10 December 2022; Josh van der Flier of Leinster makes a break on his way to scoring his side’s sixth try during the Heineken Champions Cup Pool A Round 1 match between Racing 92 and Leinster at Stade Océane in Le Havre, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
(also a report from France on the match conditions by Tom Coleman)
FULL TIME TAKES
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Andrew Potts Very good performance by Leinster and adapting well to Racing flooding the ruck. As always Leinster very focused as 15 on the park, impressive by JVdF nuisance all day which is a compliment for a 7 and still gas at 79 for a solo!
Gerald Williamson Will not complain. A convincing win in the end. Even missing one or two key players, Leinster did the job for the bonus pt win. Stuart has a idea what awaits him next season.
Gavin Hegarty Job done, BP done. Racing should be embarrassed to lose by 32 at ‘home’. We need to do better but you can only play what’s in front of you.
Chris McDonnell Without Sexton Henshaw and Furlong and still almost flawless. A little too much kicking for my liking but hey
TWITTER
Utterly savage performance from Leinster in Le Havre. Bullying a Racing side who simply weren't at the races, they bested them in the scrum, lineout, breakdown and outplayed them defensively.
Taking 5-0 away against a SF team from last year is some marker to lay down. #R92vLEI
Leinster really laid down a marker today with an absolutely superb display, a total performance of excellence individually, as units, and as a team.#R92vLEI
RichardMifsud You don’t win anything in December, especially in the #championscup but you can lay down markers and #leinster did just that in Le Havre That was easily their best 80 of the season thus far Caelan Doris worthy POTM but big performances across the park Let’s see where we are in May in #dublin #R92vLEI
Jay Long You can only play what’s there but was really happy to see how hungry we were throughout. The lads chased everything. Sensational start. We’re on the road again!
Ross Carrick I wasn’t expecting this from Racing. Lack of sustained possession and phase building. Leinster aren’t at their best but are deserved three score leaders.
Robin Cafolla I remember when you feared going to France no matter who you were playing. Safe to say those days are over. Very dominant display from Leinster.
Brian Nisbet 10-42, what a wonderful victory in France! Perfect start to this year’s European campaign from a team that are playing very well together!
26 November 2022; Charlie Ngatai of Leinster offloads to teammate Rob Russell in the build up to his side’s second try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Glasgow Warriors at RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Martin Loughrey Good result today with some good performances, but we’d have struggled against a better team. Far too many penalties, 15 in total really held us back. Russell obviously had a great game, I thought the back row were solid, and Osbourne impressed also. Ngatai’s offload for the 2nd try was some kind of witchcraft! Good to see Kelleher come through unscathed. All in all, not a vintage performance, but a solid result.
Andrew Potts Leinster played well and a number of solid performances by the next generation . Not sure about the penalty count, its unlike Leinster to be so spendthrift.
Chris McDonnell Harry made a big difference when he came on as did foley and Cosgrave.
TWITTER
Well Leinster for me are the benchmark in this league. And on the basis of today, we’re a long way behind them.
Brian Nisbet 40-5 in the RDS. Glasgow had so much possession but just couldn’t turn it into points. Leinster did, over and over
RichardMifsud Dominant display by #LeinsterRugby against Glasgow Warriors Great to see returns from key players after injury Poor discipline and inaccuracies will keep the coaches busy but overall a very welcome return to #URC action for the boys
Welcome to my 80+ column, a new weekly post featuring final thoughts from the week of rugby just gone.
A WRAP OF A WRAP
I may have been a little harsh on the Welsh region with this message in the Harpin’ WhatsApp group after full time on Friday…
Obviously Scarlets fans won’t be happy with their performances this season but on second watch I have to say that even with the result going the way it did they probably didn’t deserve that bluntness since with a bounce of a ball going differently the result could have been closer, something you could probably say about most rugby matches.
But I still think Conor & Rich did a great job helping me sum it all up on our wrap pod, when two of the game’s six tries are PTs it doesnt offer much to harp on yet we managed to flesh it out ok. Biggest concern during the recording was my spotting that the charge on my laptop was about to run out and many thanks to my son John for answering my WhatsApp call to sneak in and plug in the charger without my having to move!
Anyway back to the actual rugby, it’s hard to believe that the opening block of seven URC rounds is already in the record books, and when your team has won all of them opening a gap at the top of the table I can certainly have no complaints! Plenty of rugby to be played this season of course but this definitely lays a lot of groundwork for our quest for a good playoff draw.
LOOK STU’S TALKING
As any Leinster fan knows, Stu Lancaster interviews are as unmissable as they are rare, so I have to share this recent one from Off The Ball and if you haven’t heard it, you seriously need to find a window somewhere to tick that box.
My biggest takeaways without giving away too much –
The realities of his day to day living in Dublin with ll the commuting to see his family, while doing all that awesome work is amazing, I’m pretty sure I couldn’t do it.
The length of the “lessons learned at Leinster” list probably shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did
That extra leadership meeting he speaks of gives a good insight to Leo’s ability to tweak things and make them better
ACCEPTING ALTERNATIVES
If it were down to me, Ireland’s “alternate” jersey would always, always, ALWAYS be white.
But having worked in the sporting goods game back in the day, I know the unfortunate reality that even at test level teams are at the mercy of the manufacturers who have a lot more than fan preference to consider. They have colours and patterns and designs that they want to match their full range of clothing for that particular season.
To be clear, I’m not “defending” them, I’m just pointing out that they’re not doing it to be awkward, it’s more of a case that even when the fans aren’t happy, they firmly believe they’ll make more money in the long run doing it this way.
I just hope the conversation on match day isn’t dominated by complaints over the optics.
The 2022 Ireland alternate jersey! 👕
Worn together, worn bolder. Ready to take on the Springboks next weekend! #TeamOfUs | #MadeStronger
I have always been in favour of names on jerseys, though to be clear NOT squad numbers. Rugby needs to keep things as simple as possible for new fans to the sport and the numbers 1-15 represent specific positions on the pitch and should be kept.
But when it comes to names I’m all for it – helps identify players for fans, helps with jersey sales, and I also like what they do in the Premiership with names for only jerseys 1 through 15, not for the subs that helps competitiveness for the starting positions within the club.
Were they to make them standard practice at senior level there would be no complaints from me.
PRIME DIRECTIVE
It’s Autumn Nations Series time again and the bulk of its coverage is on Amazon Prime.
Now I know this is going to look like they’re paying me to say this, I assure you they’re not (though I would be open to offers…) but I have to say I like do their presentation especially with the layout of highlights and individual moments like you see below.
Obviously, nothing beats “free to air” when it comes to maximising coverage but maybe we’ll reach a stage when even those broadcasters will be offering services similar to this.
INJURY REPORT
You might notice we’ve started to change the logos from blue to green as it is that time of year, which in turn means this injury report section will feature the Irish squad updates rather than Leinster.
I suppose my biggest concern for the week ahead will be to do with the fitness of Hugo Keenan and Jamison Gibson-Park – no doubt both will feature heavily in Andy’s plans particularly for the match this coming Saturday, but obviously the fact that neither set foot on a rugby pitch this season will be a concern. I could see JGP on the bench but Hugo is a lot more of a “wear 15 or nothing” kind of player.
Also as I’m typing I’m seeing the Springboks have announced their team early and as expected it looks really badass so it’s fair to say we’ll need the strongest fittest 23 we can put together!!! Not that we should lack confidence though, more on that later in the week.
Unfortunately, Tom Ahern has been ruled out of involvement in this week’s Ireland ‘A’ fixture but Diarmuid Barron, Caolin Blade, Jack Crowley, Shane Daly, Max Deegan, James Hume, Dave Kilcoyne, Marty Moore and Scott Penny all came through the weekend’s URC action without issue to join the squad.
Jamie Osborne and Roman Salanoa have both been declared fit after completing the return to play protocols while Connacht lock Gavin Thornbury has been called up in place of Ahern.
Nathan Doak and Tom Stewart, who both featured in the Emerging Ireland side in Bloemfontein, will also join the squad later in the week.
AIL UPDATE
In a previous 80+ column I had a moan about a top of the table clash in the Women’s AIL between Railway Union and Belvo which was due to kick off around the same time as Ireland’s men were playing the Springboks up the road at the Aviva. It seems now they have at least moved the time to 2:30 which makes it a lot easier for fans to catch both contests, but I still have my concerns over the scheduling of matches.
These clubs generally train twice a week and play matches at weekends so I wonder if it’s possible to put more of the top division matches during the week to encourage attendance? There’s also a top of the table men’s clash this weekend, again it’s at a time where you can still catch IREvRSA but then again there are other test matches at the same time so maybe we need some outside the box thinking when it comes to scheduling; maybe even a broadcaster would take an interest in showing midweek action although I know things like the round ball Champions League in those slots might scare them off.
Women’s AIL
Sat Nov 5
Blackrock v Ballincollig
Railway Union v Old Belvedere
Wicklow v Galwegians
UL Bohemian v Suttonians
Men’s AIL
Round 4
Clontarf 27-9 Shannon
Cork Constitution 33-16 Garryowen
Dublin University 35-16 Ballynahinch
Terenure 58-5 UCD
Young Munster 13-20 Lansdowne
Fri Nov 4
Shannon v Garryowen
Lansdowne v Terenure
Sat Nov 5
Ballynahinch v Young Munster
Clontarf v Dublin University
UCD v Cork Constitution
PREDICTION LEAGUE
Bad, bad week for me. Went for a couple of risky ones that went the other way and I have now dropped to third place, with Kino opening a really big gap in 1st place to end the first block of 7 URC rounds.
I mean I KNEW that tipping Them Pesky Birds to beat Connacht would be good news for the Westies, but also Munster and Lions falling short at home set me back a good bit.
Meanwhile down at the bottom, for the record I DO send Keego a reminder each week yet he still suffers from the affliction I had last season, namely forgetting to do the picks, which could result in him wearing the Jersey of Doom come season’s end if he doesn’t get back in the game soon.
HPL after Round 7
1 @RugbyKino 57.33
2 @hoomanbear 48.33
3 @HarpinOnRugby 47.83
4 @LeinsterRoyalty 46.83
5 @Kristian7Ross 40.66
6 @keegolaughs_irl 28.50
THE NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Test window time…for the URC our pod guests are obvs all Leinster fans but we’re going very interpro for the Irish team with first up Connacht & Ulster being represented on Wednesday as we have an overall look at the squad and our chances for November. Then Kino will join to gloat about Superbru preview the Springboks match and then Tom Coleman and Michelle Tobin will help me wrap it all up on Sunday. As always there will be the day to day features on all the usual social media channels in between so stay in touch. In the meantime, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
28 October 2022; Max Deegan of Leinster is tackled by Dan Thomas of Scarlets during the United Rugby Championship match between Scarlets and Leinster at Parc Y Scarlets in Llanelli, Wales. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
BP win on the road, always a good thing. Was it perfect and world class? No. But it was enough against poor opposition. We continue to build players and get them experience, nothing wrong with that. Definitely something wrong with the penalty count though
5-35 away to Scarlets Delighted with that. 12 pts clear ( some have games in hand) ..Ulster travel to Munster and Boks are on derby week..might be decent lead going Nov break. Molony Rhys Deegan and halfbacks led the way. Great shift by Ed Byrne beside 2 young fellas.
If you’ve seen one of these games you’ve seen them all. Blood a few new players on the conveyer belt in a pretty run of the mill 5 pointer against poor opposition.
Pretty grim I know,but there's green shoots.Jac P although not ready, fronted up really well.Done some nice stuff, better for it. Rogers played well too.HOC is future test TH
Imbalanced squad that Peel inherited. This season was never going to be pretty #SCAvLEI
Rob Russell isn’t the flashiest player on the pitch but he has shown, so far this year, that his awareness, positioning and finishing are absolutely first class.
Scarlets were poor though.
Was going to say "damp squib of a 2nd half" but as squibs go, that was drenched.
Several options for PotM, Ross Byrne, Deegan, but no probs with home network going for RR.
Another powerful defensive display.
Five points to bring home, 7 wins from 7, that'll do fine.#SCAvLEI
Conor Cronin Lots of talking points on that game, unfortunate for refereeing to be one.
Leinster inaccuracy was difficult to watch, good to see munster putting it up to us, though of course they “had nothing to lose” 🙄 It shows that with the right team selection they could really pose us a problem. Fingers crossed they continue to not select the right team.
Leinster allowed munster to set a tempo, to dictate the pace of play. I want to see much more accuracy from leinster, and for them to punish teams in the 22.
Andrew Bailey Why not neutral refs. Ireland is too small a country – no matter how hard a ref tries he has affiliation somewhere. And it works both ways – can sway in favour of one team in an effort to stay neutral. Not fair on ref or teams. Wales Scotland Italy and SA – but the big Irish games get Irish ref
Andrew Potts Leinster huffed and puffed but did not blow the house down.
Munster showed a bit of Leicester DNA pragmatism, always sort of falling on the wrong side, always sort of slowing things down.
Leinster were good except for scoring.
So many little things just upsetting a happy try. Poor return for Leinster, two fortunate yellows for Munster that could have been red. Seen both of those red recently. That question? Was force applied, was it high, any mitigation? Plus Stander was red carded against SA for the second type of offence.
Frawley is a unique player, appearing to play a number of positions very well.
He looks like an exception that proves the rule.
Luke good for MOM.
Finally, Joey in Munster is the waste of a perfectly good 10.
Chris McDonnell Andrew Potts stander ended a players career with that challenge. I thought penny was excellent. Held up over the line twice in the first half and we butchered a few line breaks, lowe, dave K or lowe would have had a try or two.
Gavin Hegarty I need to rewatch it as from the south lower it looked like brace was terrible. His advantages were only for Munster and never for Leinster.
Kleyns yellow was a red all day, jumped after the kick was made and angled his body to hit side on with an elbow to Osbourne’s head. Citing has to come.
Odd to say but we’re now 6/6 but still have been disappointing.
We dominated the first 30 but still couldn’t put the points on the board, some very unleinsterlike play and decision making. Our lineout needs huge work.
Henshaw and ringrose were outstanding throughout, Porter was great when he came on. Frawley looked comfortable @15.
We’ll need to be better soon.
I think we let a bad Munster team play, their backline had no purpose and just shipped the ball on, no lines or moves. We (and brace) made them look good.
Enjoyable match. Great result and good response to going down in the second half. Both teams already have huge injury lists and that game definitely didn't help. Frawley to 2nd choice for Ireland. Crowley should start for Munster and is very much in play to be capped soon.
Good win for Leinster but it's covering issues underneath. Scrum is very poor. Lineout is iffy. Munster were depleted before and during the game, two yellow cards and two looseheads scrumming for long periods and Leinster struggled to go through or round Munster.
Didn't take the easy route to the BP but we def deserved it IMO. Solid defending and absolute dominance in maul both with and without ball were key. Always had an extra gear, might have gone to it sooner but happy out all the same.#LEIvMUN#URC
