80+ column : Mar 27

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On this week’s column…

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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).

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Larmour expressed his eagerness to compete in front of a sold-out crowd and emphasised the special ambiance created by passionate fans.

Jordan Larmour Hails Willie le Roux Ahead of Leinster vs. Bulls Top-of-the-Table Clash

Joe Naughton – SportsNewsIreland

JLP : SNI was the first non-Harpin site I ever wrote for back in the day so I like to check in, here we have one from many articles that suggest it will be Jordan Larmour who will fill the gap at 15 left by the absence of Messrs Keenan & Frawley.  More on this in the injury update further down the column.

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Following the departure of Jonny Petrie earlier this week, Hugh will commence his role with the province on Wednesday 3rd of April

Ulster Rugby Announce Hugh McCaughey As Interim CEO

IrishRugby.ie

JLP : All change at the Kingspan and it is good to see it happening at the very top not just coaching level.  It has been clear for a while that moves needed to be made higher up the chain.  Certainly hasn’t been the easiest for them to start the new era on a South African tour but hopefully there will be enough understanding from the fans that it will take time to turn things around.

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Raynal made a remarkably bold decision in a 2022 Bledisloe Cup match…in the fallout, Raynal deleted his social media to protect his family from abuse.

Referee Mathieu Raynal retiring after July international rugby window

NZ Herald (via AP)

JLP : Sorry to hear, I never had an issue with him and while I’ve never seen an All Black defeat I didn’t like, I still 100% backed his decision to call that free kick the game needed it especially in such a high profile match although you don’t need to justify pushing back against any form of online abuse towards anyone involved in the sport.

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EPCR announce Round of 16 match officials

RugbyReferee.net

JLP : Very important site this, you’d understand why there’s no ‘official’ source representative the POV of officials but this independent one has always been reliable.  This is just a straightforward article listing the officiating teams for the last 16 but I pretty much visit this site every week so I thought I’d share it here.

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You promised to you were going play like it’s your last f***ing game as a group together.  But you lied. You’re a f***ing liar!

Footage Emerges Of Rassie Erasmus’ Furious Expletive-Ridden World Cup Team Talk

Jonathan Browne – Balls.ie

JLP : My feelings on Rassie are mixed – of course you have to respect the whole “two World Cups” part but the Lions tour shenanigans did leave a sour taste.  I always appreciate these behind the scenes bits, looking forward to watching CTS2.

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Note – views expressed in “Front Five” links do not necessarily reflect those of HarpinOnRugby

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WRAP OF A WRAP

We recorded on Monday this week and aimed to keep the wrap part as brief as possible.  Tom & Ciarán did a bang up job with this as well as looking ahead to the matches Leinster have coming up.

If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe and/or leave a review if you can.

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QUICK TAP : PROMOTING INCLUSION

NGL when I started writing this copy I wasn’t sure where I was headed with it but it became apparent as I went along.  The promotion argument has gone on for long enough and it’s about time we started coming up with viable solutions.  Obviously the option I suggest in the video is a more long term one, I guess I was being realistic about the length of time it takes this sport to make any kind of change.  There are of course many different options that would be fine, the important thing is that they do something soon.

@harpinonrugby

Part of our latest 80+ column on harpinonrugby.com #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

While Hugo Keenan & Jimmy O’Brien were in the dreaded “no further update” section, there actually followed a further update that both could return to action sooner than expected, which is definitely good news at this stage of the season.

Strange Jason Jenkins wasn’t included in the update but anyway I’m assuming he’ll be available for Friday where I may be a mile off with my selection but you have to admit that would not only be a form starting XV but it would also possibly be the most talented bench the RDS has ever 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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WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS 

Here’s what I read on the pod…

In the Women’s Six Nations Ireland may have fallen in their opening match in France but there were still loads of positives to take from it, first the 21 point deficit was a vast improvement on the 50 from the same fixture last season, plus we showed we could get scores ourselves with two Aoifes crossing, namely Wafer and Dalton.  Also despite the scoreline it was still a strong defensive display overall from the girls so plenty to feel good about looking ahead to next week’s task against Italy, who were playing at the same Stadio di Lanfranchi where Leinster had won the night before.  Although the Red Roses shipped an early red card for Sarah Beckett, they were still way too good for their hosts and ran out convincing 48-0 winners.  So hopefully there will be a full crowd at the RDS next Saturday to cheer on the girls. That really should be a fascinating encounter.

One extra point I’d like to make is that I really thought it was strange that the Red Roses’ opener against Italy was played at exactly the same time as Bath v Sale Sharks in the men’s Premiership.  Whatever about the complexities of broadcasting contracts and what-not, that’s a terrible look for the sport overall and women’s rugby in particular.  Those fans in The Rec should have been afforded the opportunity to watch their national team play as it happened, even if they weren’t the reigning champions.

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“SVNS” UPDATE

The series doesn’t return until the weekend of April 5-7 but the draw for the Hong Kong pools has been made, here’s some copy straight from the tournament page…

The pools have been drawn for the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens (5-7 April 2024) at the Hong Kong Stadium, the sixth of eight tournaments on the HSBC SVNS, and the full schedule has now been confirmed.

Pool C sees Ireland – currently second in the standings after finishing as runners-up in Perth and the USA, atop the pool with tenth-placed Spain, eleventh-ranked Samoa and seventh-ranked South Africa, who were winners of the Series opener in Dubai.

In the 12-team women’s competition, a taut battle between Australia and New Zealand is developing, with both sides claiming two cup wins to date. Australia won the two opening legs in Dubai and Cape Town, while New Zealand won the two most recent tournaments in Los Angeles and Vancouver. Ireland won the cup in Perth.

Only four points separate the two women’s leaders ahead of Hong Kong with Australia on 90 and New Zealand on 86. France is in third on 74. USA and Canada round out the top five as the action moves to Hong Kong.

New Zealand top Pool A ahead of France, Brazil and Team Great Britain. Australia head Pool B over South Africa, Ireland and Fiji, while fourth-placed USA head Pool C with Canada, Japan and Spain.

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🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE

Some mad results from Round 19, with Toulon’s margin of victory over Montpellier being greater than all the other 6 matches put together.  La Rochelle fell again, but despite having more losses than wins they are still clinging on to a playoff position by their fingernails.  Stu Lancaster’s Racing had a much needed win to keep them up there while Parisian rivals Stade Français inched a little further ahead at the top as Toulouse were edged out in Bayonne.  Round 20 is interesting in that all 7 matches involve one team from the top half against a team from the bottom half so we’ll see if there are any upsets.

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PREMIERSHIP UPDATE

After a long, long break the top two, Saints and Quins, both shipped 50 burgers which made this league even tighter than it already was, with now 8 of the ten clubs having won more than they lost so far!!!!  Leicester fans were obviously disappointed by their defeat at home to Glaws, definitely not a good start to preparations for the Aviva in a couple of weekends.  It will be interesting to see how the Tigers approach their trip to Newcastle, who have lost all 13 of their matches so far, this weekend.  Obviously the points are vital but will they hold back some players for Dublin?

Northampton v Sarries seems to be the tie of Round 14 but on the subject of Sarries, this tweet was interesting, we’ll see if anything develops from it…

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AIL UPDATE 

Feels like a while since there has been an “all Top 4” clash in the Women’s AIL and we have one this weekend when Belvo host Railway Union.

Some big results in the Men’s 1A, first leaders Tarf fell at Belfield Bowl while champions Terenure scored a big win in Cork so while the top four seems pretty much set, with just two rounds to go the race for a home semifinal seems to be all to play for.  Terenure v Clontarf is easily the pick of Round 17 but both will be keeping an eye on Cork Con who host a Ballynahinch side still in with a shout for the playoffs themselves.

This is the time of the season we include the race for promotion to 1A in our updates…St Mary’s have already clinched their spot but the playoff is up for grabs with Old Wesley in 2nd at the moment but with them heading to Templeville Road, it will be a chance for Garryowen and Highfield behind them to catch up.

#SupportYourLocalClub

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WOMEN’S AIL

NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND

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MEN’S AIL 1A

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MEN’S AIL 1B

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SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE

All I can think about in this comp right now is the Plight Of The Crusaders.  Fifth loss in a row, rock bottom of the log, and with David Havilli injured and the second place Chiefs coming to town next, they are going to have to find their mojo soon otherwise we’ll be questioning as to whether even a playoff place is possible.  Hurricanes will look to stay top although they’ll have to win in Otago to do so while the Fijan Drua notched another W albeit after sudden death extra time.

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MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE

Houston edged a high-scoring battle between the two 100% sides to stay top in the West while New England and NOLA lead the East with the former having won in Chicago – the Hounds are my Harpin MLR adopted team for 2024 and things don’t get much easier for them as Seattle visit the Windy City next week.

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HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE

Somehow a late score in the Dragons v Bulls match kept me top of the league by just half a point, I had a horrible round 12, although I’d like an official Superbru Stewards Enquiry over my “wooden spoon” for the week – surely “No Picks Keego” should have gotten it?  Anyhoo…as you can see it’s only the fact that I have correctly predicted the winner in more URC matches than anyone else that’s keeping me top (Kino with his stats based approach has him well ahead in the closest to winning margin category) and if I don’t find my mojo soon I could easily slip into the bottom half.

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NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’

Really looking forward to returning to the RDS this Friday, we will of course have a preview of the Bulls match earlier in the day, then the wrap will record Sunday evening.

Finally, as ever, be sure to enjoy your Easter ‘egg-chasing’ wherever you are.  JLP

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