80+ column : June 17
Our weekly newsletter looking at the wider rugby world
ON THIS WEEK’S COLUMN…
NO WRAP TO WRAP
DISC-LOWE-SURE DAY
READY WILLING AND ABL
STADIUM FATIGUE?
WOLFPUPPIES
CLICKBAIT OF THE WEEK
POST TO POST PLUG
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
TROLL PATROL
COMPETITION UPDATES (incl Prem)
NEXT HARPIN’
NO WRAP TO WRAP
Hey there welcome to our latest 80+ column, as there was no Leinster match last weekend this meant of course there was also no wrap pod so I took the opportunity to take wee break from the ol’ content-creating and haven’t posted anything since the last column. Obviously the rugby world has kept turning in the meantime, as you can see by the Comp Updates section below, and since I made a new year’s resolution to do more solo videos in 2026, I did one for the Front 5 section this week as well.
DISC-LOWE-SURE DAY
From the IRFU’s point of view, they evidently believed that Lowe had begun to decline as a player.
What actually happened that led to James Lowe’s exit from Irish rugby?
Murray Kinsella - The42.ie
READY WILLING AND ABL
“When you have voices like that aired in the media, who always fan the flames for them, it would be better if he was more critical of the structures in place.”
James Lowe exit row sparks ‘cry baby’ accusations from Ireland legend
Jon Doel - Wales Online
STADIUM FATIGUE?
The province and their fans haven’t had a home knockout tie at the RDS since losing a URC semi-final to the Bulls by 27-26 in June 2022.
Combination of entitled fans and big-stadium fatigue sees Leinster’s appeal fall sharply
Gerry Thornley - Irish Times
WOLFPUPPIES
They will open their campaign against England on Saturday, 27 June (12.30pm Irish time)
Ireland Squad & Kick-Off Times for Men’s U20 World Championship
Breandán Ó hUallacháin - SportNewsIreland
“It’s just my opinion and I don’t know what’s happening there [at Leinster]”
Matfield: Nienaber will be at World Cup
SARugbyMag.co.za
POST TO POST PLUG
Best wishes to regular Harpin contributor Ciarán Duffy who landed himself a regular spot hosting a sports show on Dublin South FM, where I have been known to harp at times.
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
I found out on Tuesday evening that the two squads are to be named early this week on Wednesday afternoon, supposedly with the intention of improving ticket sales.
Sorry to be a wet blanket, but the thing about early announcements are that we can’t trust them. As you can see from the injury report from Monday, Andrew Porter is definitely out, but there are doubts over Dan Sheehan and Caelan Doris. This plusthe fact that Doris took part n the captain’s photo call on Monday leads me to believe that both will be named, but does this necessarily mean they will be on the Croke Park turf when Andrea Piardi’s whistle gets the match under way on Friday? I’m not so sure.
Elsewhere in my 23 below you can see I’m hoping Ciarán Frawley will be named to the bench. Actually truth be told I’d prefer a 6/2 with CF as 23, but I have kept it 5/3. I went with Robbie’s experience at 12 since I reckon Jamie’s form has dipped of late.
HARPIN’ POSSIBLE MATCHDAY 23 V BULLS
H Keenan, T O’Brien, G Ringrose, R Henshaw, J Lowe, H Byrne, J Gibson-Park
A Usanov, D Sheehan/R Kelleher, T Clarkson, J McCarthy, J Ryan, J Conan/M Deegan, J van der Flier, C Doris (c)/J Conan
R Kelleher/G McCarthy, J Cahir, R Slimani, D Mangan, M Deegan/S Penny, L McGrath, C Frawley, J Osborne
caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT
AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
N/A.
FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
Caelan Doris is due to be further assessed and a decision on his availability will be made later in the week.
Dan Sheehan is due to be further assessed and a decision on his availability will be made later in the week.
NOT AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Andrew Porter will be unavailable for selection.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Ryan Baird, Jack Boyle, Will Connors, Hugh Cooney, RG Snyman, Charlie Tector and Paddy McCarthy.
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.
I think this guy is actually a Stormer fan and thus wouldn’t mind if Leinster prevail on Friday, but this is still standard Saffer trolling that got rightly punished by Officer Keego.
Knockout rugby all over the rugby world this week, Bath forgetting about the drop goal option at home to Exeter came a close second in the “eye-catching result” stakes. There was also an away upset in the 🔝🐱🐴 barrage as Racing pipped Pau to reach the final four.
But obviously all eyes will be on the Harpin Prediction League this Friday night. Much like the URC on which it is based, nobody has been Champion twice yet so we could see Tom, Kino or even myself achieve it, but there’s also Rich and Ciarán in the mix to win it for the first time. With all five of us being Leinster fans, it could possibly boil down to whether or not anyone is willing to back the Bulls.
After my banging on about it for the past few weeks on these pages, the “Match d’Accession” aka the “What League Will Luke McGrath Play In Next Season Bowl” was always going to be my choice for this section whatever the result. But as things turned out, Provence 24-47 Perpignan was an eye-catching scoreline anyway for such an important match, Here’s an 80-word summary…
Perpignan overpowered Provence 47–24 in the match d’accession, securing their Top 14 place with a dominant, high‑tempo performance. USAP’s physical edge and clinical finishing produced a flurry of first‑half tries, while Provence struggled to contain the Catalan pace and offloading game. Provence rallied after the break with two well‑worked scores but never closed the gap as Perpignan’s pack and bench reasserted control. The win confirmed Perpignan’s survival and ended Provence’s hopes of a first‑ever promotion.
WOMEN’S INTERPROVINCIALS
Round 1
Saturday, 8 August
Munster v Leinster
Ulster v Connacht
Round 2
Saturday, 15 August
Leinster v Connacht
Munster v Ulster
Round 3
Saturday, 22 August
Connacht v Munster
Ulster v Leinster
Finals Day
Saturday, 29 August
Dexcom Stadium
URC IRISH SHIELD
2026/27 fixtures
10 October
Ulster v Munster
24 October
Leinster v Munster
30 October
Connacht v Leinster
27 December
Ulster v Connacht
Munster v Leinster
2 January
Connacht v Munster
Leinster v Ulster
23 January
Munster v Connacht
30 January
Connacht v Ulster
17 April
Leinster v Connacht
23 April
Ulster v Leinster
8 May
Munster v Ulster
JUNIOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Pool A: South Africa, Wales, Georgia, Uruguay
Pool B: New Zealand, Italy, Scotland, Japan
Pool C: Argentina, England, Ireland, USA
Pool D: France, Australia, Spain, Fiji
Sat June 27 : Ireland v England
Thu July 2 : Ireland v Argentina
Tue July 7 : Ireland v USA
PREMIERSHIP
SEMIFINALS
Northampton Saints 45-31 Leicester Tigers
Bath 26-27 Exeter Chiefs
FINAL
Saturday, June 20
Northampton Saints v Exeter Chiefs
🔝🐱🐴
SUPER RUGBY
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY
Semifinals
California Legion 43-34 Seattle Seawolves
Chicago Hounds 59-22 Old Glory DC
Final
Sunday, July 21
Chicago Hounds v California Legion
HARPIN PREDICTION LEAGUE - GRAPHIC
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 20
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Thursday
Throwback Thursday (Substack)
URC Grand Final Preview with Keego (YouTube)
Friday
Leave your thoughts after full time whistle on our Facebook page
Sunday
URC Grand Final wrap recording
In the meantime be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP