3 December 2022; Garry Ringrose of Leinster dives over to score his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Ulster at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Chris McDonnell Its days like this that make being a leinster supporter worthwhile. Magnificent 1 to 23
Liz Power A warning to all teams. Do not lead Leinster by 22-3 in the first half. It’s a dangerous score as the 2011 finalists Northampton will attest!!
Bert McLoughlin Just home after the game, hoarse and sore hands from 👏. What a comeback
Sean Michaels Still trying to get my breath back after that. Literally a game of two halves. Substitutions made a great difference. Porter, Ringrose, Baird were immense. Whatever was said at half time obviously did the trick. Thought Lowe had a good game after such a long spell injured, has obviously taken the time to work on the areas of his game that were seen as a weakness, he looked hungry and aggressive and deserved his try
Gavin Hegarty And that, dear Ulster, is rugby.
I know Healy’s red is a red by law but to me a red is for malice or two yellows. Ref actually adjudicated the mitigating bits for their yellow very well.
I would have given motm to jgp, speed!!!!
Paul Smith Wow, just wow. That’s all I can say right now
TWITTER
A total tale of 2 halves here. Some of the worst I've seen us play, then to show that level of grit. Incredible.
After that start it’s a very satisfying result, lads showed great character second half. Have to be happy BP win with 14 men for most of the game 💪🏼 #LEIvULS
RichardMifsud If that isn’t a game for the ages I don’t know what is. What a second half from #leinster absolutely blew Ulster away after a dismal first half performance (credit Ulster). Most pleasing was the relentless pursuit of the win. Ringer is some player isn’t he. Ports worthy POTM but Ryan Baird was veeery close Anyway what a game #LEIvULS Great prep for the Heino
Orange Juice brilliant game by Leinster and Gary Ringrose was on fire today and fair play to Ulster for not making it easy for us
Koochulainn Leinster are so innovative they have reinvented the game of two halves
rosscarrick Unreal game from Leinster. Two scores down and only 14 for most the game! Phenomenal comeback win
@KJoanne My beloved Leinster. What a game! Delighted with that win after that first half. Commiserations to Ulster, thanks for a great contest.
Similarly to the Ireland A game a few guys did themselves no real favours in the long run. You have to worry for Carbury as he now probably has played enough to show hes not the guy to back up Sexton.
Ted Maher
If you haven’t watched it live, well then don’t 😂😂
A 35-17 win what was pretty uninspiring for long periods.
Job done, don't get me wrong.
But I expected more of a clinical performance today from what is usually a very clinical team.
A brilliant win well done you our boys in green.Roll on next week NZ❤️☘️💚👍👏💪🇮🇪
Dave Murray
Emmmmm…..roll on next week.
Odd game. Dynamic forwards but wasteful backs for Ireland, especially in the Fijian 22, yet won it at a canter after a kick up the arse at the start of the game. A win is a win is a win but the only memorable thing from this one will be the video session on Monday 😬 #IREvFIJI
Conor Cronin Lots of talking points on that game, unfortunate for refereeing to be one.
Leinster inaccuracy was difficult to watch, good to see munster putting it up to us, though of course they “had nothing to lose” 🙄 It shows that with the right team selection they could really pose us a problem. Fingers crossed they continue to not select the right team.
Leinster allowed munster to set a tempo, to dictate the pace of play. I want to see much more accuracy from leinster, and for them to punish teams in the 22.
Andrew Bailey Why not neutral refs. Ireland is too small a country – no matter how hard a ref tries he has affiliation somewhere. And it works both ways – can sway in favour of one team in an effort to stay neutral. Not fair on ref or teams. Wales Scotland Italy and SA – but the big Irish games get Irish ref
Andrew Potts Leinster huffed and puffed but did not blow the house down.
Munster showed a bit of Leicester DNA pragmatism, always sort of falling on the wrong side, always sort of slowing things down.
Leinster were good except for scoring.
So many little things just upsetting a happy try. Poor return for Leinster, two fortunate yellows for Munster that could have been red. Seen both of those red recently. That question? Was force applied, was it high, any mitigation? Plus Stander was red carded against SA for the second type of offence.
Frawley is a unique player, appearing to play a number of positions very well.
He looks like an exception that proves the rule.
Luke good for MOM.
Finally, Joey in Munster is the waste of a perfectly good 10.
Chris McDonnell Andrew Potts stander ended a players career with that challenge. I thought penny was excellent. Held up over the line twice in the first half and we butchered a few line breaks, lowe, dave K or lowe would have had a try or two.
Gavin Hegarty I need to rewatch it as from the south lower it looked like brace was terrible. His advantages were only for Munster and never for Leinster.
Kleyns yellow was a red all day, jumped after the kick was made and angled his body to hit side on with an elbow to Osbourne’s head. Citing has to come.
Odd to say but we’re now 6/6 but still have been disappointing.
We dominated the first 30 but still couldn’t put the points on the board, some very unleinsterlike play and decision making. Our lineout needs huge work.
Henshaw and ringrose were outstanding throughout, Porter was great when he came on. Frawley looked comfortable @15.
We’ll need to be better soon.
I think we let a bad Munster team play, their backline had no purpose and just shipped the ball on, no lines or moves. We (and brace) made them look good.
Enjoyable match. Great result and good response to going down in the second half. Both teams already have huge injury lists and that game definitely didn't help. Frawley to 2nd choice for Ireland. Crowley should start for Munster and is very much in play to be capped soon.
Good win for Leinster but it's covering issues underneath. Scrum is very poor. Lineout is iffy. Munster were depleted before and during the game, two yellow cards and two looseheads scrumming for long periods and Leinster struggled to go through or round Munster.
Didn't take the easy route to the BP but we def deserved it IMO. Solid defending and absolute dominance in maul both with and without ball were key. Always had an extra gear, might have gone to it sooner but happy out all the same.#LEIvMUN#URC
[Note – Sharks v Ulster postponement was being announced as we were recording]
LEINSTER : 15 Ciarán Frawley 14 Jimmy O’Brien 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Jamie Osborne 10 Johnny Sexton > C 9 Luke McGrath
1 Cian Healy 2 Dan Sheehan 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Jason Jenkins 5 James Ryan 6 Max Deegan 7 Scott Penny 8 Caelan Doris
16 J McKee 17 A Porter 18 M Ala’alatoa 19 R Molony 20 J Conan 21 N McCarthy 22 R Byrne 23 R Russell.
Munster : 15 Jack Crowley; 14 Shane Daly, 13 Dan Goggin, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Liam Coombes; 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Conor Murray
1 Jeremy Loughman, 2 Diarmuid Barron, 3 Keynan Knox; 4 Jean Kleyn, 5 Tom Ahern; 6 Jack O’Donoghue (C), 7 John Hodnett, 8 Gavin Coombes.
16 Scott Buckley, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 James French, 19 Jack O’Sullivan, 20 Ruadhan Quinn, 21 Paddy Patterson, 22 Ben Healy, 23 Patrick Campbell.
United Rugby Championship 22/23 Round 6
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Aviva Stadium
Kickoff 7:35pm
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
AR 1: Peter Martin (IRFU)
AR 2: Oisin Quinn (IRFU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
Live on: RTÉ2, Premier Sports1, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv
Our guest
NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN
https://twitter.com/keegolaughs_irlhttp://www.keegolaughs.com
Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts
Where to find Harpin’ On Rugby
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LEINSTER v Munster : 15 Ciarán Frawley 14 Jimmy O’Brien 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Jamie Osborne 10 Johnny Sexton > C 9 Luke McGrath
1 Cian Healy 2 Dan Sheehan 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Jason Jenkins 5 James Ryan 6 Max Deegan 7 Scott Penny 8 Caelan Doris
16 J McKee 17 A Porter 18 M Ala’alatoa 19 R Molony 20 J Conan 21 N McCarthy 22 R Byrne 23 R Russell.
We didn’t get footage of Racing this week for a TikTok but you can see the highlights of their laboured home victory over bottom side Pau in the YouTube clip above.
It leaves them 7th in the 🔝 🙀 🐴 after 6 rounds so on the verge of the playoff places yes, but also anxiously looking over their shoulders at those behind them.
Leinster face them in our Heineken Champions Cup opener in Le Havre on Saturday December 10.
Meanwhile Gloucester, who are due at the RDS on Friday December 16, had a West Country derby last weekend, we gave that the full Eurowatch treatment see below.
Welcome to my 80+ column, a new weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
ICYMI click here for our main pod this week where Tom, Rich & I harp on Leinster v Sharks.
This was my 8th Sunday recording since switching to this new format and I really think I’m close to getting things just how I want it. There’s a lot to sort out with planning, equipment and what not so it might be closer to Christmas when I have the whole process fine-tuned but the progress has been steady and of course the help of all my guest contributors is very much appreciated.
FINAL #LEIvSHA THOUGHTS
On the subject of guests on the pod, it’s natural that we’re not always going to agree on things and because we had so many tries to work through from Saturday evening’s match, rather than prolong the discussion I decided to put my thoughts that differed from the panel’s here instead.
For the first one I want to be very, very careful how I word it because in this age of sporting social media opinion, if you say one little negative thing about a player it’s assumed you’re totally against them, so hopefully my readers know me well enough to realise I’m not like that at all.
On the pod the lads gave the Sharks a lot of credit for the success their backs had against us on Saturday and it’s true they scored some amazing tries. But I still have these niggling doubts, which go all the way back to the preseason match against Quins, about Charlie Ngatai’s positioning on strike plays.
TO BE CLEAR – in other areas he has done extremely well, getting better every week with his trademark crash ball among other things with the ball, and even without it we had that superb last ditch challenge on Aaron Sexton in Belfast.
But when the team was named for Saturday, I raised an eyebrow wondering if we might be vulnerable and happy and all as I was with the win, it still remains raised, although I must add that I am very confident that it is something he can put right with game time, with this being the perfect part of the season for him to do it.
Next, there was the challenge on Ryan Baird, where my view also differing from the lads’. Obviously, I hope he is back quickly but I’m afraid having seen it a few times I actually do think it was a rugby collision. Abrahams may not have left the ground but IMO he doesn’t have to if his eyes are on the ball, which they were. Despite Chamberlain’s brilliant catch I really don’t think he was in a good position to be going for the ball at all – and I don’t mean in a legality sense, more of a coaching one – as his teammate had a much better angle. All of which meant the three players came together awkwardly and Baird unfortunately came off worst.
But like I say, this “offering opinions” lark would be pretty boring if we all felt the same way about everything, so I’ll leave my thoughts there and let you decide where you stand.
One thing I absolutely did agree with the boys on was their appreciation of Sexton’s standing up for his team, I even did a TikTok featuring their views check it out here.
EMERGING IRELAND
Like everyone else I had my doubts about this tour when I first heard about it, mostly because provinces would be denied a lot of the players they rely on at this stage of the season. Obviously, the ability to use our “marquee” names went a long way towards calming those concerns, and as a Leinster & Ireland fan, I certainly can’t complain about the results for either side in that time!
The progression of matches fell absolutely perfectly for this patchwork squad, from Griquas to Pumas to Cheetahs we had a steady increase in opposition difficulty each time, yet over the 80 minutes the lads were always able to rise to the occasion.
Player-wise there were many standouts, with possibly Jack Crowley the most impressive, and given all that is happening with his own province, he has certainly given them something to think about.
For Leinster’s part there were a lot of players we already knew could perform like Scott Penny, Max Deegan and Jamie Osborne, but for others like Joe McCarthy and James Culhane it was an invaluable experience which can only help them improve even more.
As I say on the pod the only downside to the tour was the fact that Ciaran Frawley didn’t get any game time, hopefully he will be back soon.
Finally kudos to the IRFU for donating their prize money to a local orphanage in Bloemfontein.
THOMPSON DOCUMENTARY
During the week there was a documentary on the BBC about one of England’s heroes from RWC2003, Steve Thompson, who is struggling with dementia after (have to say “allegedly” here because of an ongoing legal dispute but I make no secret of where my opinion lies) suffering from multiple concussions playing rugby over the course of his career.
Basically the programme suggests that in the transition to the professional game in the 90’s and early 00’s, the organisation of training routines was like the “wild west” and players were not only risking collisions in matches but also during the week as rugby was now their full time job, with little or no heed paid to the need for recovery time.
While I have no qualifications to offer any opinion on medical grounds or indeed the perspective of a professional rugby player, I do have concerns over the general debate being had among media and fans alike, and I know Twitter isn’t exactly an ideal source at the best of times but it still goes a long way to influence the actual top level discussions when they do happen.
My concerns are about where on the spectrum of opinion the debate is taking place. It is often a misconception that the “sensible” way to find the right answer is to look for the mid point between the two extremes, but at the risk of straying too far down the political path, we’ve learned from things like Trump, Brexit & Anti-vax that some extremes can be stretched in a way that moves that centre point, so you have to be willing to lean in one direction if the other is looking a bit, shall we say, “less than relevant”.
And when it comes to the debate over safety in rugby, the way I see it the two extremes look like this – at one end you have parents who may not know much about rugby themselves but their kids want to play so when they see things like the Thompson documentary and hear about other life- and quality-of-life-threatening injuries, their instinct is to say “No way – play something like tennis instead”.
Then at the other extreme we have rugby fans/supporters who have an aversion to matches lasting longer than they should. I’m hardly wild about unnecessary time wasting myself, but it’s definitely not a hill I would die on, especially when you consider how other sports, particularly in the USA, go much, much longer. It is usually the same Twitter accounts I see pushing back against what they perceive as over-precautious safety measures for fear of them supposedly “killing the game”.
So, if these are the extremes, does the answer have to be right smack in the middle? Between parents with genuine concerns and impatient fans? I think not. For me, the real work to find proper solutions is being done by people like Peter Robinson and also the organisation “Progressive Rugby”, of which Thompson is now a member by the way, and they also recently added Carl Hayman to their ranks.
I’m not typing this because I 100% believe everything those people and organisations say, I’m typing it because I believe they are the ones we should be listening to as we make up our own minds, and also because it makes sense that they focus their efforts more towards parents who are worried for their children’s safety and less towards those (like myself) looking on from the stands or their armchairs who have to wait a minute or so longer while TMOs look at replays.
The likes of Robinson, Thompson & co are generally people who have had their lives directly and adversely affected by rugby, yet still want to be involved, still want to engage, still want the sport to thrive but just in as safe a manner as possible. That is where the discussion should be in my view. The only thing that could really “kill the game” would be a failure to listen to what they have to say.
WORLD CUP 2021
The World Cup is here, the kickoff times are generally super awkward, but hopefully the tournament gets the attention the women’s game both needs and thoroughly deserved. Obviously from an Irish fan’s standpoint it’s hard to avoid wondering what might have been, but at least we know things appear to be heading in the right direction here and we’ll do our best here at Harpin Manor to help give Leinster & Ireland in particular all the exposure we can over the coming season.
FROM WORCESTER TO WORSE
Just to add to all the expressions of disappointment over that which has befallen the Worcester Warriors as an organisation, their staff, their fans and the local community in recent weeks, and which may yet also happen to Wasps and possibly one or two other Premiership clubs in the near future.
But one thing really eats at me…why are we in this situation NOW, after the season has already kicked off? Throw all the complicated business and legal mumbo jumbo at me you want, but professional rugby is a seasonal sport and has been for years, so I find it hard to believe that there doesn’t exist some date on the calendar by which a club has to prove they are financially viable to fulfil their fixtures for the following campaign, preferably BEFORE fans are asked to shell out for season tickets. Should be a formality for the vast majority of clubs, but as recent events (and some not-so-recent tbf) show something like this is needed.
Sounds like PRL didn’t only drop the ball, they actually never really had it properly in the first place.
I suppose it’s partly because of what I said in my earlier rant about Steve Thompson – IMO as fans the “why are we waiting?” card only gets us so far, and maybe a water break isn’t so bad when you consider another direction they might go; actually breaking matches up into four quarters with full stoppages after each.
However…one concern I would have about water breaks is that I hope it isn’t being brought in to prepare us for more top level rugby to be played in the likes of Qatar and Dubai…which brings me neatly to my next harpin’ point…
WORLD CORRUPT PODCAST
Forgive me for harpin’ on the round ball game for a bit, but IMO this affects all sports, and anyone watching the URC will know referees are now sporting “Qatar Airways” on their jerseys so we definitely need to be paying attention.
There’s a podcast I often listen to called “Pod Save The World” which interestS me because I am originally from the USA and this offers an American take on political matters all around the globe. They have teamed up with a football pod called “Men In Blazers” to produce a series called “World Corrupt” which looks at the 2022 Football World Cup in particular but also the concept of “sportwashing” in general and is very much worth a listen.
Not only is it important for us to know what went into the staging of the tournament in Qatar when it kicks off, but we also need to be wary of rugby’s powers that be chasing the same kind of questionable investment, or should I say more of it.
LEINSTER INJURY REPORT
Great to see Doris back, he will likely get some game time in Galway this Friday. That’s a lot of players to be going into the RTP protocols after just one match but needs must and they should be back soon.
Really wish that “No further updates” section was a whole lot lighter though…
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Caelan Doris: has come through the Graduated Return to Play Protocols and will be available for selection this weekend
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Dave Kearney: picked up an adductor injury against Ulster Rugby but is expected to return to team training this week. Will continue to be assessed this week before a final decision is made on his availability
Jack Conan: was a late withdrawal from the Leinster Rugby match day 23 with a back injury suffered in the warm-up against Cell C Sharks. Will be further assessed this week
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Rhys Ruddock: was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment against Cell C Sharks and has now entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols
Luke McGrath: was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment against Cell C Sharks and has now entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols
Ryan Baird: was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment against Cell C Sharks and has now entered the Graduated Return to Play Protocols
Jordan Larmour: was withdrawn with a foot injury in the first half against Cell C Sharks and will be unavailable this week as further tests are carried out NO FURTHER UPDATES:
Rónan Kelleher (hamstring), Ciarán Frawley (shoulder), Hugo Keenan (abdominal & knee injury), James Lowe (calf), James Tracy (neck), Charlie Ryan (knee), Tommy O’Brien (knee)
AIL UPDATE
We briefly harped on the AIL in the pod but I also plan to offer updates in this column every week so here it is. After two rounds Nure, Trinity, Hinch & Tarf are all 100% with the last two going head to head at Ballymacarn Park at 2:30pm next Saturday, promises to be a cracker.
It was a shame Harry Byrne had to withdraw from the lineup playing for Clontarf last weekend, hope to see him back playing soon. A scan of the teamsheets from the five top flight matches shows a host of players on the fringes of the Leinster set up like Ben Brownlee and Chris Cosgrove all getting much needed game time and at a decent standard as well.
PREDICTION LEAGUE
source – Superbru
I still lead the Harpin League and I actually got my first yellow cap of the season this week…but do you think I’m happy? Hell no. I’m actually raging because I originally entered Glasgow to beat the Bulls before going back and reversing it.
But you can be sure there’s no complacency from me despite my lofty position, far from it…there’s a pack of challengers hunting me down and I’ll have to stay on my toes to keep them from catching me.
Meanwhile at the foot of the table, where the “real prize” is to be “won” (namely having to wear the “Jersey of Doom”), Keego got rid of the wooden spoon for now, passing it on to Kristian Ross.
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Sharks are up next for Leinster, at the RDS on Saturday evening. I’ll be talking to AP Cronje about their squad during the week, then on Friday I’ll have Keego with me for The Preview Show, with the usual wrapup recorded on Sunday evening and of course all the regular features during the week, stay tuned to any or all of our social media platforms. In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
Welcome to my 80+ column, a new weekly post featuring my final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
Obviously, it was a good weekend to be a Leinster fan, no win in Belfast comes easily although we just about deserved the one we got on Friday. Had a great chat as always harpin’ on it with the lads on Sunday, check out the pod if you missed it, and while you’re at it maybe subscribe to the feed too if you don’t mind.
MUNSTER’S SEASON & LEINSTER’S LINEOUTS
I try to keep the pods to under an hour but often that means leaving out material I really want to keep in. That was definitely the case on Sunday night as during the “Front Five” section, where I try to keep things brief to get to the main topic quickly, Tom & Mark went off on an excellent riff about Munster’s season so far, so while I cut it from the main pod I thought I’d add it here as something of a bonus. There’s also a bit more to the audio as I put in a question I asked them about Leinster’s lineouts v Ulster as opposed to those against Benetton the week before.
BEST LEAGUE GETTING EVEN BETTER
I’ll harp on our contributors’ prediction league further down the column but apart from the banter it provides it also makes me focus even more on the full slate of matches every weekend and I have to say it has been a cracking competition so far, even just 23 matches in.
Normally I’m something of a “defensive purist” and multiple scorelines where the losing side has over 30pts isn’t always my idea of perfect, but it’s more about the sides that were towards the end of the table last season doing well, like Zebre and Dragons, both of which have already given top 8 opposition a serious run for their money.
Absolutely no match is a given and that’s as it should be. Who needs relegation eh?
RAININ’ HILL
I was obviously delighted with the Leinster win on Friday night but I always had soft spot for Ulster and I have said many a time over the years that they have had a continued run of shocking luck.
From losing key players for various reasons beyond the provincial branch’s control, to having controversial decisions go against them in big matches, to my personal favourite – in the one year they actually finish top of the Celtic League and earn a home final, that’s also the year they have to switch it to Dublin…and who do they happen to be playing???
And I know they deservedly did the double over us last season but in real terms that didn’t get them anything more than bragging rights as we ended up finishing first anyway, and even this weekend, the trademark Friday night downpour didn’t hit until after we had built a lead.
I was sure to bring that up when I was a guest on the Red Hand podcast on Saturday, check out the episode here.
EMERGING IRELAND
Not much I can add to Tom’s evaluation of the touring side’s opening fixture last Friday, only that perhaps the Griquas were playing as though they had been sampling some free Windhoek Draught courtesy of their sponsors. That’s not to take anything away from our lads of course, as the saying goes you can only play what’s in front of you, and it is true that as the game wore on they really started to gel nicely with Jack Crowley pulling the strings.
Obviously from a Leinster POV it was a shame that Ciarán Frawley was unavailable as he really does need some time in a 10 jersey so he can realise the potential we all know he has. Still, there’s always room for another quality 10 with the initials JC in a green jersey!!!
INJURY REPORT
Not a whole lot in the line of good news in this week’s report, would wish for the likes of Messrs Keenan and Lowe to be moving up the list soon. Also the withdrawals of Kelleher before kickoff in Belfast and Dave Kearney during halftime are both concerns, and with Sheehan getting so much game time the past couple of weekends I can’t imagine him also starting against the Sharks at the RDS on Saturday.
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
James Ryan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after recovering from a hamstring injury
Will Connors: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after recovering from a back injury
Liam Turner: has recovered from a toe injury and will return to full training this week
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Caelan Doris: was withdrawn for a Head Injury Assessment in the first half against Benetton Rugby and will continue to be assessed this week as he comes through the Graduated Return to Play Protocols
Rónan Kelleher: was a late withdrawal from the Leinster Rugby match day 23 with a hamstring injury and will be further assessed this week
Dave Kearney: was withdrawn at half time against Ulster Rugby with an adductor injury and will be further assessed this week
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Jamison Gibson-Park: picked up a hamstring injury in training last week and will be unavailable for selection this week
There are no further updates on:
Ciarán Frawley (shoulder), Hugo Keenan (abdominal & knee injury), James Lowe (calf), James Tracy (neck), Charlie Ryan (knee), Tommy O’Brien (knee)
ALL HAIL THE AIL
The Women’s All Ireland League kicked off a few weeks ago, with Old Belvedere leading the way, while the men returned to action the weekend just gone, with champions Clontarf beginning their defence of the title with a win over UCD. There were also wins for Trinity, Terenure, Ballynahinch & Cork Con.
I always say it – I would LOVE to be able to give the club game more coverage, we tried it a good few years ago with a series called “Roots & All” where we reached out to 5 different clubs throughout the season but it became too time consuming. What I’ll do instead is offer regular updates in this column, paying particular attention to players in the Leinster provincial system as I go.
For example, Charlie Tector was playing at 10 for Lansdowne as they were edged out by “The Hinch” on the Aviva back pitch, while the Terenure side that scored an impressive 39-3 win at Shannon included Marcus Hanan, as well as some familiar names from days gone by like Harrison Brewer, Jordan Coghlan & Cathal Marsh.
PREDICTION LEAGUE
So in Superbru whoever earned the most points in a week gets a “yellow cap” but despite the fact I have yet to earn one in the three rounds of the URC I am still somehow top of the Harpin League. I guess it’s a classic case of “slow and steady wins the race” or at least “leads the race after 1/6th of the race”…but like I’ve said before, this league is not about finishing first, it’s about not finishing last and having to wear The Jersey Of Doom and so far it’s Keego who sits in that position. He actually did really well on Friday, predicting the Ulster v Leinster margin on the button, but I think going for a Zebre win by 3 at Musgrave Park might have been a risk too far…
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Sharks are up next for Leinster, at the RDS on Saturday evening. I’ll be talking to AP Cronje about their squad during the week, then on Friday I’ll have Keego with me for The Preview Show, with the usual wrapup recorded on Sunday evening and of course all the regular features during the week, stay tuned to any or all of our social media platforms. In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 