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WRAP OF A WRAP

As ever Tom & Rich did a bang up job wrapping Leinster’s win over the Scarlets.  I’ve tried to simplify the format this season, where before I split each half into five segments for the guests to wrap they now just cover 20 minutes each per half.  That can lead to a lot of harping so I’ve tried to jump in to help were I can but I still reckon this works as a better system.

ICYMI, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on most major platforms.

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HARPIN ON…NEINABER’S TASK

Classic Harpin luck…less than 24 hours after we record a bonus clip about what Neinaber can bring to Leinster, the news breaks that he’s likely to be delayed arriving with the squad until after we play Munster.  Still, as Tom says you can already see some of his influence in our play and no doubt there is some kind of Zoom-like communication going on.   Anyway, the boys still did a good job harpin’ on what he will add to the province.

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

Would you believe I completely forgot about this 80+ feature this season until now?  Well if you knew me you certainly would believe it! #scatterbrain

Anywho…while it is good news about Ed Byrne, and also that Messrs Milne & Healy are close to making it five, yes, count ‘em, FIVE quality loose head props available for selection, I reckon Jack Boyle’s form over the first five rounds should be enough to earn him a spot in our 23 for this Saturday at very least.

Obviously the names at the bottom of the list are concerning and we’d want them returning ASAP but overall it’s far from the worst injury report we’ve seen.

NB : the above matchday 23 is completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley

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WE STAND WITH UGO

Easy choice of topic for this week’s TikTok.  Pretty much said my piece in the video but I will also add a relevant tweet from fellow Leinster fan Catherine Kavanagh on the matter.

@harpinonrugby

Check out our 80+ column posting every Tuesday afternoon at HarpinOnRugby.com #rugbytiktoks🏉

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

https://twitter.com/ugomonye/status/1726288438356513181?s=20

In spring 2019 Leinster played Ulster in a HEC 1/4 final. Dan Leavy's last game. A Leinster fan, obstreperous and hammered, abused Ulster fans & players in sectarian terms. He got instantly shouted down by everyone, the Gardai marched him out. LR went after him too. Only way. https://t.co/Sm1t9LdmrL

— Catherine Kavanagh (@KavanaghCk) November 19, 2023

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IRISH “SVNS” SQUADS ANNOUNCED

I think I’ve finally settled on a structure with these 80+ columns…starting with a few segments on the wrap pod from last weekend, ending with updates from other competitions, and here we’re in what I call “The Middle Aisle” where I cover a few topics that caught my eye in the last week.

First we have the announcement of the squads for the two senior 7s teams which will be representing Ireland both in the rebranded “Svns” series which starts in Dubai on the weekend of December 2.

As you can see below, the biggest difference between the two groups is that the Women’s includes many who would be expected to featured in XVs, so clearly this continues to be a problem for the programme.  Apparently the only actual clash with the 2024 Six Nations will be on the Hong Kong leg but realistically I’d expect there to be minimal back and forth between the versions.

On the men’s side, all the big names are there like Kennedy, Conroy, McNulty plus some new ones as well and they will really want to crack on from last season where they reached their first final yet disappointed in other events.

We’ll be covering the series on this column and eventually it will move to the Updates section starting next week.

Ireland Women’s Sevens – 2024 Squad: Kathy Baker, Claire Boles, Megan Burns, Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe, Alanna Fitzpatrick, Stacey Flood, Eve Higgins, Katie Heffernan, Erin King, Lucinda Kinghan, Vicky Elmes Kinlan, Emily Lane, Amy Larn, Kate Farrell McCabe, Anna McGann, Lucy Mulhall, Beibhinn Parsons, Aoibheann Reilly, Vikki Wall.

Ireland Men’s Sevens – 2024 Squad: Niall Comerford, Jordan Conroy, Sean Cribbin, Billy Dardis, Ed Kelly, Jack Kelly, Terry Kennedy, JJ Kenny, Hugo Lennox, Matt McDonald, Harry McNulty, Bryan Mollen, Gavin Mullin, Chay Mullins, Dylan O’Grady, Aaron O’Sullivan, Connor O’Sullivan, Mark Roche, Zac Ward.

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WOMEN’S CELTIC LEAGUE GETS CLOSER

Last season there was a new competition called “The Celtic Challenge” where Irish, Scottish and Welsh women’s teams competed to help prepare for the Six Nations – now it has been expanded to involve two teams from each nation so I assume it will be a round robin format.  

As my headline suggests, this brings us ever closer to the formation of a proper Women’s Celtic League and it would be perfect if they could eventually include all four provinces.

One drawback however seems to be the fact that this expanded competition will run right into the also-expanded format of the Women’s AIL which switched to a home-and-away format this season.

I’m all for more women’s rugby but when the sevens, club, test and now this new level all clash at the same time it really looks like they are creating more problems than they are solving.

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SIOBHÁN CATTIGAN 

I’m not really in a position to comment too much on any Scottish rugby let alone the women’s game there but it was hard not to be moved by the tragic story of Siobhán Cattigan plus the horrible way in which the SRU handled the aftermath.  

Hopefully the way the union has engaged with the family together with the apology has gone a way towards mending the fences.  If they are happy with the sincerity of the apologies than so should we.

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HOGG WASH

Not my intention to pick on Scottish rugby this week but I just have one thing to say about the whole Stuart Hogg thing…if the reports are true then he definitely does not sound like a good guy.  

That said, if he goes on to stay out of rugby then there’s not much more for me to say about him on a platform dedicated to opinion on what happens within the game.  And it certainly seems that Rugby Pass aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet.

I mean – if we want to focus on players who have wronged women, there are plenty of those still playing the sport now.

"I absolutely hated it… but there was method in the madness."

– Stuart Hogg, with Liam Heagney 👨‍💻, on being an ex-player, horse riding, @rugbyontnt TV punditry, and anguished last few months at Exeter. #GallagherPrem #EXEvGLO

Click below for more ⤵️https://t.co/1Q5zI9PgFU

— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 19, 2023

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ITALIAN CLUBS

Many have pointed out that the two Italian clubs are now above all four Welsh regions on the URC table, but I also noticed one other fact from the first five rounds of the season.

Last season, over the 18 regular season rounds of the URC, both Italian clubs lost in as many as 10 of them.  This season so far, there have been ZERO.  Maybe that includes a couple of draws but that is still certainly quite the improvement, and long may it continue.  Except when they both play Leinster, of course…

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MIKE AND THE PRE-MATCH MECHANICS

I covered Mike McCarthy’s pre-kickoff Viking clap routine on this column a few weeks ago for Leinster’s first match at the RDS, well they didn’t do it for the visit of Edinburgh yet brought it back last Saturday and this time I took a brief video for TikTok.

@harpinonrugby

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com

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URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

No Irish Shield action last weekend, rather four proud wins for the provinces, but the race resumes at the Aviva this Saturday as Leinster finally join the fray.  I’ve revised the info below to include all the 12 matches and we’ll continue to track the table’s process throughout the season if the URC have yet to do it on their website.

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1. ULSTER P 2 PTS 5
2. CONNACHT P 1 PTS 4
3. MUNSTER P 1 PTS 1
4. LEINSTER P 0 PTS 0

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Big win for Stu Lancaster’s Racing in the Parisien derby which moves them up to second place level on points with their capital city rivals with Castres also on 23pts and Pau just one behind.  Things don’t exactly get easier for Racing as they host La Rochelle who seem to be getting their mojo back after a third win on the bounce saw them creep to the edge of the playoff picture.

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

Leinster’s Euro opponents are heading in opposite directions these days – we play Sale in December and they went to the top of the table after their win over Newcastle while Quins got humbled at the Stoop by Saracens.  Leicester did manage to win their derby against the Saints yet they remain in the bottom two. 

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AIL UPDATE 

Round 8 of the Women’s AIL has once again highlighted the gap between the top 4 clubs and the rest, with the two matches involving sides from both ends of the table being blow outs and the two more evenly matched contests being close.  UL Bohs held out Belvo to keep their 100% record intact, but their schedule doesn’t get any easier as they must travel to Belvo the weekend after next while another potential semifinal matchup between Rock and Railway takes place at the same time, and when those matches are complete the league will be at its halfway point.

Meanwhile on the men’s side, even though I am a blue jersey supporter I still have to admit it’s always good to see as many as three provinces represented in the top four of the AIL 1A.

Recent Leinster debutant Dylan Donnellan marked his return to the AIL with two tries but leaders Clontarf could only manage a draw away to Hinch although they still remain top.  Cork Con’s demolition of lowly Trinity brought them to within a point of 1st while champions Terenure continue to struggle to stay in touch with the top 4 as they fell away to Young Munster.

The men’s clubs take a break this coming weekend with the big interpro derby at the Aviva but there’s to be another one in Round 7 when 1st place Tarf hosts 2nd place Con.  Hopefully there will be a stream for that one, definitely worth a watch.

#SupportYourLocalClub

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RE SUPER CUP UPDATE

The two decisive matches when it came to deciding on semi finalists each went different ways in the final round.  The Romanian Wolves rolled over the Brussels Devils while the Iberian peninsula derby was a whole lot closer with Castilla holding out Lusitanos to join the Wolves in the final four. Meanwhile in what could very possibly be a rehearsal for the final, champions Black Lion edged Tel Aviv.  At time of writing dates and times of the semifinals are yet to be decided.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Bad week for me this time around, I tried backing Zebre again and although they didn’t lose, they didn’t win either and other results went against me meaning I was overtaken by Kino, who apparently is deploying a new system (and I’m not mocking it – he literally has a degree in this sort of thing) so we’ll see if I can keep in touch with himself, Kristian and Conor, the HPL rookie who this week jumped into the top slot.  Will be very interesting to see what the predictions are for Leinster v Munster this Saturday given only Ulster fan Kristian has no skin in the game…will any of the other seven take a gamble and plump for red?

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Our Opposition View series of pod returns this week, although due to time restrictions I may only do them for interpros for the next while.  Caolán Scully joins me for a chat, watch out for it on the feed around Wednesday morning.  I may even give him a bit of time to gloat over their URC title, you never know.

But after that it’s down to business giving Saturday’s big one at the Aviva the full Harpin treatment with Keego joining me for the preview on Friday, then Mark & Nathan are due to help me with the wrap on Sunday so stay tuned to all the usual social media channels and get involved in the discussion in any way you can. 

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

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WRAP OF A WRAP

Another Sunday, another enjoyable wrap pod recording, this time joined by Conor & Kino, this time for the Front 5 I asked them to choose an article/topic themselves, not sure why I never thought of that before, I’ll definitely look to do that more often as the season wears on.

ICYMI, here’s a link to Spotify and we’re also on most major platforms.

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HARPIN ON…THE LEINSTER CAPTAINCY

For our bonus clip to follow on from last week’s chat on the candidates for the Leinster 10 jersey after Sexton’s retirement, this time we looked at Leinster’s “leadership group” and how it should look when the Champions Cup rolls around.

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COPY-WRONGED

If content creators’ statuses were represented by rugby competitions, Squidge would be the World Cup while Harpin would be Junior 4ths….meh, maybe that’s doing myself down a bit too much, how about we go with Junior 2nds instead 😜.  

All which means I feel bad that I have actually used clips from rugby matches in TikTok videos in recent times – to be clear I never try to even come close to Squidge’s analysis and I certainly don’t put anywhere near as much time into my stuff as he does.  

One thing I can vouch for is that even for a 15 minute video there is a MOUNTAIN of work to be done even with help.  For example the simple two minute clip below took the guts of two hours altogether but definitely in this case it was worth it when it came to speaking out against the copyright enforcement.

As you can see I have included a link below to show the source of the stats on the Gen Z participation.

Again, seriously, CLIMBING????????????

After just a few hours up, the video has been taken down manually by an employee of World Rugby, and copyright strike given to the channel.

Some 60+ hours of work went into that one video, so rest assured we shall try our upmost to get it restored, but this is not in our hands. https://t.co/BSt9dZGfc4

— Squidge Rugby (@SquidgeRugby) November 6, 2023

Link for stats on Gen Z participation as cited in video

@harpinonrugby

JUST LETTHECLIPSPLAY – taken from our weekly 80+ column which posts every Tuesday afternoon at HarpinOnRugby.com #irishtiktok #irelandtiktok #rugbyunion🏉

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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THAT’S USING YOUR HEAD

Hat-tip to Harpin contributor Kristian Ross for drawing my attention to this article from the Ulster University site which is all about the science behind the “smart mouthguards” which are being used to gauge head injury impact in rugby.

  “Dr Gregory Tierney, Lecturer in Biomechanics, Ulster University worked in partnership with World Rugby, Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and Premiership Women’s Rugby to complete several studies using the smart mouthguard technology to better understand the level of impact players experience on the head during matches and training situations using g-forces as a measurement technique.”

I am far from a statistician but one thing I do know is that when researching a topic you can never have too much data, once it’s relevant and it really does sound like this is a near perfect way to gather data on the impact of head collisions in rugby.  And another thing we find is that proper research rarely backs up our prejudices 100%.

Usually those pushing back against attempts to make the game safer are mostly motivated by a fear that the game will be “ruined” by sending off and long TMO delays.  Personally I’d rather let the boffins do their thing and be open minded to seeing the results in the hope that the right alterations can be made.

The article offers some results from a paper published in 2021 after two years of extensive research…

“The ORCHID paper shows that in the men’s community game:

• 86 percent of forces measured are the same as or less than those experienced in other forms of exercise such as running, jumping or skipping
• 94 percent of forces are lower than those previously measured on people riding a rollercoaster
• The large majority of events resulting in the highest measured forces are as a result of poor technique in the tackle and at the breakdown
• Most contact events in elite rugby do not result in any significant force to the head.”

The poor tackle technique is the most significant part for me, and that leads me to believe that using sanctions to help promote proper technique is at very least one of the measures that we should pursue, whether some fans are annoyed by waiting a bit longer for TMO replays or not.

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FEELING THE HEAT

Negative comments obviously come with the territory when you’re producing regular content and normally I brush them off but I have to admit I was annoyed by one I got after last week’s bonus pod which featured an interview with Francisco Isaac.

The plan was to talk to him about Portugal’s success at RWC2023, the proposed World League and finally the Rugby Europe Super Cup which kicked off last weekend.

Unfortunately one follower was of the opinion that since the Super Cup involves a team from Israel, then that means we should have discussed the current horrible events in that part of the world, with the implication that if we didn’t then I obviously don’t care about it.

Just to be clear…I do have strong feelings about that situation but you can be 100% guaranteed that I will not share them here or anywhere else in the Harpin social media space.  Meanwhile, it has been a policy here to follow the RE Super Cup as we believe it is an invaluable mechanism for at least starting to bring up Europe’s tier 2 nations (Francisco even says as much on the pod).

To that end we will continue to cover the tournament, including adding them to our “update” section below as it unfolds over the coming weeks.

Click here to listen to the pod in question ICYMI, plus there’s a YouTube video with an extended version of the World League discussion as well.

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THROWING THE BOOK BY WAYNE BARNES

I’ve always had respect for Wayne Barnes – I know a lot of people had issues with his refereeing, and so did I, but IMO we have to know where to draw the line and whatever we might think about the actual decisions, that is not all that maketh the ref and his overall comportment throughout his career has been commendable for sure and he was a more than worthy appointee for the 2023 final.

Pretty sure I’m not the only one who wishes him all the best with his future endeavours, including his new book…

I never thought a working class lad from the Forest of Dean would end up writing an autobiography! But then again, I never thought I’d referee 111 international rugby matches either. I am delighted to present Throwing The Book. pic.twitter.com/DKnpE9gtdQ

— Wayne Barnes (@WayneBarnesRef) November 3, 2023

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LARNER THE TEACHER

A major rugby bugbear of mine is intellectual snobbery, as in when some look down on others who don’t understand the Laws as well as they do.  The way I see it if someone is looking for info we should give it.  It’s a goddam complex sport that needs all the clued-in fans it can get. 

Unless of course when I’m having a few pints in a crowded pub watching a match and people cop on that I know what’s going on and thus bombard me with questions for the remainder, they of course can FRO….but it doesn’t always go exactly the way the Grand Slam match back in March did…😁

Seriously though, social media should be an ideal way to help those who might not know certain terms yet are afraid to ask, and it’s always good to have tweets like this one from Sam Lerner to see people right…

Thread: A Map of Rugby

There's a lot of terminology in rugby that is taken for granted and isn't always explained. I thought I would try and help.

Different teams/countries will use different language so this isn't a dictionary. But should help you find the way!

1) pic.twitter.com/xx2vKUi4j3

— Sam Larner (@SamLStandsUp) November 2, 2023

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URC IRISH SHIELD UPDATE

As one tournament, namely the WXV, drops out of our expanded Update Section, it gets replaced by two more, and first we are going to keep a close eye on the race for the Irish Shield.  Some may joke about it but starting this season it is to be awarded to the winner of a points table featuring ONLY the matches between the Irish provinces throughout the season, a really good idea IMO which needs support by regular coverage.  Obviously Connacht’s victory over Ulster in the season’s first interpro has them top of the shield standings as well as the entire URC, we’ll see how things look after Munster visit the Kingspan on Friday.

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1. CONNACHT P 1 PTS 4
2. ULSTER P 1 PTS 1
3. LEINSTER P 0 PTS 0
4. MUNSTER P 0 PTS 0

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Leinster’s first Champions Cup opponents are exactly the same as our last ones, but things haven’t been going too well for La Rochelle since that day in the Aviva, or at least since Ntamack broke their hearts in their quest for a first Brennus in July.  They have now lost 4 out of 5 this season and are now flirting with the relegation zone, but as Kino pointed out on our pod, they will be getting the bulk of their internationals back well in time for our visit in December so will likely be a much different prospect then.

In January we host Stade Francais and they continue to do well as their 39-16 win over Castres kept them in a three-way tie at the top with Pau and Stu Lancaster’s Racing.

Toulon v Racing on Sunday evening seems to be the pick of the Round 6 matches and hopefully Dan Biggar’s back spasm isn’t too serious, that really, really looked nasty.

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

Sale Sharks come to the RDS in December and their decent start to their Premiership campaign continued with a handy win over Glaws leaving them in 3rd place behind Exeter and Quins.  Meanwhile Leicester Tigers, our fourth opponents, continue to struggle as they could not overcome Sarries.  They could get things back on track in round 5 with a win over Quins but the standout tie of the round has to be the West Country derby at Kingsholm.

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AIL UPDATE 

Here’s a transcript of my piece for Front 5 on last Sunday’s wrap pod…

Every week on our 80+ column at harpinonrugby.com we round up the state of play in the Energia AIL but for once I thought I’d do it here on the main pod because, well, I keep harpin on how poor the overall coverage is of the next level down from provincial rugby so I should really practise what I preach.

I’ll start with the Women’s AIL which this season may not have added to its 9 clubs but at least it HAS gone to a full home and away calendar with Round 6 taking place at the weekend.  And even though we’re only a third of the way through the schedule it’s pretty clear which teams are favoured to make the top 4 and with Rock, Belvo, Railway Union and leaders UL Bohs all avoiding each other in this round, meaning there wasn’t much change at the top with the only unpredicted outcome being Wicklow’s waterlogged pitch preventing them from hosting Railway, who themselves play Belvo next weekend in what is easily the match of Round 7.

Meanwhile on the men’s side of things, league leaders Lansdowne saw their perfect start to the season come to an end when they fell to Cork Con although the away losing bonus point wasn’t the worst result.  This left Clontarf as the only unbeaten side in the top division after they overcame their own tough southern assignment and held off a strong fightback by Young Munster to win 44-39. 

Back to the subject of media coverage, it’s still poor overall outside the individual club social media accounts, in fact some weeks it’s been difficult to find decent reporting on even the top AIL divisions as late as Tuesday morning, but there are definite exceptions to this rule, starting of course with the weekly Club Scene Podcast and also there is live streaming from the likes of the BF Sports Analysis YouTube channel where I watched reigning champions Terenure overcome UCD on Saturday afternoon – I’ll put a link in the programme notes.  Unfortunately I couldn’t watch it live as it clashed with Leinster’s match at the RDS but it’s always available to replay and as ever is a great way of keeping tabs on those on the fringes of the Leinster squad like Chris Cosgrave and Conor O’Tighearnaigh.

So we’ll continue to keep tabs on the AIL throughout the season and for your own part please do what you can to get out and support your local club in any way you can.

#SupportYourLocalClub

WOMEN’S AIL

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MEN’S AIL

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RE SUPER CUP UPDATE

As discussed on the bonus pod linked earlier, the RE Super Cup has a slightly different format this season.  The World Cup has shrunk it to a three-match pool phase and what’s more, the two pools are weighted with the four best in A with the next 4 in Pool B – the top three from A and the winner of B make the semifinals.

There is also a new nation joining the competition, with Bohemia Warriors from Czechia getting a baptism of fire courtesy of the Romanian Wolves in Round 1, while reigning champions Black Lion, who also take part in this seasons Challenge Cup don’t forget, started off with a comfortable enough win over Castilla.  Pick of Round 2 has to be their trip to Portugal to face Lusitanos in a repeat of last year’s final.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

I’m still happy enough to be lurking in the bronze medal position after 3 rounds but Kristian and Conor are starting to open up a gap at the top.  Meanwhile Keego, who to be fair was in New York last week so possibly wasn’t thinking too much about the URC, has dropped back down to the dreaded Jersey of Shame position.

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	AFTER RD 3	PTS
1	KRISTIAN	33.50
2	CONOR	33.00
3	JEFF	28.50
4	KINO	26.00
5	JAY	24.00
6	TOM	22.50
7	MARK	19.50
8	KEEGO	17.00

NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Right, that’s it for another week’s 80+ column thanks for checking in.  Next up there’s the Dragons, we’ll have the preview on Friday and even though we don’t play until Sunday afternoon, we’re still planning to record the wrap pod that evening at 8 o’clock, with all the other usual features all over our various social media channels as well.

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