463 : Leinster v Munster preview
Category: Leinster
462 : Leinster v Sharks wrap
🏉 Cohesion back
🏉 Gunne firing
🏉 Josh the skipper
🏉 Sleeping giants
🏉 Josh the debutante
THIS WEEK’S GUEST
FULL TIME TAKES
Gavin Hegarty
Normal (ISH) service resumes!
I thought Osbourne was great, most likely Irelands 15 for the autumn internationals in winter. Harry looked confident but did try a tad to hard in parts.
We were south lower and watched the ground covered by Baird to make a tackle, unreal!
Far from perfect but a step in the right direction
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URC WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “THE FRAWLEY DILEMMA”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
461 : Leinster v Sharks preview
Our guest : CIARÁN DUFFY
LEINSTER : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Jimmy O’Brien 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Ciarán Frawley 11. James Lowe 10. Harry Byrne 9. Fintan Gunne
1. Paddy McCarthy 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Brian Deeny 5. Ryan Baird 6. Alex Soroka 7. Josh van der Flier (c) 8. Max Deegan
16. Gus McCarthy 17. Jack Boyle 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Diarmuid Mangan 20. James Culhane 21. Luke McGrath 22. Hugh Cooney 23. Joshua Kenny
SHARKS : 15 Edwill van der Merwe 14 Ethan Hooker 13 Jurenzo Julius 12 Lukhanyo Am 11 Makazole Mapimpi 10 Jean Smith 9 Jaden Hendrikse
1 Simphiwe Matanzima 2 Fez Mbatha 3 Ruan Dreyer 4 Jason Jenkins 5 Marvin Orie 6 Phepsi Buthelezi 7 Emmanuel Tshituka 8 Vincent Tshituka (c)
16 Bongi Mbonambi 17 Dian Bleuler 18 Vincent Koch 19 Bathobele Hlekani 20 Nick Hatton 21 Ross Braude 22 Siya Masuku 23 Francois Venter
BKT United Rugby Championship 25/26 Rd 3
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
KO 5:30pm Irish time
Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv
Referee: Craig Evans (WRU)
AR 1: Keane Davison (IRFU)
AR 2: Dan Carson (IRFU)
TMO: Keith David (WRU)
460 : Bulls v Leinster wrap
🏉 Heads not dropping
🏉 Attack is back
🏉 Handing them points
🏉 Tommy’s on fire
🏉 Half full or empty?
THIS WEEK’S GUEST
FULL TIME TAKES
Kevin Kelehan
Better performance, should have got 2 bonus points out of it but was a game they had chances to win. After last weeks ill discipline this was a much better performance
Christy O’Connor
Cross field kicks killed us and there were a number of other times they could’ve exposed us, but luckily we escaped. Saying all that, very unlucky not to have come away with 2 points
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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 WORKONS”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
459 : Bulls v Leinster preview
LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Hugh Cooney 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Andrew Osborne 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Luke McGrath (c)
1. Paddy McCarthy 2. Gus McCarthy 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Brian Deeny 5. Ryan Baird 6. Alex Soroka 7. Will Connors 8. Max Deegan
16. John McKee 17. Jack Boyle 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Diarmuid Mangan 20. Scott Penny 21. James Culhane 22. Fintan Gunne 23. Ciarán Frawley
BULLS :15 Devon Williams 14 Sebastian de Klerk 13 David Kriel 12 Harold Vorster 11 Stravino Jacobs 10 Keagan Johannes 9 Embrose Papier
1 Gerhard Steenekamp 2 Johann Grobbelaar 3 Mornay Smith 4 N JV Rensburg 5 JF van Heerden 6 Marcell Coetzee 7 Mpilo Gumede 8 JJ Theron
16 Juann Else 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Francois Klopper 19 Sintu Manjezi 20 Nama Xaba 21 Zak Burger 22 Stedman Gans 23 Willie le Roux
BKT United Rugby Championship 25/26 Rd 2
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria
KO 5:30pm Irish time
Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv
Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)
AR 1: Sean Miller (SARU)
AR 2: AJ Jacobs (SARU)
TMO: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
458 : Stormers v Leinster wrap
🏉 Lack of attack
🏉 Sam’s kicking
🏉 In our defence…
🏉 Set-piece woes
🏉 And now, the Bulls
THIS WEEK’S GUEST
FULL TIME TAKES
Gavin Hegarty
Two yellows in one game, how many did we get last season?
We looked rusty and disinterested but let’s not get carried away. First game of a long season, let just learn from it.
Kevin Kelehan
Kick up the arse first day of the new season, 2 cards in 4 minutes made the scoreline a hammering. It will get better from here
Chris McDonnell
Our coaches know the players who were available for the past 2 or 3 months and still we couldn’t win a lineout scrum or even score a point. Total failure from our coaching staff once again. Not one coach from our group can say his pre season work actually looked better than a shambles.
Get in the conversation yourself by leaving
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in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page
URC WRAP
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “LACKING LEADERSHIP”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
457 : Stormers v Leinster preview
LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Ciarán Frawley 11. Jordan Larmour 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Luke McGrath (c)
1. Jack Boyle 2. Gus McCarthy 3. Rabah Slimani 4. Diarmuid Mangan 5. Brian Deeny 6. Ryan Baird 7. Scott Penny 8. James Culhane
16. John McKee 17. Paddy McCarthy 18. Andrew Sparrow 19. Max Deegan 20. Will Connors 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Harry Byrne 23. Hugh Cooney
STORMERS : 15 Wandisile Simelane 14 Seabelo Senatla, 13 Ruhan Nel (c), 12 Dan du Plessis, 11 Leolin Zas, 10 Jurie Matthee, 9 Stefan Ungerer
1 Vernon Matongo 2 André-Hugo Venter 3 Neethling Fouché 4 Adré Smith 5 JD Schickerling 6 Paul de Villiers 7 Ben-Jason Dixon 8 Evan Roos
16 JJ Kotze, 17 Olly Reid, 18 Zachary Porthen, 19 Ruben van Heerden, 20 Ruan Ackermann, 21 Marcel Theunissen, 22 Dewaldt Duvenage, 23 Clinton Swart
BKT United Rugby Championship 25/26 Rd 1
Friday, September 26, 2025
DHL Stadium, Cape Town
KO 6pm Irish time
Live on : TG4, Premier Sports 1, URC.tv
Referee: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)
AR 1: Sean Muller (SARU)
AR 2: Stephan Geldenhuys (SARU)
TMO: Adam Jones (WRU)
456 : SEASON SEVEN PREMIERE
Tom joins me for a quick look at Leinster’s expectations as well as players we’re looking to kick on.
THIS WEEK’S GUEST
NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY – Bonus video (Women’s World Cup review – Substack/YouTube)
WEDNESDAY – 80+ column (Substack)
THURSDAY – Stormers v Leinster preview feat Keego (Substack/YouTube)
443 : Leinster are URC Champions wrap
🏉 Kicking on
🏉 Pack Mentality
🏉 Defensive stands
🏉 Below par Bulls
🏉 Playing the conditions
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Kevin Kelehan
Great atmosphere in Croker from about 30 mins before kick off, hat tip to the support in the Hill they were so vocal. The defensive set for 5 minutes before half time was what won the game, Bulls threw everything they had at Leinster, recycling clinically but there was no way through. Was delighted to see Ross Byrne get point 32 at Croker as his last act, was even happier to see Sam Prendergast hit a lot of people today, he has redeemed himself.
Jackie McEachern
Brilliant team performance! So happy for everybody at Leinster rugby. I hope they all thoroughly enjoy celebrating this and that it can be the foundation that next season is built upon.
William Andrew
Elon Musk, Nelson Mandela, Charlize Theron, Rassie Eramus, Trevor Noah your boys took some beating 💓 in Dublin today. 😀😃🙂🙃😊😇😀
Superb . Controlled aggression. Total focus at all times. I enjoyed the wins at the scrum as much the tries. The real slim shadys stood up today
Kevin OCeallaigh
That was a brilliantly coached performance, especially on defence. Thrilled for Sam. Thought he was really good today and probably one place kick away from POTM. He’s probably had a tough week. Also a great sign-off for Jordie, and the cheers from the crowd shows just how much he is respected by the fans. Loved the celebration from Ross when he showed that kick
Cuan Mulligan
Ryan Baird.. more of that please. Was good to see Sam P try some flare, looked like his mojo was back.. kicking off the tee is still a growth area for the summer…looked like he wanted contact more, although fell off tackles but not for lack of want. What they have tapped into.. they need to stay tapped into.
Daniel James
Thank god!! I could leave it at that but it was a brilliant performance where they went at the bulls like they did in the champions cup up to the semi final. Hopefully this lays a foundation to get over the line in next years knockout competitions. Also past time to win the URC now we need push all the way next year!
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
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NEXT HARPIN’
TUESDAY
BONUS CHAT : “SAM’S ROLE” & “THE IMPORTS”
WEDNESDAY
80+ COLUMN
442 : URC Grand Final preview
LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Jordie Barrett 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park Luke McGrath
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan (c)
16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Jack Boyle 18. Rabah Slimani 19. RG Snyman 20. Max Deegan 21. Luke McGrath Fintan Gunne 22. Ross Byrne 23. Jamie Osborne
BULLS : 15 Willie le Roux 14 Canon Moodie 13 David Kriel 12 Harold Vorster 11 Sebastian de Klerk 10 Johan Goosen 9 Embrose Papier
1 Jan-hendrik Wessels 2 Johan Grobbelaar 3 Wilco Louw 4 Cobus Wiese 5 JF van Heerden 6 Marco van Staden 7 Ruan Nortje (c) 8 Marcell Coetzee
16 Akker van der Merwe 17 Alulutho Tshakweni 18 Mornay Smith 19 Jannes Kirsten 20 Nizaam Carr 21 Zak Burger 22 Keagan Johannes 23 Devon Williams
BKT United Rugby Championship 24/25 Grand Final
Saturday, June 14, 2025
KO 2:45pm Aviva Stadium
Live on : TG4, Premier Sports 1 & URC.tv
Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)
AR 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
AR 2: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
TMO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)
UPDATE : We have received further press conference videos…
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 