On this week’s column…
🏉 SLIMANI PICKIN’
🏉 SAM IN SA
🏉 THINKING INSIDE THE BOKS
🏉 GLASGOW HUMOUR
🏉 CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK
🏉 GUEST POD APPEARANCE
🏉 URC = BEST LEAGUE
🏉 TROLL PATROL
🏉 UPDATES [INCL 🔝🐱🐴 & SUPER RUGBY]
🏉HARPIN’ PREDICTION CHAMPION 2024
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).
Slimani joins RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett among the non-Irish qualified players in the Leinster squad for next season.
Rabah Slimani set to sign Leinster deal ahead of new season
RTÉ.ie
JLP : Not the first time news of a move involving Irish and French clubs gets leaked via the French press so the details have been sketchy. While this article suggests Slimani is on a two year deal, Ruairidh O’Connor from the Indo tweeted that it might be just one, which would seem to make more sense given his age profile. Straw poll among a few Leinster fans seems to have the reaction as “meh” to this news, possibly a step down in standards from Michael Ala’alatoa, but at least it means we’ll have some tight head cover for Furlong and Tom Clarkson, who I hope gets some starting game time at the start of the 24/25 campaign.
“He’s got a great torpedo as well, a spiral which is very old school, I love a spiral, that’s why he’s picked.”
Ireland coach praises ‘aura’ of exciting uncapped star set for South Africa tour
Mark Donlon – Extra.ie
JLP : I’ve said this before that Sam P probably won’t get much game time down in South Africa, yet still the experience of being on tour with the senior squad will stand to him as many are saying he has a high ceiling. And by “many” I mean coaches who have actually seen him play and train on a regular basis, as opposed to those ABLs online who like to exaggerate the hype about him (“Way too soon to say he is the Messiah” etc etc when actually nobody has actually done that.)
The squad features 22 forwards and 17 backline players, with Erasmus set to name the captain for the competition closer to the Ireland Test.
Kolisi back for Ireland series
SARugbyMag
JLP : The Springboks are very very VERY keen to win this series. Back to back RWCs apparently aren’t enough to scratch the itch we’ve caused by winning our recent encounters. Of course what with the URC and all it’s good for there to be a healthy rivalry between these two nations and I’m all for it, looking forward to some online exchanges on social media over the coming weeks.
“…the thing I’ve discovered in rugby celebrations is that you need goggles to protect yourself from all the champagne spray”
Inside the Glasgow Warriors celebrations
Graham Bean – The Scotsman
JLP : First up as ever it’s important to specify for those who may not know that “The Scotsman” is the name of a newspaper, in that line above I’m not trying to suggest that I believe Graham Bean to be THE Scotsman…
Seriously though, happy to share an article checking in on the Glasgow celebrations, obviously I’d prefer if it could be Leinster but like I have said several times the Warriors were indeed worthy champions.
My favourite bit of celebratory fun has to be this pic shared by Jamie Bhatti. Bit disrespectful to their hosts? Maybe. But given the sign is there to intimidate, does that make it fair game when you win there? Too fucking right.
***CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK AWARD***
Groundbreaking AI technology has unveiled its jaw-dropping forecasts for the next four decades of Six Nations glory, and the results are nothing short of mind-blowing.
Supercomputer predicts shock England finish for 2025 Six Nations
Ruck.co.uk
JLP : Normally the point of my weekly “Clickbait of the Week” award is to show an article that is being misleading to get you to click so I don’t actually include the link itself. Since this week’s offering involves what is clearly a typo, I will break this rule and just to be clear the screengrab I took was from Tuesday lunchtime so it’s very possible they may have fixed it.
To be fair, if the 2025 Six Nations did finish like that, it WOULD be a shock.
WRAP OF A WRAP
No wrap this week but I did do a spot of harpin’ on Caolán Scully’s pod, going back over Leinster’s season wasn’t exactly an easy task but I always enjoy an aul egg-chasing chat regardless and it is worth checking out.
QUICK TAP : URC = THE BEST LEAGUE
Super Rugby may be “super”
Premiership Rugby may be “premier”
and the 🔝🐱🐴 may be “top”
but given the on-field product amid
all it’s numerous off-field challenges,
The URC is still the best.
(and remember that’s coming from a fan of one of the 13 clubs yet to win it)
Below are the links used in screengrabs for the video.
TROLL PATROL
Can’t believe I’ve had this Troll Patrol feature going for a few weeks and there is yet to be a Welsh contributor! But if there was ever going to be a Welsh contributor it was always going to be Phil, he’s the best of the bunch. Never misses an opportunity to have a pop at Leinster or Ireland, and the only positive from his latest series of posts is that they are not accompanied by a screengrab of the IRFU spending which he seems to collect religiously year on year.
The post above I chose is a response to a tweet I sent just after full time in the URC final – I mean, having seen Phil’s work for several years I actually understand the point he is trying to make but still he is so obsessed with a desire to view Irish rugby negatively that he doesn’t see that the priority chart he outlines here actually makes sense for any organisation!!! I would have thought test rugby > Champions Cup > URC was the proper order of things but then again he’d probably rather see all the attention of the rugby world going to Llandovery v Carmarthen Quins…
If you ever see an online contribution that seems worthy of inclusion here, by all means do share.
“SVNS” UPDATE
The draw was made for the Olympic pools…the press are saying it’s a tricky one for both Irish teams but I reckon we should fancy our chances of reaching the knockouts in each case, we’re certainly not underdogs anymore.
Hamburg is the destination this week for the second and final round of the Rugby
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 we have seen over the past few weeks is a media inquest over what’s wrong with Leinster…now to be fair, three successive seasons falling Champions Cup final and URC semifinals does merit that scrutiny by our standards, but how about the standards at La Rochelle, who also got to domestic SFs but only made it to last 8 in Europe? And they lost a hell of a lot more times throughout the season than Leinster did. Funny, that.
Anyway…under normal circumstances I would be shouting for Bordeaux in Friday’s final but apparently a Toulouse win will give Leinster a top seed in the Champions Cup draw so allez les noir et rouges!!!!! Still would be too gutted if UBB took it, to be honest.
PLAYOFFS
TOULON 29-34 LA ROCHELLE
BORDEAUX 31-17 RACING 92
RELEGATION
GRENOBLE 18-20 MONTPELLIER
SEMIFINALS
TOULOUSE V LA ROCHELLE
STADE FRANÇAIS V BORDEAUX
FINAL
FRI JUNE 28
TOULOUSE V BORDEAUX
SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC UPDATE
Not much to say here except congrats to the Blues, their first title in a long time and what better time to do it when the Crusaders have disappeared. All a very ‘meh’ campaign however what with the NZ franchises dominating yet again and with the Rebels gone it will make the 11-team tournament (most likely still with 8 reaching the knockouts) start to look almost as bad as the Premiership.
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
BLUES 41-10 CHIEFS
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY UPDATE
Finally got a chance to catch a full MLR game this season, I suppose Leinster’s lack of fixture last weekend gave me the free time…ANYWAY thanks to the free service by the Rugby Network I checked out my latest adopted team Chicago Hounds who have Dave Kearney, Nick McCarthy and Luke Carty in their ranks but in the end it was two later tries from Dylan Fawsitt, who was hooker for Blackrock College in their Jordi Murphy-led Leinster Schools Cup winning side in 2009 before going stateside a few years later, that won the day for Chicago.
I have to say it was a very entertaining match – Anthem RC, an expansion team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, had lost all their previous 14 matches but while the result was expected, it was by no means certain until Fawsitt’s second try in the 73rd minute. The lead changed hands several times as Anthem tried to win for the home crowd but in the end Chicago’s superior territory game won out. They are now guaranteed a playoff spot but can finish no higher than third and need to beat Miami in the final round next weekend to ensure that.
Elsewhere there were some interesting results at the top of both conferences. NOLA defeated New England at home which meant if the seedings hold that would make for a fascinating Eastern final while in the west, San Diego bounced back from last week’s defeat in Chicago to topple runaway leaders Houston, and although it looks like they won’t be able to win by enough points against Seattle next weekend to overtake them in 2nd spot, they can still do enough damage to show they can beat them when they definitely meet in knockout rugby a week later.
ROUND 17
NOLA GOLD 27-17 NEW ENGLAND
ANTHEM RC 29-38 CHICAGO
MIAMI 17-12 OLD GLORY
UTAH 50-46 DALLAS
SEATTLE 29-12 LOS ANGELES
SAN DIEGO 37-24 HOUSTON
ROUND 18
UTAH V LOS ANGELES
NEW ENGLAND V ANTHEM
CHICAGO V MIAMI
OLD GLORY V NOLA GOLD
HOUSTON V DALLAS
SAN DIEGO V SEATTLE
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE
I was considering gambling on Glasgow but with the risk of dropping to 7th I played it safe for the final, and as it turned out we all did so there was no change in the final standings. Kristian as you can see has quite rightly shown pride in his prolific prediction prowess.
As for Keego, he must now not only retain the Jersey of Shame but also don it for another selfie which I will post all over the Harpin network as the League rules demand.
Next season I hope to expand the league to at least 10, with the possibility of a cup competition thrown in for good measure, we shall see.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Slowly getting back into the swing of things after a short break…as if there hasn’t been enough rugby in South Africa for us to harp on, there’s loads more to come what with the Irish tour and the World Under 20s – I have a preview pod for the Wolfpuppies to be posted on Friday and then on Monday evening I’m assembling another “all-provincial panel” to look ahead to Ireland’s chances against the Springboks. Be sure to keep up with all our social media channels with the usual amount of commenting, sharing, liking & subscribing.
And as ever, be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP
HARPIN' ON RUGBY 