Tag: rugby

80+ column : June 19

We’re taking a step back for a week or two here at Harpin Manor so just a “Lite” version of the column this week, or an “Eighty plus minus” if you will…no Front Five for example.

On this week’s column…

🏉 IRISH SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT

🏉 CGB RIP 

🏉 24/25 CHAMPIONS CUP DRAW

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 23/24 SEASON REVIEW

🏉 LEINSTER & IRELAND 1-SCORE LOSSES 

🏉 THE LEO CULLEN DEBATE

🏉 HOGG SAGA LATEST

🏉 TROLL PATROL

🏉 SEVENS SQUAD

🏉 UPDATES [INCL 🔝🐱🐴 & SUPER RUGBY]

IRELAND SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT

I dont know about you but I very much want Ireland to win both of these tests.  Development is important that is no doubt, but with an Emerging Ireland tour planned for later in the year I see no reason why we shouldn’t do what we can to make these matches the clash of titans the rest of the rugby world expects it to be -back to back RWC champs v back-to-back 6N champs, with the Boks VERY keen to put the most recent results between the two behind them.  Besides, it’s not like we won’t get some chance to see how we get on without regulars in the 23 with JGP and Conan missing out.  

Thanks to Murray Kinsella’s breakdown of the positions below, I have had a go at selecting my matchday 23 for the first test, I’ve even included a new cap that wouldn’t be Leinster fancy that!!  6/2 bench has to be right for Loftus I’d say.

O’Brien, Nash, Henshaw, Aki, Lowe, Crowley, Casey

Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, McCarthy, Beirne, O’Mahony (c), van der Flier, Doris

Kelleher, Healy, Bealham, Ryan, Baird, Izuchukwu, Murray, Frawley.

CGP RIP

Awful, awful news.  Way, way too young.  His parents both played rugby in Ireland back in the 90s.

24/25 CHAMPIONS CUP DRAW

Competition draws aren’t exactly sexy topics and the one for next season’s Champions Cup isn’t until Tuesday July 2, and although the competition format hasn’t changed there was some news specific to Leinster in today’s press release from EPCR…

For the purposes of the draw, the clubs will be divided into two tiers, Tier 1 and Tier 2. The four clubs in Tier 1 will be: Stade Toulousain (2024 Investec Champions Cup winners), Northampton Saints (2024 Gallagher Premiership winners), as well as the 2024 URC and 🔝🐱🐴  winners. If Stade Toulousain win the 🔝🐱🐴  title, then the Investec Champions Cup final runners-up, Leinster Rugby, will be included in Tier 1.

WRAP OF A WRAP

Wrapping defeats are never fun on the one hand, but on the other there’s still the whole “show must go on” of it all so we did a full wrap pod where as well as a shortened “match timeline section” we also went back over Leinster’s season overall.  Tom Coleman & Mark Jackson seem to be getting more than their share of bad results when they appear on the pod but they still did a great job.

As you can see below we also found time to harp on a couple of extra relevant topics, all of them have been getting decent engagement over the past few days.

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.

LEINSTER’S & IRELAND’S 1-SCORE LOSSES

Lead-in question : OK now I’d like to chat for a bit about one-score matches.  Much has been said about the Springboks winning their second World Cup in a row on the back of three successive one-point victories, and then of course Jacques Nienaber switched to Leinster where as you can see by the screen there, we’ve had a string of defeats in recent seasons of 5 points or less, and I have also added results of the Irish team as well as, just for good measure, the Munster semifinal loss as they had both the Irish captain and starting outhalf playing for them.  You can say each and every one of these results played a part in an Irish team falling short of silverware so starting with yourself Tom, is there a pattern to be seen here?

THE RESULTS IN QUESTION :

FRA 30-24 IRE, LEI 21-24 LAR, LEI 26-27 BUL, LEI 15-16 MUN,  LEI 26-27 LAR, IRE 24-28 NZL

LEI 21-22 ULS, ENG 23-22 IRE, TLS 15-15* LEI, ULS 23-21 LEI, BUL 25-20 LEI, MUN 10-17 GLA  

* = after 80m

THE LEO CULLEN DEBATE

Lead-in question : This is a discussion I have tried to steer away from for quite a while now but it has been bubbling under the surface among Leinster fans on the social media platforms I’d say since our defeat in the Marseille final so obviously by now after two more campaigns gone without silverware, the calls are getting even louder so it’s probably about time we harped on it.  On the one hand you don’t want the very ‘footbally’ knee-jerk reactions to defeats calling for the coach to be fired, I mean most clubs in Europe wouldn’t come close to competing on two fronts every season the way we do, but on the other hand when you’ve won 4 Heineken Cups and 8 league titles over the years, the standards are always going to be high and for the past few seasons Leinster have fallen short.  So starting with yourself Mark, is it time for a change at the top?

HOGG SAGA LATEST

After deciding to leave out the Front Five this week, there ended up being four stories I felt I had to include in the column so I’m sure I could have found a fifth to keep the segment going, but then again with this Hogg story returning like an awful smell I figured it best to shift it further down the page. 

Not exactly wild about how RugbyPass framed Hogg’s situation – “blighted by personal problems” suggests there might be someone to blame other than the man himself.

Let’s just say I will absolutely not be supporting MHR next season and I’m delighted there is very little chance Leinster will be playing them.

TROLL PATROL

A couple of weeks ago, I challenged a trolling comment from ‘mahasamatman’ offering them to appear on the pod…the challenge was genuine and if I got a response I would take steps to make it happen.  As you can see by their latest offering, it looks like they are choosing to ignore my invitation.  🐔

If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.

“SVNS” UPDATE

No Irish teams in action until next weekend in Hamburg (see fixtures below) but there is still a lot of relevant stuff going on in the 7s world, not least of which was the announcement of the squads for the Olympics, with Lucy Rock & Harry McNulty named the respective captains.

We will know our opponents in Paris by this Sunday evening when the draw is made following the Monaco 7s which will decide the last 4 qualifiers in each gender.  Those tournaments will be streamed live on RugbyPassTV over the weekend with the like of GB and RSA involved on the men’s side and Argentina on the women’s.

OLYMPIC SQUADS

Ireland Women’s Sevens Squad – Paris 2024: 

Kathy Baker (Blackrock College RFC)

Megan Burns (Blackrock College RFC)

Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe (Railway Union RFC)

Alanna Fitzpatrick (Portarlington RFC/Blackrock College RFC)

Stacey Flood (Railway Union RFC)

Eve Higgins (Railway Union RFC)

Erin King (Old Belvedere RFC)

Vicky Elmes Kinlan (Wicklow RFC)

Emily Lane (Blackrock College RFC)

Ashleigh Orchard (Cooke RFC)

Béibhinn Parsons (Blackrock College RFC)

Lucy Rock (Wicklow RFC)(captain)

Travelling Reserves:

Claire Boles (Railway Union RFC)

Amy Larn (Athy RFC).

Ireland Men’s Sevens Squad – Paris 2024:

Niall Comerford (UCD RFC)

Jordan Conroy (Buccaneers RFC)

Hugo Keenan (UCD RFC/Leinster)

Jack Kelly (Dublin University FC)

Terry Kennedy (St Mary’s College RFC)

Hugo Lennox (Skerries RFC)

Harry McNulty (UCD RFC)(captain)

Gavin Mullin (UCD RFC)

Chay Mullins (Galway Corinthians RFC/Connacht/IQ Rugby)

Mark Roche (Lansdowne FC)

Andrew Smith (Clontarf FC/Connacht)

Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC)

Travelling Reserves:

Sean Cribbin (Suttonians RFC)

Bryan Mollen (UCD RFC)

HAMBURG 7s

FRI JUNE 28

10AM – WOMEN V CZECHIA

12:14PM – MEN V CROATIA

2:44PM – WOMEN V FRANCE

5:14PM – MEN V BELGIUM

SAT JUNE 29

9:36AM – WOMEN V PORTUGAL

9:44AM – MEN V PORTUGAL

🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

All season we have been highlighting on these pages what a bad season La Rochelle are having yet they go and make the final four to face their nemesis Toulouse, who may be polishing their 6th star but with this seeming to be the Year of The Nemesis Reversal (Leinster beating LAR twice, Toulouse beating Leinster) plus the fact that the French play their semifinals on “neutral” grounds (not so much in Bordeaux’s case) you wouldn’t bet against them having another crack at a first Brennus.

That said, as you see in the segment on the Champion Cup draw earlier in the column, a Toulouse win would help Leinster out, so there’s that.

Meanwhile the other semifinal appears to be a tossup between Stade would would be favourites on form if it were held in any other city but UBB will be keen to use every advantage possible to reverse their Champions Cup quarterfinal disappointment.

Then there’s Montpellier who stayed in the top flight by the skin of their teeth with a two point win over Grenoble.  We’ll still be covering both sides on these pages next season as I plan to include the ProD2 in our update section.

PLAYOFFS

TOULON 29-34 LA ROCHELLE 

BORDEAUX 31-17 RACING 92 

RELEGATION

GRENOBLE 18-20 MONTPELLIER 

SEMIFINALS (BOTH IN BORDEAUX)

FRI JUNE 21

TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE

SAT JUNE 22

STADE FRANÇAIS V BORDEAUX

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

Not a good day for future Leinster employees Jordie Barrett and Tyler Bleyendaal…hopefully the Hurricane’s exit in the semifinals won’t have a bearing on how they get on when they travel north!  Still promises to be a fascinating Auckland v Waikato final, I’ve always had a soft spot for the Blues and I’m not sure they’ll get a better chance than this to lift their first SR title since 2003.

QUARTERFINALS

CHIEFS 43-21 REDS

HURRICANES 47-20 REBELS

BLUES 36-5 FIJIAN DRUA

BRUMBIES 32-16 HIGHLANDERS

SEMIFINALS

BLUES 34-20 BRUMBIES

HURRICANES 19-30 CHIEFS

FINAL

SAT JUNE 22

BLUES V CHIEFS

MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Really big win for my adopted team the Chicago Hounds, with Dave Kearney, Nick McCarthy, Jack Carty and Paddy Ryan all starting as they defeated San Diego (complete with Matt Giteau and the still-scoring-tries-at-42 Ma’a Nonu) to put them all but in the playoffs, with chances in the final two rounds to move up even higher.

Elsewhere Houston edged Seattle to stay top in the west while New England need just one more win to lock down home advantage in the east.

ROUND 16

DALLAS 34-36 OLD GLORY

HOUSTON 28-25 SEATTLE

NEW ENGLAND 36-27 UTAH

ANTHEM RC 14-30 MIAMI

LOS ANGELES 21-38 NOLA GOLD

CHICAGO 22-16 SAN DIEGO

ROUND 17

SAT JUNE 22

NOLA GOLD V NEW ENGLAND

SUN JUNE 23

ANTHEM RC V CHICAGO

MIAMI V OLD GLORY

UTAH V DALLAS

SEATTLE V LOS ANGELES

SAN DIEGO V HOUSTON

HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Glasgow’s win at Thomond Park not only ended the provinces’ URC hopes, but with Kristian gambling for the upset it has also looked like handing him the HPL title.  With the multiplier in force for the playoffs, Kino CAN catch him, but only if they make different picks for the final and his is the right one.  The Superbru app only tells you who others have chosen when the matches kick off, and if it turns out that they made the same selection then the title belongs to Kristian.

Jay is guaranteed 3rd place but as for me in 4th, I’m anything but – in fact, with Conor, Mark & Tom all breathing down my neck I could finish as low as 7th so I’ll have to make my final decision very carefully.

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

The plan is to take a break for at least a week with the next planned content on these pages being another 80+ column next Wednesday.  But I’m sure in the meantime I’ll be tempted to drop the odd x or TikTok along the way so do keep an eye out.

Plus I’ll be appearing on Caolán Scully’s pod from Thursday evening as well as our regular Dublin South FM slot so there’s always harpin’ going on somewhere!

And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are.  JLP

356 : Bulls v Leinster & 23/24 season wrap

15 June 2024; Joe McCarthy of Leinster, left, after his side’s defeat in the United Rugby Championship semi-final match between Vodacom Bulls and Leinster at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, South Africa. Photo by Shaun Roy/Sportsfile

🏉 Kicking game

🏉 Early conservation?

🏉 Predictability

🏉 Petersen chasing

🏉 Season review

@harpinonrugby

Pod now available on Apple, Spotify etc with bonus material on our YouTube channel throughout the week #LeinsterRugby #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

MARK JACKSON

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

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 

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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

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AT ELVERYS

355 : Bulls v Leinster preview

also available as podcast

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

CONTRIBUTE TO KEEGO’S CHARITY WAXING HERE

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)

Rugby on TV : June 13-17

FULL LIST

(all times Irish)

NOTE : Our apologies, we originally had Bulls v Leinster on RTÉ2 but it is instead on RTÉ1. Blame the Euros…

THURSDAY, JUNE 13

12PM – LEINSTER V ULSTER – URC – PREMIER SPORTS 1 

11:30PM – 🔝🐱🐴 HIGHLIGHTS – PREMIER SPORTS 2 

FRIDAY, JUNE 14

8:05AM – BLUES V BRUMBIES – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

10PM – NORTHAMPTON V BATH (REPEAT) – PREMIERSHIP – TNT SPORTS 3

SATURDAY, JUNE 15

1:30AM – DALLAS V OLD GLORY – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

5:35AM – HURRICANES V CHIEFS – SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC – SKY SPORTS ACTION

3PM – BULLS V LEINSTER – URC – RTÉ1, PREMIER SPORTS 1, URC.TV*

6PM – MUNSTER V GLASGOW WARRIORS – URC – TG4, PREMIER SPORTS 1, URC.TV*

8PM – TOULON V LA ROCHELLE – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 2, TV5MONDE

SUNDAY, JUNE 16

12AM – HOUSTON V SEATTLE – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

8PM – NEW ENGLAND V UTAH – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

8PM – ANTHEM RC V MIAMI – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

8PM – BORDEAUX V RACING 92 – 🔝🐱🐴 – PREMIER SPORTS 1, TV5MONDE

11PM – LOS ANGELES V NOLA GOLD – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

MONDAY, JUNE 17

1AM – CHICAGO V SAN DIEGO – MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY – THERUGBYNETWORK.COM

10:50PM – AGAINST THE HEAD – RTÉ TWO

* paid streaming service

RUGBY ON TV 

IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

THE IRISH RUGBY 

YOUTUBE CHANNEL

354 : Leinster v Ulster wrap

8 June 2024; Jordan Larmour of Leinster evades the tackle of Ethan McIlroy of Ulster on his way to scoring his side’s fourth try during the United Rugby Championship quarter-final match between Leinster and Ulster at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

🏉 Slow start

🏉 Misleading margins

🏉 Soccer skills

🏉 Marvellous McCarthy

🏉 Southern soujourn

@harpinonrugby

Our Leinster v Ulster wrap pod is now available on Apple, Spotify, etc, with a bonus clip on our YouTube channel

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

CONOR CRONIN

CIARÁN DUFFY

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.

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

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

also available as a podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2WEqDhf2aNRnCxLo12RvO0?si=a999fea9e9ef4e63

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

www.keegolaughs.com

Apologies Up Front on Apple Podcasts

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)

352 : Leinster v Connacht wrap

31 May 2024; Jimmy O’Brien of Leinster scores his side’s fifth try during the United Rugby Championship match between Leinster and Connacht at the RDS Arena in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
pod also available on Apple & most major platforms

🏉 Early scores
🏉 Sam composure
🏉 TYVM RR,RM,EB,RDS
🏉 BP eventually
🏉 Tricky path ahead

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

RICHARD MIFSUD

DAVID CORDIAL

@harpinonrugby

Pod is now available on Apple, Spotify and most major platforms. rugbytiktok LeinsterRugby #URC

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

FULL TIME TAKES

Brian Corr

Connacht seemed way off the pace, it was clear early on so much was going wrong for them.

Ruddock was immense he put everything into that game it was brilliant. Maloney and Byrne were also brilliant and gave excellent performances for their last games. I thought Ala’alatoa was unlucky for his card, yes he was high and he did hit Blades head, I’m not sure he hit it as hard as Blades reaction but that’s my bias(probably?). You could see though he wanted to out in a good shift.

Anyone doubting Leinster’s strength in depth can see in this game why it’s often quoted as being brilliant, no other club could make 14 changes and have a performance as strong as that. Keeping so many players involved and happy at the club is mind blowingly difficult, yet Leo does it year after year.

There was lots of things to like about that game even though 4 of the stalwarts are moving on & one of our backline was pretty jittery it was a pretty excellent performance from the other 19.

Chris McDonnell

Great performance from lots of the lads. Showed how awful last week’s selection was. Jenkins ahead of Molony, no Jimmy o brien , frawley just a lovely attacking player.foley I’d just miles better than mcgrath. Anyways hopefully ruddock and Molony gets to play again for us.

Cuan Mulligan

Felt Sam P had a great game, offered more options than other 10s in the squad. Was integral to a few of the tries; tried things, mixed it up. Should be where we invest and give him as much game time as possible. Might need some extra protein over the summer to bulk up

William Andrew

It was a good indicator of how valuable players like Ross, Max Ed and Ruddock are to Leinster. They provide the steel through a season.

Form was also on display, in some of the younger players

Get in the conversation yourself by leaving

your own thoughts each week after the full time whistle 

in Leinster & Ireland matches on our Facebook page

URC WRAP

ROUND 18 [final round]

LEINSTER 33-7 CONNACHT

GLASGOW 38-26 ZEBRE

STORMERS 29-24 LIONS

BENETTON 31-6 EDINBURGH

SCARLETS 32-15 DRAGONS

SHARKS 14-26 BULLS

MUNSTER 29-24 ULSTER

CARDIFF 29-33 OSPREYS

QUARTERFINALS

FRI JUNE 7

MUNSTER V OSPREYS

SAT JUNE 8

BULLS V BENETTON

LEINSTER V ULSTER

GLASGOW WARRIORS V STORMERS

HARPIN MATCH WRAPS

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351 : Leinster v Connacht Preview

also available as podcast

Our guest : NEIL “KEEGO” KEEGAN

LEINSTER : 15. Jimmy O’Brien 14. Tommy O’Brien 13. Jamie Osborne 12. Ciarán Frawley 11. Rob Russell 10. Sam Prendergast 9. Cormac Foley

1. Ed Byrne 2. Rónan Kelleher 3. Thomas Clarkson 4. Ross Molony 5. Brian Deeny 6. Rhys Ruddock 7. Scott Penny (c) 8. Jack Conan

16. Dan Sheehan 17. Michael Milne 18. Michael Ala’alatoa 19. Ryan Baird 20. Max Deegan 21. Luke McGrath 22. Harry Byrne 23. Charlie Ngatai 

CONNACHT : 15. Santiago Cordero 14. Shane Jennings 13. David Hawkshaw 12. Cathal Forde 11. Shane Mallon 10. Jack Carty 9. Caolin Blade

1. Peter Dooley 2. Dave Heffernan 3. Finlay Bealham 4. Joe Joyce 5. Niall Murray 6. Cian Prendergast 7. Conor Oliver 8. Sean Jansen

16. Dylan Tierney-Martin 17. Denis Buckley 18. Jack Aungier 19. Darragh Murray 20. Seán O’Brien 21. Colm Reilly 22. Byron Ralston 23. Tom Daly 

BKT United Rugby Championship 2023/24 Round 18

Friday, May 31, 2024

KO 7:35pm RDS Arena

Live on: TG4, Premier Sports, URC.tv

Referee: Chris Busby (Ireland)

AR1: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)

AR2: Jonathan Erskine (Ireland)

TMO: Colin Stanley (Ireland)

80+ column : May 29

On this week’s column…

🏉 RR RETIRES

🏉 LEINSTER’S COACHING TICKET

🏉 U20 FIXTURES OUT

🏉 PROVINCIAL INCOMINGS

🏉 CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK

🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP

🏉 HARPIN ON…LEINSTER’S GAME MANAGEMENT

🏉 BONUS CLIP : CC FINAL FAN EXPERIENCE

🏉 POST FINAL TIKTOK

🏉 LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE

🏉 NEW FEATURE : TROLL PATROL

🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl IRISH SHIELD & SVNS] 

FRONT FIVE

A selection of five eye-catching egg-chasing quotes & links from around the ruggersphere, now including a few thoughts added by myself (JLP).

…against Aironi in February 2011, Ruddock became the youngest ever Leinster captain when only 20 years of age

Ruddock To Retire At End Of The Season

IrishRugby.ie

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.”

Jacques Nienaber: Leinster haven’t been neglecting attack

Neil Treacy – RTÉ Rugby

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.

Ireland at Under20 World Cup

Joe Naughton – SportsNews Ireland

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.

Munster Set To Sign Cheslin Kolbe-esque Wing From Lyon

Rob O’Halloran – Balls.ie

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.

Muddled No 10 picture, poor attack and refusal to take points – strategic errors cost Leinster the ultimate prize

Rúaidhrí O’Connor – Irish Independent

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.  

WRAP OF A WRAP

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.

@harpinonrugby

Full time thoughts

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

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

Milne, McKee, Clarkson, Molony, Deeny, Ruddock (c), Penny, Deegan

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

350 : Champions Cup final wrap

🏉 Willis & Dupont

🏉 Playing the ref

🏉 2nd half chances

🏉 Managing subs

🏉 Crazy extra time

THIS WEEK’S GUESTS

TOM COLEMAN

MARK JACKSON

FULL TIME TAKES

Cuan Mulligan

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.

Left it behind…

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