On this week’s column…
🏉 WHO’S BEING ARROGANT?
🏉 CORY HEATHER RIP
🏉 CELTIC CHALLENGE EXPANDS
🏉 ONLINE HARASSMENT
🏉 CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK
🏉 WRAP OF A WRAP
🏉 LIMITED TIME OFFERS
🏉 IRELAND QUALIFIED FOR RWC2025
🏉 LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
🏉 COMP UPDATES [Incl 🔝🐱🐴 & AIL]
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).
“…probably 12 out of the 23 when I shook the hands told me, ‘See you guys in the final’.”
South Africa Star Reveals ‘Arrogant’ Comments From Ireland Players After World Cup Meeting
Gary Connaughton – Balls.ie
JLP : Now of course I can see how that looks not only arrogant but also misguided given how the tournament panned out but I’ll still push back a little bit if I may…let’s look at the context here. The Irish players were allegedly saying this just moments after a classic low scoring battle between two of the world’s top teams. Any chance the comment might be simply taken at face value as a compliment? Yes, maybe a touch of arrogance on our part, but also conveying a sense that we believe you guys will also reach the final? Oh and another thing…Etzebeth is reacting to the Irish side of things but doesn’t see too much wrong in the suggestion that his side would reach the final? So if that’s so, was it just the Irish players who were arrogant? I mean – obviously the way things turned out it would have been justified in the Springboks’ case but again we’re talking about how things stood at the time after that one particular match.
Cory Heather died after suffering a head knock while playing for Beachlands Maraetai against Patumāhoe at Te Puru Park on Saturday.
Raphael Franks – NZ Herald (via MSN)
JLP : Absolutely tragic story of course, and it should only serve to redouble the efforts the game has made to make the game as safe as possible. And as @ProgressiveRugby points out below, the language we use for incidents like this can definitely play a factor
…the 2024/25 competition will continue its expansion…which will see the six teams play five home and five away fixtures each
Celtic Challenge Returns with Expanded Competition Format
IrishRugby.ie
JLP : I’d always rather defer to the likes of @IrishWomens on these matters and she outlines the pros and cons in these posts. For my part I’d agree this is mostly a positive development, and they have done well do move slowly with the development of the competition from year to year. On the clubs issue, I still believe it wasn’t a complete case of failing the clubs in this instance since they had to work with other unions to bring this competition about and the clubs had been calling out for more fixtures, but hopefully with the advance notice the clubs will be able to be prepared on the personnel front. When it comes to the CC comp itself, I would hope that eventually Ireland will be able to field all four provinces rather than these two contrived franchises but I do appreciate that logistically that will take some doing.
A year ago today, I discovered someone had set up two accounts on X…with the sole intention of abusing and harassing me and my family.
The Tea : My story about online harassment, defamation and sexual harassment
Irish Women’s Rugby Supporters’ Club
JLP : In the slot above you see @IrishWomens doing what she does best, ie put forward a realistic comparison between the status quo in the women’s game in Ireland and how it should be. Hopefully the public’s reaction to her would be nothing less than full support but as you can tell from this brave article in some quarters it was been anything but. And it’s not like this one guy is the only one to give her negative mysoginistic feedback either, although obviously his is the worst. Please have a read and be sure to follow her Substack as well for some excellent isights as to what is happening at all levels of the women’s game.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
Despite initial doubts surrounding his proposed move to Montpellier, recent reports suggest such concerns have been dispelled.
Update has been given on Billy Vunipola’s proposed move to Montpellier following arrest
Ruck.co.uk
JLP : From now I’ve decided to use this 5th and final slot in my Front5 segment for my Clickbait Of The Week Award, one which I hope no online publication would actually want to win although you wouldn’t be sure. For obvious reasons I don’t see the need to actually include a link for this one, as my choice of quote has answered the unnecessary question posed by the headline.
WRAP OF A WRAP
It’s important to remember we only started doing the wrap pods at the start of the 2022/23 season, when by the middle of April both Leinster and Ireland had won all of their matches so let’s just say it took a while to get the hang of organising a show around a defeat, and it’s not that we personally do want to harp on those matches it’s more like we’re pretty sure our core listeners don’t want to hear a deep dive into a disaster. But the shows already go on regardless, albeit with a slightly different format.
This time I was joined by Ciarán Duffy & Jay Long and we quickly went back over the Cape Town catastrophe, before thankfully having something good to harp on when it came to the Irish women’s success in Belfast before looking ahead to the big semifinal at Croke Park. All in all I reckon the lads did a bang up job.
If you missed the wrap pod, here’s a link for Spotify but it’s also available on Apple and other platforms, please subscribe there too and/or leave a review if you can.
QUICK TAP : LIMITED TIME OFFERS
This week’s Quick Tap TikTok (recorded later than usual) pretty much speaks for itself, although I have added one decent suggestion of a fix to the Law anomaly I’m harpin on…
LEINSTER INJURY UPDATE
Brilliant news of course on Messrs O’Brien & Ringrose but is it worth throwing them in to Leinster’s Champions Cup semifinal squad on their first matches back? I’m leaning no for both of them, especially if Hugo Keenan is fit to play – if not, then Ringrose could wear 23 but
Harpin’ matchday 23 v Northampton
Keenan, Lowe, Henshaw, J Osborne, Larmour, R Byrne, Gibson-Park
Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, J McCarthy, Jenkins, Baird, van der Flier, Doris (c)
Kelleher, Healy, Ala’alatoa, Molony, Conan, McGrath, H Byrne, Frawley
NB : the above matchday 23s are completely from my own mind, I’m certainly not suggesting I have any ITK a la Thornley
INJURY UPDATE – AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Jimmy O’Brien: will return to full training this week after his return from a neck injury.
Garry Ringrose: will return to full training this week after his return from a shoulder injury.
INJURY UPDATE – FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Hugo Keenan: has stepped up his training programme and will be further assessed this week for a hip injury before a final decision is made on availability.
INJURY UPDATE – UNAVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
James Ryan (arm), Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) and Alex Soroka (foot)
WOMEN’S SIX NATIONS
As I hinted earlier we weren’t exactly keen to harp so much on Leinster’s latest outing so this brilliant win by the Irish women was just the ticket and we also got a special report from Tom Coleman who was there in Belfast to witness it all.
ROUND FIVE
WALES 22-20 ITALY
IRELAND 15-12 SCOTLAND
FRANCE 21-42 ENGLAND
“SVNS” UPDATE
It’s the final leg of the “regular season” in Singapore this weekend, then the top 8 move on to the playoffs in Madrid at the end of the month. Ireland seem to be comfortably through in both genders though obviously it won’t hurt to have a decent showing this weekend. As ever you can watch back all the action via RugbyPass TV even if you miss the kickoffs at unseemly hours.
NO MATCHES LAST WEEKEND
Under the new model, HSBC SVNS 2024 features seven regular season events plus a Grand Final. The top eight placed teams based on cumulative series points at the conclusion of the seventh round in Singapore will secure their opportunity to compete in the new ‘winner takes all’ Grand Final in Madrid, where the women’s and men’s HSBC SVNS 2024 champions will be crowned.
Madrid will also play host to the high stakes relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger, with the top four placed teams securing their place on HSBC SVNS 2025.
NEXT IN THE SERIES…
SINGAPORE 7S
FRI MAY 3
4:44AM – WOMEN V CANADA
6:36AM – MEN V GREAT BRITAIN
10:21AM – WOMEN V NEW ZEALAND
11:54AM – IRELAND V USA
SAT MAY 4
4:44AM – WOMEN V SPAIN
6:37AM – MEN V FIJI
MADRID (FINALS) MAY 31-JUN 2
🔝🐱🐴 UPDATE
Standout scoreline has to be Clérmont’s hammering of league leaders Stade Français, even when you allow for the fact that Stade would have one eye on the trip to Toulouse in the next round, it still shows that ASM really seem to be turning things around and might be favourites for the Challenge Cup. Toulouse for their part both closed the gap at the top and opened one up between them and 3rd as they dispatched Racing while La Rochelle kept themselves in the barrage picture with a win over Toulon, although they’ve Bordeaux away next. Montpellier’s defeat at home to USAP certainly won’t ease they’re relegation worries.
Round 22
TOULOUSE 32-12 RACING 92
BAYONNE 15-34 BORDEAUX
OYONNAX 22-19 CASTRES
LYON 38-20 PAU
MONTPELLIER 20-25 PERPIGNAN
CLÉRMONT 41-18 STADE FRANÇAIS
LA ROCHELLE 27-17 TOULON
Round 23
SAT MAY 11
PERPIGNAN V CLÉRMONT
CASTRES V MONTPELLIER
PAU V OYONNAX
RACING 92 V BAYONNE
TOULON V LYON
BORDEAUX V LA ROCHELLE
SUN MAY 12
TOULOUSE V STADE FRANÇAIS
PREMIERSHIP UPDATE
I don’t see anyone in the English media complaining about Northampton resting their players over the past couple of weeks ahead of their trip to Croker? Funny that. Anyway defeat to Quins at Twickenham didn’t knock them off the top although overall the top four slots are still all to play for in the final four rounds with seven still in the hunt, with Exeter v Quins arguably the biggest 10-pointer in the next round.
ROUND 16
BATH 12-15 SARACENS
LEICESTER 19-21 BRISTOL
HARLEQUINS 41-32 NORTHAMPTON
NEWCASTLE 14-35 SALE SHARKS
GLOUCESTER 17-38 EXETER CHIEFS
ROUND 17
FRI MAY 10
SALE SHARKS V LEICESTER TIGERS
NEWCASTLE V BATH
SAT MAY 11
NORTHAMPTON V GLOUCESTER
BRISTOL V SARACENS
EXETER CHIEFS V HARLEQUINS
AIL UPDATE
Not a bad weekend for Munster Rugby all round, province makes it 10 points out of 10 on a RSA swing, then their clubs sweep all the decisive contests with Garryowen earning the right to join St Mary’s in Div 1A in the men’s, Cork Con defying cards of all colours to take Terenure’s AIL men’s crown, while UL Bohs deservedly won the women’s title although again I’ll question the wisdom of having their decider on the same weekend as the Six Nations.
#SupportYourLocalClub
WOMEN’S AIL
FINAL
UL BOHS 48-38 RAILWAY UNION
MEN’S AIL 1A
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
TERENURE 22-33 CORK CON
PROMOTION PLAYOFFS FINAL
GARRYOWEN 34-3 OLD BELVEDERE
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
As disastrous a season as Crusaders have been having by their standards, would anyone even consider ruling them out of winning another title, even before their whitewashing of the Rebels? Meanwhile the Hurricanes fell to their first loss of the season which makes the top of the table interesting for sure given the Blues edged out the Reds in a high scoring Brisbane thriller.
ROUND 10
CRUSADERS 39-0 REBELS
WARATAHS 22-38 CHIEFS
FIJIAN DRUA 24-17 MOANA PASIFIKA
BRUMBIES 27-19 HURRICANES
HIGHLANDERS 7-6 WESTERN FORCE
REDS 34-41 BLUES
ROUND 11
FRI MAY 3
HURRICANES V WARATAHS
REBELS V BLUES
SAT MAY 4
MOANA PASIFIKA V HIGHLANDERS
CRUSADERS V REDS
CHIEFS V WESTERN FORCE
BRUMBIES V FIJIAN DRUA
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE UPDATE
Only one round left before the playoffs, and although we know what the top four is going to be, there is an interesting match in Round 16 – if Canon Eagles can manage to beat the 100% Wild Knights they could actually avoid them in the semifinals. One interesting feature of this league is the fact that as many as three teams get relegated and those positions seem to have been decided with one game to go.
ROUND 15
WILD KNIGHTS 33-24 KINETSU LINERS
TOSHIBA BRAVE LUPUS 36-27 SUNTORY SUNGOLIATH
KOBE STEEL 63-19 SHIZUOKA
TOYOTA VERBLITZ 35-31 CANON EAGLES
SPEARS KUBOTA 61-24 HONDA HEAT
MITSUBISHI 24-31 BLACK RAMS
ROUND 16
SAT MAY 4
HONDA HEAT V KOBE STEEL
CANON EAGLES V WILD KNIGHTS
SUN MAY 5
SUNTORY V SPEARS KUBOTA
KINTETSU LINERS V MITSUBISHI
SHIZUOKA V BRAVE LUPUS
BLACK RAMS V TOYOTA VERBLITZ
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
My adopted team for this season the Chicago Hounds, who have Dave Kearney, Nick McCarthy, Conall Boomer & Luke Carty in their ranks, had the week off and remain second in the East although their biggest test of the season will come on Sunday when they travel to the Free Jacks. Much like last season Houston and Seattle are going neck and neck at the top of the West.
ROUND 9
UTAH 31-24 OLD GLORY
ANTHEM RC 5-40 NOLA GOLD
MIAMI 17-38 DALLAS
HOUSTON 33-0 SAN DIEGO
LOS ANGELES 12-34 NEW ENGLAND
ROUND 10
SAT MAY 4
SEATTLE V ANTHEM
OLD GLORY V MIAMI
SUN MAY 5
UTAH V HOUSTON
NEW ENGLAND V CHICAGO
SAN DIEGO V DALLAS
CHALLENGE CUP UPDATE
One South African team, one French, one Premiership, and one Italian. Very very interesting set up for this competition and you could see any of them doing it. And ironically the only team still in contention for domestic playoffs is the Italian team!
SEMIFINALS
SAT MAY 4
SHARKS V CLÉRMONT
GLOUCESTER V BENETTON
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
If I wasn’t too keen on harpin’ on Leinster’s URC outing last weekend, I definitely don’t want to dwell too much on my URC predictions. Wasn’t too long since I was comfortably in front but as you can see it doesn’t take much to catch up and a wooden spoon in round 15 has knocked me down to 3rd, anxiously looking over my shoulder too.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Countdown to Croker time here at Harpin’ Manor. Usual coverage to come, preview on Friday, wrap pod recording Sunday, social media comments throughout. Do keep in touch and throw in your two cents when you can.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 