80+ column : May 22

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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).

Is it just me, or for the majority of us – if we failed at nearly 50% of our job for a decade, we would be considered unfit for the role?

What HAS David Nucifora ever done for Irish rugby…

IrishWomen’s Rugby SC Substack

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.

UPDATE – Just as I’m posting this column news is emerging about a new IRFU funding model, I won’t have time to study it properly so I’ll try to have a better critique by next week.

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“…we’re a different team than we were three years ago and four years ago, and we keep getting better.”

Emmanuel Meafou and Toulouse on revenge mission against Leinster

Neil Treacy – RTÉ.ie

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.

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O’Reilly might have reached even loftier heights in the game had his burgeoning business career not intervened at the age of 26

Tony O’Reilly: the Lions cub who earned place in Irish sporting folklore

Robert Kitson – The Guardian

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.

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Hogg, 31, who has been blighted by legal and personal problems since walking away from the sport at the end of last season

Stuart Hogg in talks with Gallagher Premiership club

Neil Fissler – RugbyPass.com

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.

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***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***

The pecking order at outhalf post Sexton seems a little clearer now but does it give comfort to fans?

Leinster signings, re-signings and depth for the future

OverTheHillProp

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.

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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.

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QUICK TAP : FINAL WEEK

All I’ll say along with this video is…changing the tops a gagillion times?  Totally worth it. Ahem.

@harpinonrugby

This is part of our weekly 80+ column which posts every Wednesday afternoon at http://www.harpinonrugby.com #rugbytiktok

♬ original sound – Harpinonrugby.com – Harpinonrugby.com

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LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

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

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OFFICIAL LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Merci beaucoup 😊 https://t.co/6IUF2eHZlc

— jimmy gopperth (@jimmygopps) May 17, 2024

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SIMON SAYS ENOUGH

“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.

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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.

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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

— Brett Igoe (@brettruganalyst) May 18, 2024

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ROUND 14

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JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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