341 : Stormers v Leinster preview

also available as a podcast


LEINSTER : 15. Henry McErlean 14. Liam Turner 13. Ben Brownlee 12. Charlie Ngatai 11. Rob Russell 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Cormac Foley

1. Michael Milne 2. John McKee 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Brian Deeny 5. Jason Jenkins 6. Rhys Ruddock 7. Scott Penny (c) 8. Max Deegan

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Ed Byrne 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20. Diarmuid Mangan 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Charlie Tector 23. Martin Moloney


STORMERS: 15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Suleiman Hartzenberg, 13 Dan du Plessis, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Ben Loader, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Herschel Jantjies

1 Brok Harris, 2 Joseph Dweba, 3 Neethling Fouche, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 5 Ruben van Heerden, 6 Marcel Theunissen, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 8 Evan Roos 

16 Andre-Hugo Venter, 17 Kwenzo Blose, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Connor Evans, 20 Willie Engelbrecht, 21 Hacjivah Dayimani, 22 Stefan Ungerer, 23 Wandisile Simelane


BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Round 15

Saturday, April 27, 2024

KO 6:05pm  DHL Stadium

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports 2, URC.tv


Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

AR1: Marius vd Westhuizen (SARU)

AR2: Christopher Allison (SARU)

TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

337 : Leinster v La Rochelle wrap

13 April 2024; Dan Sheehan of Leinster dives over to score his side’s fourth try despite the tackle of Jonathan Danty of La Rochelle during the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

🏉 Nienaber D

🏉 Frustrating restarts

🏉 Excellent exit

🏉 Ross the Boss

🏉 Monkey gone


TOM COLEMAN & MARK JACKSON


FULL TIME TAKES

Neil ‘Keego’ Keegan

That was massive for between the ears

Rewatched highlights. There was only 1 horse in it

I’m trying to figure out the La Rochelle game plan 

Also trying to figure out why Leinster-jitzu didn’t work in the years previous

Today is a (nother) day my aul lad and others didn’t have. France were unbeatable and we were close to thinking the same about La Rochelle. 

Today we showed what the story is. It’s actually unreal because it dismantled a he entire O’Gara La Rochelle gameplan

Paul McSweeney

I went to the game thinking that Leinster at their best might just squeeze a win in. How wrong can I be? That was an emphatic performance. Leinster needed this win way more than LR and it showed.

Now I’m just hoping that Croke Park is fully open and that tickets will be reasonably priced. I have my tickets for the final already…

Kevin Kelehan

Been watching Leinster since 1986 when they beat Munster in that years inter-pro, without hesitation that is by some distance the best Leinster performance I’ve ever seen, no Hugo Kennan, no Gary Ringrose and no James Ryan, yet they completely and utterly destroyed and humiliated the reigning champions in some style. Looking forward to the final in Tottenham and the cinquieme etoile!!!!

Greg Kelly

Usual story. Another 5 year French dynasty falls. The Leinster dynasty and brand continues. A few 50/50 calls saved LAR some extra pain but it feels like a sort of redemption. LARs false economy was built on Leinsters back and it falls to Leinsters sword.

LAR went to Cork looking to harness the local energy and they certainly harnessed some Munster European Energy 😉

William Andrew

Very well thought out performance by the players and coaches. Expected a slug fest with the selection but Leinster were moving LR around the park mercilessly.

I have had my reservations about Neinabar, but my goodness he delivered a class performance today.

Great to see secondary players delivering an emphatic game when it matters so much.

Chris McDonnell

I am not a Ross fan but he was excellent today. Credit where its due. Leo gambled with some calls today and got them right. Well done to them all.

Alan Murphy

A Test quality performance. Professional and tactical perfection. Delighted with the lads today. High pressure game with a lot of nonsense coming out of Cork during the week. Onwards and upwards.

Martin Lynch

Just So Lucky To Be A Leinster Fan. The Relief In The Stadium Was Palpable. Roll On Croker .

John O Halloran

Best performance in a long time, they stepped up . Well done.

Josephine Boyd

A fantastic performance from our boys in blue.💙👕🏈👍👏👏💪☘️


@harpinonrugby

Have wait for the traffic to clear so might as well do an aul TikTok as ya do… #LEIvLAR #InvestecChampionsCup #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

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


CHAMPIONS CUP WRAP

QUARTERFINALS

BORDEAUX 41-42 HARLEQUINS

LEINSTER 40-13 LA ROCHELLE

NORTHAMPTON 59-22 BULLS

TOULOUSE 64-26 EXETER


SEMIFINALS

SAT MAY 4

LEINSTER V NORTHAMPTON

SUN MAY 5

TOULOUSE V HARLEQUINS



334 : Leinster v Leicester preview

also available as podcast

Our guest : NEIL ‘KEEGO’ KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts


LEINSTER :  15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Ross Molony 5. Joe McCarthy 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Jason Jenkins 20. Jack Conan 21. Ben Murphy 22. Harry Byrne 23. Ciarán Frawley


LEICESTER TIGERS :  15 Jamie Shillcock 14 Freddie Steward 13 Dan Kelly 12 Solomone Kata 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins 10 Handré Pollard 9 Jack van Poortvliet 

1 James Cronin 2 Julián Montoya 3 Dan Cole 4 Harry Wells 5 Kyle Hatherell 6 Hanro Liebenberg 7 Olly Cracknell 8 Jasper Wiese

16 Charlie Clare 17 Francois van Wyk 18 Will Hurd 19 Finn Carnduff 20 Emeka Ilione 21 Tom Whiteley 22 Phil Cokanasiga 23 Mike Brown


Investec Champions Cup 2023/24 Round of 16

Saturday, April 6, 2024

KO 8pm  Aviva Stadium

Live on: RTÉ2, TNT Sports 2


Referee: Pierre Brousset (FRA)

AR1: Jeremy Rozier (FRA)

AR2: Kévin Bralley (FRA)

TMO: Denis Grenouillet (FRA)

333 : Leinster v Bulls wrap

29 March 2024; Jack Conan of Leinster dives over to score his side’s sixth try despite the tackle of Devon Williams of Vodacom Bulls during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Vodacom Bulls at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
@harpinonrugby

Pod available on Apple, Spotify and most major platforms #rugbytiktok #URC

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

🏉 Somehow ahead

🏉 #Lukegate

🏉 Scoring & Scrambling

🏉 Eventually over

🏉 Leinster’s South African-ness


CONOR CRONIN & NATHAN JOHNS


FULL TIME TAKES

Martin Lynch

Tough First Half. Bulls Ran. Out Of Steam. We Upped It Big Time . Great To See Them Back To Their Best. 👍🏉💪💙

Jay Long

I was mainly thinking

Ahem

Leeeeeiiinnnnsssttteeeerrrr

Leiiiiiinnnnnssstttttteeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrr

William Andrew

Good win , but scrums need attention. Lots of players came on hungry and contributing.

Farcical ending by the officials nothing for player safety

David Ryle

Was worried about this game. First half was poor but Leinster seemed to have found their mojo in the 2nd half.

Greg Kelly

Another testament to how competitive the URC has really become


URC WRAP

ROUND 13

LEINSTER 47-14 BULLS

DRAGONS 20-13 ZEBRE

BENETTON 18-14 CONNACHT

SHARKS 23-13 EDINBURGH

OSPREYS 36-21 LIONS

STORMERS 13-7 ULSTER

SCARLETS 3-45 GLASGOW

MUNSTER 20-15 CARDIFF



ROUND 14

FRI APR 19

ULSTER V CARDIFF

GLASGOW V SHARKS

SAT APR 20

LIONS V LEINSTER

BENETTON V DRAGONS

BULLS V MUNSTER

STORMERS V OSPREYS

CONNACHT V ZEBRE

EDINBURGH V SCARLETS



332 : Leinster v Bulls preview

also available as podcast


LEINSTER :  15. Jordan Larmour 14. Rob Russell 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Harry Byrne 9. Luke McGrath (c)

1. Cian Healy 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Ross Molony 5. Joe McCarthy 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Michael Milne 18. Tadhg Furlong 19. Jason Jenkins 20. Caelan Doris 21. Jamison Gibson-Park 22. Ross Byrne 23. Liam Turner


VODACOM BULLS :  15. Willie Le Roux 14. Kurt-Lee Arendse 13. Canan Moodie 12. David Kriel 11. Devon Williams 10. Johan Goosen 9. Embrose Papier

1. Gerhard Steenekamp, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Wilco Louw, 4. Ruan Vermaak, 5. Ruan Nortje (c), 6. Marco van Staden, 7. Elrigh Louw, 8. Marcell Coetzee (c)

16. Johan Grobbelaar, 17. Simphiwe Matanzima, 18. Mornay Smith, 19. Reinhardt Ludwig, 20. Mpilo Gumede, 21. Zak Burger, 22. Chris Smith, 23. Harold Vorster


BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Round 13

Friday, March 29, 2024

KO 7:35pm  RDS

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports 2, URC.tv


Referee: Craig Evans (Wales)

AR1: Chris Busby (Ireland)

AR2: Andy Fogarty (Ireland)

TMO: Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

331 : Zebre v Leinster wrap

23 March 2024; Rob Russell of Leinster evades the tackle of Simone Gesi of Zebre on his way to scoring his side’s first try during the United Rugby Championship match between Zebre Parma and Leinster at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi in Parma, Italy. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

🏉 Rocket Rob

🏉 The Osbournes

🏉 Max Exposure

🏉 Les Femmes En France

🏉 Running With The Bulls

TOM COLEMAN & CIARÁN DUFFY

Check our Ciarán’s own pod Post To Post Sport here

FULL TIME TAKES

Kevin Kelehan

Score flattered Leinster who finished ruthlessly and tackled and tackled, great squad depth

Shane Gallagher

We need to talk about Liam Turner. I know we can all see Jamie stepping up to a possible first choice centre position but Turner is so fast and powerful…love to watch him both in defence and attack!

Karen Mooney

As always leinster come out in the second half.. and put the match to bed…


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your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

URC WRAP

ROUND 12

GLASGOW 17-13 CARDIFF

OSPREYS 17-27 MUNSTER

SHARKS 22-12 ULSTER

SCARLETS 16-13 BENETTON

STORMERS 43-21 EDINBURGH

CONNACHT 14-38 LIONS

DRAGONS 10-31 BULLS

ZEBRE 7-31 LEINSTER



ROUND 13

FRI MAR 29

LEINSTER V BULLS

DRAGONS V ZEBRE

SAT MAR 30

BENETTON V CONNACHT

SHARKS V EDINBURGH

OSPREYS V LIONS

STORMERS V ULSTER

SCARLETS V GLASGOW

MUNSTER V CARDIFF



330 : Zebre v Leinster preview


LEINSTER : 15. Ciarán Frawley 14. Rob Russell 13. Liam Turner 12. Jamie Osborne 11. Andrew Osborne 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath

1. Ed Byrne 2. Lee Barron 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Ross Molony 5. Jason Jenkins 6. Will Connors 7. Scott Penny (c) 8. Max Deegan

16. John McKee 17. Michael Milne 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Brian Deeny 20. Diarmuid Mangan 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Sam Prendergast 23. Henry McErlean


 ZEBRE PARMA : 15. Jacopo Trulla 14. Scott Gregory 13. Luca Morisi 12. Fetuli Paea 11. Simone Gesi 10. Geronimo Prisciantelli 9. Gonzalo Garcia

1. Muhamed Hasa 2. Giampietro Ribaldi 3. Juan Pitinari 4. David Sisi 5. Leonard Krumov 6. Davide Ruggeri 7. Iacopo Bianchi 8. Giovanni Licata (c) 

16. Tommaso Di Bartolomeo 17. Luca Rizzoli 18. Riccardo Genovese 19. Matteo Canali 20. Josh Kaifa 21. Alessandro Fusco 22. Damiano Mazza 23. Pierre Bruno 


BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Round 12

Saturday, March 23, 2024

KO 7:35pm  Sergio Lanfranchi Stadium

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


Referee: Morne Ferreira (South Africa)

AR1: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

AR2: Dante D’Elia (Italy)

TMO: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

325 : Cardiff v Leinster wrap

2 March 2024; John McKee of Leinster celebrates as Michael Milne of Leinster, obscured, scores his side’s fourth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Cardiff and Leinster at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff, Wales. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

🏉 Pack mentality
🏉 Offloadin’ Will
🏉 Carré-d away
🏉 Doin’ sh*t well
🏉 10 outta 10



FULL TIME TAKES

Kevin Kelehan

Scoring when down to 14 was indicative of a team that knows how to win, the hunger in the squad is superb.

Eamon Saunders

Good win again ,great to have so much talent in the set up 👍


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URC WRAP

ROUND 11

EDINBURGH 19-15 OSPREYS

MUNSTER 45-29 ZEBRE

LIONS 40-10 SHARKS

BENETTON 9-19 GLASGOW WARRIORS

BULLS 40-22 STORMERS

CONNACHT 26-10 SCARLETS

CARDIFF 20-33 LEINSTER

ULSTER 49-26 DRAGONS



ROUND 12

FRI MAR 22

GLASGOW V CARDIFF

OSPREYS V MUNSTER

SAT MAR 23

SHARKS V ULSTER

SCARLETS V BENETTON

STORMERS V EDINBURGH

CONNACHT V LIONS

DRAGONS V BULLS

ZEBRE V LEINSTER



324 : Cardiff v Leinster preview



LEINSTER : 15. Jordan Larmour 14. Liam Turner 13. Jamie Osborne  12. Harry Byrne 11. Rob Russell 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath

1. Jack Boyle 2. Lee Barron 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Ross Molony 5. Jason Jenkins 6. Will Connors 7. Scott Penny > CAPTAIN 8. Max Deegan

16. John McKee 17. Michael Milne 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Brian Deeny 20. Rhys Ruddock 21. Ben Murphy 22. Sam Prendergast 23. Ben Brownlee


CARDIFF : 15 Jacob Beetham 14 Owen Lane 13 Max Clark 12 Ben Thomas 11 Aled Summerhill 10 Tinus de Beer 9 Ellis Bevan

1 Rhys Carré 2 Liam Belcher 3 Will Davies-King 4 Shane Lewis-Hughes 5 Josh Turnbull (c) 6 Ellis Jenkins 7 Thomas Young 8 Lopeti Timani

16 Dafydd Hughes 17 Rhys Barratt 18 Ciaran Parker 19 Ben Donnell 20 Alun Lawrence 21 Lucas de la Rua 22 Matthew Aubrey 23 Willis Halaholo


BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24

Saturday, March 2, 2024

KO 7:35pm  Cardiff Arms Park

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


Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

AR1: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

AR2: Ben Breakspear (WRU)

TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)

320 : Leinster v Benetton wrap

17 February 2024; Liam Turner of Leinster evades the tackle of Ignacio Mendy of Benetton, right, on his way to scoring his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Benetton at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile

🏉 Get #IrelandWeek trending

🏉 Death by 1,000 scrums

🏉 The Osbourne Supremacy

🏉 Pesky Leprechauns

🏉 Sam’s Glam Cameo

CONOR CRONIN & RICH MIFSUD

FULL TIME TAKES

Brian Corr

Great result considering how well Benetton are doing this season and all the missing internationals.

Love Prendergast’s cool under pressure ability, he took a wrong option and was immediately swamped by the defence but had the ability to keep calm and place the ball back so well.

Lots of rusty performances and mistakes due to weather and no recent games.

Delighted to see Byrne get a chance to rinse the spiderwebs off his game and McErlean get a solid game behind him, again pity the weather was so naff for his first tog out.

Greg Kelly

Leinster sticking 47 points on the 2nd placed team tells you all you need to know about the URC

Craig Grehan

Good to see that mixture of players running well. Few fumbles here & there. But very good

Eamon Saunders

Good win nice to see a Wexford man get a try #Brian Deeny

Christy O’Connor

Very scrappy at times from both sides. Have to hand it to Benetton, they fought really well and I don’t think the scoreline does them justice

Dave Murray

Not a spectacular performance but good 5 points.


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URC WRAP

ROUND 10

SCARLETS 7-42 MUNSTER

ZEBRE 19-24 EDINBURGH

LIONS 10-25 BULLS

LEINSTER 47-18 BENETTON

SHARKS 21-25 STORMERS

CARDIFF 12-16 CONNACHT

GLASGOW WARRIORS 40-7 DRAGONS

OSPREYS 19-17 ULSTER



ROUND 11

FRI MAR 1

EDINBURGH V OSPREYS

MUNSTER V ZEBRE

SAT MAR 2

LIONS V SHARKS

BENETTON V GLASGOW WARRIORS

BULLS V STORMERS

CONNACHT V SCARLETS

CARDIFF V LEINSTER

ULSTER V DRAGONS