224 : Leinster v Dragons wrap

18 February 2023; Rhys Ruddock of Leinster celebrates with teammate Dave Kearney after scoring his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Dragons at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile


🏉 Welsh mess

🏉 Rhys Ruddock

🏉 Dragons fronting up

🏉 Harry Byrne

🏉 G**** S***


THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN & CIARÁN DUFFY

click here for Ciarán’s fundraising page


FULL TIME TAKES

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Greg Kelly

Not a great performance. Probably the worst or amongst the worst of the season. Quite disjointed and not as controlled as Leinster teams usually are.

Performance aside its yet another routine win that was never really in doubt. The URC is great for blooding players but week by week it becomes worse for challenging them.

Andrew Bailey

First up you have to play a referee who’s agenda from the start is to favour the home team. But you can’t do that with poor lineouts , Ruck protection snd an awful kicking game. A big win but worst performance of the season. Why not trust the outside backs more ??

TWITTER

MASTODON

RichardMifsud Had a bit of everything that one. Always love watching the young kids getting a run out. Second 40 saw a dip in intensity that let Dragons back into the game and gave the boys good practice on D. A bit of a flourish at the end with two well worked tries. Invaluable experience for the kids and Rhys a worthy POTM although Lukey pushed for that too Liam Turner had a good outing and it was great to see Jason J and Will on the pitch

INSTAGRAM

John Shine  I’m jumping aboard the Jack Boyle hype train!!! In all seriousness it was a nice little 20 mins for him.  Held up his end of the scrum. Couple of good carries and a great jackal turnover.  Bigger tests await but he’s an exciting prospect.


FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Welsh rugby’s almighty mess, the immoral treatment of players and the uncomfortable truths – Wales Online [Steffan Thomas]
  2. Blow for Ireland & Munster as full extent of Tadhg Beirne injury revealed | SportsJOE.ie [Jason Hennessy]
  3. Gavin Coombes stars as nine-try Munster rout Ospreys at Thomond (irishexaminer.com) [John Fallon]
  4. URC: Connacht score nine tries in comfortable victory over Zebre – The Irish Times [Linley MacKenzie]
  5. Glasgow v Ulster: bench impact helps Warriors extend unbeaten run (theoffsideline.com) [David Barnes]

URC ROUND 14 WRAP

ROUND 14

GLA 17-11 ULS

MUN 58-3 OSP

LIO 7-29 SHA

ZEB 37-57 CON

BUL 19-23 STO

CAR 30-13 BEN

SCA 42-14 EDI

LEI 43-14 DRA



REARRANGED MATCHES

ROUND 6

SHA V ULS

LIO V 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 

ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY 

THE IRISH RUGBY STORE 

215 : Leinster v Cardiff wrap

28 January 2023; A general view of a scrum during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Cardiff at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

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SIX NATIONS GUINNESS PINT PREDICTOR LEAGUE


THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN & CIAN O’MUILLEOIR


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Gavin Hegarty

We beat a Cardiff team with our thirds. We had the bp quick enough and took the foot off the gas in the second half to allow them two tries back.

Delight to have chopper Connors back and to see him doing what he does best.

Great to see the debutants, Leinster are going to be a force for years to come.

Brian Corr

Feel Cardiff came thinking they were going to have an easy game with so many Leinster players on Ireland duty, they realised their mistake too late.

It’s great to see Deegan playing so well and even better to see Connors back.

It’s a great testament to Cullen and his coaches that they have the back up squad so tuned in and able to step up when needed, even if Cardiff were not really at the races.

Tector getting his first points, Turner with another great try.

Great outcome for Leinster, especially racking up the points for home games in the knockouts.

Karen Brennan

Well done to new young players getting their first cap,a great occasion for them,especially Balbriggan rugby clubs Aitzol King👍🏻

TWITTER

MASTODON

RichardMifsud I always love watching @leinsterrugby play but I particularly love it when the young guns get a run out. TBH I was expecting a tougher game but Cardiff disappointed Deegs very worthy POTM Good outings from Milne Brownlee Turner as well as our starting back row and halfbacks Disappointing 10 minutes in the final quarter but that’s great learning for the kids 

Andrew Byrne Harry Byrne’s kicking out of hand was very good, amazing the difference a bit of game time makes. We got a bit sloppy in the final quarter but to be expected with so many changes. Cardiff’s coaches must be pulling their hair out, their team was outclassed by an inexperienced Leinster team.


FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. RFU Apologise After Severe Criticism Over Controversial New Tackle Laws | Balls.ie [Colman Stanley]
  2. Bernard Laporte resigns from FFR president role after corruption conviction (talkingrugbyunion.co.uk)
  3. Ulster sink Stormers with home success | Belfast News Letter [Ciaran Donaghy]
  4. Six-try Munster bank bonus in Treviso thriller (irishexaminer.com) [Kevin Fallon]
  5. Jack Carty becomes Connacht’s all-time top points scorer as Lions tamed at Sportsground – The Irish Times [Linley MacKenzie]

URC ROUND 13 WRAP

ROUND 13

ULS 35-5 STO

SCA 37-28 BUL

BEN 30-40 MUN

DRA 28-42 GLA

LEI 38-14 CAR

EDI 19-22 SHA

CON 43-24 LIO

ZEB 24-28 OSP



Feb 4 (Round 1)

SHA v 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

214 : Harpin Preview Show #LEIvCAR



OUR GUEST : MARK JACKSON


Leinster: 15. Chris Cosgrave 14. Max O’Reilly 13. Liam Turner 12. Ben Brownlee 11. Dave Kearney 10. Harry Byrne 9. Luke McGrath

1. Michael Milne 2. John McKee 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Ross Molony 5. Brian Deeny 6. Rhys Ruddock  CAPTAIN 7. Scott Penny 8. Max Deegan

16. Tadgh McElroy 17. Marcus Hanan 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. James Culhane 20. Will Connors 21. Nick McCarthy 22. Charlie Tector 23. Aitzol King


Cardiff: 15 R Priestland 14 O Lane 13 R Lee-Lo 12 B Thomas 11 J Harries 10 J Evans 9 L Williams

1 B Thyer 2 K Myhill 3 Keiron Assiratti 4 L Timani 5 S Davies 6 J Turnbull (capt.) 7 J Botham 8 J Ratti

16 K Dacey 17 C Domachowski 18 W Davies-King 19 R Thornton 20 S Lewis-Hughes 21 E Bevan 22 A Summerhill 23 M Morgan


BKT United Rugby Championship 22/23

Round 13

Sat Jan 28  KO 5pm

RDS Arena


Referee: Jaco Peyper (SARU)

AR 1: Joy Neville (IRFU) 

AR 2: Andrew Fogarty (IRFU)

TMO: Marius Jonker (SARU)

Live on: RTÉ, S4C, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv


211 : Harpin Preview Show #LEIvR92




Leinster: 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Garry Ringrose > CAPTAIN 12. Jamie Osborne 11. Jimmy O’Brien 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Caelan Doris 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Michael Milne 18. Cian Healy 19. Ross Molony 20. Ryan Baird 21. Luke McGrath 22. Harry Byrne 23. Scott Penny


Racing 92: 15 W Gelant 14 C Wade 13 O Klemenczak 12 G Fickou (c) 11 L Dupichot 10 F Russell 9 N Le Garrec 1 E Ben Arous 2 J Tarrit 3.T Nyakane 4 B Chouzenoux 5 B Palu 6 W Lauret 7 M Coulibaly 8 K Kamikamica

16 P Narisia 17 G Gogichashvili 18 G Kharaishvili 19 A Hemery 20 M Baudonne 21 A Gibert 22 F Saili 23 M Spring


Heineken Champions Cup 22/23

Round 4

Sat Jan 21  KO 3:15pm

Aviva Stadium


Ref: Matthew Carley (ENG) 

AR1: Craig Maxwell-Keys (ENG) 

AR2: Gareth Holsgrove (ENG) 

TMO: Ian Tempest (ENG)


Live on: RTÉ 2, BT Sport 2

210 : Gloucester v Leinster wrap

14 January 2023; Michael Ala’alatoa of Leinster makes a break during the Heineken Champions Cup Pool A Round 3 match between Gloucester and Leinster at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester, England. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

210 : Gloucester v Leinster wrap Harpin' On Rugby

🏉 MUN, ULS & CON 🏉 Jamie Osborne 🏉 Clinical finishing 🏉 Cian Healy’s career 🏉 Leinster’s scrum Harpin’ On Rugby match wraps are brought to you by The Irish Rugby Store Our guests… MARK JACKSON https://twitter.com/hoomanbear CONOR CRONIN https://twitter.com/ccbooms FRONT FIVE ARTICLES RFU intervenes to let Borthwick pick Farrell in England Six Nations squad | Owen Farrell | The Guardian [Gerard Meagher] Women’s interprovincials: Munster claim bonus-point win over Leinster to move closer to title – The Irish Times Fourteen-man Munster hold off Northampton in Champions Cup thriller | Rugby365 ‘Heartbroken’ Dan McFarland bemoans decision not to award Ulster penalty try in late La Rochelle defeat – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley] Clinical Connacht put 61 points on Brive to progress to Challenge Cup knockouts (the42.ie) [Daragh Small] Where to find Harpin’ On Rugby Website > https://harpinonrugby.com/ Mastodon > @HarpinOnRugby@mastodon.ie Twitter > https://twitter.com/HarpinOnRugby Facebook > https://www.facebook.com/HarpinOnRugby Instagram > https://www.instagram.com/harpinonrugby/ TikTok > https://www.tiktok.com/@harpinonrugby YouTube > https://youtube.com/@HarpinPreviewShow

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

MARK JACKSON & CONOR CRONIN


FULL TIME TAKES

FACEBOOK


Andrew Potts The scrum is a concern, probably just needs a little collective focus. Nice to see them using short penalty moves in the red zone, it’s a good variation then going to a line out, plus suits Leinster tempo.
Some of the Leinster play was excellent and Ross has developed into quite the facilitator

Richard Collumb Says it all about current European competition when URC is providing more challenges.
Great to see Osborne step up & some game time to replacements.

Chris McDonnell Too good just too good.

TWITTER

MASTODON

Brian Nisbet @natural20 14-49 A match with a couple of lessons for Leinster (discipline, line-outs), but ultimately another emphatic victory in Europe and the match goes on.


Colin Mehigan @colinmehigan@mas.to @vnvobit @HarpinOnRugby @rugby Lots of impressive performances in Kingsholm today – Jamie Osborne really standing out

Adam Ashby (Gloucester fan) @adamashby@mas.to Well. That was worse than I expected.


FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. RFU intervenes to let Borthwick pick Farrell in England Six Nations squad | Owen Farrell | The Guardian [Gerard Meagher]
  2. Women’s interprovincials: Munster claim bonus-point win over Leinster to move closer to title – The Irish Times 
  3. Fourteen-man Munster hold off Northampton in Champions Cup thriller | Rugby365
  4. ‘Heartbroken’ Dan McFarland bemoans decision not to award Ulster penalty try in late La Rochelle defeat – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk [Jonathan Bradley]
  5. Clinical Connacht put 61 points on Brive to progress to Challenge Cup knockouts (the42.ie) [Daragh Small]

HCC ROUND 3 WRAP

ROUND 3

CLE 29-44 LEIC

SAL 5-27 TLS

GLO 14-49 LEIN

MUN 27-23 NOR

SHA 32-3 BOR

LAR 7-3 ULS

BUL 39-28 EXE

OSP 35-29 MON

SAR 48-28 LYN

CAS 21-34 EDI

LIR 14-28 STO

R92 30-29 HAR



ROUND 4

FRI JAN 20

LYN V BUL

LEI V OSP

SAT JAN 21

HAR V SHA

NOR V LAR

BOR V GLO

LEI V R92

STO V CLE

EXE V CAS

ULS V SAL

SUN JAN 22

MON V LIR

TLS V MUN

EDI V SAR


HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS

ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE IRISH RUGBY STORE

209 : Harpin’ Preview Show #GLOvLEI


Leinster: 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Garry Ringrose > CAPTAIN 12. Jamie Osborne 11. Jimmy O’Brien 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Ross Molony 5. James Ryan 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris

16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Michael Milne 18. Cian Healy 19. Brian Deeny 20. Jack Conan 21. Nick McCarthy 22. Harry Byrne 23. Liam Turner 

Gloucester: 15 G Barton 14 J May 13 C Harris 12 S Atkinson 11 O Thorley 10 S Carreras 9 B Meehan

1 V Rapava-Ruskin 2 G McGuigan 3 K Gotovtsev 4 F Clark 5 M Alemanno 6 R Ackermann 7 L Ludlow (c) 8 B Morgan

16 S Blake 17 H Elrington 18 C Knight 19 C Jordan 20 J Clement 21 S Varney 22 B Twelvetrees 23 T Seabrook

Heineken Champions Cup 22/23

Round 3

Sat Jan 14  KO 1pm

Kingsholm Stadium

Ref: Pierre Brousset (France) 

AR1: Vincent Blasco Baqué (France) 

AR2: Flavien Hourquet (France) 

TMO: Denis Grenouillet (France)

Live on: ITV1, BT Sport 2


WOMEN’S RUGBY TWITTER ACCOUNTS MENTIONED

@IrishWomens @JC200022

206 : Leinster v Connacht wrap

1 January 2023; Ryan Baird of Leinster on his way to scoring his side’s sixth try during the United Rugby Championship between Leinster and Connacht at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile


THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

CONOR CRONIN


FULL TIME TAKES

FACEBOOK

Gavin Hegarty Boring. It’s tiresome how even after they get ahead we don’t fear the result. Yes I know it’s a good position to be in but we’ve suffered as a result before, Saracens, la Rochelle etc. We need to be challenged more.

Chris McDonnell Another shocking day at the lineout. Its been a while since we had one if them but that was not acceptable. Kelleher will not get his starting jersey back from sheahan until he learns how to throw the ball

TWITTER

MASTODON

rhubarbsticks Ryan Baird in full flight is a sight to behold. A scrappy enough performance but plenty of positives to go forward with.

RugbyKino A tale of 3 parts to that match. A tight, well-matched fast-paced game gave way to more of a broken-up tussle in midfield in the second half. But come the final quarter Leinster flexed their handling muscle and put Connacht to the sword.

A shame Connacht don’t come away with something as the scoreline doesn’t do them justice.

However, Johnny coming off with a big dent in his face is a worry, possibly for the next 2-6 weeks.

RichardMifsud Really entertaining match at the RDS Connacht competitive deep into it but a couple of late tries put a gloss on the score line Good performance from the much changed side with a fair crop of youngsters Lineout issues need to be resolved but that apart a good enough performance Top of the pile in January 2023 let’s see how it pans out 🤷🏻‍♂️ Good performances from JL and Ryan B Deeny looked good and the Foley cameo was exciting 

james @gortoshay putting 40 pts on Connacht while still having plenty of work ons is a nice place to be. Leinster being made to work for their victories this season. I’m hoping it stands to them at the business end. Sexton definitely a worry.


FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Andy Farrell dressing room phonecall captured after Ireland beat All Blacks | SportsJOE.ie [Pat McCarry]
  2. What did Joe Marler say to Jake Heenan? – Rugby World 
  3. No relegation will produce more shocks – Baxter – Huge Rugby News 
  4. Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins leave Wales coaching jobs with immediate effect as Gatland shakes up his backroom team – Wales Online [Ben James]
  5. Dan McFarland calls Ulster ‘terrible’ in late defeat to Munster | Belfast News Letter [Ciaran Donaghy]

URC ROUND X WRAP

ROUND 11

EDI 25-32 GLA

ZEB 17-40 BEN

SHA 47-20 BUL

STO 40-8 LIO

CAR 19-22 OSP

ULS 14-15 MUN

SCA 33-17 DRA

LEI 41-12 CON



ROUND 12

JAN 6

DRA V BUL

MUN V LIO

JAN 7

BEN V ULS

EDI V ZEB

CAR V SCA

CON V SHA

OSP V LEI

JAN 8

GLA V STO


HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS

ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE IRISH RUGBY STORE

205 : Harpin’ Preview Show – #LEIvCON


Leinster : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Liam Turner 12. Charlie Ngatai 11. Rob Russell 10. Johnny Sexton > CAPTAIN 9. Jamison Gibson-Park 

1. Michael Milne 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Michael Ala’alatoa 4. Brian Deeny 5. James Ryan 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris

16. John McKee 17. Marcus Hanan 18. Vakhtang Abdaladze 19. Alex Soroka 20. Scott Penny 21. Cormac Foley 22. Harry Byrne 23. Jamie Osborne


Connacht: 15 T O’Halloran 14 D Kilgallen 13 T Farrell 12 D Hawkshaw 11 J Porch 10 J Carty (C) 9 C Blade

1 P Dooley 2 D Heffernan 3 D Robertson-McCoy 4 D Murray 5 N Murray 6. C Prendergast 7 S Hurley-Langton 8 J Butler

16 S Delahunt 17 D Buckley 18 S Illo 19. O Dowling 20 C Oliver 21 K Marmion 22 T Daly 23 B Ralston


BKT United Rugby Championship 22/23

Round 11

Sun Jan 1  KO 7:35pm

RDS Arena


Referee: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)

AR 1: Chris Busby (IRFU) 

AR 2: Peter Martin (IRFU)

TMO: Leo Colgan (IRFU)


Live on: RTÉ, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv

204 : Munster v Leinster wrap

26 December 2022; Leinster players celebrate with teammate Dan Sheehan, hidden, after he scored their side’s second try during the United Rugby Championship match between Munster and Leinster at Thomond Park in Limerick. Photo by Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile


THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

MARK JACKSON


FULL TIME TAKES

FACEBOOK

Conor Cronin On the road, taking a win home with us without a lot of players who might have wanted the opportunity to play and might sometimes be considered higher up the pecking order, and having missed out on the chance to get a BP, there’s a lot to be positive about here.

Yes there were some things that we’ll use the video for to tidy up, and yes the referee was not at the top of his game, but you play the ref, you play what’s in front of you, and you take your chances.

I’m happy with that, munster threw their best available team at us, it wasn’t enough tonight

Andrew Potts A collection of random penalties until 50, then a game broke out

Martin Loughrey Scrappy to say the least. Great to get the win and our response to Deegan’s yellow was incredible, but the game didn’t really kick into gear until the 2nd half. I felt Munster had a slight edge on us for long periods but couldn’t capitalise. And of course Busby was poor. It seemed like he heeded the crowd’s reaction after Deegan flipped POM over, and made some strange calls after that. Very quick to ping Leinster after that, and of course there was his own obstruction of Leinster at the ruck that lead to a penalty for Munster. Still though, a win in Thomond is always great to get, so happy to take it!

TWITTER

MASTODON

rhubarbsticks @rhubarbsticks@sself.co

Although that was a tough, valuable and well earned victory it didn’t alter any pecking orders in Leinster.

RichardMifsud @RichardMifsud 

A win away at Thomond with a rotated side and not playing particularly well is not to be sniffed at. Great runouts from Dan (again) and Big Joe Mac. Luke McG and Ross M made a big impact from the bench. Happy with that and isn’t it brilliant to see a return of the St Stephen’s Day fixture? #MUNvLEI

Bernard McKeever @dregin

#MUNvLEI Would not want to be on the receiving end of Graham Rowntree’s anger after conceding those tries with us a man down.


FRONT FIVE ARTICLES

  1. Leinster Rugby | James Tracy to Retire With Immediate Effect [Marcus Ó Buachalla]
  2. World Rugby announce new guidelines to speed up game (talkingrugbyunion.co.uk) [Frank Nickson]
  3. Steve Borthwick: England appoint Leicester coach to replace Eddie Jones – BBC Sport [Becky Gray]
  4. Benetton suspend member of staff and issue condemnation as Cherif Traore racial abuse investigation continues – Independent.ie [Duncan Bech]
  5. Ulster survive remarkable Connacht comeback to end disastrous December (the42.ie) [John Fallon]

URC ROUND X WRAP

ROUND 10

SHA 37-10 LIO

STO 37-27 BUL

CON 20-22 ULS

GLA 16-10 EDI

BEN 38-5 ZEB

DRA 24-29 CAR

OSP 34-14 SCA

MUN 19-20 LEI



ROUND 11

DEC 30

EDIVGLA

DEC 31

ZEB V BEN

SHA V BUL

STO V LIO

JAN 1

CAR V OSP

ULS V MUN

SCA V DRA

LEI V CON


HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS

ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE IRISH RUGBY STORE

203 : Harpin’ Preview Show #MUNvLEI

also available as podcast use player below

Leinster : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Garry Ringrose > CAPTAIN 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Nick McCarthy

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Cian Healy 4. Ryan Baird 5. Joe McCarthy 6. Rhys Ruddock 7. Scott Penny 8. Max Deegan

16. John McKee 17. Michael Milne 18. Vakhtang Abdaladze 19. Ross Molony 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Harry Byrne 23. Liam Turner.


Munster: 15 S Daly 14 C Nash 13 A Frisch 12 J Crowley 11 K Earls 10 J Carbery 9 C Murray
1 D Kilcoyne 2 N Scannell 3 J Ryan 4 J Kleyn 5 T Beirne 6 J O’Donoghue 7 P O’Mahony (C) 8 G Coombes
16 D Barron 17 J Wycherley 18 R Salanoa 19 K McDonald 20 A Kendellen 21 C Casey 22 R Scannell 23 P Campbell.

BKT United Rugby Championship 22/23
Round 10
Mon Dec 26 KO 7:35pm
Thomond Park

Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
AR 1: Joy Neville (IRFU)
AR 2: Peter Martin (IRFU)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Live on: TG4, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv