80+ column : December 31
Our final weekly newsletter of 2025, looking at the wider rugby world
ON THIS WEEK’S COLUMN…
WRAP OF A WRAP
REF BASHES REF
FRAWL-WAY
ROG ON HOW ‘TOULOUSE’
2026 6N HURDLES
WEATHERING THE STORMERS
HARPIN’ ON…2025 IN REVIEW
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
TROLL PATROL
COMPETITION UPDATES (incl Celtic Challenge)
NEXT HARPIN’
WRAP OF A WRAP
Given the time of year that was in it I was prepared to do a “solo” wrap pod for the Munster match but thankfully Ciarán Duffy was able to step in.
Please do check out his fundraising page for the charity As I Am and contribute if you can, here is some info there but there’s a lot more on the end of the link…
As I Am carry out vital work in Ireland for autistic people and their families. This includes:
Providing necessary and appropriate help to austic people
Providing support for family members and carers of autistic people
Educating people on the realities of autistic people
Challenging stigma and disinformation around autism
Helping autistic people live a fulfilling life
REF BASHES REF
In that split-second, the last play of the first half, the referee lost the Munster players and the crowd.
Referee’s split-second wrong call at Thomond Park enough for Munster faithful to see red
Owen Doyle - Irish Times
Normally for these Front Five segments I go out of my way to find topics that are far removed from our Harpin’ feature matches since we cover those on the podcasts, but I really had to make an exception for this one.
On the Munster v Leinster wrap I did speak to the over the top reactions to the refereeing on the socials, ones that suggested the questionable calls only went against Munster, but then I read this article were Owen tells the keyboard warriors to hold his beer. A contributor in the Harpin WhatsApp group said it best…
I was frankly shocked to discover the author is a former head of referees for the IRFU, given how firmly he flung a neophyte referee under the bus
And the fact that it is a respected referee doing the criticism, particularly at a time when we are supposedly meant to be protecting officials from abuse, compounded all of my other complaints re the content…
Just look at the quote I chose above. The ref “lost the crowd and the Munster players”???? Was he supposed to be looking to win them over somehow???
And the quote refers to the forward pass call just before half time. To be perfectly clear, I’m not here to argue whether or not it was forward, in fact I’d lean towards flat myself, but for the love of all that’s holy can we PLEASE stop talking as though it prevented a certain try? All it did was deny Munster a rare attacking opportunity in the Leinster half…our defence would have had to scramble, but that is something we have proven to be good at, so I’m not sure why folks are talking as though there is somehow a nailed on 7 points that the home side were denied - other than the simple mathematical fact that it could have won them the match. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think the ref should be taking THAT into account when making the decision…
There are further pullable quotes all over the article, though I also like “Munster weren’t saints, but Leinster hands were clearly visible delaying quick ball.” I mean how else are we to read this but “it was only a problem when Leinster were doing bad things?”
And when it came to the one area where I feel Leinster were themselves denied justice by the officials, that being the scrum, Doyle brushes it off early in the piece : “As half-time approached he was going well, scrums apart, but that is par for the course.” SCRUMS APART. Ah yeah, let’s just ignore that one major area where Leinster had almost complete dominance from the word go. The one area where we kept winning penalties until, heaven forbid, we might have to start flashing cards. As I said on the pod, we actually have receipts for this one. As he reset one scrum, the ref told Leinster “if you want the reward, you have to drive straight”, which is fair enough, unless on the next put in you call “use it” the second the ball arrives at the number 8’s feet, which is exactly what happened.
Can we not just be grateful that there have been two enthralling derbies this season? First Munster went to Croke Park and did a number on the URC champions - we also got the first score there AND dominated the scrum then, but although we did wonder why the visitors’ own transgressions didn’t see a card at some point, nobody could argue that the better team won, and nobody did that I could see.
Then in the traditional post-Christmas rematch, Leinster got their revenge, and yes, there were some contentious calls, but have we forgotten that law interpretation in rugby is probably the biggest grey area in all of sports?
Let’s face it - the only reason people are treating the two matches differently is that Leinster won the second one. Like I have always said on these pages, I do get how frustrating it is for one province to be dominant and I am willing to debate ways to fix that, but only if we can accept the fact that we now have a group-think in the sport which pretty much delegitimizes anything positive for the province. I have dubbed this group-think ABL or “Anyone But Leinster” and I feel it is my role to call it out whenever I see it.
Not only do I feel Doyle is engaging in that narrative in this article, or at very least trying to appeal to it, I also reckon it blinds him from a suggestion that would sound a lot better coming from someone who himself had held the whistle in big matches. This was only this referee’s 10th URC match. Given it is a contest with a special appeal all over the rugby world, perhaps it should have been awarded to someone with more notches on the bedpost? Andrew Brace comes to mind, and for some reason the league chose to appoint him for both of Leinster’s interpros either side of Thomond Park. A brace of Brace, if you will. Sorry, I should have warned you to brace yourselves for that pun. And that one.
FRAWL-WAY
“He’s still only 28 so I firmly believe his best days are still ahead of him, and I’m delighted that the club have been able to secure a player of his calibre.”
Connacht confirm Ciarán Frawley signing on two-year deal
RTÉ.ie
This was originally meant to be my top Front Five story. I already harped on it for the last preview show, where I said it I really hope he does get a good run in the 10 jumper out west, but now it’s official. All I will add is that I’m very glad he’s not leaving right now! Ironically we need him for his versatility, which is probably the one reason he felt he needed to move on. With Hugo, Jamie and JOB injured, while we do have some decent 15 options coming through from the academy and will be fine from next season on, for the crucial series of matches ahead I’d be delighted to see Frawls in the role.
I still find it to be an oddity of this sport that we always hear of players moving between clubs not only long before the move happening, but also shortly before those two clubs play each other. I remember when Jimmy Gopperth was at Leinster he was announced to have signed for Wasps not long after we had been drawn with them in the same Champions Cup pool. And this time, the official word comes through just days before Frawls could well be playing against Connacht!
ROG ON HOW ‘TOULOUSE’
“They play with speed, precision, confidence, joy, and pleasure. And we suffered.”
Ronan O’Gara full of Praise as Toulouse dismantle La Rochelle
Conor Martin - Pundit Arena
As in any sporting venue there will of course be posters displayed on the walls of the Aviva Stadium showing the quickly access to the exits in case of emergency. Maybe when ROG brings his La Rochelle squad here in January for what now seems to be an inevitable annual meeting, they can add an extra poster showing the fastest route from the coach’s box to the side of the pitch in case he has an issue with the ref?
Well he certainly couldn’t complain about the officials last Sunday as Toulouse with AD back in the ranks gave LAR a good thrashing. I didn’t see the match myself, so I wonder was it a classic case of the 🔝🐱🐴 away team sending a light squad for an away match, but ROG at least didn’t seem to be looking for excuses in his post-match discussion.
2026 6N HURDLES
“…it’s worth remembering that there is only one break weekend this time around due to the launch of the Nations Championship later this year.”
Dupont’s France and improved England will make Ireland’s life tricky
Murray Kinsella - The42.ie
Nice set-up piece from Murray with the Six Nations just around the corner. Absolutely no doubt Ireland are up against it, as are the fans who wish to travel to Paris for the crazy Thursday night kickoff time for the tournament opener.
WEATHERING THE STORMERS
“Normally, the national coaches don’t really help teams when there are derbies involved. That’s always been the case.”
Should Boks be helping Bulls?
SA Rugby Mag
Odd story this. The debate seems to be around whether or not the Bulls should be getting coaching assistance from the union ahead of a derby, but I’d wonder if they should be getting it at all? Imagine if Andy Farrell helped out Leinster after we lost three of our first four matches? Methinks there wouldn’t be a pearl un-clutched among the ABL community.
That said, given the Stormers’ start to the season, I may have voted with the plurality in the poll, with the totals below at the time of writing…
HARPIN ON…2025 IN REVIEW
This week’s bonus chat does exactly what it says on the tin…myself and Ciarán went back over the calendar year looking back at our Harpin feature matches.
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
Personally I’d like to see a full strength Leinster team for Saturday as I’d want us to show that our ideal attack plan was merely held back in Thomond as opposed to something that is non-existent as some suggest. But I do appreciate that with seedings-deciding Champions Cup matches plus of course the 6N on the horizon, there could well be a lot more cotton wool brought out for this, indeed for both January dates with our Western cousins.
Have to say, that is a very concerning “no further updates…” section on Leinster’s injury report, I have to say. All of them would more than belong in a big knockout fixture wearing blue.
HARPIN’ POSSIBLE MATCHDAY 23 V Connacht
C Frawley, JJ Kenny, R Ioane, C Tector, J Lowe, S Prendergast, L McGrath
P McCarthy, D Sheehan, R Slimani, J McCarthy, J Ryan, M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris (c)
G McCarthy, J Boyle, T Clarkson, D Mangan, S Penny, F Gunne, H Byrne, A Osborne
caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT
AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A.
FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Robbie Henshaw: is due to be further assessed on a finger injury. A final decision will be made later in the week on his availability.
James Culhane: is due to return to training this week and will be further assessed. A final decision will be made on his availability later in the week.
NOT AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Hugo Keenan, Jamie Osborne, Ryan Baird, Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, RG Snyman, Jimmy O’Brien.
TROLL PATROL
Now it’s time for Troll Patrol where we ‘detain’ a social media commentator and charge them with gaslightery and general online mayhem.
Look at the timestamp. Pretty much sent as the full time whistle blew at Thomond Park just as the Munster faithful would begin hate scrolling. That is some next level trolling right there from James. Does that make it a bad thing in this case? Well I couldn’t possibly say….
Big win for Saints over Bath puts them on top, while Toulouse’s thrashing of LAR sees them overcome the recent penalty to nip head of Pau in the 🔝🐱🐴. In the Celtic Challenge, there’s a big Irish derby on Saturday, all matches are free to view on RugbyPass.tv
As you can see, I always leave the update you’re most looking for until last, that being of course the Harpin Prediction League. We had not one but two matchups in the knockout “Harpin Mug” competition, and in a repeat of last year’s final I lost once again to Conor. In the other match it was ironically Rich’s spot on prediction of Ulster’s 5-point win over Connacht, that got him past Kristian, who is the only non-Leinster supporter in the group as he shouts for the northernmost province. Those results complete the quarterfinal lineup as you can see.
CELTIC CHALLENGE
ROUND TWO
EDINBURGH 31-25 GLASGOW WARRIORS
GWALIA LIGHTNING 38-7 BRYTHON THUNDER
ROUND TWO
SAT JAN 3
CLOVERS V WOLFHOUNDS
ROUND THREE
SAT JAN 10
GLASGOW WARRIORS V GWALIA LIGHTNING
EDINBURGH V WOLFHOUNDS
SUN JAN 11
BRYTHON THUNDER V CLOVERS
URC IRISH SHIELD
Leinster 14-31 Munster
Munster 17-15 Connacht
Leinster 24-20 Ulster
Munster 8-13 Leinster
Connacht 24-29 Ulster
Jan 2 Ulster v Munster
Jan 3 Leinster v Connacht
Jan 24 Connacht v Leinster
Mar 20 Ulster v Connacht
Apr 17 Ulster v Leinster
Apr 25 Munster v Ulster
May 9 Connacht v Munster
ALL IRELAND LEAGUES
WOMEN
MEN’S 1A
LEINSTER SCHOOLS SENIOR CUP
FIRST ROUND
Mon Jan 19
Terenure College v Kilkenny College
Wed Jan 21
Clongowes Wood College v St Mary’s College
Fri Jan 23
Newbridge College v Wesley College
Mon Jan 26
Belvedere College v Cistercian College Roscrea
Tue Jan 27
Gonzaga College v Vinnie Murray Cup Q2
Wed Jan 28
St Gerard’s School v Vinnie Murray Cup Q4
Thu Jan 29
Vinnie Murray Cup Q3 v St Michael’s College
Fri Jan 30
Blackrock College v Vinnie Murray Cup Q1
EPCR CHALLENGE CUP
Round 3
Saturday, 10 January 2026
Stade Français Paris vs Exeter Chiefs
US Montauban vs Black Lion
Newcastle Red Bulls vs USAP (Perpignan)
Lions vs Lyon
Cardiff Rugby vs Racing 92
Benetton Rugby vs Dragons RFC
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Montpellier Hérault Rugby vs Connacht Rugby
Zebre Parma vs Ospreys
Toyota Cheetahs vs Ulster Rugby
RUGBY EUROPE SUPER CUP
SEMIFINALS
SAT JAN 17
CASTILLA Y LEON IBERIANS V DELTA
LUSITANOS V BRUSSELS DEVILS
SVNS
PREMIERSHIP
🔝🐱🐴
PROD2
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE
ROUND 3
BlackRams Tokyo 32-28 Mie Honda Heat
Kobelco Kobe Steelers 49-29 Toyota Verblitz
Kubota Spears 79-20 Tokyo Sungoliath
Shizuoka BlueRevs 21-34 Urayasu D-Rocks
Yokohama Canon Eagles 19-41 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars 3-33 Saitama Wild Knights
ROUND 4
Saturday, 10 January 2026
Urayasu D‑Rocks v Yokohama Canon Eagles
Brave Lupus Tokyo v Mitsubishi Sagamihara Dynaboars
Saitama Wild Knights v Shizuoka BlueRevs
Kobelco Kobe Steelers v Toyota Verblitz
BlackRams Tokyo v Mie Honda Heat
Sunday, 11 January 2026
Tokyo Sungoliath v Kubota Spears
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 8*
* = 2 matches in Round 8 to be played later in season
Next match : TOM v KINO (URC Round 9)
The Harpin Mug is a knockout comp using each player’s score in a given Superbru round.
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Friday
Leinster v Connacht preview (YouTube)
Saturday
Leave your thoughts after full time whistle on our Facebook page
Sunday
Leinster v Connacht wrap recording (Apple, Spotify, etc)
In the meantime be sure to enjoy your rugby, and your New Year’s celebrations, wherever you are. JLP