Category: Leinster Opposition

425 : Leinster v Harlequins wrap

Josh van der Flier of Leinster scores his side’s fourth try during the Investec Champions Cup Round of 16 match between Leinster and Harlequins at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

🏉  Quins purple patch

🏉  Some Leinster tries

🏉  More tries

🏉  Even more tries

🏉  Shutout

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CIARÁN DUFFY [Post to Post Sport blog]

HUGO GORDON

FULL TIME TAKES

David Ryle

I thought it was going to be a hard day at the office on the first 10 mins. I think the held up ball knocked the wind out of them.

Kevin Kelehan

Quins turned up, sadly only for 10 minutes, great to see JVdF back to his rampaging best, Ringrose lethal in defense and incisive in attack and Jordie Barrett’s team first and self second distribution showing why he was signed.

Chris McDonnell

As complete a performance as I have seen in ages.

Alan Murphy

Quins over 80 mins were never going to win that. Not taking the 6 points on offer for two kickable penalties in the first 10 mins was really naive. Aimless kicking to a Leinster back 3 was naive. Kicking all their restarts to the same space in the first half was naive. Very poor from a last 16 team. I hope they get rid of this round in future as very average teams are winning one game (Ulster) in 4 in the ‘group’ stages and making the knockouts. Others staggering in with 2 wins from 4. Go straight to the quarter finals in future.

Christy O’Connor

Dragons would’ve caused us more problems. I expect a much tougher game next week. I reckon Glasgow will beat Leicester and Glasgow will definitely give is a tough game

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “EPCR QUARTERFINAL PREVIEW”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

THURSDAY

THROWBACK THURSDAY

424 : Leinster v Harlequins preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Preview also available on our YouTube channel

Our guest : MARK JACKSON

LEINSTER : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jamie Osborne 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Joe McCarthy 5. RG Snyman 6. Jack Conan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (C)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Jack Boyle 18. Tadhg Furlong 19. Ryan Baird 20. Max Deegan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Jordie Barrett

HARLEQUINS : 15. Leigh Halfpenny 14. Tyrone Green 13. Oscar Beard 12. Ben Waghorn 11. Nick David 10. Marcus Smith 9. Will Porter

1. Fin Baxter 2. Jack Walker 3. Titi Lamositele 4. Joe Launchbury 5. Chandler Cunningham-South 6. Jack Kenningham 7. Will Evans 8. Alex Dombrandt (C)

16. Sam Riley 17. Wyn Jones 18. Simon Kerrod 19. Irne Herbst 20. George Hammond 21. Danny Care 22. Jamie Benson 23. Luke Northmore

Investec Champions Cup 24/25 Rd of 16

Saturday, April 5, 2025

KO 3pm  Croke Park

Live on : RTÉ2 & Premier Sports 2

Referee : Pierre Brousset (Fra)

AR1 : Kevin Bralley (Fra)

AR2 : Thomas Charabas (Fra)

TMO : Tual Trainini (Fra)

423 : Sharks v Leinster wrap

29 March 2025; Max Deegan of Leinster makes a break during the United Rugby Championship match between Hollywoodbets Sharks and Leinster at Hollywoodbets Kings Park in Durban, South Africa. Photo by Shaun Roy/Sportsfile

🏉  Low expectations

🏉  Toothless Sharks

🏉  Bridge pass

🏉  The Max Deegan All-Stars

🏉  Holding on

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN

DAVID CORDIAL

FULL TIME TAKES

Bert McLoughlin

Not really a great game for a neutral but I’m not neutral, great win. Max was superb

Kevin Kelehan

Noon last week hoped for 2 points out of both games, last week ahead for 83 minutes and just caught in the end by a super dogged Bulls side and this week won a proper dogfight. The scores weren’t spectacular, but players like Deegan, Soroka and Penny never stopped working, the depth that Leinster have is embarrassing. To take 5 points from a trip they have struggled on in recent seasons is really encouraging

Cormac Mannion

Fantastic win. Frawley still doesn’t seem to have recovered his mojo after last autumn, albeit he was great for Penny’s try

Bernie Cunningham

Grt win, boys left it all on the pitch, delighted for the younger lads and to bring home 4pts from SA brill.👏👏

Eamon Saunders

Great performance from such a inexperienced bunch at this level given the opposition 💪👏👏

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

URC WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “LEINSTER’S CHAMPIONS CUP 23”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

THURSDAY

THROWBACK THURSDAY

422 : Sharks v Leinster preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Liam Turner 12. Charlie Tector 11. Andrew Osborne 10. Ciarán Frawley 9. Fintan Gunne

1. Cian Healy 2. John McKee 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Diarmuid Mangan 5. Brian Deeny 6. Alex Soroka 7. Will Connors 8. Max Deegan (c)

16. Lee Barron 17. Michael Milne 18. Rory McGuire 19. Alan Spicer 20. Scott Penny 21. Oliver Coffey 22. Ross Byrne 23. Henry McErlean

SHARKS : 15 Yaw Penxe 14 Ethan Hooker 13 Jurenzo Julius 12 Andre Esterhuizen

11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Jordan Hendrikse 9 Jaden Hendrikse

1 Ox Nche 2 Bongi Mbonambi 3 Vincent Koch 4 Jason Jenkins

5 Emile van Heerden 6 James Venter 7 Vincent Tshituka 8 Siya Kolisi (c)

16 Fez Mbatha 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu 18 Ruan Dreyer 19 Corne’ Rahl

20 Manu Tshituka 21 Bradley Davids 22 Siya Masuku 23 Francois Venter

BKT United Rugby Championship Round 14

Saturday, March 29, 2025

KO 5:15pm  Hollywoodbets Kings Park

Live on : RTÉ2, Premier Sports 2 & URC.tv 

Referee: Ben Breakspear (WRU)

AR 1: Christopher Allison (SARU)

AR 2: Hanru van Rooyen (SARU)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

421 : Bulls v Leinster wrap

22 March 2025; Fintan Gunne of Leinster offloads to teammate Jordie Barrett during the United Rugby Championship match between Vodacom Bulls and Leinster at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. Photo by Shaun Roy/Sportsfile

🏉  Preparedness

🏉  Pts left behind

🏉  Penalties galore

🏉  Separation anxiety

🏉  Scrum’s the word

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

RICHARD MIFSUD

URC WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “THE RSA TOURS”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

420 : Bulls v Leinster preview

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER

15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Hugh Cooney 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Andrew Osborne 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath (c)

1. Jack Boyle 2. John McKee 3. Rabah Slimani 4. RG Snyman 5. Diarmuid Mangan 6. Max Deegan 7. Will Connors 8. James Culhane

16. Stephen Smyth 17. Ivan Soroka 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Brian Deeny 20. Alex Soroka 21. Scott Penny 22. Fintan Gunne 23. Ciarán Frawley

BULLS

15. Willie le Roux 14. Sebastian de Klerk 13. David Kriel 12. Harold Vorster 11. Stravino Jacobs 10. Keagan Johannes 9. Embrose Papier 

1. Alulutho Tshakweni, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. JF van Heerden, 6. Marcell Coetzee (c), 7. Jannes Kirsten, 8. Cameron Hanekom, 

16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Jan-hendrik Wessels, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Reinhardt Ludwig, 20. Marco van Staden, 21. Nizaam Carr, 22. Zak Burger, 23. Devon Williams

BKT United Rugby Championship Round 13

Saturday, March 22, 2025

KO 3pm  Loftus Versfeld

Live on : RTÉ2, Premier Sports 1 & URC.tv 

Referee: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

AR 1: Cwengile Jadezweni (SARU)

AR 2: Sean Muller (SARU)

TMO: Ben Breakspear (WRU)

415 : Leinster v Cardiff wrap

1 March 2025; Charlie Tector of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s fifth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Cardiff Rugby at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
CORRECTION – On the pod I say Leinster’s lead in the URC is 12 points, I’m more than happy to update that it is actually 13! Apologies for the error.

🏉  Tactical changes

🏉  Clinical Cardiff 

🏉  Yellow turning point

🏉  Charlie Tekkers

🏉  Tommy The Trysaver

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

CONOR CRONIN

FULL TIME TAKES

Michael Branagan

Ultimately a great result. Bit sticky for a while there. Excellent 2nd half and score just before halftime critical. Scrum excellent. Cardiff a dynamic team not the taken lightly.

Kevin Kelehan

That Tommy O’Brien hit just before he was subbed was worth 7 points having saved a certain try with an easy run up to the posts, Cardiff were decent out wide and made a match of it. Great to see younger players like Jack Boyle and Charlie Tector growing into battle hardened options for tougher contests.

Martin Lynch

Was at the match. Sloppy 1st Half . Lots of possession poor execution. 2nd half was totally different. Sharper Faster Better . Well Done and lots of Debutants.

👍🏉💙

Chris McDonnell

Some really good stuff. Excellent to see so many of the young players do so well.

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

URC WRAP

NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT – “Harpin On…the Leinster Fan Experience” on YouTube

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

414 : Leinster v Cardiff preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Hugh Cooney 12. Charlie Tector 11. Andrew Osborne 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath (c)

1. Jack Boyle 2. John McKee 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Diarmuid Mangan 5. Brian Deeny 6. Alex Soroka 7. Will Connors 8. Max Deegan

16. Stephen Smyth 17. Ivan Soroka 18. Rory McGuire 19. RG Snyman 20. Scott Penny 21. Oliver Coffey 22. Liam Turner 23. Rob Russell

CARDIFF : 15 Cam Winnett, 14 Gabriel Hamer-Webb, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Harri Millard, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Johan Mulder

1 Danny Southworth, 2 Liam Belcher (c), 3 Rhys Litterick, 4 Josh McNally, 5 Rory Thornton, 6 Ben Donnell, 7 Thomas Young, 8 Alun Lawrence

16 Efan Daniel, 17 Rhys Barratt, 18 Will Davies-King, 19 Seb Davies, 20 Alex Mann, 21 Ellis Bevan, 22 Tinus de Beer, 23 Regan Grace

BKT United Rugby Championship 24/25 Round 12

Saturday, March 1, 2025

KO 3pm  Aviva Stadium

Live on : RTÉ2, Premier Sports 2, S4C & URC.tv

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR, 49th)

AR 1: Chris Busby (IRFU)

 AR 2: Dan Carson (IRFU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

409 : Ospreys v Leinster preview

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Hugh Cooney 12. Charlie Tector 11. Jimmy O’Brien 10. Ciarán Frawley 9. Luke McGrath

1. Jack Boyle 2. Gus McCarthy 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Diarmuid Mangan 5. Brian Deeny 6. Max Deegan 7. Scott Penny 8. James Culhane

16. John McKee 17. Paddy McCarthy 18. Rory McGuire 19. RG Snyman 20. Alex Soroka 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Ross Byrne 23. Andrew Osborne

OSPREYS : 15. Jack Walsh 14. Daniel Kasende 13. Evardi Boshoff 12. Keiran Williams 11. Keelan Giles 10. Owen Williams 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams

1. Garyn Phillips 2. Sam Parry 3. Tom Botha 4. James Ratti 5. James Fender 6. Harri Deaves 7. Justin Tipuric (c) 8. Morgan Morris

16. Ethan Lewis 17. Cam Jones 18. Ben Warren 19. Will Spencer 20. Morgan Morse 21. Kieran Hardy 22.Tom Florence 23. Iestyn Hopkins

BKT United Rugby Championship Round 11

Friday February 14, 2025

KO 7:35pm  Swansea.com stadium

Live on : TG4, BBC2 Wales, Premier Sports 1, URC.tv

Referee: Filipo Russo (FIR)

AR 1: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

AR 2: Adam Jones (WRU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

403 : Leinster v Stormers preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

LEINSTER : 15. Henry McErlean 14. Andrew Osborne 13. Liam Turner 12. Jordie Barrett 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath

1. Jack Boyle 2. Dan Sheehan (c) 3. Rabah Slimani 4. RG Snyman 5. Brian Deeny 6. Alex Soroka 7. Scott Penny 8. Max Deegan

16. John McKee 17. Paddy McCarthy 18. Rory McGuire 19. Diarmuid Mangan 20. James Culhane 21. Will Connors 22. Cormac Foley 23. Charlie Tector

STORMERS : 15 Warrick Gelant 14 Ben Loader 13 Ruhan Nel 12 Jonathan Roche 11 Leolin Zas 10 Manie Libbok 9 Paul de Wet

1 Ali Vermaak 2 Joseph Dweba 3 Neethling Fouché 4 JD Schickerling 5 Ruben van Heerden  6 Deon Fourie (c) 7 Ben-Jason Dixon 8 Evan Roos 

16 André-Hugo Venter 17 Brok Harris 18 Frans Malherbe 19 Salmaan Moerat 20 Marcel Theunissen 21 Paul de Villiers 22 Herschel Jantjies 23 Wandisile Simelane

BKT United Rugby Championship 24/25 Rd 10

Saturday January 25, 2025

KO 5pm  Aviva Stadium

Live on : TG4, Premier Sports 1, URC.tv

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

AR 1: Chris Busby (IRFU)

AR 2: Jonathan Erskine (IRFU)

TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)