522 : Leinster v Lions preview



LEINSTER : 15 Ciarán Frawley 14 Joshua Kenny 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Jamie Osborne 11 Jimmy O’Brien 10 Sam Prendergast 9 Luke McGrath

1 Ed Byrne 2 John McKee 3 Thomas Clarkson 4 Brian Deeny 5 James Ryan (c) 6 Max Deegan 7 Will Connors 8 James Culhane

16 Dan Sheehan 17 Andrew Porter 18 Rabah Slimani 19 Diarmuid Mangan 20 Scott Penny 21 Fintan Gunne 22 Hugh Cooney 23 Hugo Keenan


LIONS : 15 Quan Horn 14 Erich Cronje 13 Henco van Wyk 12 Richard Kriel 11 Angelo Davids 10 Chris Smith 9 Morne van den Berg

1 SJ Kotze 2 PJ Botha 3 Asenathi Ntlabakanye 4 Etienne Oosthuizen 5 Reinhard Nothnagel 6 Siba Mahashe 7 Ruan Venter 8 Francke Horn (c)

16 Franco Marais 17 Eddie Davids 18 Sebastian Lombard 19 Darrien Landsberg 20 Batho Hlekani 21 JC Pretorius 22 Nico Steyn 23 Kelly Mpeku


BKT United Rugby Championship

2025/26  Round 17

Saturday, May 9, 2026

Aviva Stadium

KO 5:30pmpm

Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv


Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

AR1: Keane Davison (IRFU)

AR2: Stuart Gaffikin (IRFU)

TMO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)


Here is the extra chat on the Leo v Indo situation as promised in the Preview Show…

518 : Benetton v Leinster preview



LEINSTER : 15 Ciarán Frawley 14 Tommy O’Brien 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Jamie Osborne 11 Jimmy O’Brien 10 Harry Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson‑Park  

1 Ed Byrne 2 Dan Sheehan 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Conor O’Tighearnaigh 5 Brian Deeny 6 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 8 Caelan Doris (c)  

16 Gus McCarthy 17 Jerry Cahir 18 Thomas Clarkson 19 Alex Soroka 20 Scott Penny 21 Fintan Gunne 22 Sam Prendergast 23 Charlie Tector


BENETTON :15 Matt Gallagher 14 Ignacio Mendy 13 Tommaso Menoncello 12 Malakai Fekitoa 11 Paolo Odogwu 10 Jacob Umaga 9 Alessandro Garbisi  

1 Destiny Aminu 2 Bautista Bernasconi 3 Tiziano Pasquali 4 Giulio Marini 5 Riccardo Favretto 6 Manuel Zuliani 7 Michele Lamaro (c) 8 Lorenzo Cannone  

16 Nicholas Gasperini 17 Ivan Nemer 18 Marcos Gallorini 19 Niccolò Cannone 20 So’otala Fa’aso’o 21 Eli Snyman 22 Andy Uren 23 Leonardo Marin


BKT United Rugby Championship

2025/26  Round 16

Saturday, April 25, 2026

Stadio di Monigo

KO 7:45pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv


Referee: Morne Ferreira (SARU)

AR1: Alberto Favaro (FIR)

AR2: Alex Frasson (FIR)

TMO: Christopher Allison (SARU)

516 : Ulster v Leinster preview


LEINSTER : 15 Hugo Keenan 14 JJ Kenny 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Jimmy O’Brien 10 Sam Prendergast 9 Luke McGrath  

1 Jerry Cahir 2 Rónan Kelleher 3 Tom Clarkson 4 Brian Deeny 5 James Ryan (c) 6 Alex Soroka 7 Scott Penny 8 James Culhane  

16 Gus McCarthy 17 Ed Byrne 18 Rabah Slimani 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20 Max Deegan 21 Will Connors 22 Fintan Gunne 23 Ciarán Frawley


ULSTER :15 Jacob Stockdale 14 Werner Kok 13 James Hume 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Zac Ward 10 Jack Murphy 9 Nathan Doak  

1 Angus Bell 2 Tom Stewart 3 Tom O’Toole 4 Iain Henderson (c) 5 Cormac Izuchukwu 6 David McCann 7 Sean Reffell 8 Juarno Augustus  

16 James McCormick 17 Sam Crean 18 Scott Wilson 19 Harry Sheridan 20 Bryn Ward 21 Conor McKee 22 Jake Flannery 23 Jude Postlethwaite


BKT United Rugby Championship

2025/26  Round 15

Friday, April 17, 2026

Affidea Stadium

KO 7:45pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv


Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)

AR 1: Andrew Cole (IRFU)

AR 2: Tomás O’Sullivan (IRFU)

TMO: Olly Hodges (IRFU)

514 : Leinster v Sale Sharks preview


LEINSTER : 15 Hugo Keenan 14 Tommy O’Brien 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Jamie Osborne 11 Rieko Ioane 10 Harry Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park

1 Alex Usanov 2 Dan Sheehan (c) 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Joe McCarthy 5 James Ryan 6 Ryan Baird 7 Josh van der Flier 8 Jack Conan

16 Rónan Kelleher 17 Jerry Cahir 18 Thomas Clarkson 19 Max Deegan 20 Scott Penny 21 Luke McGrath 22 Ciarán Frawley 23 Robbie Henshaw


SALE SHARKS : 15 Joe Carpenter 14 Tom Roebuck 13 Rob du Preez 12 Rekeiti Ma’asi-White 11 Tom O’Flaherty 10 George Ford 9 Gus Warr

1 Si McIntyre 2 Ethan Caine 3 Asher Opoku-Fordjour 4 Ernst van Rhyn (c) 5 Ben Bamber 6 Jacques Vermeulen 7 Sam Dugdale 8 Dan du Preez

16 Alfie Longstaff 17 Ralph McEachran 18 James Harper 19 Reuben Logan 20 Jos Gilmore 21 Dom Hanson 22 Marius Louw 23 Alex Wills


Investec Champions Cup

2025/26  Quarterfinal

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Aviva Stadium

KO 5:30pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1


Referee: Pierre Brousset (Fra)

AR1 : Gianluca Gnecchi (Ita)

AR2 : Filippo Russo (Ita)

TMO: Tual Trainini (Fra)

512: Leinster v Edinburgh preview


LEINSTER : 15 Hugo Keenan 14 Tommy O’Brien 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Jamie Osborne 11 Jimmy O’Brien 10 Harry Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park

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

16 Gus McCarthy 17 Alex Usanov 18 Thomas Clarkson 19 Brian Deeny 20 Max Deegan 21 Luke McGrath 22 Ciarán Frawley 23 Robbie Henshaw


EDINBURGH :15 Piers O’Conor 14 Darcy Graham 13 Matt Currie 12 James Lang 11 Malelili Satala 10 Ross Thompson 9 Charlie Shiel

1 Pierre Schoeman 2 Ewan Ashman 3 D’arcy Rae 4 Marshall Sykes 5 Grant Gilchrist (c) 6 Liam McConnell 7 Dylan Richardson 8 Ben Muncaster

16 Jerry Blyth-Lafferty 17 Boan Venter 18 Paul Hill 19 Glen Young 20 Freddy Douglas 21 Ben Vellacott 22  23 Jack Brown


Investec Champions Cup

2025/26  Round of 16

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Aviva Stadium

KO 5:30pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1


Referee Luke Pearce (Eng) 

AR1 : Hamish Smales (Eng) 

AR2 : Joe James (Eng) 

TMO : Andrew Jackson (Eng) 

Citing Comm : Wejdane Limame (Fra)

510 : Leinster v Scarlets preview


LEINSTER : 15 Jimmy O’Brien 14 Tommy O’Brien 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Jamie Osborne 11 Joshua Kenny 10 Harry Byrne 9 Jamison Gibson-Park

1 Andrew Porter 2 Dan Sheehan 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Joe McCarthy 5 Brian Deeny 6 Max Deegan 7 Josh van der Flier 8 Caelan Doris (c)

16 Gus McCarthy 17 Jerry Cahir 18 Rabah Slimani 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20 Alex Soroka 21 Fintan Gunne 22 Sam Prendergast 23 Robbie Henshaw


SCARLETS : 15 Blair Murray 14 Tom Rogers 13 Joe Roberts 12 Johnny Williams 11 Ellis Mee 10 Joe Hawkins 9 Dane Blacker

1 Kemsley Mathias 2 Harry Thomas 3 Archer Holz 4 Sam Lousi 5 Max Douglas 6 Jarrod Taylor 7 Dan Davis 8 Fletcher Anderson (c)

16 George Roberts 17 Sam O’Connor 18 Henry Thomas 19 Jake Ball 20 Tristan Davies 21 Archie Hughes 22 Ioan Jones 23 Macs Page


BKT United Rugby Championship

2025/26  Round 14

Friday, March 27, 2026

Aviva Stadium

KO 7:45pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv


Referee: Aimee Barrett-Theron (SARU)

AR 1: Peter Martin (IRFU)

AR 2: Chris Lough (IRFU)

TMO: Quinton Immelman (SARU)

508: Glasgow v Leinster preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

LEINSTER : 15 Hugo Keenan 14 Joshua Kenny 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Jimmy O’Brien 10 Sam Prendergast 9 Luke McGrath (c)

1 Alex Usanov 2 Rónan Kelleher 3 Thomas Clarkson 4 RG Snyman 5 Brian Deeny 6 Jack Conan 7 Will Connors 8 James Culhane

16 John McKee 17 Jerry Cahir 18 Rabah Slimani 19 Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20 Max Deegan 21 Scott Penny 22 Fintan Gunne 23 Ciarán Frawley


GLASGOW : 15 Josh McKay 14 Kyle Rowe 13 Johnny Ventisei 12 Stafford McDowall (c) 11 Ollie Smith 10 Dan Lancaster 9 George Horne

1 Patrick Schickerling 2 Gregor Hiddleston 3 Fin Richardson 4 Alex Craig 5 Alex Samuel 6 Euan Ferrie 7 Sione Vailanu 8 Macenzzie Duncan

16 Seb Stephen 17 Rory Sutherland 18 Sam Talakai 19 Jare Oguntibeju 20 Ally Miller 21 Angus Fraser 22 Jack Oliver 23 Adam Hastings


BKT United Rugby Championship

2025/26  Round 13

Saturday, March 21, 2026

Scotstoun Stadium

KO 5:30pm

Live on : Premier Sports 1, URC.tv


Referee: Adam Jones (WRU)

AR 1: David Sutherland (SRU)

AR 2: Ciaran Stark (SRU)

TMO: Aled Griffiths (WRU)

506: Ireland v Scotland preview


IRELAND : 15 Jamie Osborne 14 Rob Baloucoune 13 Garry Ringrose 12 Stuart McCloskey 11 Tommy O’Brien 10 Jack Crowley 9 Jamison Gibson‑Park

1 Tom O’Toole 2 Dan Sheehan 3 Tadhg Furlong 4 Joe McCarthy 5 Tadhg Beirne 6 Jack Conan 7 Josh van der Flier 8 Caelan Doris (c)

16 Rónan Kelleher 17 Michael Milne 18 Finlay Bealham 19 Darragh Murray 20 Nick Timoney 21 Craig Casey 22 Ciaran Frawley 23 Bundee Aki


SCOTLAND : 15 Blair Kinghorn 14 Darcy Graham 13 Huw Jones 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c) 11 Kyle Steyn 10 Finn Russell 9 Ben White

1 Pierre Schoeman 2 George Turner 3 Zander Fagerson 4 Max Williamson 5 Grant Gilchrist 6 Matt Fagerson 7 Rory Darge 8 Jack Dempsey

16 Ewan Ashman 17 Rory Sutherland 18 Murphy Rae 19 Alex Craig 20 Magnus Bradbury 21 George Horne 22 Kyle Rowe 23 Harry Jordan


Guinness Six Nations 2026

Round 5

Saturday, March 14, 2026

Aviva Stadium

KO 2:10pm

Live on : Virgin Media One


Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)

AR1: Angus Gardner (RA)

AR2: Damian Schneider (UAR)

TMO: Andrew Jackson (RFU)

FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

502 : Cardiff v Leinster preview


LEINSTER : 15 Jimmy O’Brien 14 Joshua Kenny 13 Rieko Ioane 12 Robbie Henshaw 11 Ruben Moloney 10 Harry Byrne 9 Fintan Gunne

1 Jerry Cahir 2 John McKee 3 Andrew Sparrow 4 Alan Spicer 5 Brian Deeny 6 Max Deegan (c) 7 Scott Penny 8 James Culhane

16 Gus McCarthy 17 Alex Usanov 18 Rabah Slimani 19 RG Snyman 20 Josh Ericson 21 Luke McGrath 22 Charlie Tector 23 Andrew Osborne


CARDIFF : 15 Cam Winnett 14 Jacob Beetham 13 Harri Millard 12 Ben Thomas 11 Mason Grady 10 Callum Sheedy 9 Aled Davies

1 Rhys Barratt 2 Liam Belcher 3 Javan Sebastian 4 Josh McNally 5 George Nott 6 Alun Lawrence 7 Dan Thomas 8 Taine Basham

16 Daf Hughes 17 Danny Southworth 18 Keiron Assiratti 19 Rory Thornton 20 Evan Rees 21 Johan Mulder 22 Ioan Lloyd 23 Tom Bowen


BKT United Rugby Championship 25/26

Round 12

Friday, February 27, 2026

Cardiff Arms Park

KO 7pm

Live on : TG4, Premier Sports 1 & URC.tv


Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

AR 1: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

AR 2: Carwyn Sion (WRU)

TMO: David Sutherland (SRU)

501 : England v Ireland wrap

21 February 2026; Jamison Gibson-Park of Ireland scores his side’s first try, despite a tackle of England’s Joe Heyes, during the Guinness 6 Nations Rugby Championship match between England and Ireland at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, England. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile


🏉 Whiskey, neat

🏉 Leaders in the pack

🏉 Brick wall D

🏉 Super Ulstermen

🏉 Chariots low


HUGO GORDON


FULL TIME TAKES

Wayne O’Brien

The type of performance that will put a lot of confidence gas back in the tank

Tom Clarke

Much better performance. Some of the bigger players really stepped up. Have to give Farrell credit. Thought McCloskey was incredible. Jaimo, Joe and Dorris were brilliant too. Don’t think there was a bad performance in fairness.

Greg Kelly

Irelands performance was beautifully summed up by McCloskey running Marcus Smith down like the terminator

Gerald Williamson

Well deserved win by a country mile. The hunger is back in the team and Andy Farrell has shut those “doubting Thomas “.

Richard Collumb

Would never have thought they could do that. Brilliant all round performance (scrum still needs work), but tactically got it spot on vs England and great execution

Christy O’Connor

That performance was long overdue, we can’t pretend there’s still a lot to work on but that’s a huge step in the right direction, hopefully we can build on this now

Gavin Hegarty

Were we that good or were England just that bad? I think we just dominated them into their mistakes. They were rattled from minute one and couldn’t react.

Pollock was nonexistent for them, perhaps he should check his pulse now?

It’d be typical of England now to fire borthwick if they finish fourth. It’d cost them a lot to get rid of him and get someone else in but who would be the contenders?

Chris McDonnell

The difference passing the ball makes.

That’s 2 years in a row we have battered England

Craig Grehan

In farrell we trust.

The things we’ve been working on clicked and went our way.

Oh, and McCloskey is an animal.

Craig Boyd

Great to prove the doubters wrong (including myself). Particularly delighted as an Ulsterman that the Ulster boys have backed up their recent performances #mccloskeyrollingbacktheyears

Bert McLoughlin

The lads were hungry for the win and England didn’t have any answers for it

Eamon Saunders

That complete performance that we have been looking for and what a place to deliver 🇮🇪🇮🇪

John O Halloran

Handy run out for the lads. 😉.

Jokes aside, I had Ireland by 3 to 7 max and I was being very optimistic.

I didn’t see that level of performance coming. A superb response and result.

Barbara Gaffey

Always that extra niggle versus England and proving the naysayers wrong! The pressure worked to our advantage this time and it all finally clicked. Absolute class! 🙌🔥💪

Hywel Davies

Not looking forward to the next match

Tony Doyle

Chariot on fire for the second week in a row

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SIX NATIONS WRAP

Italy 18-15 Scotland  

England 48-7 Wales  

France 36-14 Ireland

Scotland 31–20 England  

Italy 13–20 Ireland  

Wales 12–54 France

England 21-42 Ireland

Wales 23-26 Scotland  

France 33-8 Italy  

Round 4 Fixtures

Fri 6 March

Ireland v Wales 

Sat 7 March

Scotland v France

Italy v England


NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

BONUS CHAT : “IRELAND’S NEXT OPPONENTS”

WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN