JLP : After Leo Cullen, I really don’t think there has been a player who has personified what Leinster Rugby is all about other than Rhys Ruddock. Haven’t seen much of him this season and we’ve all kind of known this announcement was coming eventually, but while it is sad news after a really depressing weekend for fans of the province, in a way it has been a joy to be able to look back over his career and remember all the many good times. Leadership always came naturally to him which clearly our coaches spotted by handing him the armband so early. And in recent years the mere existence of the term “Rhys Ruddock All Stars” among the fans (meaning the teams we have sent for our late season South African tours) shows the high regard in which he is held.
“The lads literally just gave me slots of where they would normally address defence. I just went into that. I just slotted in with the programme, as it was.”
JLP : This was always going to be a tough week for Leinster coach at pressers, and Nienaber has done well to front up. And sadly since full time on Saturday the calls for Leo Cullen to step aside have started to get louder from Leinster fans, there were suggestions of it last year but now they are getting stronger, though to be clear I really don’t think I’m there yet – I mean, I’m never happy about actively looking for anyone to lose their job as it is, but in this specific case I can see where the viewpoint is coming from.
The thing about Leo is that if he stays, which I believe he will, absolutely nothing we do next season will matter except winning the CC, that is if we reach the final of course. So doubts will remain locked and loaded right up to the final whistle in Cardiff. Possibly that pressure will ease a bit if we win URC but still it’s going to be immense and it will be felt from the most casual fan right through the squad and into the coaches’ box. A new hierarchy structure would definitely ease that pressure somewhat, although having said that, Leinster are pretty much expected to be competing for titles regardless so the standards will have to remain high whatever the coaching ticket.
Much to ponder for sure.
Ireland will face stiff competition in Pool B, starting their campaign against Italy, followed by matches against Georgia and Australia.
JLP : With the senior season almost over it’s always good to get a reminder of the annual festival of rugby we get every June and July – this year it overlaps with the test team’s two-match series, also in South Africa, but it still gives us plenty to harp on before the Rugby Championship comes along to kill off the remaining weeks to the 2024/25 URC season and it all starts again! Love it.
The diminutive wing has bundles of pace and would provide further back three depth with Simon Zebo set to retire at the end of this season.
JLP : This article nearly won Clickbait of the Week with the way the headline dumps a ton of pressure on Thaakir Abrahams should he indeed be heading to Munster. But instead I have included it as one of a two-article set from Balls.ie, the second of which is this one by Gary Connaughton about Ulster’s new outhalf signing Aidan Morgan (also with clickbaity headline describing him as “intriguing”) and together the pieces highlight the fact that despite all the hoopla about Leinster’s recent announcements, the other provinces have also been busy on the acquisition front.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
The only way to fittingly respond is to go and win the URC the hard way, going away in the semi-final and final.
JLP : Again, to clarify, my COTWA is not meant for an article I necessarily disagree with, and much of the points ROC makes here are ones we have made on the pod. It’s more about the presentation of the article with both the headline and the promoting tweet, put in a way as to attract both angry Leinster fans AND gleeful ABL ones.
Chopping and changing at No 10, refusing to give Frawley the required backing, an attack that never functioned this season like it used to and an in-game strategy that didn't reflect the team's new identity – a piece on what went wrong for Leinster 🔽https://t.co/CSgfkkNOum
Confession time first – I made a claim on the first draft of the pod about Antoine Dupont’s first half wonder-5022 where I was totally wrong…I thought the ball had been carried back from our half but in fact there had been a breakdown or two and kudos to the person who got in touch for both setting me straight AND doing it discreetly. Still, the pod had already gotten about a hundred listens by the time I corrected it and I’m certainly not going to try and pretend I didn’t say it, that’s one of the reasons I have this column.
Anyway going back to what DID make the final cut, Tom & Mark were open and honest going back over the match and as I often find it does help to have a chat about it. Also a big shout out to both Keego & Kino for their contributions on the preview show, even if that does seem about a gagillion years ago by this stage!!!
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
Also here’s a clip where we looked mostly at how Leinster handled substitutions in the second half…
CC FINAL – THE FAN EXPERIENCE
We stopped recording “bonus clips” a while ago but on this week’s wrap pod had a section that was left on the ‘cutting room’ floor as I try to stay under an hour as much as I can so I put it out as extra YouTube content…Tom spoke about his experience in and around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
POST FINAL TIKTOK
No time (or motivation tbh) to put together a “Quick Tap” video this week (while I enjoy doing them you’re talking up to two hours work in total to produce just a 4-min vid) so instead I’ll share this one I recorded within about half an hour of the final whistle on Saturday. Got a lot of attention, possibly out of empathy from fellow Leinster fans but no doubt there were plenty of Nelson Muntzes out there too going “ha-ha”, such is the nature of sports fan content!!! TikTok following moved past 700 which I’m pretty pleased about since it’s far from my main focus, I should probably look to do more with the account next season.
Really, really difficult selection this week based on the update. We have said several times on the pod how we want us to go as strong as possible from now until the end of the season but what with the extra time in London, six-day turnaround AND Hugo Keenan off to join the 7s, to put a 23 together for the Connacht match sure wasn’t easy.
Obviously my “Ruddock as captain” choice is for a specific reason and it wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t feature at all and Penny has the armband, but overall I have to think at least a few who came off the bench in the final will have to do so again at the RDS. I certainly don’t see any from the “further assessment required” section to make it in time although it would be brilliant if even one of them did.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Connacht : McErlean, Russell, J O’Brien, Brownlee, A Osborne, H Byrne, McGrath
Kelleher, Boyle, Ala’alatoa, O’Tighearnaigh, Moloney, Foley, Prendergast, King
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Garry Ringrose: will increase his training load again this week as he continues to be assessed for a shoulder injury.
Tommy O’Brien: will return to training this week from a hamstring injury and will be further assessed before a decision is made on his involvement.
Charlie Ngatai: will return to training this week from a shoulder injury and will be further assessed before a decision is made on his involvement.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Jason Jenkins: picked up a knee injury against Toulouse and will not be available for selection this week.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
Just a quick reminder…for the past two URC campaigns, this shield was decided by overall league performance. Now it is only by the interpros, which is why in-form Munster are out of contention after their poor start to the season. Basically Leinster need a 5-pointer on Friday to force Ulster to require a win in Thomond Park on Saturday. Although they’ll probably want that anyway to help their league ranking.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
TROLL PATROL
We recently introduced Clickbait of the Week to point out cases of ADD (Article Description Deception) but for a long time now I have also been looking to launch Troll Patrol. Because why ridicule them online and fall down a rabbit hole when you can ridicule them here instead? What’s that? I could always not ridicule them at all? FFS where’s the fun in THAT?
Seriously though…the Game Management vid I posted above got a lot of comment reaction (at least a lot for our channel) and I thought one in particular was a worthy candidate for our first ever TP segment.
Credit where it’s due to this chap, he felt the need to come back three times before anyone had a chance to reply but it was his final point that put him over the top, so to speak.
@michaelflynn5123
Hugo Keenan played against Ulster week before final ! First time he has ever played in ravenhill ! First team not allowed to play away from home if there a chance they could lose ! Oh we lost because it was the b team
Why can’t you see ! Play your best team in the final ! What about the games leading up to the final! You have to play week after week to be ready for the big games! Oh they played ospreys couple weeks before the final! Last 3 years same thing
Leinster haven’t been put under pressure all year La Rochelle where lucky to get out of there group Northampton didn’t turn up on the day ! First team not allowed to play in south Africa! We’re under no pressure all year! Weren’t battle hardened! Munster would get 3 players on the Leinster team! But I think they would have beaten Toulouse! But then again they can leave home and fight
So…Munster would have beaten Toulouse? Because they can ‘leave home and fight’? And…how would they have gotten the chance to beat Toulouse? By leaving home, fighting, and defeating Northampton. How did they get on? 😜
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
“SVNS” UPDATE
Under the new series format, this weekend’s sevens event will actually decide the overall champions of the circuit. I know many don’t like that but I for one don’t mind. If nothing else it will be a good experience for both Irish teams as they prepare for the Olympics. With the tournament in Spain the kickoff times are definitely more friendly for Irish viewers for sure and of course there will be no easy matches.
I made my reservations on Hugo Keenan’s involvement clear on these pages already so no need to go over them again – he’s in the squad now and he will of course be a massive boost for our chances and I look forward to cheering on both teams over the weekend.
MADRID (FINALS)
IRISH POOL FIXTURES
FRI MAY 31
12:51PM – WOMEN V AUSTRALIA
1:37PM – MEN V SOUTH AFRICA
SAT JUNE 1
11AM – WOMEN V FRANCE
12:06PM – MEN V FIJI
2:05PM – WOMEN V FIJI
3:11PM – MEN V NEW ZEALAND
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Not sure how to word this point without making it look like I’m getting some consolation from it, but I assure you I’m not – I’d say the last place ROG would want to be heading this weekend is to a Toulouse town celebrating a sixth star. That said, he might equally view it as an opportunity to catch them on the hop and in a season where Leinster got the LAR monkey off our back and Toulouse did likewise with us, maybe this is just the weekend for him to end his recent run of poor results against ‘les rouge at noir’. Meanwhile the scramble to make the top 6 remains interesting with everyone down to Lyon in 12th mathematically still in the running by the looks of it, and 6th placed Racing v 7th place Pau the pick of the bunch this weekend.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
Round 25
SAT JUNE 1
PERPIGNAN V BORDEAUX
OYONNAX V BAYONNE
CASTRES V STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER V LYON
RACING 92 V PAU
SUN JUNE 2
TOULON V CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
While Northampton and Bath should by rights be the favourites, I have to say I don’t know how to call these semifinals, both could be close although you’d have to assume the home advantage should win out in each case.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
PLAYOFFS
FRI MAY 31
NORTHAMPTON V SARACENS
SAT JUNE 1
BATH V SALE SHARKS
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
As poor an all as the Crusaders’ form has been all season, with 8 of the 12 clubs making the playoffs, I have always maintained that it would be mad to rule them out completely until they mathematically can’t win yet another title and having defeated the table topping Blues last weekend, there’s every chance they could face the Auckland lads again in the quarterfinals. They’ll need to beat Moana in Round 15 and hope both the Drua and Western Force slip up, but none of that is impossible. Meanwhile the race for that top seed between the Blues and the Hurricanes should be interesting, both are at home in the final round but against fellow NZ franchises so no easy wins there.
ROUND 14
CHIEFS 17-20 HURRICANES
BRUMBIES 53-17 REBELS
MOANA PASIFIKA 27-12 WARATAHS
CRUSADERS 29-27 BLUES
REDS 59-13 WESTERN FORCE
HIGHLANDERS 39-3 FIJIAN DRUA
ROUND 15
FRI MAY 31
CRUSADERS V MOANA PASIFIKA
WARATAHS V REDS
SAT JUN 1
FIJIAN DRUA V REBELS
HURRICANES V HIGHLANDERS
BLUES V CHIEFS
WESTERN FORCE V BRUMBIES
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE
I had hoped to catch the Grand Final but needless to say after Saturday I wasn’t exactly in a place where watching any more rugby was on my radar but it sounds like an enthralling match with the seemingly invincible Wild Knights falling short against Richie Mo’unga’s Brave Lupus. Here’s the video if you want a look yourself.
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Another defeat for my adopted MLR team the Chicago Hounds this week, they definitely seem to need the week off in the next round so they can prepare for the push to the playoffs. Miami’s shock win over New England makes things tight at the top of the Eastern Conference while out west, it’s still Houston and Seattle battling it out.
ROUND 13
SEATTLE 26-24 OLD GLORY DC
MIAMI 15-13 NEW ENGLAND
CHICAGO 13-25 NOLA GOLD
LOS ANGELES 19-27 SAN DIEGO
ROUND 14
SUN JUNE 2
OLD GLORY V ANTHEM RC
NOLA GOLD V HOUSTON
UTAH V SAN DIEGO
NEW ENGLAND V DALLAS
LOS ANGELES V MIAMI
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I came from way behind to lift the title last season but I really don’t fancy my chances of doing it again this time around. In fact if I’m not careful I could drop as far as 7th, though that would still spare me from having to sport The Jersey of Shame. Looks like a straight fight betwen Kino and Kristian with just 15 matches left to predict, 8 of which are this coming weekend.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Very much looking forward to returning to the RDS on Friday and hopefully the boys in blue can help ease the pain from last weekend. We’ll have our preview pod for the Connacht match on Thursday afternoon, then our wrap pod is to hopefully introduce a new Harpin contributor, please do stay tuned and join in the conversation in any way you can.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
It was clear after 15-20 minutes that Toulouse were dominating the breakdown, and we did not change out tactics. When we kept it tight we made progress, as soon as we went out the back, we struggled.. Ross provided no treat so their defence could drift and we ended up with lone runners giving up turnovers… ref was inconsistent, but you know that’s a risk and you need to not let that dictate the outcome
Alastair McDermott
Gutted. Close game but not clinical enough from Leinster attack. Toulouse deserved the win.
Way too many 22 visits with nothing from it. Rushed the first drop goal attempt, delayed the second too much. Lot of dropped balls and too many conceded penalties.
And we have to credit Toulouse & Dupont was class with those turnovers!
William Andrew
Losing three finals is a horrible number but we are still getting to finals.
Converting the opportunities is becoming problematic.
ST and LR have given away penalties in the red zone as a matter of course to stop Leinster scoring a try. Clearly playing the odds and no yellows have been given for this gamesmanship.
Today was a good example of two identical offences punished differently.
Are these teams just doing a better job profiling Refs?
Certainly Leinster, maybe, need to change their finals decision making, to a pragmatic take three points at any opportunity. A drop goal at 15 mins out of the blue might just make these teams second guess what’s happening.
Throwing the toys out of the pram is not an answer.
The reaction should be silence and 100% focus on the URC trophy. There are no big turn arounds needed. It might be just about playing 3rd Bs Cup rugby mentality at Donnybrook for a final.
Leinster spend most of their time thrashing teams, they are used to playing with a cushion. Maybe a few plays about hard nosed cup rugby would be a bonus
Kevin Kelehan
Toulouse did their homework on the ref and managed the breakdown impeccably apart from the dangerous clear out of Cian Healy. Leinster tried to force it at times and paid the price, booking 4 tickets for Cardiff and will bring the same three friends who went to Tottenham yesterday. Leinster are still a great side and lets hope their laser focus on La Rochelle this season moves to Toulouse next term and sets up an even better final (for the neutrals) with Toulouse again next season. Doris has emerged as real leader of men and Porter has hit his full potential.
Brian Corr
Absolutely gutted and this has been very hard to take.
You could whinge about the not taking points but Toulouse were flying in defence.
Leinster players made great breaks only to have no one backing them up so turned over.
DuPont had an exceptional game, two inch perfect 50/22’s 4 turnovers even though Leinster marshalled him well, he had the ability to change it up.
They say you need a bit of luck and not for the first time Leinster luck deserted them, nothing seemed to stick and the mix up with Keenan and JVDF summed up the match, 4 Toulouse against 2 Leinster on the back foot, should have put boot to ball.
How can you criticise Sheehan after a 60m break, possibly should have passed, but DuPont was in like a light.
Greg Kelly
The problem I think is the IRFU welfare policy. A lot of guys out there looked undercooked and they took too long to get going. Hugo Keenan looked like he had forgotten who he was at times. It was evident in those who played up in Belfast last week too. Personally I think Champions Cup and interpros should not be counted towards limits or rest periods.
In the stadium it was evident that both teams were trading the same blows on attack and defence. To say Carley had a bad game is wrong but he was more then a little inconsistent. There were shades of Wales/Fiji at the world cup too because the majority of times Leinster entered the Toulouse 22 Toulouse gave away a penalty but he never issued them even a warning.
The truly sickening thing is we all know we’ll be back in Cardiff in 12 months…😩
Fergal Duffy
We’ve learned nothing. We’ve sent rusty, undercooked teams in to too many finals now. Leo is obsessed with resting players but how can a team that has played together once in 3 months be more cohesive than a team that plays together week in and week out. That exact 15 should have played in Ulster last week, we butchered 3 or 4 easy tries in the first 20 mins alone due to lack of match sharpness
Brian Patrick Donnelly
From the top tier of a wonderful stadium I was screaming at them to take their points Jeff. Toulouse attempted every single opportunity.
Not going to pretend it gets easier after three straight years of this but ultimately we're a very good team that yet again has come up against an even better one and fallen short.
Heartbreak again, alas. The match was Leinster’s season in microcosm – attack never fired and breakdown was terrible; our best suit was box kicks landing close to the 22 and scrum penalties. It just felt like winning was always tantalisingly out of reach.
Obviously frustrating but we made too many errors.
I hate having to say this every year but Leinster fans maybe switch off the social media for the next while the usual muppets will be out in force.#TLSvLEI
JLP : When I saw the headline for this article in the Irish Times I immediately thought “fluff piece”, admittedly without reading it since they made it “subscriber only” but it wasn’t a great leap to work out it was overwhelmingly positive about his time at the IRFU. I considered writing a counter article myself until I found out via a substack subscription to friend-of-the-pod IrishWomensSC that it had already been done for me. It’s quite simple. He took the job overseeing ALL of Irish rugby in June 2014. Just a couple of months late, the Irish women reach a World Cup semifinal. Jump ahead to 2023 and while the men may not have yet done the same, they are still winning Grand Slams, reaching number 1 in the rankings and ticking other long-standing “never done” boxes while the women sunk to missing a World Cup altogether and finishing rock bottom of the Six Nations. Has there been something of a rebound since those depths? Yes. But it’s all part of his legacy and for me the IT article cannot be appreciated without reading the IWSC one for context.
If you follow the link to her substack please subscribe and support her work if you can.
JLP : This 80+ column is meant to cover topics outside of Leinster rugby but when there’s a major final on the horizon a story or two is bound to creep in. And one of the biggest narratives leading into Saturday’s clash of the European titans is that Leinster have owned Toulouse on the last number of meetings, but given how we have handled La Rochelle’s ‘owning’ of us this season, it’s pretty clear that things can change and they are bound to be highly motivated, especially when you factor in Ireland’s BP win in France too.
O’Reilly might have reached even loftier heights in the game had his burgeoning business career not intervened at the age of 26
JLP : Have to admit my knowledge on this Irish rugby great wasn’t what it should have been, and articles like this one helped bring me up to speed after his sad passing.
Hogg, 31, who has been blighted by legal and personal problems since walking away from the sport at the end of last season
JLP : Look – whether he resumes his playing career is totally between himself and any club who wishes to avail of his services, but the framing in that quote??? “He has been blighted” suggests the whole thing is being done to him. I’m not going to list all the accusations against him here but I reckon Mr Fissler could have, as it would definitely bring proper context to the article.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
The pecking order at outhalf post Sexton seems a little clearer now but does it give comfort to fans?
JLP : Easy choice for COTWA this week. And I don’t necessarily mean it in a bad way, like I have said before, the “Anyone But Leinster” narrative is absolutely fine once everyone appreciates it exists. If nothing else articles like this one from OTHP are good when it comes to “keeping Leinster honest” and he does make good points. It’s the timing that earns the clickbait tag for me since it was posted knowing a full week of social media posts from Leinster fans looking forward to a major final was imminent.
WRAP OF A WRAP
I keep forgetting to mention our preview in this column – I suppose that since we are looking ahead to a match in the video and by the time I write this the match has been done and dusted, it’s easy to forget but those videos, mostly featuring Keego, are a vital part of our weekly content and the viewing figures have improved steadily in the last couple of years.
The latest wrap pod featured Mark Jackson and Jay Long and while we altered the format after the defeats in South Africa recently, we managed to stick to the status quo for this one and the lads did an excellent job.
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : FINAL WEEK
All I’ll say along with this video is…changing the tops a gagillion times? Totally worth it. Ahem.
Slightly different update section this week – we harped on a possible matchday 23 in our chat at the end of our wrap pod and it featured in our YouTube video so I have added it here.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Toulouse : see video below
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
James Ryan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from an arm injury.
Hugo Keenan: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a hip injury.
Will Connors: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a minor injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Garry Ringrose: will continue to be assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his involvement against Toulouse.
Tommy O’Brien: picked up a hamstring injury against Ulster and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection this week.
Charlie Ngatai: picked up a shoulder injury against Ulster and will be further assessed this week before a final decision is made on selection this week.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Liam Turner (arm), Lee Barron (shoulder), Alex Soroka (foot).
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
So Ulster’s win does put them in pole position for the first “proper” Irish Shield (in past seasons although Leinster won it the table was based on ALL results unlike this season which is just on the interpros), but if Leinster can max out a win against the Westies in the final match, Richie Murphy’s men will probably have to win in Thomond Park to lift the trophy. Not saying they can’t do it but it definitely won’t be easy given the form Munster are in.
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER 23-21 LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
KEEN ON SEVENS
I’m adding this story after originally posting as I have just learned of it, apparently Hugo Keenan is to “do a Duponte” and join the Irish 7s squad for the Olympics.
From an Irish fan’s point of view and purely looking at the event itself, this is obviously excellent news and it greatly increases our chances of a medal.
However, overall my views on this are complicated. I can hardly change my opinion when it came to Antoine Duponte’s addition to the French set up. For one thing, this “ringer adding” takes a slot away from a squad member who helped the team qualify in the first place. Plus, much like AD, being with the squad will hurt a XVs team in that it seems Hugo will be unavailable for Leinster’s URC playoff push.
For me this goes against everything that rugby is meant to be. Sevens is great, of that there is no doubt, and I have given both Irish programmes full coverage and support on these pages. And the Olympics is not only a special event in its own right but it also offers a unique opportunity to showcase rugby in general so I get that having some XVs stars in there helps with that.
But still, I’m not a fan of this. For what it’s worth.
MAKING THE BEST LEAGUE EVEN BETTER
Yes, I am totally on board with all the “URC=Best League” hype, I just have a couple of teeny tiny quibbles on the format, do bear with me.
The first has to do with the criteria they use for separating teams level on points at the end of the regular season.
Having “matches won” as the number one tiebreaker is brilliant. Can’t fault it being there. I would definitely rank a team who had reached its points total by wins ahead of one that had accumulated bonus points. HOWEVER – why isn’t “most draws” in second place on this list? Surely a team with, say, 10 wins an 1 draw has a better record than one with 10 wins and 0 draws, yet if that team with 0 draws has a better PD they’ll get the higher position? I hope it never becomes decisive between qualifying and not for any team, and I don’t see that happening this season, but I still think it’s a tweak that needs to be made.
Another finicky point I have is with the final round being all derby matches. Three of the four “Shields” involve 4 teams that are governed by the one union and since the final round can be critical in deciding where the quarterfinals will be staged (remember…these matches are extra revenue-generators), for me anyway we don’t want any nation to be in a position where “producing” a particular result to help bring that QF into their jurisdiction might be possible. To be clear – I’m not suggesting any union would even consider that, it’s just ideally we’d like to avoid making it possible and cross-shield Round 18 matches would definitely help.
SUPER IDEA?
When it comes to Welsh Rugby, one thing is clear – they HAVE to do something to fix what’s wrong. And their latest attempt seems to be the formation of a tournament called “Super Rygbi Cymru” to exist between club and regional level, and the reaction of the ever critical ‘Welsh Rugby X’ contingent has been, well, predictable. I’m not one to judge (although perhaps the “Super” branding might be a stretch?) and all I can say is that I really hope it achieves its goals, which I would have thought was mending fences between clubs, regions and WRU while at the same time raising the standard for the prospects making their way to the top. Thing is though…all involved HAVE to give it time, as in MORE than one full season and I’m not sure all involved, including the media, can do that.
JIMMY G 500
Given his time at Leinster was during the Matt O’Connor era, one Leinster fans are keen to forget, this news may have missed a lot of fans but I for one can’t help but see his 500th appearance as an amazing achievement for any rugby professional. Besides, if a drop goal against Toulon had gone the other side of the post (and to this day I’m STILL not 100% sure it didn’t) then we may be having completely different conversations about Leinster’s history today.
“For almost fifteen years Simon Zebo has been the embodiment of all this is good in Munster Rugby. That’s why he will be missed.” – The Z Factor by Caolan Scully
I never had a problem with Simon Zebo and there has been no doubting his talent. But going by his social media offerings he has always had a problem with Leinster. To be fair, I reckon he’s taken a lot of shite coming in the other direction but so do a lot of public figures. Anyway – I do wish him all the best for his future but when it comes to offering a full reaction following his retirement announcement I reckon it’s best to hand it over to a Munster fan, in this case Caolán Scully.
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Toulouse, even depleted, won in round 24 to remained top while condemning Montpellier to a relegation playoff, and Stade F outlasted Bordeaux to put them on the brink of a guaranteed semifinal slot. ROG’s La Rochelle always seem to get a win just at the right time to keep them in the top 6 although their Round 25 trip to Toulouse won’t be easy whatever happens in London the week before.
Round 24
MONTPELLIER 22-29 TOULOUSE
BAYONNE 23-20 PERPIGNAN
OYONNAX 17-27 TOULON
CLÉRMONT 36-20 CASTRES
LYON 20-14 RACING 92
LA ROCHELLE 25-23 PAU
STADE FRANÇAIS 22-18 BORDEAUX
Round 25
SAT JUNE 1
PERPIGNAN V BORDEAUX
OYONNAX V BAYONNE
CASTRES V STADE FRANÇAIS
MONTPELLIER V LYON
RACING 92 V PAU
TOULON V CLÉRMONT
TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Looking at Northampton and Gloucester’s results this week you wouldn’t be sure which of them won 90-0 the previous weekend but both were virtually guaranteed their final positions, although the more Bath increased their lead the more that could have changed. We are now left with two very intriguing semifinals…the smart money would be a repeat of Bath/Saints in the final but you’d rule out Sale & Sarries at your peril.
ROUND 18
BATH 43-12 NORTHAMPTON
GLOUCESTER 54-14 NEWCASTLE
HARLEQUINS 28-53 BRISTOL BEARS
LEICESTER TIGERS 40-22 EXETER CHIEFS
SARACENS 10-20 SALE SHARKS
PLAYOFFS
FRI MAY 31
NORTHAMPTON V SARACENS
SAT JUNE 1
BATH V SALE SHARKS
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
The way Crusaders fell to their latest defeat, seen in x clip below, might be described as “bad luck” but given their overall campaign so far I’m not so sure. And their schedule doesn’t get any easier with the league leading Blues coming to town next weekend. Meanwhile the Hurricanes jumped into a 19-0 lead over Moana P only to be pegged back to an 8-point victory, providing a perfect example as to why the “score 3+ tries more than your opposition” is a much better way to earn a BP than “simply scoring 4 tries”.
#BRUvCRU Crusaders all out of luck this season – 24-24 – last min pen to Brumbies- hits post – crusaders player slaps ball out ….. pen try / Brumbies win by 7 pic.twitter.com/7o5MX9xGP7
The games were closer than expected but the semifinals produced the expected championship game with Wild Knights facing Brave Lupus in the early hours of Sunday morning.
SEMIFINALS
WILD KNIGHTS 20-17 CANON EAGLES
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS 28-20 SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
FINAL
SUN MAY 26
WILD KNIGHTS V TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Another narrow defeat for my adopted team the Chicago Hounds, although a one point loss to high flying Houston isn’t the worst outcome. They drop to 3rd but can move back up with a win against the Gold next weekend. The SaberCats and the New England Free Jacks are still the conference leaders.
ROUND 12
ANTHEM RC 29-33 LOS ANGELES
HOUSTON 23-22 CHICAGO
NOLA GOLD 21-14 UTAH
SAN DIEGO 23-24 NEW ENGLAND
DALLAS 14-7 SEATTLE
ROUND 13
SAT MAY 25
SEATTLE V OLD GLORY DC
SUN MAY 26
MIAMI V NEW ENGLAND
CHICAGO V NOLA GOLD
LOS ANGELES V SAN DIEGO
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I forgot to mention this last week, probably because I was so embarrassed I tried to scrub it from my memory…every Friday I send a WhatsApp reminder to everyone in the HPL so they remember to make their SuperBru predictions, only in the last round, I proceeded to forget myself to do the two URC matches on that Friday evening. O, the slagging I got, and of course, it continued the following Friday. Obviously that didn’t do my chances of moving back up the league any good and as you can see, it still looks like a two-horse race between Kino and Kristian.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
All that’s left now is Final Week. We plan to have Keego AND Kino on our preview show this Friday, as well as some special pre-final offerings from all of our contributors, then we’re going to leave the wrap pod recording until the Monday night as Tom will be travelling back from London to give a full report on the atmosphere and such. Hopefully we won’t mind the wait for the right reasons…
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
18 May 2024; Charlie Ngatai of Leinster evades the tackle of Rob Herring of Ulster on his way to scoring his side’s first try during the United Rugby Championship match between Ulster and Leinster at Kingspan Stadium in Belfast. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Whoever made the call to kick to the line when we are 1 point ahead with 10 minutes to go and straight in front of the posts probably cost us the chance to top the table. A win and we were top and had it totally in our own hands but for sone reason I still can’t fathom we decided to completely f**k it up. Totally sickened right now. Not to take anything away from Ulster who completely deserved the victory tonight but its very rarely you can be so outplayed and still have the chance to come away with a win. We need to see a completely different mindset from Leinster next weekend if we are finally going to get our hands on star number 5.
William Andrew
A dreadful lack of nous to lose that game. Continually kicking the ball away with 5 mins on the clock hoping to make ten meters is not great. A 30 meter through kick to force a Ulster line out in their 22 would have burned a min at least. Plus they are now in danger of conceding a penalty.
Several generations of former Leinster 10s and 9s must be shaking their heads.
Berchmans Gannon
From the sideline the box kicking is not the way to go.
Chasing a bonus point ahead of a win is questionable.
Shit happens! I will still support Leinster without the need for a slaughter of Managment.
Kevin Kelehan
Decent game that could have gone either way, the losing bonus point will get Leinster at least a home QF, the win will guarantee Ulster top tier cup rugby next season.
Colin Mehigan
Another uninspiring performance if I’m honest….our high profile coaching ticket need to rethink strategy
Very expensive defeat for Leinster. Terrible game management, can’t believe they didn’t take three with a kick under the posts when they were struggling to convert from close in. And an intercept try! Tear your hair out stuff.
Weird game. Should have been miles back by half time, bur should have won it comfortably in the second. That's not just top spot but also quite possibly a home semi-final gone unless Sharks and Ulster do us a favour next week. #ULSvLEI
Last night's result was disappointing & there were aspects of Leinster's play which weren't good enough over the 80.
But it was always going to be a tight game, & was won by a single kick. Let's give Ulster some credit too, imperfect but strong in patches, got it done.
Cant complain with result, but it still was there to be won at the end and clinical finishing we had shown with limited possession disappeared in final qtr. We didnt manage subs well either IMO. Credit to Ulster, Cooney immense, back row won breakdown battle #ULSvLEI
JLP : Some good, bad and extremely ugly news for Ulster during the week…obviously Richie Murphy being made permanent coach is a positive step in the right direction for all involved but for that to be followed up by such devastating injury news really has to hurt (and trust me I take no pleasure in typing any of that) making their task all the more difficult at the weekend. I still reckon it would be very unwise to underestimate them in the Kingspan, of course…
I’m not convinced that this package is anywhere near as robust as it should be.
JLP : World Rugby announced a rake of law tweaks and trials last week. Safe to say there is a lot to unpack but most of the attention seems to be going to the taking away of the scrum as an option for a free kick and, as ever, that 20-minute red card. For the former, I see the desire to cut the time down but I reckon it would be better to try and speed up the set piece itself rather than limit the amount of times they set. My suggestion is an extra official in the TMO box, ideally a retired pro front rower. On the 20 minute red, well, I have harped several times on this, no point harpin any more, it’s madness to my eyes yet seemingly essential to the southern hemisphere so we are where we are.
Building a sustainable post-rugby career involves more than just the skills acquired on the field
JLP : We recently introduced you to the RuckThis site and here’s a good article penned by Joe ‘Big Joe Shep’ Sheppard, it does exactly what it says on the tin/in the headline.
The reason given for the persistent delays was issues with licensing and player likenesses
JLP : I’m not at all a gamer, though not because it’s not right up my alley (I can assure you 15 year old me is furious about this) it’s more that I just don’t have the time necessary to become halfway decent at any of the amazing sophisticated offerings out there today. But I have to say I’m fascinated by the ongoing saga over the production of a rugby simulation. Since the heyday of Rugby 08 and Jonah Lomu nobody seems to have come close to offering an alternative to compare. How much of the failure is due to an inability to get the graphics etc just right and how much is down to inability to secure the rights to all the players from all the teams in all the leagues remains to be seen I guess, but while it would obviously never reach the heights and sales of something like Madden or FIFA/FC, you’d think there would be enough of a demand to warrant at least a new version every couple of years.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
“We were punished by players who have crucial responsibilities in this team. I will not give names.”
JLP : Not all my clickbait awards will necessarily be for bad reasons, sometimes the headline needs that extra bit of spice to catch your eye. I mean…it is true that Aldritt’s howler was worthy enough of attention all on it’s own given who he is but adding in the reaction of his coach gives the story that extra, eh, je ne sais quoi?
WRAP OF A WRAP
Had a late withdrawal (matron!) from the pod on Sunday evening so it would have been unfair to ask someone to prepare to review half the Ospreys match but thankfully Ciarán Duffy agreed to join the second half of the recording while I took over responsibility for reviewing the 2nd & 4th quarters. If I do say myself I thought it went pretty well, in fact I might do the reviewing duties again for the Ulster match next weekend. Anyway, like I said Ciarán joined us to restore the triumvirate for our YouTube recording which involved final thoughts from the match plus a couple of other topics like Leinster’s 10 and a possible selection for Belfast…
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : CRICKET SCORES
The European rugby calendar issue has been without doubt my biggest bugbear over the 15+ years of the existence of Harpin On Rugby. It really annoys me how coaches are forced to pick and choose between two competitions in their selections week to week, and you could say Leinster have suffered from this more than most as we are consistently heavily involved on two fronts going into every month of May. Anyway – Northampton’s big win over Gloucester gave me my latest excuse to harp on this as you can see in this week’s Quick Tap.
Hopefully Alex Soroka will forgive me for saying that this has been the best “No Further Update” portion of this segment in a long, long time! May he too return to fitness before too long, but with big knockout games on the horizon no squad would have too much complaints about seeing the likes of Hugo Keenan, Garry Ringrose and James Ryan get closer to some game time. I have a feeling we won’t see Ringer for until the URC playoffs at earliest so I’ve tried to make my selection show the best balance between the rights amount of cotton wool, getting some rugby into the legs of the returnees and keeping some of the London starters active.
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Ospreys
Keenan, J O’Brien, T O’Brien, Ngatai, Russell, H Byrne, McGrath
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Tommy O’Brien: came through the game at the weekend with no issues after his return from a hamstring injury
James Ryan: is expected to return to full training this week ahead of the game against Ulster this weekend
Hugo Keenan: is expected to return to full training this week ahead of the game against Ulster this weekend
Will Connors: is expected to return to full training this week having been a late withdrawal from the team to play Ospreys at the weekend as a precaution
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Garry Ringrose: will continue to be assessed this week for a shoulder injury before a final decision is made on his involvement against Ulster
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Liam Turner: picked up an arm injury last week at training and will not be available for selection this week
Lee Barron: picked up a shoulder injury in South Africa and had a procedure last week which will rule him out for the remainder of the season
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Alex Soroka (foot)
.
URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE
You definitely don’t need me to scribble anything to point out the importance of the match in Belfast when it comes to the Irish Shield, the standings do that all on their own!!! BP win for Leinster will wrap it up, although I’m not even remotely suggesting that will be easily done whatever about Ulster’s injury list!
NOV 4 CONNACHT 22-20 ULSTER
NOV 10 ULSTER 21-14 MUNSTER
NOV 25 LEINSTER 21-16 MUNSTER
DEC 2 CONNACHT 22-24 LEINSTER
DEC 22 ULSTER 20-19 CONNACHT
DEC 26 MUNSTER 3-9 LEINSTER
JAN 1 CONNACHT 22-9 MUNSTER
JAN 1 LEINSTER 21-22 ULSTER
MAY 11 MUNSTER 47-12 CONNACHT
MAY 18 ULSTER V LEINSTER
MAY 31 LEINSTER V CONNACHT
JUNE 1 MUNSTER V ULSTER
THANK YOU LOCKY
When I was putting together my suggested Leinster matchday 23 for Belfast at the weekend, I struggled a bit for a 13 since Liam Turner is injured and both Osborne & Henshaw could do with at least a half match break. I settled on Tommy O’Brien as he has played there before but had he remained at Leinster another fine option would have been Rory O’Loughlin, in fact one of many fine moments he produced for Leinster was a try against Ulster, scored in a New Year’s fixture at the RDS when we actually won!
Sad to hear of his forced retirement, we of course wish him all the best in the future.
So many great memories in Leinster colours over the seasons 🔵🏆
No better man than RugbyKino to come up with a spreadsheet that allows you to plug in all the permutations for the final two rounds of the URC to see how the playoffs might shape up, if you’re a fully fledged rugby nerd like myself you’ll have stopped reading this sentence by now and you’ve already clicked the link below and you;re admiring his handiwork but on the off chance you’re still reading, be sure to follow the instructions and let us know if you find any bugs…
(PS working out that your team won’t win the title does NOT count as a ‘bug’)…
I said it last week – by rights Toulouse’s convincing win over Stade Français to put them on top of the league SHOULD be the big result from round 23 but even for this Leinster fan who probably should be keeping tabs on les ‘rouge et noir’, I can’t ignore La Rochelle’s latest defeat, a pretty heavy one away to Bordeaux in a match strewn with errors as has already been pointed out in the Front 5 above. This leaves them in a precarious position when it comes to reaching the playoffs, and will definitely need a win at home this weekend to Pau who are right below them. Definitely the match of the round this time though is Stade v Bordeaux, aka 2nd v 3rd, aka two teams coming off losses and vying for a semifinal spot.
Round 23
PERPIGNAN 28-35 CLÉRMONT
CASTRES 27-26 MONTPELLIER
PAU 39-17 OYONNAX
RACING 92 28-37 BAYONNE
TOULON 30-24 LYON
BORDEAUX 34-14 LA ROCHELLE
TOULOUSE 49-18 STADE FRANÇAIS
Round 24
SAT MAY 18
MONTPELLIER V TOULOUSE
BAYONNE V PERPIGNAN
OYONNAX V TOULON
CLÉRMONT V CASTRES
LYON V RACING 92
LA ROCHELLE V PAU
SUN MAY 19
STADE FRANÇAIS V BORDEAUX
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
Already harped on the Northampton win, but even that didn’t quite clinch them top spot just yet, they’ll need to win at the Rec to secure top spot and Bath still have home semifinal hopes of their own and of the five matches in the final series this weekend, only Gloucester v Newcastle can be called a ‘dead rubber’.
ROUND 17
SALE SHARKS 31-22 LEICESTER TIGERS
NEWCASTLE 17-28 BATH
NORTHAMPTON 90-0 GLOUCESTER
BRISTOL 20-41 SARACENS
EXETER CHIEFS 58-26 HARLEQUINS
ROUND 18
SAT MAY 18
BATH V NORTHAMPTON
GLOUCESTER V NEWCASTLE
HARLEQUINS V BRISTOL BEARS
LEICESTER TIGERS V EXETER CHIEFS
SARACENS V SALE SHARKS
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
I managed to watch the top of the table clash between the Blues and the Hurricanes, mostly to mancrush on Jordie Barrett and he did play well but in a thriller of a match it was the Blues defence at the end that got them the win – Canes had a 5m tap n go with the clock counting down and got driven back on the very first play so it put the Auckland based franchise to the summit for now. For the most part I felt their back row including Papali’i and Akira Ioane gave them the edge. Meanwhile the Crusader lost AGAIN…that’s just 2 wins in 11 matches and a quarterfinal spot is actually starting to look very unlikely although I wouldn’t rule them out until it was mathematically possible. A win in Canberra in the next round certainly wouldn’t hurt. Blues have another home NZ derby while the Canes will hope to get back to winning ways in hosting Moana P.
ROUND 12
MOANA PASIFIKA 7-43 CHIEFS
REDS 26-22 REBELS
BLUES 31-27 HURRICANES
HIGHLANDERS 32-29 CRUSADERS
WARATAHS 21-29 BRUMBIES
WESTERN FORCE 48-10 FIJIAN DRUA
ROUND 13
FRI MAY 17
HURRICANES V MOANA PASIFIKA
REBELS V CHIEFS
SAT MAY 18
FIJIAN DRUA V REDS
BRUMBIES V CRUSADERS
BLUES V HIGHLANDERS
WESTERN FORCE V WARATAHS
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE
Semifinals time this weekend, though we should probably expect a Wild Knights v Brave Lupus final. Matches are to be shown live on RugbyPass AFAIK.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
SEMIFINALS
MAY 18
WILD KNIGHTS V CANON EAGLES
MAY 19
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS V SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Chicago’s impressive run came to a halt as Old Glory pipped them by a point, with Dave Kearney getting a start. The Hounds are still very much in the playoff hunt but they won’t find it easy next weekend as they travel to Western conference leading Houston. New England remain top of the East but they too have a trickey western assignment next in San Diego.
ROUND 11
ANTHEM RC 15-38 HOUSTON
DALLAS 26-29 LOS ANGELES
NOLA GOLD 32-31 SEATTLE
CHICAGO 21-22 OLD GLORY
MIAMI 20-19 UTAH
ROUND 12
SAT MAY 19
ANTHEM RC V LOS ANGELES
HOUSTON V CHICAGO
NOLA GOLD V UTAH
SAN DIEGO V NEW ENGLAND
SUN MAY 20
DALLAS V SEATTLE
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
My performance in this season’s HPL now comes with a soundtrack, namely “Freefallin” by Tom Petty. Seems like five minutes ago I was comfortably in front and shameless bragging about it as though Mocker Gods didn’t exist…well, I’ve paid the price and don’t be surprised if I fall further!!! Meanwhile the top spot changed yet again as Kristian jumped over Kino.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Ulster up next, we’ll have a preview with Keego on Friday then a wrap with Jay Long and possibly an Ulster fan recording Sunday evening. Do join us if you can and also keep up with all our usual content around the ruggersphere.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
11 May 2024; Jordan Larmour of Leinster scores his side’s third try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Ospreys at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
also available on Apple podcasts and most major platforms
Frawley looked very comfortable when he went to 10. Another very accomplished game for him. Just wished he got more game time there! Lots still to work on.
Peter Tracey
O’Brien looked sharp and has some serious pace. JGP and Frawley really sped the game up when they played together.
Frankie Taylor
Buzzing. Jimmy was incredible
David White
The spies from Toulouse in the stands leant nothing coz Ospreys were so poor
Tony Doyle
Good win and a great second half by Leinster
Came out from break strong and never looked back. Managed the game really well, kept them pinned back. JOB deserved PotM but Larmour another contender, JVDF in the pack too. Interesting to see selection next week but very happy for now.#LEIvOSP
LEINSTER : 15. Ciarán Frawley 14. Jordan Larmour 13. Jamie Osborne 12. Robbie Henshaw 11. Jimmy O’Brien 10. Ross Byrne 9. Luke McGrath
1. Andrew Porter 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Ross Molony 5. Jason Jenkins 6. Ryan Baird 7. Will Connors 8. Caelan Doris (c)
16. Dan Sheehan 17. Michael Milne 18. Thomas Clarkson 19. Jack Conan 20. Josh van der Flier 21. Jamison Gibson-Park 22. Charlie Ngatai 23. Tommy O’Brien
OSPREYS : 15. Max Nagy 14. Luke Morgan 13. Owen Watkin 12. Keiran Williams 11. Keelan Giles 10. Dan Edwards 9. Reuben Morgan-Williams
1. Nicky Smith 2. Dewi Lake 3. Rhys Henry 4. James Ratti 5. Huw Sutton 6. Harri Deaves 7. Justin Tipuric (c) 8. Morgan Morris
16. Sam Parry 17. Gareth Thomas 18. Tom Botha 19. Victor Sekekete 20. Jac Morgan 21. Luke Davies 22. Jack Walsh 23. Evardi Boshoff
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 