Ireland rugby – Page 4 – HARPIN' ON RUGBY

416 : Ireland v France preview

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IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Jamie Osborne 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Rob Herring 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. James Ryan 20. Jack Conan 21. Ryan Baird 22. Conor Murray 23. Jack Crowley

FRANCE : 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Yoram Moefana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c)

1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 3 Uini Atonio, 4 Thibaud Flament, 5 Mickaël Guillard, 6 Francois Cros, 7 Paul Boudehent, 8 Gregory Alldritt

16 Julien Marchand, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Emmanuel Meafou, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Anthony Jelonch, 23 Maxime Lucu

Guinness Six Nations 2025 Round 4

Saturday, March 8, 2025

KO 2:15pm Aviva Stadium

Live on : RTÉ2, ITV1

Referee: Angus Gardner (Aus)

AR1: Matthew Carley (Eng)

AR2: Christophe Ridley (Eng)

TMO: Ian Tempest (Eng)

FPRO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)

412 : Wales v Ireland wrap

2025 Guinness Six Nations Round 3, Principality Stadium, Cardiff, Wales 22/2/2025Wales vs Ireland Ireland’s Jamie Osborne scores a try despite Tom Rogers of WalesMandatory Credit ©INPHO/Ben Brady

🏉 Solid start
🏉 Welsh purple patch
🏉 Ringer Red
🏉 Bundee Bloody Bundee
🏉 Crowning glory

THIS WEEK’S GUEST

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post To Post blog

FULL TIME TAKES

Kevin Kelehan

Wales were so much better today, played with width and offloaded really accurately. Doris certainly missed and Ringrose’s mistimed tackle didn’t help. Likely France only 3 points behind us after this weekend which makes a win essential in 2 weeks time.

Peggy Sibbald

Well done Ireland..but hats of to Wales they played a massive game of Rugby 👏👏👏

Craig Grehan

That was an epic battle. Sloppy but epic. I think it will stand to us better than if we’d gone out and hammered them. Not that it was gonna happen. Fair play Wales. But fair play Ireland for sticking it out and showing the grit between the teeth

Michelle Tobin

Scrum was an unmitigated disaster. We were lucky not to concede a yellow for the repeated penalties. So many players will watch that performance back and be embarrassed. Some dreadful stuff. A few bright sparks, Osborne, Lowe, Conan and Beirne but plenty of others sub-par.

Greg Kelly

Ireland were poor but did the job when needed. In fairness had we played well for 60 mins of that game we would have won comfortably and I think we allowed Wales to play well. Was surprised Ringrose was upgraded to red but there was some really bizzare interactions between referee and TMO in that game 🤷‍♂️

Jackie McEachern

Grateful for the win. We missed Doris, hoping he’s back for France and also hoping Conan’s injury isn’t serious. I thought it was a little strange that Crowley wasn’t brought on until so late in the game.

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MEN’S 6N WRAP

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80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

411 : Wales v Ireland preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

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Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan (c) 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Jack Conan

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Jack Boyle 18. Finlay Bealham 19. James Ryan 20. Cian Prendergast 21. Conor Murray 22. Jack Crowley 23. Bundee Aki

WALES : 15. Blair Murray 14. Tom Rogers 13. Max Llewellyn 12. Ben Thomas 11. Ellis Mee 10. Gareth Anscombe 9. Tomos Williams

1. Nicky Smith 2. Elliot Dee 3. WillGriff John 4. Will Rowlands 5. Dafydd Jenkins 6. Jac Morgan (c) 7. Tommy Reffell 8. Taulupe Faletau

16. Evan Lloyd 17. Gareth Thomas 18. Henry Thomas 19. Teddy Williams 20. Aaron Wainwright 21. Rhodri Williams 22. Jarrod Evans 23. Joe Roberts

Guinness Six Nations Championship 2025 Round 3

Saturday, February 22, 2025

KO 2:15pm Principality Stadium

Live on : Virgin Media One, BBC1, S4C

Referee: Christophe Ridley (RFU)

Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)

Assistant Referee 2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

FPRO: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

ALSO THIS WEEKEND

IRELAND A V ENGLAND A

Sunday, February 23

Ashton Gate, Bristol

Kickoff 1pm

Live for free on Rugbypass TV

15. Shane Daly 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Jude Postlethwaite 12. Hugh Gavin 11. Shayne Bolton 10. Ciaran Frawley 9. Nathan Doak

1. Tom O’Toole 2. Diarmuid Barron 3. Jack Aungier 4. Evan O’Connell 5. Darragh Murray 6. Max Deegan (c) 7. Alex Kendellen 8. Sean Jansen

16. Stephen Smyth 17. Paddy McCarthy 18. Oli Jager 19. Conor O’Tighearnaigh 20. Alex Soroka 21. Fintan Gunne 22. Harry Byrne 23. Brian Gleeson

408 : Scotland v Ireland wrap

2025 Guinness Six Nations Championship Round 2, Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Edinburgh, Scotland 9/2/2025 Scotland vs Ireland Leinster’s Sam Prendergast Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

🏉 Super Sam
🏉 DVDM good & bad
🏉 HIAs
🏉 Mini comeback
🏉 Quaich retained

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

CONOR CRONIN

FULL TIME TAKES

Sarah Lennon

Decent performance but we need to get out of the habit of coughing up late scores, this could come down to points difference

Colin McConaghie

Thought JGP was outstanding again and Hugo looks back to his best. Worried about our centres who aren’t hitting the heights.

Not sure about persisting with POM with other longer term options available. Conan stepped it up when he came on.

Cormac Mannion

No head-slapping, whooping and screaming in the opposition’s faces from the Scotland players today. Good enough for them.

Overall, a solid performance. We were very sloppy at times though, particularly from 35mins to 50mins and then the last Scotland score.but we were well on top for most of it. Lineout wasn’t great but we tried a few new things and hopefully Furlong and McCarthy will be back for Wales.

David Ryle

I feel Sam has shut his detractors up but they won’t.

Kevin Kelehan

Scotland played very well for phases but the loss of Russell and Graham means we never saw the full test that was expected. Ireland were really professional in using their power and patience to get their scores. Conan is definitely back to his absolute best as Prendergast raises the bar at 10 higher game after game.

Jackie McEachern

Really happy overall with the performance and bonus point win. I thought Prendergast, Beirne, JGP and Keenan were all excellent. Always things to work on but two 5 point wins from the first two 6N matches is excellent.

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NEXT HARPIN’

TUESDAY

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WEDNESDAY

80+ COLUMN INCLUDING FRONT 5 VIDEO

THURSDAY

OSPREYS V LEINSTER PREVIEW SHOW

407 : Scotland v Ireland preview

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NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

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Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. James Ryan 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Peter O’Mahony 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Ryan Baird 20. Jack Conan 21. Conor Murray 22. Jack Crowley 23. Garry Ringrose

SCOTLAND : 15.Blair Kinghorn 14. Darcy Graham 13. Huw Jones 12. Tom Jordan 11. Duhan van der Merwe 10. Finn Russell (cc) 9. Ben White

1. Rory Sutherland 2. Dave Cherry 3. Zander Fagerson 4. Jonny Gray 5. Grant Gilchrist 6. Matt Fagerson 7. Rory Darge (cc) 8. Jack Dempsey

16. Ewan Ashman. Pierre Schoeman 18. Will Hurd 19. Sam Skinner 20. Gregor Brown 21. Jamie Ritchie 22. Jamie Dobie 23. Stafford McDowall

Guinness Six Nations 2025 Rd 2

Sunday February 9, 2025

KO 3pm Murrayfield

Live on : RTÉ2, BBC1

Referee: James Doleman (NZ)

AR1: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)

AR2: Pierre Brousset (Fra)

TMO: Richard Kelly (NZ)

FPRO: Andrew Jackson (Eng)

405 : Ireland v England preview

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IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. James Ryan 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Cian Healy 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Iain Henderson 20. Jack Conan 21. Conor Murray 22. Jack Crowley 23. Robbie Henshaw

ENGLAND : 15. Freddie Steward 14. Tommy Freeman 13. Ollie Lawrence 12. Henry Slade 11. Cadan Murley 10. Marcus Smith 9. Alex Mitchell

1. Ellis Genge 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 3. Will Stuart 4. Maro Itoje (c) 5. George Martin 6. Tom Curry 7. Ben Curry 8. Ben Earl

16. Theo Dan 17. Fin Baxter 18. Joe Heyes 19. Ollie Chessum 20. Chandler Cunningham-South 21. Tom Willis 22. Harry Randall 23. Fin Smith

Guinness Six Nations 2025 Rd 1

Saturday February 1, 2025

KO 4:45pm Aviva Stadium

Live on : Virgin Media One

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (NZ)

AR1: James Doleman (NZ)

AR2: Hollie Davidson (Sco)

TMO: Glenn Newman (NZ)

FPRO: Richard Kelly (NZ)

390 : Ireland v Australia wrap

IRFU 150 Test Match, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 30/11/2024 Ireland vs Australia Ireland’s Cian Healy Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

🏉 Just not clicking

🏉 Schmidt tactics

🏉 Ten point swing

🏉 Back to adversity

🏉 Saved by the bench

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICHARD MIFSUD

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post to Post Sport blog

FULL TIME TAKES

Cormac Mannion

I’m not too worried about the attack just yet. It took Catt a bit of time to sort that out when he took up the role so let’s hope Goodman makes improvements by the 6N.

However, our lineout is appalling and this is nothing new. Serious questions to be asked of O’Connell and what he’s doing there.

Big step up for Prendergast today and he’ll learn from it. Suddenly we now have options at 10 post Johnny. Crowley was really up for it when he came on too.

Another issue though seems to be the back row. We seem to get isolated an awful lot at the breakdown and giving away a lot of turnovers. Ruck clearance has definitely gone downhill this year.

Ronan McManus

I’m not sure that Prendergast’s more languid passing style helped us against the Aussie rush defence. They were in among us by the time the ball came into the centre.

Some real flashes of quality from him though.

Sort.out.the.lineout.

Kevin Kelehan

Bench was the difference between the sides, Dan Sheehan will be back once fit and Gus McCarthy should be on the bench, you need to win your own line outs, something that only happened once McCarthy came on. Jack Crowley also showed so much more accuracy and energy in his time, Prendergast just not up to the pace aged 21. Craig Casey also full of energy when introduced. Josh VDF also superb and was Doris as was Big Joe and Porter.

Sean MacDonnchadha

Can’t sweep this under the rug and say a win is a win and move on. That lazy mentality has only ever gotten us to the same QF exit in world cups. Lineout and attack are serious issues and can no longer be ignored – changes needed.

Jackie McEachern

Lineout needs to be sorted. Bench made a big impact (esp Crowley, Casey and McCarthy). Glad we got the win but that could easily have gone the other way.

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388 : Ireland v Australia preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

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Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Hugo Keenan 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Jamison Gibson-Park

1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan 6. Tadhg Beirne 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

16. Gus McCarthy 17. Cian Healy 18. Tom O’Toole 19. Iain Henderson 20. Peter O’Mahony 21. Craig Casey 22. Jack Crowley 23. Garry Ringrose

Wallabies : 15. Tom Wright 14. Andrew Kellaway 13. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 12. Len Ikitau 11. Max Jorgensen 10. Noah Lolesio 9. Jake Gordon

1. James Slipper 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa 3. Taniela Tupou 4. Nick Frost 5. Jeremy Williams 6. Rob Valetini 7. Fraser McReight 8. Harry Wilson (c)

16. Billy Pollard 17. Angus Bell 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 20. Langi Gleeson 21. Tate McDermott 22. Tane Edmed 23. Harry Potter

Autumn Nations Series 2024 Week 4

Saturday, November 30, 2024

KO 3:10pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: Virgin Media 1, TNT Sports 1

Referee: Andrea Piardi (FIR)

AR1: Nika Amashukeli (GRU)

AR2: Gianluca Gnecchi (FIR)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (FFR)

FPRO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

386 : Ireland v Fiji wrap

Autumn Nations Series, Aviva Stadium, Dublin 23/11/2024 Ireland vs Fiji
Ireland’s Sam Prendergast takes a kick Mandatory Credit
©INPHO/Ben Brady

🏉 Sam, Gus & Izzy

🏉 Attacking flow

🏉 Discipline

🏉 Awkward positions

🏉 Pecking orders

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CIAN O’MUILLEOIR

CIARÁN DUFFY

Post To Post Sport

FULL TIME TAKES

Hubert Gallagher

Sam P’s ability to pick out a late pass and put a player into a gap was otherworldly! Set up a number of clean breaks. Loved the fact he made a number of errors but the head didn’t do down and he just played on as if it didn’t matter. Great temperament.

Gus was also brilliant- another couple of games and he’ll be pushing Kelleher and of course Sheehan when he’s back! What a debut.

Lots of really good performances from more established players Henshaw, Aki, JVDF, Doris and loved Casey’s performances – much better then I’ve seen him play before.

Lastly a word for Frawley – he took some punishment and kept going and did very well!

Opposition was quite poor however and we need to keep that in mind.

Jackie McEachern

Bearing in mind that Fiji were poor, I think we can still take away positives. Great first time starts from Sam and Gus. And many of the veterns put in strong performances – Aki, Henshaw, Doris, VdF. I was also really impressed with Casey.

I think Crowley should definitely start next week and the #10 jersey is his. But I’m excited for what Sam will also bring as he matures and his skills grow.

Bert McLoughlin

Fijian discipline shocking. Gus McCarthy had a great debut 3 assists and a try👏. Sam had a mixed bag with the yellow and a few mistakes after he can back on, but his passing gains space for players around him and is definitely a playmaker 10.

Chris McDonnell

Casey played his best game, sam recovered from some silly mistakes and played well especially after frawley came on and took loads of the pressure off playing as a second play maker. Said before the game the balance on the bench with so many 12’s and no back 3 players was always going to go badly.

Eamon Saunders

A win is a win some great individual performances but for me Robbie Henshaw was back to his best but again great performances all over the pitch

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AUTUMN NATIONS SERIES WRAP

WEEK 3

FRANCE 37-23 ARGENTINA

IRELAND 52-17 FIJI

WALES 12-45 SOUTH AFRICA

ITALY 11-29 NEW ZEALAND

SCOTLAND 27-13 AUSTRALIA

ENGLAND 59-14 JAPAN

WEEK 4

SAT NOV 30

IRELAND V AUSTRALIA

@harpinonrugby
Could’ve been the first to get a yellow before kickoff! 😜
♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

385 : Ireland v Fiji preview

ALSO AVAILABLE AS A PODCAST

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

IRELAND : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Mack Hansen 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. Jacob Stockdale 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Craig Casey

1. Andrew Porter 2. Gus McCarthy 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Cormac Izuchukwu 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris (c)

Replacements: 16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Tom O’Toole 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Iain Henderson 20. Cian Prendergast 21. Conor Murray 22. Ciaran Frawley 23. Stuart McCloskey

Fiji : 15 Vuate Karawalevu 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c) 12 Josua Tuisova 11 Ponepati Loganimasi 10 Caleb Muntz 9 Frank Lomani

1 Eroni Mawi 2 Tevita Ikanivere 3 Luke Tagi 4 Mesake Vocevoce 5 Temo Mayanavanua 6 Meli Derenalagi 7 Kitione Salawa 8 Elia Canakaivata.

16 Sam Matavesi 17 Haereiti Hetet 18 Samu Tawake 19 Setareki Turagacoke 20 Albert Tuisue 21 Peni Matawalu 22 Vilimoni Botitu 23 Sireli Maqala

Autumn Nations Series 2024 Week 3

Saturday, November 23, 2024

KO 3:10pm Aviva Stadium

Live on: Virgin Media 1, TNT Sports 1

Referee: Hollie Davidson (SRU)

AR1: Matthew Carley (RFU)

AR2: Sam Grove-White (SRU)

TMO: Mike Adamson (SRU)

FPRO: Andrew McMenemy (SRU)