With both Leinster & Ireland playing in the Scottish capital the next two weekends, our perfect guest to offer an opposition view was Sandy “@theburghwatch” Smith.
OUR GUEST : SANDY SMITH
227 : Opposition view – Edinburgh & Scotland
Category: URC
223 : Harpin Preview Show – #LEIvDRA
Our guest : CONOR CRONIN
Leinster : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Liam Turner 12. Jamie Osborne 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. Lee Barron 17. Jack Boyle 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Jason Jenkins 20. Will Connors 21. Nick McCarthy 22. Charlie Tector 23. Rob Russell
Dragons RFC: 15 A O’Brien 14 Tomkinson 13 S Hughes 12 J Dixon 11 A Hewitt 10 W Reed 9 R Williams (c)
1 R Jones 2 B Coghlan 3 L Fairbrother 4 M Screech 5 B Carter 6 B Fry 7 T Basham 8 R Moriarty
16 J Benjamin 17 A Seiuli 18 C Coleman 19 S Lonsdale 20 R Woodman 21 L Jones 22 JJ Hanrahan 23 J Williams
BKT United Rugby Championship 2022/23
Round 14
Sat Feb 18 KO 7:35pm
RDS Arena
Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)
AR 1: Oisin Quinn (IRFU)
AR 2: Sam Holt (IRFU)
TMO: Dave Sutherland (SRU)
Live on: RTÉ, S4C, Viaplay, Premier Sports, SuperSport, Discovery + & URC.tv
215 : Leinster v Cardiff wrap
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SIX NATIONS GUINNESS PINT PREDICTOR LEAGUE
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
CONOR CRONIN & CIAN O’MUILLEOIR
FULL TIME TAKES
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👍🏻
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
- RFU Apologise After Severe Criticism Over Controversial New Tackle Laws | Balls.ie [Colman Stanley]
- Bernard Laporte resigns from FFR president role after corruption conviction (talkingrugbyunion.co.uk)
- Ulster sink Stormers with home success | Belfast News Letter [Ciaran Donaghy]
- Six-try Munster bank bonus in Treviso thriller (irishexaminer.com) [Kevin Fallon]
- 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
208 : Ospreys v Leinster wrap
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
[plus a special report from CONOR CRONIN]
FULL TIME TAKES
Conor Cronin A few key things from this game that concern me.
The pack were bullied in the first half, and let themselves be.
Harry Byrne struggled behind the pack, but they’re not entirely to blame for his struggles. He needs a lot more time and needs to build confidence behind a dominant pack.
The scrum was awful. We have suffered as a province since Fogarty went to the Ireland set up, that needs to be dealt with.
Grinding out the win is great, and you learn much more from a game like that. But we need to learn fast, especially if the injury Ross Byrne picked up last night is bad.
Paul Smith Probably the poorest we’ve played in a good while, but the sign of a good team is to still manage to win while playing poorly so we’ll the gladly take the points and move on.
MASTODON
WRRAP podcast @WRRAP@toot.wales It is not often you see a Leinster pack hit reverse but deserved the win
Brian Nisbet @natural20 19-24 in Swansea. Come back was quite late, but a win is a win and well done to the lads for doing what needed to be done.
Jay Long @Jay_Long_626 Seriously good win on the road and Ospreys were proper up for it. Turned it on when it counted, I think Nick McCarthy won us that game imo. Just slipped us into a flow. Never in doubt
FRONT FIVE ARTICLES
- Munster secure vital bonus point win against the Lions (irishexaminer.com) [Simon Lewis]
- Benetton 31-29 Ulster: Struggling Irish province suffer late URC defeat in Italy – BBC Sport
- Conor Cronin report on Leinster v Connacht in Women’s Interpro
- Connacht outclass second-string Sharks (sarugbymag.co.za)
- Does Irish rugby have enough space for the talent it’s producing? (the42.ie) [Murray Kinsella] > bonus clip from the chat on this article available on our YouTube channel
URC ROUND 12 WRAP
ROUND 12
DRA 14-29 BUL
MUN 33-3 LIO
BEN 31-29 ULS
EDI 24-17 ZEB
CAR 22-28 SCA
CON 24-12 SHA
OSP 19-24 LEI
GLA 24-17 STO
ROUND 13
JAN 27
SCA V BUL
ULS V STO
JAN 7
BEN V MUN
DRA V GLA
LEI V CAR
EDI V SHA
CON V LIO
JAN 8
ZEB V OSP
HARPIN’ MATCH WRAPS
ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
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206 : Leinster v Connacht wrap
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
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
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
- Andy Farrell dressing room phonecall captured after Ireland beat All Blacks | SportsJOE.ie [Pat McCarry]
- What did Joe Marler say to Jake Heenan? – Rugby World
- No relegation will produce more shocks – Baxter – Huge Rugby News
- Stephen Jones and Gethin Jenkins leave Wales coaching jobs with immediate effect as Gatland shakes up his backroom team – Wales Online [Ben James]
- 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
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
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!
MASTODON
rhubarbsticks @rhubarbsticks@sself.co
Although that was a tough, valuable and well earned victory it didn’t alter any pecking orders in Leinster.
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
- Leinster Rugby | James Tracy to Retire With Immediate Effect [Marcus Ó Buachalla]
- World Rugby announce new guidelines to speed up game (talkingrugbyunion.co.uk) [Frank Nickson]
- Steve Borthwick: England appoint Leicester coach to replace Eddie Jones – BBC Sport [Becky Gray]
- Benetton suspend member of staff and issue condemnation as Cherif Traore racial abuse investigation continues – Independent.ie [Duncan Bech]
- 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
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
200th episode special featuring “Season So Far Quiz”
200th episode special featuring "Season So Far Quiz" – Harpin' On Rugby
Test your knowledge of Leinster & Ireland’s season so far, and see if you can beat our contributors, in this quiz to help celebrate our 200th episode.
Our guests…
CONOR CRONIN
https://twitter.com/ccbooms
TOM COLEMAN
https://twitter.com/LeinsterRoyalty
MARK JACKSON
https://twitter.com/hoomanbear
RICHARD MIFSUD
https://twitter.com/Once_in_the_job
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
If you think you can answer questions like the one in the graphic above in five seconds or less, then have a go at our quiz there’s 12 altogether, see if you can do better than three of our contributors.
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 