🏉 Preparedness
🏉 Pts left behind
🏉 Penalties galore
🏉 Separation anxiety
🏉 Scrum’s the word
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
URC WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “THE RSA TOURS”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO
421 : Bulls v Leinster wrap
Category: Leinster Opposition
420 : Bulls v Leinster preview
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
🏉 Tactical changes
🏉 Clinical Cardiff
🏉 Yellow turning point
🏉 Charlie Tekkers
🏉 Tommy The Trysaver
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
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.
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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
Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN
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
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
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)
402 : Leinster v Bath wrap
🏉 Ringer the winger?
🏉 Bath early
🏉 Super Slimani
🏉 Early bath
🏉 Mission accomplished
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Denise O’Brien
Only just getting my breath back 🤣 Osborne, Henshaw, Slimani outstanding. All subs made an impact – great to see the attack firing against a team who are scoring so many points in the Prem!
David Ryle
Starting to get the balance between attack and defense.
Kevin Kelehan
Superb atmosphere at the Aviva, even 0-14 the crowd weren’t phased. Leinster were superb in the set piece, line out looks fixed, they won 4 or 5 scrum penalties, the development of Jamie Osborne is a joy to watch as was seeing Jack Conan back close to his best, RG Snyman continues to astonish in his ability to recycle out of contact and Doris and Van Der Flier are certifiable nuisances. Get those tickets for Cardiff
John Jones
Happy with the win but I’m not getting as excited as some people on here re: the attack. It only really started to flow once Bath had the red card. That was at 60mins and it was only 26-21 at that point. I think we still need to improve loads and I’m not convinced yet about playing that many players out of position
Greg Kelly
Have to wonder where the hallowed Premiership is left now? Their high flyers hammered by a team that was playing at max 70% only 50% of the game. I think Bath knew Leinster were going to unload on them with nasty hooks and body shots in the last 15-20 mins. Evidenced by them time wasting on 44 mins.
Jackie McEachern
I was really nervous through the first half but bench had a great impact in the second half. It’s the best I’ve seen our attack look in a long time! Here’s hoping it’s all starting to come together.
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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP
401 : Leinster v Bath preview
Our guest : MARK JACKSON
LEINSTER : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Garry Ringrose 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jordie Barrett 11. Jamie Osborne 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Max Deegan 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan (c)
16. Gus McCarthy 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. RG Snyman 20. Caelan Doris 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Jimmy O’Brien
BATH : 15 Tom de Glanville 14 Joe Cokanasiga 13 Ollie Lawrence 12 Max Ojomoh 11 Ruaridh McConnochie 10 Finn Russell 9 Ben Spencer (c)
1 Beno Obano, 2 Niall Annett, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Quinn Roux, 5 Ross Molony, 6 Ted Hill, 7 Miles Reid, 8 Alfie Barbeary,
16 Tom Dunn, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Charlie Ewels, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee
Investec Rugby Champions Cup 24/25 Rd 4
Saturday January 18, 2025
KO 5:30pm Aviva Stadium
Live on : Premier Sports 1
Referee : Luc Ramos (Fra)
AR1 : Thomas Charabas (Fra)
AR2 : Jonathan Gasnier (Fra)
TMO : Julien Castaignede (Fra)
400 : La Rochelle v Leinster wrap
🏉 80-minute D
🏉 The Porter Protocol
🏉 Jamie spin, Joe score
🏉 Missed kicks
🏉 Frantic finish
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
John Hyland
Botia was a nuisance when he came on. Leinster were very physical and really ripped into them in the first half but lost a bit of intensity after the substitutions. Both sides need to improve their place kicking.
Gavin Hegarty
Ok let’s not call a spade a shovel here. We won but it was far from satisfactory. So many schoolboy errors that a better side would have hugely punished us on. Our lineout is an utter sham, I don’t get how a pro team can have one so bad. I think some of the subs, like Byrne and McGrath, happened to early, prendergast was doing very well.
On a side note that TMO should be fired for raising the Doris tackle with the ref and for wasting everyone’s time reviewing it. I think he was aiming for the world’s first back to head penalty.
Jackie McEachern
Happy for the win away. Amazing defence and still lots to work on in attack. We can’t miss kicks like the one Byrne missed in games at this level. The kick Barrett missed was much more difficult and maybe we should have gone to the corner then?
For me MOTM was between JVDF and Doris.
Greg Kelly
We turned the tables on them. We had them running into brick walls and numerous times their sustained phase attack was driven 20-30m backwards. They did that to us in our 1st few encounters.
Ross Byrnes missed kick again I think will be another paving stone on his road out of the club. In a game like that you can’t miss those kicks
Kevin Kelehan
O’Gara had La Rochelle pumped, the crowd was extremely partisan. Leinster made mistakes but had the winning mentality, did not make it easy for themselves but did the hard work without the ball.
John Jones
Amazing defensive performance and we looked in control for the middle part of the game. Thought we really lost our shape once all the subs were on though and there were far too many players out of position- need a more balanced bench selection I think. Also, Ross is a great servant but Frawley has to be the back up 10 in these games i think. I just don’t trust Byrne in clutch games and that penalty miss was pretty unforgivable I think. Also wasn’t it very similar to the penalty that Frawley came off the bench and nailed in the same fixture last year?
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CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP
399 : La Rochelle v Leinster preview
NOTE – since recording the pod there were further changes made to the lineup, it reads correctly below
LEINSTER : 15. Jordie Barrett 14. Jimmy O’Brien 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Jamie Osborne 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Cian Healy 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)
16. Gus McCarthy 17. Andrew Porter 18. Rabah Slimani 19. RG Snyman 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ross Byrne 23. Ciarán Frawley
LA ROCHELLE : 15 Brice Dulin 14 Jack Nowell 13 Ulupano Seuteni 12 Jules Favre 11 Dillyn Leyds 10 Antoine Hastoy 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow
1 Reda Wardi 2 Quentin Lespiaucq 3 Uini Atonio 4 Thomas Lavault 5 Kane Douglas 6 Paul Boudehent 7 Oscar Jegou 8 Greg Alldritt (C)
16 Nikolozi Sutidze 17 Alexandre Kaddouri 18 Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel 19 Ultan Dillane 20 Levani Botia 21 Judicaël Cancoriet 22 Matthias Haddad 23 Hoani Bosmorin.
Investec Rugby Champions Cup 24/25 Rd 3
Sunday January 12, 2025
KO 3:15pm Stade Marcel Deflandre
Live on : Premier Sports 1
Referee : Nika Amashukeli (Geo)
AR1 : Christophe Ridley (Eng)
AR2 : Sam Grove-White (Sco)
TMO : Ian Tempest (Eng)
