Ireland – Page 4 – HARPIN' ON RUGBY

408 : Scotland v Ireland wrap

2025 Guinness Six Nations Championship Round 2, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland 9/2/2025 Scotland vs Ireland Leinster’s Sam Prendergast Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

🏉 Super Sam
🏉 DVDM good & bad
🏉 HIAs
🏉 Mini comeback
🏉 Quaich retained

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

FULL TIME TAKES

Sarah Lennon

Decent performance but we need to get out of the habit of coughing up late scores, this could come down to points difference

Colin McConaghie

Thought JGP was outstanding again and Hugo looks back to his best. Worried about our centres who aren’t hitting the heights.

Not sure about persisting with POM with other longer term options available. Conan stepped it up when he came on.

Cormac Mannion

No head-slapping, whooping and screaming in the opposition’s faces from the Scotland players today. Good enough for them.

Overall, a solid performance. We were very sloppy at times though, particularly from 35mins to 50mins and then the last Scotland score.but we were well on top for most of it. Lineout wasn’t great but we tried a few new things and hopefully Furlong and McCarthy will be back for Wales.

David Ryle

I feel Sam has shut his detractors up but they won’t.

Kevin Kelehan

Scotland played very well for phases but the loss of Russell and Graham means we never saw the full test that was expected. Ireland were really professional in using their power and patience to get their scores. Conan is definitely back to his absolute best as Prendergast raises the bar at 10 higher game after game.

Jackie McEachern

Really happy overall with the performance and bonus point win. I thought Prendergast, Beirne, JGP and Keenan were all excellent. Always things to work on but two 5 point wins from the first two 6N matches is excellent.

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MEN’S 6N WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CLIP ON YOUTUBE CHANNEL :

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

THURSDAY

OSPREYS V LEINSTER PREVIEW SHOW

407 : Scotland v Ireland preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest

NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. James Ryan 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Ryan Baird 20. Jack Conan 21. Conor Murray 22. Jack Crowley 23. Garry Ringrose

SCOTLAND : 15.Blair Kinghorn 14. Darcy Graham 13. Huw Jones 12. Tom Jordan 11. Duhan van der Merwe 10. Finn Russell (cc) 9. Ben White

1. Rory Sutherland 2. Dave Cherry 3. Zander Fagerson 4. Jonny Gray 5. Grant Gilchrist 6. Matt Fagerson 7. Rory Darge (cc) 8. Jack Dempsey

16. Ewan Ashman. Pierre Schoeman 18. Will Hurd 19. Sam Skinner 20. Gregor Brown 21. Jamie Ritchie 22. Jamie Dobie 23. Stafford McDowall

Guinness Six Nations 2025 Rd 2

Sunday February 9, 2025

KO 3pm Murrayfield

Live on : RTÉ2, BBC1

Referee: James Doleman (NZ)

AR1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)

AR2: Pierre Brousset (Fra)

TMO: Richard Kelly (NZ)

FPRO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)

406 : Ireland v England wrap

2025 Guinness Six Nations Championship Round 1, Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland 1/2/2025Ireland vs EnglandIrelands Jamison Gibson-Park scores their first tryMandatory Credit ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

🏉 Early worries

🏉 23 lineouts

🏉 That JGP step

🏉 Weary defenders

🏉 Bench impress

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

HUGO GORDON

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

405 : Ireland v England preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. James Ryan 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Iain Henderson 20. Jack Conan 21. Conor Murray 22. Jack Crowley 23. Robbie Henshaw

ENGLAND : 15. Freddie Steward 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Henry Slade 11. Cadan Murley 10. Marcus Smith 9. Alex Mitchell

1. Ellis Genge 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje (c) 5. George Martin 6. Tom Curry 7. Ben Curry 8. Ben Earl

16. Theo Dan 17. Fin Baxter 18. Joe Heyes 19. Ollie Chessum 20. Chandler Cunningham-South 21. Tom Willis 22. Harry Randall 23. Fin Smith

Guinness Six Nations 2025 Rd 1

Saturday February 1, 2025

KO 4:45pm Aviva Stadium

Live on : Virgin Media One

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)

AR1: James Doleman (NZ)

AR2: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)

FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZ)

390 : Ireland v Australia wrap

IRFU 150 Test Match, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 30/11/2024 Ireland vs Australia Ireland’s Cian Healy Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

🏉 Just not clicking

🏉 Schmidt tactics

🏉 Ten point swing

🏉 Back to adversity

🏉 Saved by the bench

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICHARD MIFSUD

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post to Post Sport blog

FULL TIME TAKES

Cormac Mannion

I’m not too worried about the attack just yet. It took Catt a bit of time to sort that out when he took up the role so let’s hope Goodman makes improvements by the 6N.

However, our lineout is appalling and this is nothing new. Serious questions to be asked of O’Connell and what he’s doing there.

Big step up for Prendergast today and he’ll learn from it. Suddenly we now have options at 10 post Johnny. Crowley was really up for it when he came on too.

Another issue though seems to be the back row. We seem to get isolated an awful lot at the breakdown and giving away a lot of turnovers. Ruck clearance has definitely gone downhill this year.

Ronan McManus

I’m not sure that Prendergast’s more languid passing style helped us against the Aussie rush defence. They were in among us by the time the ball came into the centre.

Some real flashes of quality from him though.

Sort.out.the.lineout.

Kevin Kelehan

Bench was the difference between the sides, Dan Sheehan will be back once fit and Gus McCarthy should be on the bench, you need to win your own line outs, something that only happened once McCarthy came on. Jack Crowley also showed so much more accuracy and energy in his time, Prendergast just not up to the pace aged 21. Craig Casey also full of energy when introduced. Josh VDF also superb and was Doris as was Big Joe and Porter.

Sean MacDonnchadha

Can’t sweep this under the rug and say a win is a win and move on. That lazy mentality has only ever gotten us to the same QF exit in world cups. Lineout and attack are serious issues and can no longer be ignored – changes needed.

Jackie McEachern

Lineout needs to be sorted. Bench made a big impact (esp Crowley, Casey and McCarthy). Glad we got the win but that could easily have gone the other way.

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388 : Ireland v Australia preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Tadhg Beirne 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Cian Healy 18. Tom O’Toole 19. Iain Henderson 20. Peter O’Mahony 21. Craig Casey 22. Jack Crowley 23. Garry Ringrose

Wallabies : 15. Tom Wright 14. Andrew Kellaway 13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 12. Len Ikitau 11. Max Jorgensen 10. Noah Lolesio 9. Jake Gordon

1. James Slipper 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa 3. Taniela Tupou 4. Nick Frost 5. Jeremy Williams 6. Rob Valetini 7. Fraser McReight 8. Harry Wilson (c)

16. Billy Pollard 17. Angus Bell 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 20. Langi Gleeson 21. Tate McDermott 22. Tane Edmed 23. Harry Potter

Autumn Nations Series 2024 Week 4

Saturday, November 30, 2024

KO 3:10pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: Virgin Media 1, TNT Sports 1

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

AR1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)

AR2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

386 : Ireland v Fiji wrap

Autumn Nations Series, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 23/11/2024 Ireland vs Fiji
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

CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post To Post Sport

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

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Could’ve been the first to get a yellow before kickoff! 😜
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385 : Ireland v Fiji preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. Jacob Stockdale 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Craig Casey

1. Andrew Porter 2. Gus McCarthy 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Cormac Izuchukwu 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

Replacements: 16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Tom O’Toole 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Iain Henderson 20. Cian Prendergast 21. Conor Murray 22. Ciaran Frawley 23. Stuart McCloskey

Fiji : 15 Vuate Karawalevu 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c) 12 Josua Tuisova 11 Ponepati Loganimasi 10 Caleb Muntz 9 Frank Lomani

1 Eroni Mawi 2 Tevita Ikanivere 3 Luke Tagi 4 Mesake Vocevoce 5 Temo Mayanavanua 6 Meli Derenalagi 7 Kitione Salawa 8 Elia Canakaivata.

16 Sam Matavesi 17 Haereiti Hetet 18 Samu Tawake 19 Setareki Turagacoke 20 Albert Tuisue 21 Peni Matawalu 22 Vilimoni Botitu 23 Sireli Maqala

Autumn Nations Series 2024 Week 3

Saturday, November 23, 2024

KO 3:10pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: Virgin Media 1, TNT Sports 1

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

AR1: Matthew Carley (RFU)

AR2: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)

FPRO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)

384 : Ireland v Argentina wrap

Autumn Nations Series, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 15/11/2024
Ireland vs Argentina Ireland’s Joe McCarthy scores a try
Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

🏉 Fast start

🏉 Foul play du jour

🏉 Dr Phil

🏉 More silly mistakes

🏉 Holding on

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

JAY LONG

HUGO GORDON

FULL TIME TAKES

Lee O Farrell

Yes, there were some sloppy mistakes at times but I think people are underestimating this Pumas team. Their defence was incredible and this is the team that has beaten France, SA and NZ (in NZ) over the past few months.

A higher score would have been great but I’ll take the win, thanks!

Cormac Mannion

Argentina are a fine side. Their physicality is right up there with South Africa at their best. We seemed to be running into brick walls for large parts of the game. However, there is still something not at all right about Ireland. Hansen still looks off the pace, as does Lowe. Crowley needs time to develop and you can see how it’s coming together for him.

Our back row seems to be playing as individuals rather than a unit. Also, far too many sloppy penalties which could point to a lack of focus. We’ve looked off the boil since midway though the 6N.

Jackie McEachern

Too many penalties again – especially when we heard all week that discipline was going to be the focus. But am very happy they hung on to win against a strong side.

Kevin Kelehan

Got over the line against a huge Argentinian pack and very useful backline, Tom Clarkson and Sam Prendergast both came through very well. Jack Crowley was superb for most and a tough nut to get up without play acting after being cynically taken out illegally. The penalty count and line out remain a serious cause for concern, Kelliher is a great scrummager and a demon in the loose but he needs to spend the next month to sort out his darts.

Jamie Bermingham

Glad we got the win but once again the discipline was very poor. Our attack in the 2nd half was practically non existent. Still a lot to work on for the next two games

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AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES WRAP

WEEK 2

IRELAND 22-19 ARGENTINA

SCOTLAND 59-21 PORTUGAL

ENGLAND 20-29 SOUTH AFRICA

FRANCE 30-29 NEW ZEALAND

ITALY 20-17 GEORGIA

WALES 20-52 AUSTRALIA

WEEK 3

FRI NOV 22

FRANCE V ARGENTINA

SAT NOV 23

IRELAND V FIJI

WALES V SOUTH AFRICA

ITALY V NEW ZEALAND

SUN NOV 24

SCOTLAND V AUSTRALIA

ENGLAND V JAPAN

@harpinonrugby
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383 : Ireland v Argentina preview

also available as a podcast

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. James Lowe 10. Jack Crowley 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Tadhg Beirne 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Rob Herring 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Ryan Baird 20. Peter O’Mahony 21. Craig Casey 22. Sam Prendergast 23. Jamie Osborne

Argentina : 15 Juan Cruz Mallía (vc) 14 Rodrigo Isgró 13 Lucio Cinti 12 Matías Moroni 11 Bautista Delguy 10 Tomás Albornoz 9 Gonzalo Bertranou

1 Thomas Gallo 2 Julián Montoya (c) 3 Joel Sclavi 4 Guido Petti 5 Pablo Rubiolo 6 Pablo Matera (vc) 7 Juan Martín González 8 Joaquín Oviedo

16 Ignacio Ruiz 17 Ignacio Calles 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona 21 Gonzalo García 22 Santiago Carreras, 23. Justo Piccardo

Autumn Nations Series 2024 Week 2

Friday, November 15, 2024

KO 8:10pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: Virgin Media 1, TNT Sports 1

Referee: Paul Williams (NZR)

Assistant Referee 1: Craig Evans (WRU)

Assistant Referee 2: Angus Mabey (NZR)

TMO: Richard Kelly (NZR)

FPRO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)