🏉 Expectations for 24/25
🏉 Players to look out for
🏉 MUN, ULS & CON
🏉 Other top URC contenders
🏉 Possible team v Edinburgh
Our guests :
367: Leinster 24/25 URC preview
Tag: rugby podcast
364 : RSAvIRE 2nd test wrap
🏉 Osbourne catches
🏉 10-point leads
🏉 Croc rolls
🏉 3 by 3
🏉 Frawley time
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Alastair McDermott
One of the worst performances I’ve seen from South Africa in the first half and one of the worst performances I’ve seen from Ireland in the second. officials tried to screw us again but incredible finish
Dickson made quite a few 50-50 calls that always seemed to go in favour of the home team. From an Irish point of view, it felt almost endless.
But this happens in every game to every away team, so I don’t think it’s any particular conspiracy, it’s just the nature of sport!
Kevin Kelehan
Delighted Frawley got the chance to exorcise the ghost of Tottenham, ugly game but Farrell has built some team, 6 first choice players missing today, 5 of them in the back line and still got it done. Farrell is 80:20 win rate, Boks are 20:80 against the green machine in recent years!!
Sean MacDonnchadha
Very lucky I feel. Springboks only able to force penalties. We should’ve buried them in the first half with the energy, territory and possession we had. All the same, some balls from frawley
Paul Smith
Despite SA cheating and a horrendous performance by Dickinson, Ireland fully deserved the win and I’m absolutely delighted for Frawley who buried the memories of the Champions Cup last minute not once but twice with 2 superb drop goals.
John Willie Conroy
Osborne was unbelievable fair play to Andy Farrell for blooding. Questions need to be asked regarding Frawly not being picked at 10 at Leinster he’s a quality ball player and is head and shoulders above the Byrne brothers.
Brian Corr
So happy, what Irish team in the past could lose their starting scrum half, starting fullback, starting hooker and go to the world champions and get a result. 8 years since they’ve lost in Durban.
Delighted for Frawley to get the chance to make such a huge impact with two fantastic drop goals.
It’s said that tries win matches and that was the difference today
Hope the lads have a great celebration
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363 : #RSAvIRE 2nd test preview
Our guest : TOM COLEMAN
IRELAND : 15 J Osborne 14 C Nash 13 G Ringrose 12 R Henshaw 11 J Lowe 10 J Crowley 9 C Murray
1 A Porter 2 R Kelleher 3 T Furlong 4 J McCarthy 5 J Ryan
6 T Beirne 7 J vd Flier 8 C Doris (c)
16 R Herring 17 C Healy 18 F Bealham 19 R Baird 20 P O’Mahony 21 C Blade 22 C Frawley 23 S McCloskey
SOUTH AFRICA : 15 W le Roux 14 C Kolbe 13 J Kriel 12 D de Allende 11 K-L Arendse 10 H Pollard 9 F de Klerk
1 O Nche 2 B Mbonambi 3 F Malherbe 4 E Etzebeth 5 F Mostert 6 S Kolisi (c) 7 P-S du Toit 8 Kwagga Smith
16 M Marx 17 G Steenekamp 18 V Koch 19 S Moerat 20 RG Snyman 21 M van Staden 22 G Williams 23 S Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Castle Lager Incoming Series Second Test
Saturday, July 13, 2024
KO 4pm (Irish time) Kings Park Stadium
Live on: Sky Sports Main Event, Action
Referee: Karl Dickson (RFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Craig Evans (WRU)
TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)
362 : RSAvIRE 1st test wrap
🏉 Shaky start
🏉 Punishing mistakes
🏉 TMO issues
🏉 Bomb squad
🏉 Frantic finish
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Brian Patrick Donnelly
They got the rub of the green, big time, but we probably didn’t do enough.
Reasonably confident we can win 2nd if “end of season-itis” doesn’t kick in.
Gav Heg
If it was reversed, we won and the ref treated SA like he did us, rassie would release a two hour analysis slating him. The officiating simply wasn’t good enough at this level. like how can they review and disallow Lowes try but not notice the neck roll on Kelleher? Penalties were given for far less in NZ v Eng. And how was Casey stretchered off without any review from Pearse? Nonsensical and inconsistent
Greg Kelly
Is the call by the TMO to disallow Lowes try wrong in law? No…
Is the game in an absolute state if this is where it is going? Absolutely!
You can be guaranteed that in the lead up to all the tries today there were infringements but the TMO didn’t come back to those?
Even after the turnover Lowe beats 3 defenders to score so the manner of the turnover is not the material issue. It’s a great individual try called back for a debatable TMO intervention. Furthermore once the TMO comes in to disallow the try he must commit 100% to catching EVERY breakdown infringement from there. What if he let’s one go and 3 phases later there’s a kickable penalty awarded to the offending team? Does he call the referee back?
PSDT is off his feet in the field of play when he holds up Doris’ grounding attempt. By the letter of the law it’s an illegal intervention. It happens in all games and is never penalised but if we are going into the detail we did for the Lowe try then it’s another incidence of a player off feet affecting the play and consistency demands it’s flagged by the TMO.
If this is where we’re going it’s going to be a sh1t show.
Kevin Kelehan
Half back pairing was not disrupted, got reasonable parity at the breakdown. Unlucky with a few ref decisions that were 50:50 calls, particular Kelliher being driven back. Lots of industry and effort but also lots of shooting themselves in the foot. The series remains alive at only 7 points down, that is very encouraging, dust themselves down and be more clinical next week.
Sean MacDonnchadha
Have to look inward and be honest. Otherwise we’re only fooling ourselves again. Lineout and scrum came back to bite us after being highlighted as potential weaknesses. Backline stuttering for most of the game and no real director at 9/10. Felt like we were having to react to everything instead of dictating play. Dorris and Bundee tireless efforts. Ryan and Baird impacted well off the bench – only ones who did really. Needing Porter and Furlong to do a full 80 if possible is a massive system failure. Boks can’t wait to unleash their bench, if we’re honest we fear what will happen when we do.
Cuan Mulligan
In the first half, Kolisi was tackled, in the breakdown the ball is coming back to us and he sweeps the ball back with his hand.. not hard to see yet no tmo call. It felt like they were going out of their way to not give us a call
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361 : #RSAvIRE 1st test preview
Our guest : TOM COLEMAN
IRELAND : 15. Jamie Osborne 14. Calvin Nash 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. James Lowe 10. Jack Crowley 9. Craig Casey
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. Tadhg Beirne 6. Peter O’Mahony (C) 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Finlay Bealham 19. James Ryan 20. Ryan Baird 21. Conor Murray 22. Ciaran Frawley 23. Garry Ringrose
SOUTH AFRICA : 15 W le Roux 14 C Kolbe 13 J Kriel 12 D de Allende 11 K-L Arendse
10 H Pollard 9 F de Klerk 1 O Nche 2 B Mbonambi 3 F Malherbe
4 E Etzebeth 5 F Mostert 6 S Kolisi (c) 7 P-S du Toit 8 Kwagga Smith
16 M Marx 17 G Steenekamp 18 V Koch 19 S Moerat
20 RG Snyman 21 M van Staden 22 G Williams 23 S Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Castle Lager Incoming Series First Test
Saturday, July 6, 2024
KO 4pm (Irish time) Loftus Versfeld
Live on: Sky Sports Main Event, Action
359 : Ireland’s tests in RSA – preview
🏉 Team Ireland v Team Provinces
🏉 The Never Ending Season
🏉 Who will step up?
🏉 The Boks’ approach
🏉 Series predictions
OUR GUESTS
356 : Bulls v Leinster & 23/24 season wrap
🏉 Kicking game
🏉 Early conservation?
🏉 Predictability
🏉 Petersen chasing
🏉 Season review
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Brian Corr
Heartbreaking really, you could see players struggling in the conditions but Bulls were really up for it.
Some simple things going wrong don’t want to point out individuals but snappy passing failing us too many passes dropped taking away the momentum, a couple of kicks went awry as well, the Bulls kicking was exceptional for finding distance giving them a great home advantage.
I thought Joe Mc legally turned over the ball in the middle of the field but ref giving them a penalty seemed harsh, can someone explain why Donal on commentary was giving out about him, I’m perplexed.
Scrum a massive issue, now I’m really hoping Ireland go down and win both tests, anything else and we’re in for a torrid slagging 😂
Can someone explain why when Leinster score 87 tries second only to the Bulls on 88 everyone is saying Leinsters attack is terrible?
Lastly it’s not Bernard Jackman’s fault, based on the evidence Bulls weren’t all that, they just became all that today and fair play to them.
William Andrew
Leinster looked stale. They were moved around the park by a very clever Bulls side. It was obvious at half time Leinsters game was in trouble, its change it or lose it at that point.
Has Leinster improved this season? The answer is a resounding no.
Greg Kelly
Goodman took the best attack in world rugby and turned it into a toothless mess. Neinaber took the toothless mess and turned it into a leaky, depressing to watch toothless mess. The whole setup needs a shot of something heavy next season. Put Prendergast in at 10. Use Frawley as utility cover and Ross as the backup 10. Stop shitting on the shirt by offering the youngsters up as meat on a plate to SA teams away. Use the Academy players at home against the Dragons and Zebre and other weaker teams to build their confidence…not shatter it under a 50 point tonking.
The attitudes on the training ground build a season and clearly they are off
James Murphy
Some poor decisions from management during season
Definitely need a 10 for this level, and a second 9, McGrath was overwhelmed, also Larmar too small for this level.
Pack were bunched
Colin Mehigan
Not good enough…Tyler Bleyendaal can’t start soon enough…Nienaber’s lack of success at Munster is continuing at Leinster….does he have one year left on his contract? Sam P needs to be the starting 10 from the start of next season. Ridiculously long season. Players have been flogged into the ground. A season which will live short in the memory….yet again.
Sean MacDonnchadha
The organisation now has to be put under deserved pressure. A club side with the resources and depth of a world leading international side must expect more than consistent knockout performances becoming the new norm.Players trying their heart out and you can’t fault effort, but there is something technically wrong with their coaching and setup. If this were SA, England, France or NZ they would review with a cold mentality and introduce fresh changes. If we are serious about matching those nations then we need to do the same. Our RWC history is a clear and undeniable proof of this.
Cuan Mulligan
We were devoid of ideas in attack..Ross taking the ball with both feet planted 90% of the time.. one of the last plays and we’re looking at each other with not a clue what do to… huge fall from grace given the attacking threat we used to have. Take it on the chin; better team won… come on Munster… Ross to France please
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URC WRAP
QUARTERFINALS
MUNSTER 23-7 OSPREYS
BULLS 30-23 BENETTON
LEINSTER 43-20 ULSTER
GLASGOW WARRIORS 27-10 STORMERS
SEMIFINALS
BULLS 25-20 LEINSTER
MUNSTER 10-17 GLASGOW
GRAND FINAL
SAT JUNE 22
BULLS V GLASGOW
HARPIN MATCH WRAPS
ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE IRISH RUGBY SHOP
AT ELVERYS
355 : Bulls v Leinster preview
LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Garry Ringrose 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan (c) 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Ross Molony 20. Jack Conan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Ciarán Frawley 23. Jamie Osborne
BULLS : 15 W le Roux 14 S Petersen 13 D Kriel 12 H Vorster 11 D Williams 10 J Goosen 9 E Papier
1 G Steenkamp 2 J Grobelaar 3 W Louw 4 R Vermaak 5 R Nortje (c) 6 M van Staden 7 E Louw 8 C Hankenom
16 A van der Merwe 17 S Matanzima 18 F Klopper 19 R Ludwig 20 N Carr 21 K Johannes 22 C Smith 23 C Smit
BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Semifinal
Saturday, June 15, 2024
KO 3pm (Irish time) Loftus Versfeld
Live on: RTÉ1, Premier Sports, URC.tv
Referee: Sam Grove-White (SRU)
AR 1: Mike Adamson (SRU)
AR 2: Adam Jones (WRU)
TMO: Ben Whitehouse (WRU)
354 : Leinster v Ulster wrap
🏉 Slow start
🏉 Misleading margins
🏉 Soccer skills
🏉 Marvellous McCarthy
🏉 Southern soujourn
THIS WEEK’S GUESTS
FULL TIME TAKES
Cuan Mulligan
Ross while having some good moments, is too predictable, and offers little variety in attack…. Sam tried some outrageous moves , came off, granted they won’t always but means teams are unsure what to expect…
Greg Kelly
Watched the game on SuperSport and I get the impression the Saffas don’t watch Leinster in detail because they’re a bit worried 😂
It’s nice to see Leinster going full guns in the league for the first time in a while. It was a high quality game that Leinster managed well.
Strangely enough I wonder if Prendergast being in the squad and then coming in and showing some good touches means he’s not going anywhere next season. Personally I think they have to look to make him the solid number 2 next year with an eye to him getting the starting shirt if performances warrant it.
Brian Corr
I’m almost afraid to say anything because of the backlash of you’re arrogant and typical Leinster, but with almost the full squad available it’s hard to see how Ulster would have really threatened Leinster, particularly without their captain and next best second row out.
Ulster came out flying but could not get over the line, a couple of tries some would call lucky and they were buried by 1/2 time. Lucky translates into the harder I work the more luck I get.
While Ulster never went away, they conceded within minutes of scoring their first tries.
For Leinster it was great to get a comprehensive win and a fairly hard fought one which will stand to them next week.
Osbourne and Henshaw were everywhere, though it was a full team performance, I don’t know if anyone had a bad game.
Robert Webster
Good win by Leinster but thought score flattered them a little. Next week should be a good game but would expect Leinster to have too much for the Bulls, who will need to up their performance from today to have any chance. Would add that I thought it was a pretty disappointing crowd for a knock out derby.
Gordy Graham
Ultimately I’m a disappointed Ulster fan again but the boys gave it everything today and it was always going to be a big ask after losing four second rows. Murphy has had a big impact at Ulster and there’s a bit of positivity about the place now which is nice!
From an impartial view point I can’t understand Leinster’s continued obsession with Byrne, he seems to have lost his confidence and offers very little in the way of attacking threat. I think that’s why Leinster’s attack as a whole has slowed down.
Colin Mcconaghie
Massively depleted Ulster team gave their all. Not to be against a very strong Leinster.
Proud of our young lads after being written off all season.
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URC WRAP
QUARTERFINALS
MUNSTER V OSPREYS8
BULLS V BENETTON
LEINSTER 43-20 ULSTER
GLASGOW WARRIOR V STORMERS
SEMIFINALS
SAT JUNE 15
BULLS V LEINSTER
MUNSTER V GLASGOW
HARPIN MATCH WRAPS
ARE BROUGHT TO YOU BY
THE IRISH RUGBY SHOP
AT ELVERYS
353 : Leinster v Ulster Preview
LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Jamie Osborne 11. James Lowe 10. Ross Byrne 9. Jamison Gibson-Park
1. Andrew Porter 2. Dan Sheehan 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Joe McCarthy 5. James Ryan (c) 6. Ryan Baird 7. Josh van der Flier 8. Caelan Doris
16. Rónan Kelleher 17. Cian Healy 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Ross Molony 20. Max Deegan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Sam Prendergast 23. Ciarán Frawley
ULSTER : 15 Stewart Moore, 14 Mike Lowry, 13 Will Addison, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Billy Burns, 9 John Cooney;
1 Eric O’Sullivan, 2 Rob Herring (C), 3 Tom O’Toole, 4 Harry Sheridan, 5 Cormac Izuchukwu, 6 Matty Rea, 7 David McCann, 8 Nick Timoney.
16 Tom Stewart, 17 Andy Warwick, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Greg Jones, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Nathan Doak, 22 Ethan McIlroy, 23 Jude Postlethwaite.
BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Quarterfinal
Saturday, June 8, 2024
KO 5pm Aviva Stadium
Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, URC.tv
Referee: Andrew Brace (IRFU)
AR1: Craig Evans (WRU)
AR2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU)
TMO: Brain MacNeice (IRFU)
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 