The English press might have a been in their bonnets about Irish clubs resting players for European matches but if Gloucester don’t put out mostly academy sides for their remaining two Premiership matches ahead of their Challenge Cup final date with the Sharks, then I don’t know what to say because they are totally stranded in 9th place on the table and can’t move so their only bet is to push for the automatic Champions Cup qualification that would come with the trophy, which would probably deny Leicester a spot.  For this reason I’m expecting Northampton to have an easy enough return to domestic action while the four clubs in pursuit somehow avoid each other in round 17.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

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SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Thought maybe the Crusaders were on the march in the last round then boom!  Up come the Reds to knock them back again.  Seriously wondering if they’re going to make the quarterfinals now.  Hurricanes and Blues still taking the top two slots and they meet each other in Auckland next.

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JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE

No surprises in the final round of matches and the playoffs are set for two weeks from now.

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MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

GO HOUNDS!!!!  We have adopted Chicago for this season and they really did a number on the conference-leading Free Jacks as they matched each other for tries with 3 each only for the placekicks of Hounds outhalf Adriaan Carelse to keep the visitors ahead and it narrows NEFJ’s lead down to just 3 points and things dont get any easier for them as high flying Seattle come to town next while Chicago host DC.  Houston are also doing really well and got their 8th win of the campaign at Utah.

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CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE

To be honest I would not have been surprised if both semifinals went the other way but the result is that whoever looks like finishing 8th in the URC or Premiership will be anxious watching the final as their spot in next season’s Champions Cup will be in jeopardy.  Despite all the negative talk about formats around the place, I for one like this rule.  Scraping into the last qualification spot should have some kind of jeopardy to it.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Just 31 matches left to predict so I’ll need a good round this weekend to make up for all the ground I’ve lost over the past month or so.  Might even need to take a few gambles along the way.

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

It’s Those Pesky Birds up next for Leinster, on Ross Molony’s 30th birthday no less.  I’m doing a guest appearance on Mauls, Balls and All on Wednesday evening, while their host Peter Burke is down to help with our Ospreys wrap on Sunday.  We will of course have our usual preview show on Friday plus all the other usual features around the different social media channels so please be sure to comment, like, share & subscribe whenever you can.

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

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

MONDAY, APRIL 22

* paid streaming service

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On this week’s column…

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FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

“Should be a prerequisite for international refs to at least be able to communicate, it doesn’t have to be perfect”

Referee Karl Dickson comes under fire for his behaviour at the weekend

Ruck.co.uk

JLP : Little bit of a nothing burger story to lead off with, but I do so for a number of reasons.  First, the name Karl Dickson caught my eye simply because he is reffing Leinster’s big match at the Aviva this coming weekend.  But this whole “come under fire” thing seems a complete misdirect because I don’t see why he should be judged on whether or not he speaks French.  Obviously I think it has been good for refs like Wayne Barnes to parlez some Francais and the same goes for the French refs who speak English but for any of it to be mandatory is a bit of a stretch.  Maybe with the vast majority of rugby nations being English speaking it should require the basic rugby terms to be known by all but we’re straying down the wrong road if we think it should be part of the job.  Being good at a foreign language should not be a metric for deciding whether or not you’ll be good as a referee.  Actually if this article has any relevance at all it’s in a negative way and leads me to my second Front 5 article this week…

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“The perpetrator was subsequently convicted of one count of use carriage service to menace or harass via online communication.”

Individual prosecuted following online abuse towards official

Jack Tunney – RugbyDump

JLP : That Dickson headline was written that way for one reason and one reason only….LITERAL clickbait.  It wanted readers who are inclined to disagree with refereeing decisions to give the article a hit thinking the “behaviour” of the official had something to do with a decision on the rugby pitch.  So basically you are actively seeking to trigger the types who might end up leaning towards actions like those taken by this individual.  

Obviously it is very good news that legal action has led to a conviction in this area and the hope is that the spread of this news will help deter other, but I’d argue that work needs to be done in other areas to stop the gaslighting as well.  I’ll never say that we should never disagree with officials to be clear, just that a very clear line needs to be drawn where that criticism stops and I’m not sure that has been properly done as yet.

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…a Qatar Airways partnership to fly the SA franchises for EPCR matches has caused yet more logistical issues for the Bulls…

SA Rugby hit back at Bulls’ travel complaints

SA Rugby Mag

JLP : Travel was always going to be up there with the top negatives with letting the SA teams into northern hemisphere competitions, and this Last 16-to-quarterfinal turnaround week was always going to be when it was most noticeable, not just for SA teams either seeing how many miles ROG & co have clocked up.  For me, this is just further proof that the overall European calendar needs a major overhaul, but I won’t harp on that too much this time, I suppose when it comes to this particular case I have to wonder how an airline thinks they are being seen in a positive light being associated with a rugby club when it makes them endure eight flights instead of helping them travel more comfortably.

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Menoncello…becomes the youngest winner in the award’s history, and only the second Italian winner following Andrea Masi

Menoncello voted Guinness Player of the Championship

SixNationsRugby.com

JLP : You might think I’d give a big “harrumph” that the player of the tournament didn’t go to the champions, let alone that it went to a team that finished 5th, but that would absolutely not be the case.  For Italy to have a 50% record in a tournament where they’ve collected enough wooden spoons to stir a Mediterranean Sea full of bolognese over the years is enough to show they deserve some kind of honour and this is just the way to do it, with Tomasso being just the promising young player to be the one to get it.  Interesting how the last Irish player to win was Jacob Stockdale…

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“…if you look at the reality and just look at the size of Irish players in the Irish national side compared to other national sides around the world, in the tier one nations there isn’t a bigger, heavier side than Ireland.”

Jacques Nienaber aims to bring South African knockout secrets to Leinster’s formula

Gerry Thornley – Irish Times

JLP : Finishing off with a straightforward Thorinho piece based on an interview, and any insight into the Nienaber revolution at Leinster is of course welcome.

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WRAP OF A WRAP

Wouldn’t expect anything less that top podding from Messrs Jackson & O’Muilleoir and both were true to form.  If you’ve been a long time listener to our wraps you probably noticed we have streamlined the format a LOT, taking out the Front Five (which moved to this column) and the bonus clip (which I got rid of altogether, both features were meant to try and cover non-Leinster/Ireland topics but basically that’s what this column is for).  Now we get our recordings done in under an hour and it saves me a ton of time while still giving the match that full Harpin treatment.

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe and/or leave a review if you can.

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QUICK TAP : CC+SR≠CWC

As soon as I saw this story my Quick Tap rant for the week had its topic.  There are several other metrics where I feel this proposal looks bad but if I outlined them all the “tap” would have been anything but “quick”!!!!

One sign a new elite club comp isn't viable is when you have to cancel an existing elite club comp in a given year to make it happen.#ClubWorldCup pic.twitter.com/IpQ88vyV2A

— Harpin' On Rugby (@HarpinOnRugby) April 8, 2024

@harpinonrugby

Our latest Quick Tap video is part of our 80+ column which posts on Wed aft at harpinonrugby.com #rugbytiktok #irishtiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

I don’t see Ringrose returning and I reckon we should probably presume Healy is also out the way he limped off last Saturday.  The way Jamie Osborne & Michael Milne have been playing of late I’m not too concerned about either tbh.  What does interest me is what we will do in the pack.  Many are saying Will Connors should start again as he did back in the pool match in December, but I’m wondering if instead we’ll add his tree-felling tackles to the final half an hour where they have shown many times they can really gather momentum.  I’m pretty sure a 6/2 split is on the cards whichever way we go.

NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

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WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS 

Big, big match for Ireland this weekend.  It is essentially a wooden spoon playoff and we need to make every scrap of our home advantage count.  Obviously the re-addition of Cliodhna Moloney to the squad (finally!) will be a huge boost but if they feel they need her and indeed the 7s players why didn’t they add them sooner?  To my admittedly untrained eye I thought against Italy our biggest problem was that we lacked cohesion and adding new players could make that even more difficult, but we should still all get behind the girls on Saturday, although the direct clash of their second half with Leinster men’s first won’t make it easy.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

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THAT ROG ARTICLE

I couldn’t let this go…look, I know these comments were made many years ago and that may be important context but still it’s the first time I have heard them and I’m not so sure time does a whole lot to heal them.  Was it OK to say those things in 2016?   Maybe there was mischief in digging them up to start the week that was in it but I’m certainly not going to have a lot of sympathy with him over it.  I’ve put a lot of words into the public domain myself over the years and if something comes back to haunt me now I’d have to own them.

But that’s enough on the matter as far as I’m concerned.  

https://t.co/CbEbrMMoZ5 pic.twitter.com/PhG95A8uS7

— Harpin' On Rugby (@HarpinOnRugby) April 8, 2024

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LA ROCHELLE FAN CLUB (IRISH BRANCH)

Lot of chatter about the way some Irish fans will be supporting La Rochelle this Saturday.  I really don’t want to add to it on these pages, but it’s worth mentioning.  Personally, I’m fine with it.  I mean, actually wearing the jersey or merch to the matches might be a bit, er, OTT, but hey, you do you.  There’s a reason many choose to hate on Leinster, and that’s repeated success.  So instead of focusing on the hating, instead I focus on the reason, which for me, is a good thing.  Moving on…

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KINO CRUNCHES THE NUMBERS

When he’s not guesting on the pod, Cian ‘RugbyKino’ O’Muilloeir has been known to pore over some relevant rugby stats and he has done some interesting work here on the remaining Champions Cup teams and how they have performed in relation to the bookies’ point spreads…

Inspired by @SimonGleave's previous work on handicap under/overperformance, I've had a look at the Champions Cup quarter-finalists through the 5 rounds so far.

What jumped out at me was that Bulls are the top handicap overperformers, and Leinster the worst.

What gives? (1/11) pic.twitter.com/vTKm3dECui

— Proper Rugby Kino (@RugbyKino) April 10, 2024

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“SVNS” UPDATE

Both genders made it out of the pool phase but only the men went on to get some decent standings points thanks to an amazing Terry Kennedy hat-trick against the USA in the quarterfinals…it went to sudden death extra time and when a scrum in a brilliant position for us went a bit awry I thought we were in trouble until TK kicked it ahead and sprinted past pretty much everyone to get to it.  As I watched, even though the rest of the house was in bed on a Saturday morning, from the moment he kicked it I whispered “no way” and then I kept saying it over and over until by the time he dotted down I was screaming it!!!  Unfortunately the French were too good for us in the semis (despite being sans AD) but we recovered well to win the bronze medal to keep us in a solid second spot on the table.  And to be fair to the women’s team, they have also secured a spot in the final tournament and don’t forget of the two Irish teams they are the only ones with a leg victory so overall it has been an excellent season for the sevens programme so far.

One final note – as you can see in the graphic below, the official SVNS site didn’t seem to be able to find a picture of Michael Hooper, you’d think there might be one or two rattling around the aul internet wouldn’t you…

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HONG KONG SEVENS

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AIL UPDATE 

STOP THE PRESSES!  UL BOHS LOST A MATCH!!! Railway got the better of them in Round 17, and the top four all lock horns again in the final round of matches this weekend, I’m assuming that was smart scheduling from the organisers to help them get into the knockout frame of mind.  Still a shame this is all going on during the Six Nations, however.

Meanwhile in the men’s Div1A the final four was actually set with everyone at the top winning in the final series to leave to very interesting semifinals in Terenure v Lansdowne and Cork Con v Clontarf, they will take place the weekend after next.  

Meanwhile down in 1B I always get confused with the promotion format, turns out it is actually four teams that get to fight for the right to join St Mary’s in the top flight, with 9th place Shannon from 1A among the contestants.

#SupportYourLocalClub

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SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Four massive home wins didn’t exactly make for an exciting round 7, but Tahs v Saders could catch the eye next weekend.

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MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Great win for Chicago in New Orleans which make them look like serious playoff contenders.  Houston remain the only unbeaten team and the visit of East-leading New England looks like the tie of the next round.

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CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE

I firmly believed both Ulster and Connacht could win their away ties in the round of 16 but to repeat that this weekend won’t be easy.  Two matches in South Africa and two in France is quite a way to start your tenure as Ulster coach but we know Richie Murphy is up to the task and I certainly wouldn’t rule them out of contention at the Marcel Michelin.  Meanwhile if the boys from the west can repeat their second half form from last weekend, while Benetton will be hot favourites, you just never know.

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

La Rochelle are obviously our focus this week, don’t forget our slot after the 5 o’clock news on Dublin South 93.9 radio this Friday, we’ll also post our own preview that afternoon with a wrap pod to come on Sunday.

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

'Multiple TV markets to keep happy' notwithstanding, I have to believe there was a way to avoid Munster & Ulster's matches clashing on Sunday, just saying.

— Harpin' On Rugby (@HarpinOnRugby) April 4, 2024

NOTE : BT SPORTS IS NOW KNOWN AS TNT SPORTS

THURSDAY, APRIL 4

4:25PM – IRELAND V SCOTLAND – U18 MEN’S SIX NATIONS – IRISH RUGBY YOUTUBE

FRIDAY, APRIL 5

SATURDAY, APRIL 6

SUNDAY, APRIL 7

MONDAY, APRIL 8

* paid streaming service

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FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

Béibhinn Parsons, Eve Higgins and Aoibheann Reilly were among those who were part of Ireland’s historic title win, beating Australia in the final. Ireland name Sevens tournament winners in 34-strong squad BBC.com JLP : I’m delighted to see this.  Fifteens must take precedent, Olymic year or no, especially after a wooden spoon the previous campaign. Expecting more from this one.

The Swiss army knife within the Ireland and Leinster squads, Ciarán Frawley can play a handful of positions… The contenders to replace Hugo Keenan at full-back for Ireland Brendan McGilligan – Rugby World JLP : The number one point of this article is that Hugo Keenan has made himself irreplaceable.  But of course with test rugby being so attritional, you have to have a plan B when he’s not available and IMO even though I’m hearing reports that he could actually be available this weekend against Wales, I’m wondering if it might be better to rest him anyway to be sure he’s ok for Twickenham and also to try out alternatives.  This piece makes a decent case for Frawley, Larmour & Stockdale but I reckon there are those like Mike Haley who will feel hard done by.  To be fair, it does make sense to have the alternate a more versatile player across different positions, but if Hugo were ever out long term I reckon a more specialist option might be better.

During the draw, the 24 participating teams will be divided into six pools, each consisting of four teams. 2027 Rugby World Cup draw gives Wales pool of death Ruck.co.uk JLP : Missed this earlier…it looks like after decades of complaints they are finally tweaking both the RWC format and the timing of the draw, I’m not sure that two years out is much of an improvement on three, but I suppose it is something.  The seedings for a tournament to be held in late 2027 being determined by the world rankings two years earlier can still lead to a lop sided draw from where I’m standing, but we’ll see how it pans out.

“I’m focused on getting into the Reds team, and playing some good rugby.  I won’t be looking too far ahead.” Castle Avenue to Queensland – Meet the Irishman ready to take on Super Rugby Neil Treacy – RTÉ.ie JLP :  This article backs up Conor’s portion of the bonus clip which you’ll see below.

…spread the word and add to the #IrelandWeek initiative, ahead of the big Six Nations clash at the Aviva next Saturday. Irish & Welsh Rugby Fans Take On The Alt-Right On Twitter Colman Stanley – Balls.ie JLP : Brilliant idea from Welsh fan Ed Jenkins, has to be said.  I can’t say I’m a fan of his overall twitter approach but that goes straight to the backburner for this, whatever our differences on rugby and social media, we can easily put them aside when it matters.  I mean…stopping a hateful hashtag from trending may be a very small form of protest but the medium is not the point, that would be the spirit.

Note – views expressed in “Front Five” links do not necessarily reflect those of HarpinOnRugby

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WRAP OF A WRAP

I actually did the preview all on my lonesome this week for the first time since I did them in written form, made the experience very different but it was still fun putting it together.  Then Conor & Rich joined me for the wrap on Sunday evening and it was as ever an enjoyable task, obviously helped by the Leinster BP win!

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe and/or leave a review if you can.

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HARPIN’ ON…SUPER RUGBY, THE ORIGIN ROUND & FIXTURE CLASHES

Mixed bag of topics for the bonus clip, I reckon this format is better with three different topics rather than one because often we can repeat each other’s points.  The transcript for my bit is below.

“CLASH OF THE CLASHES”

As you probably know Ireland’s third match of the 2024 Guinness Six Nations takes place at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, February 25 when our opponents are Wales, and across the Irish Sea the days leading up to the match is known as “#IrelandWeek”.  Before I get to my topic I’d just like to encourage you to get on Twitter and use the hashtag it’s a great idea by Wales and Ivory Coast fan Edward Jenkins – the idea is that the more we use this tag the less chance other less desirable ones beginning with Ireland can be trending.

Anyway…as part of Ireland Week I plan to interview Seimon Williams, also a Welsh fan and as well as writing for the website gwladrugby he has written a book titled “Welsh Rugby – What Went Wrong” which having read it does exactly what it says on the tin.  While there are many different factors going into our Celtic brothers numerous rugby issues, one of the biggest ones is the relationship between the over 200 different clubs across the principality, and the Union when the game went pro, especially when the regions were established.

The reason I bring that up is not just to promote our bonus podcast which should post on Wednesday morning, but also to highlight my point for this rant, which is that although the transition from the amateur game definitely went a whole lot smoother on these shores, that’s not to say we’re without some, well, what would I call them, maybe tensions? between the clubs and provinces.

And in my humble opinion, we got a perfect example of these tensions just last weekend in Dublin 4.  Obviously if you’re watching this video you know perfectly well that there was a top of the table clash at the RDS on Saturday between Leinster in 1st place in the URC and Benetton who were 2nd, we actually did a whole podcast on it.  But as Hollie Davidson got the match underway, just up the road at the Aviva Stadium back pitch, there was also a senior rugby match with important playoff connotations.  

This was in Round 14 of the 18-round regular season in the Men’s All Ireland League Division 1A with 3rd place Lansdowne hosting 4th place and reigning champions Terenure.  As well as being a crucial fixture in the league it was also of course a Dublin derby.   And as if that wasn’t already enough to sell this match, there were also a lot of names Leinster fans will recognise from the fringes of the Leinster set up past and present like Temi Lasisi, Adam LaGrue, Harrison Brewer and Jordan Coughlan.  You could say a match like this if nothing else does a decent job of replacing the British and Irish Cup matches many Leinster fans enjoyed going to during the 2010s.

So simply put, if you’re a serious fan of going out and watching Leinster Rugby, this AIL fixture would definitely be of interest to you.  So why did it kick off a mere half an hour before things got underway just a stone’s throw up the road?

Already I can hear the voices screaming at their screens.  “The AIL always kicks off at 2:30!!!” or “The URC has to set its matches according to broadcasters” or “Why should one side move when it’s clearly the other that’s the problem???” But I’m not here to point fingers, because in my view, the finger pointing is a large part of the problem.  Wherever the blame lies, the net result is the same, and Saturday certainly isn’t the only time we’ve seen multiple matches which would interest the same group of fans take place at the same time.

All I am saying is that someone has to give at some point, and at a time when clubs are trying everything to get bums on seats at their games and buying pints and lunches in their clubhouses, while those innovative social media team naming tweets are definitely entertaining and share-worthy, for me a lot of that is lost when over 15,000 potential bums are within reach, so to speak.  

Obviously I’m not suggesting that a kickoff time of, say, 12:30pm together with maybe a a discount for producing your RDS match ticket would definitely get them all across, but it certainly would have been a cracking double header for many fans and surely it would have been worth some kind of outside the box thinking.

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WOMEN’S RUGBY : CANCELLED CULTURE

Happy to eat my words…a few weeks ago I said in this column that maybe the cancellations in the Women’s All Ireland Cup weren’t as bad a look as some were making out, but at the time I was unaware that there was to be a clash between the playoff rounds of the Celtic Challenge and the Women’s AIL itself, which is literally a whole different ball game for me, hence this week’s TikTok offering.

@harpinonrugby

This is part of our latest 80+ column which posts Tuesday afternoons at HarpinOnRugby.com #IrelandWeek

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇 https://t.co/aKrjt2uXfH

— IrishWomensRugbySupportersClub (@IrishWomens) February 16, 2024

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

The only update is that there’s no update…I thought we might see one what with Leinster playing Saracens on the Friday night but we’ll see if one pans out before then, if so I will post it here along with my suggested matchday squad.

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THAT BENETTON IMAGE

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Look – I appreciate the spirit behind this image.  We want to see the URC promoted as much as possible, especially in Italy where the 1st v 2nd nature of Saturday’s match made it important for Benetton to do all they could to hype the fixture.

But this is just not the way to do it.  Do other countries still use the leprechaun trope for Irish people?  I guess so.  And does the presence of a “Leprechaun Museum” in the centre of Dublin help banish the nasty stereotype?  Perhaps not.  Still, I know it’s Benetton’s logo but what exactly is so Italian about a lion????  So maybe it would have been better to ignore the national identity and maybe utilise the fact that Leinster use a lion theme too?  Maybe have two facing each other down?

Anyway here at Harpin’ Manor we workshopped a possible image using the reverse of the thinking used for the one above…

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WELSH RUGBY – WHAT WENT WRONG?

I just finished reading Seimon Williams’ book, which is just as well because about seven hours after I’m typing this I will be chatting to the author himself about it!  It would be a bit much to say I “enjoyed” reading it, given it is an account of a series of communication failures between different levels of the game over decades, but it is definitely put together extremely well and is a worthwhile read.  The podcast will also count as part of our “Opposition View” as it would be rude not to talk about the match at the weekend.

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URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

No more matches until May I know but I haven’t posted the state of play for a while so here it is.

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“SVNS” UPDATE

The weekend festivals return this weekend with both Irish teams hoping to build on successful outings in Perth.  The Vancouver event lasts just two days instead of three which means three matches per day instead of two, I’d say that makes quite a difference when it comes to preparation.

Also while the matches have been all streamed live on RugbyPass TV up to now, I see TNT Sport has the rights for this one so we’ll see if the stream will still be there, I’ll try to find out for our Thursday Rugby on TV post.

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VANCOUVER 7S

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Eye-popping result of the round has to be Montpellier overturning Racing in Paris, certainly doesn’t do their relegation struggle any harm but definitely a worry for Stu Lancaster’ side, they will need a big result in the derby match next weekend.  Stade and Toulouse now opening up a bit of a gap at the top.  Meanwhile there’s yet another defeat for La Rochelle although they’re still within just two points for the playoff spots so I wouldn’t dream of ruling them out of contention just yet.   

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

This comp is on a prolonged break until the end of March but I thought I’d update it here anyway since Leinster face Sarries on Friday evening in a friendly, no doubt to help them make up for the loss of fixtures after some clubs unfortunately went to the wall.

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

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AIL UPDATE 

The Wolfhounds could have clinched the Celtic Challenge title with a win in Edinburgh but just fell short in what sounds like a thrilling 26-all draw which means their final match on Saturday against the Clovers is more than just a Six Nations trial match.

Question…are draws in women’s rugby like “kissing your brother”???

Anyway – as for the WAIL, well I said quite a bit in the TikTok already but with UL Bohs being awarded the 5 points they stay top with an unbeaten record and the rest of the top four stays the same as well.

Over in the men’s side and the top two both won although Tarf just got past Armagh, and in the big Dublin derby (check out my YouTube bit above on the timing btw) Terenure edged Lansdowne to keep the top four placings tight.  The league takes a break next weekend.

Finally congrats to St Mary’s 13 wins from 14, already clinched promotion which means Div 1A rugby will be back within my reach next season!

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S CELTIC CHALLENGE

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WOMEN’S AIL

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MEN’S AIL

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RUGBY EUROPE CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

Please, please, PLEASE spare a thought for Belgium.  After an historic win over Portugal in Round 1, not only are they overtaken in the standing by Os Lobos, they don’t even qualify for the semifinals despite winning 2 out of 3!!!!!  Absolutely cruel.

A big win in Romania sets up an Iberian derby for Portugal in the final four while the Oaks must go to Georgia.  It’s looking to all intents and purposes like a GEOvPOR final but we’ll see.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Added another “yellow cap” to my collection in Round 10 to pull away a bit, although Those Pesky Birds the Ospreys denied me a perfect round with that late drop goal against Ulster.  Although the only prize in our league is of the ‘booby’ variety, we can only really focus on the race at the top since last place is pretty much done and dusted courtesy of Neil ‘No Picks’ Keegan…

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Keep an eye out for that bonus pod on Wednesday morning then it is of course all about the Welsh at the weekend, preview as ever will be Friday, wrap pod as ever will record Sunday evening, stay tune as ever to all our social media channels!

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

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NOTE : BT SPORTS IS NOW KNOWN AS TNT SPORTS

STREAMING

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 9

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 11

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12

8PM – AGAINST THE HEAD – RTÉ TWO

* paid streaming service

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NOTE : BT SPORTS IS NOW KNOWN AS TNT SPORTS

STREAMING

SIX NATIONS FULL CONTACT – NETFLIX

FRIDAY, JANUARY 26

SATURDAY, JANUARY 27

SUNDAY, JANUARY 28

MONDAY, JANUARY 29

2:45PM – ST MICHAEL’S V ST VINCENT’S – LEINSTER SCHOOL SENIOR CUP – PREMIER SPORTS 1

* paid streaming service

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PRESS RELEASE

Leinster TV to stream a further five Round 1 games from Energia Park

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