With both Leinster & Ireland playing in the Scottish capital the next two weekends, our perfect guest to offer an opposition view was Sandy “@theburghwatch” Smith.
OUR GUEST : SANDY SMITH
227 : Opposition view – Edinburgh & Scotland
Category: Ireland opposition
226 : ITALY v IRELAND WRAP
🏉 IRELAND’S CAAAA…..
🏉 Centre, Backrow & Halfback options
🏉 ……..AAAAAAAA………
🏉 Italy’s improvement
🏉 …AAAAAAAAAAAAALL.
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
PLUS A SPECIAL REPORT FROM RICH MIFSUD
FULL TIME TAKES
Imelda Reidy Great Italian performance. Job done. 5 points. On we roll.
Andrew Byrne Today showed one thing in particular, that Gary Ringrose is a world class operator and is streets ahead of the rest of them at playing outside centre. 12 and 13 are two very different positions, as shown by our defensive lapses today.
Alan Murphy Brilliant. Two teams playing the game in a positive way. Italy have really improved. Let’s be honest, some of our team today were 2-3rd choice and a few played out of position. We scored a bonus point, left some tries out there and also managed to think our way out of danger today. Previously we would have lost this game. Building strength in depth. So positive from me.
MASTODON
Joanne In fairness to Kieran Crowley, not only has he got Italy playing brilliantly, he’s got them believing too. So good to see and long may it continue.
Koochulainn Another win with a bonus point without conceding a losing bonus.
The performance wasn’t perfect, and Italy found some flaws in the defensive system, but you can’t get any more than five points.
Italy were great value for money too. After today and the 20s last night Italian rugby is heading in a good direction.
POTM Mack Hansen dropping an F bomb in the post match interview was a lovely coda
Colm Splendid match. Continued resurgence and improvement from Italy, and as usual this year, Ireland responded magnificently to pressure. Really looking forward to Murrayfield next month.
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
- Former Ireland international Tom Tierney, who coached Irish women’s team, dies aged 46 – Independent.ie [Ruairidh O’Connor]
- Ireland U20s withstand second-half surge to keep back-to-back Grand Slam ambitions alive (the42.ie) [Daire Walsh]
- Ulster stun Sharks with sensational victory in Durban | BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley]
- Borthwick praises England’s tactical nous in ‘incredible Test match’ – england | Rugby365 [via AFP]
- Scotland suffer first Six Nations defeat in France despite valiant effort after early red cards | The Scotsman [Graham Bean]
6N RD 3 & URC ROUND 6 WRAP
6N WRAP
ROUND 3
ITA 20-34 IRE
WAL 10-20 ENG
FRA 32-21 SCO
ROUND 4
MAR 11
ITA V WAL
ENG V FRA
MAR 12
SCO V IRE
URC WRAP
ROUND 6
SHA 24-31 ULS
LIO 35-24 GLA
ROUND 15
MAR 3
GLA V ZEB
MUN V SCA
MAR 4
STO V SHA
BUL V LIO
EDI V LEI
OSP V BEN
DRA V CON
CAR V ULS
HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS
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225 : Harpin Preview Show #ITAvIRE
IRELAND v Italy : 15 Hugo KEENAN 14 Mack HANSEN 13 Garry RINGROSE Bundee AKI 12 Bundee AKI Stuart McCLOSKEY11 James LOWE 10 Ross BYRNE 9 Craig CASEY
1 Andrew PORTER 2 Rónan KELLEHER 3 Finlay BEALHAM 4 Iain HENDERSON 5 James RYAN (c) 6 Caelan DORIS 7 Josh VAN DER FLIER 8 Jack CONAN
16 Dan SHEEHAN 17 Dave KILCOYNE 18 Tom O’TOOLE 19 Ryan BAIRD 20 Peter O’MAHONY 21 Conor MURRAY 22 Jack CROWLEY 23 Stuart McCLOSKEY Jimmy O’BRIEN
Italy : 15 A Capuozzo 14 E Padovani 13 JI Brex 12 T Menoncello 11 P Bruno 10 P Garbisi 9. S Varney
1 D Fischetti 2 G Nicotera 3 S Ferrari 4 N Cannone 5 F Ruzza 6 S Negri 7 M Lamaro (c) 8 L Cannone
16 L Bigi 17 F Zani 18 M Riccioni 19 E Iachizzi 20 G Pettinelli 21 A Fusco 22 L Morisi 23 T Allan
Guinness Six Nations 2023
Round 3
Sat Feb 25 KO 2:15pm
Stadio Olimpico
Live on: RTÉ2, ITV1
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
AR1: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
AR2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)
221 : IRELAND v FRANCE wrap
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
James Griffin
Given the travails experienced by the Murray family this past week, Conor showed immense fortitude and strength of character to even tog out today. Delighted for him and the whole squad! A fantastic performance.
Imelda Reidy
Some game. Outstanding from Ireland. There can be no argument now about the No. 1 team in the world. Need to drive on now and continue to improve. ☘☘
Gavin Hegarty
My god.what a game. We just got a bp over the second best team in the world.
Let’s not mention the definite red card.
Every man in green (bar Hanson in my view) was utterly outstanding.
Tom O’Toole, my god where did that come from? Was worried about bealham before the Wales games now we have three class tightheads.
Chuck Doris, world’s best 8. Completely outplayed alldrit.
Lowe’s try, Mon dieu c’est magnifique.
Take a bow Ireland, you have wrecked me.
MASTODON
Koochulainn @Koochulainn So that’s the “bogey match” and the “defacto title decider” out of the way Bring on the “gimme” (which isnt what it used to be), the “potential banana skin”, and the “Auld enemy”.
Séamus Mac an tSábhaisigh @jamessavage French rugby fans affronted by selective tv replays … #karma winning big games well but with clear room for improvement each time is a very exciting place to be.
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
- Worcester Warriors change name and drop down leagues amid anger at RFU | Worcester | The Guardian [Michael Aylwin]
- How would the Rugby World Cup pools look based on today’s rankings? [Sarah Rendell]
- U-20 star Sam Prendergast shows nerves of steel to get Six Nations weekend off to winning start – Independent.ie [Sean O’Connor]
- Scotland v Wales: Finn Russell pulls the strings as hosts rampage to record win (theoffsideline.com) [David Barnes]
- England 31-14 Italy: Pragmatic hosts claim first win under Steve Borthwick – BBC Sport [Mantej Mann]
SIX NATIONS ROUND 2 WRAP
ROUND 2
IRE 32-19 FRA
SCO 35-7 WAL
ENG 31-14 ITA
FEB 25
ITA V IRE
WAL V ENG
FEB 26
FRA V SCO
HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS
ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE IRISH RUGBY STORE
220 Harpin Preview Show #IREvFRA
OUR GUEST : CIAN O’MUILLEOIR
Ireland: 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Stuart McCloskey 11. James Lowe 10. Johnny Sexton > (c) 9. Conor Murray
1. Andrew Porter 2. Rob Herring 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Tadhg Beirne 5. James Ryan 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
16. Ronan Kelleher 17. Dave Kilcoyne 18. Tom O’Toole 19. Iain Henderson 20. Jack Conan 21. Craig Casey 22. Ross Byrne 23. Bundee Aki
France: 15 T Ramos 14 D Penaud 13 G Fickou 12 Y Moefana 11 E Dumortier 10 R Ntamack 9 A Dupont (C)
1 C Baille 2 J Marchand 3 U Atonio 4 T Flament 5 P Willemse 6 A Jelonch 7 C Ollivon 8 G Alldritt
16 G Barlot 17 R Wardi 18 S Falatea 19 R Taofifenua 20 F Cros 21 S Macalou 22 B Couillourd 23 M Jalibert
Guinness Six Nations 2023
Round 2
Sat Feb 11 KO 2:15pm
Aviva Stadium
Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)
AR1: Matthew Carley (RFU)
AR2: Jordan Way (RA)
TMO: Brendon Pickerill (NZR)
Live on: RTÉ 2
218 : WALES v IRELAND wrap
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Conor Cronin
Some great individual performances, a few players who might feel they can improve on individual aspects, particularly Porter for me, who was responsible for almost half our penalties, can’t be that sloppy against the French. (though I’m discounting the one conceded as they scored a try)
Expectation will be high going onto next week, and rightly so, I want to see the same high intensity against France
Ian Frizzell
Out of the traps so quickly. We were so powerful in the first 30 minutes they didn’t have any answers.
Thought we coped pretty well in the third quarter when they threw everything they had at us and then a few fresh legs gave us the momentum to finish pretty strongly.
Gavin Hegarty
Job done. Rough second half but we shouldered it well.
Can’t help but think the ref played a part in their comeback but cest la vie.
I still can’t see the logic in bringing gatland back.
MASTODON
Andrew Byrne That first half was ruthless, we were too comfortable in the 2nd half. That won’t be good enough next week, but you can only play one match at a time.For Wales they can fix a lot very quickly and will take scalps later in the tournament.
Brian Nisbet 10-34, with the Welsh playing much better in the second half. But that’s a clear statement of intent from Ireland with a BP win in the first match. Good stuff!
Rob Atkinson A much better performance from Wales, but need to be a lot better in the opposition 22, they need to be better. I’m sure it will come together later in the tournament
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
- 4 Ireland U20s Players Who Impressed In Their Six Nations Win In Wales | Balls.ie [Colman Shanley]
- Stormers hand Sharks a rugby lesson in Durban | Rugby365
- Irish Rugby | Combined Provinces Win With Seven Tries At Kingspan Stadium
- Scotland record stunning win over England at Twickenham as 2023 Six Nations campaign gets perfect start | The Scotsman [Graham Bean]
- Six Nations Rugby | France hang on after thriller in Rome [Paul Eddison]
6N & URC WRAP
6N ROUND 1
WAL 10-34 IRE
ENG 23-29 SCO
ITA 24-29 FRA
ROUND 2
Sat Feb 11
IRE v FRA
SCO v WAL
Sun Feb 12
ENG v ITA
URC ROUND 1
SHA 19-46 STO
Round 14
Feb 17
MUN V OSP
GLA V ULS
Feb 18
LIO V SHA
BUL V STO
ZEB V CON
SCA V EDI
CAR V BEN
LEI V DRA
HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS
ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE IRISH RUGBY STORE
217 : Harpin Preview Show #WALvIRE
Ireland: 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Stuart McCloskey 11. James Lowe 10. Johnny Sexton (c) 9. Jamison Gibson Park Conor Murray
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Tadhg Beirne 5. James Ryan 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
16. Rob Herring 17. Cian Healy Dave Kilcoyne 18. Tom O’Toole 19. Iain Henderson 20. Jack Conan 21. Conor Murray Craig Casey 22. Ross Byrne 23. Bundee Aki
Wales: 15. Liam Williams 14. Josh Adams 13. George North 12. Joe Hawkins 11. Rio Dyer 10. Dan Biggar 9. Tomos Williams
1. Gareth Thomas 2. Ken Owens > captain 3. Tomas Francis 4. Adam Beard 5. Alun Wyn Jones 6. Jac Morgan 7. Justin Tipuric 8. Taulupe Faletau
16. Scott Baldwin 17. Rhys Carre 18. Dillon Lewis 19. Dafydd Jenkins 20. Tommy Reffell 21. Rhys Webb 22. Owen Williams 23. Alex Cuthbert
Guinness Six Nations 2023
Round 1
Sat Feb 4 KO 2:15pm
Principality Stadium
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
AR1 : Angus Gardner (RA)
AR2 : Luke Pearce (RFU)
TMO: Tom Foley (RFU)
Live on: Virgin Media One
216 : Pre-6N Panel
A bonus pod to set us up nicely for the Six Nations – our panel gives an overview of the Irish squad as well as the other five nations plus the Irish Under20s ahead of 6Mas Day.
Our guests…
Think you can out-predict our Harpin panel?
Prove it by joining our Guinness Pint Predictor League just follow the instructions below
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213 : Opposition view – Cardiff & Wales
For our first Opposition View pod of 2023 I was delighted to speak to Lee & Rhys from the excellent WRRAP pod about the regions’ season so far plus the Welsh Six Nations squad.
Our guests…
LEE GRIFFITH &
RHYS JOHN
Their pod on the Welsh 6N squad > https://anchor.fm/wrrap/episodes/Bonus-pod—The-Wales-squad-e1tl9ph/a-a8qnq0j
190 : Ireland v Australia wrap
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Conor Cronin
Great atmosphere, great to be there!
The game however wasn’t all it could’ve been. Game management was lacking, kicks for touch not getting any distance. Defence was good on the first half, that’s a real positive. No one really making yards or running decent lines from my pov. Is it that we were missing Johnny? Or were the rest of the team not ready to step up in his absence?
MASTODON
RichardMifsud One for the purists in the Aviva tonight Happy with the W but the performance was way down on previous ones. D was good but our attacking shape wasn’t great and too many inaccuracies didn’t allow us to create pressure .Good learning for the young lads Ross B with a serious pair to kick that one over. Crowley had a good outing. Big Joe Mc with some minutes under his belt. Respect to the Wallabies 🙌🏻 #IREvAUS
The2ndrow Well that match happened
OZ will be kicking themselves they didn’t win that
They had chances but we were able to hold them out
We lacked accuracy which led to a lack of discipline & we invited OZ onto us
The How to beat Ireland blueprint is there just make a mess of the breakdown
No clean ball have JGP and moreso Crowley a tough time. That said Crowley did well enough & thats perfectly fine in a first cap like that
Doris at times looked like he was literally dragging Ireland to that win
David Cahill Well I’m off to buy some lotto tickets coz the luck is with us right now
Kevin “The Spiddal Kid” It’s games like that which help to build the mental resistance you need in a tight game when you’re tired and need to go to the well one more time to get the result.
For the less experienced players who got game time today that will do them well to be able to draw upon that experience in future.
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
Rassie Erasmus banned… Again – Rugby World magazine [RW Staff]
Connacht confirm that director of rugby Andy Friend will leave province at the end of the season – Independent.ie [Ruaidhri O’Connor]
Last-gasp penalty sinks USA as Portugal claim final place at Rugby World Cup (the42.ie) [via AFP]
Shambolic Wales humiliated by Georgia as Wayne Pivac’s reign now facing serious questions – Wales Online [Delme Parfitt]
Ian Foster praises progress of All Blacks despite ‘frustrating’ draw against England | Stuff.co.nz [Marc Hinton]
AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES WRAP
RWC2023 Qualifiers
HKG 22-18 KEN
USA 16-16 POR
*********************
TON 43-19 URU
ITA 21-63 RSA
WAL 12-13 GEO
CAN 37-43 NAM
FRB 14-46 FIJ
ROM 0-22 SAM
SCO 52-29 ARG
ENG 25-25 NZL
IRE 13-10 AUS
FRA 35-17 JPN
HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE IRISH RUGBY STORE
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