80+ column : May 27
Our weekly newsletter looking at the wider rugby world
ON THIS WEEK’S COLUMN…
WRAP OF A WRAP
DIVIDING BY 10
THE ANNUAL POST MORTEM
UNNECESSARY REF CHAT
RED FLAGS
(TIE) BREAKING NEWS
BOUNCING BACK FROM BILBAO
FULL TIME THOUGHTS
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
TROLL PATROL
COMPETITION UPDATES (incl Super Rugby)
NEXT HARPIN’
WRAP OF A WRAP
I don’t make a secret of the fact that I do enjoy other sports apart from rugby, and if I lived elsewhere growing up, this content-creating passion project could have had a much different theme.
For example, had I stayed in the USA and not moved to Ireland as a boy, the chances are strong I would have taken to baseball, in which case I’d be harpin’ on the Oakland A’s, being the team based closest to where I was born. Had the sliding doors sent my life in that direction however, I’d be pretty annoyed now as the team are no longer based there so it’s probably just as well.
Then there’s football. When I did move to Ireland aged 8 and joined a new school I found myself under immediate pressure to pick a football team and for reasons that are too long for these pages, I chose Tottenham Hotspur. And their current plight isn’t a whole lot better than Oakland’s, and just a few hours before recording the already-difficult Champions Cup final wrap pod, they played a match which could have resulted in their relegation.
In the end the pod was a tough record anyway, but I can’t help but feel that had Spurs “gone down” my mood would have been much worse! And this of course is not to take anything away from my fellow podster Hugo Gordon, who despite enduring a difficult rewatch was able to deliver excellent, balanced analysis for the disappointing afternoon in Bilbao. Click here to check it out if you missed it.
DIVIDING BY 10
This year, he has not started at outhalf in any game.
Ciarán Frawley explains why he’s leaving Leinster for Connacht
Nathan Johns - Irish Times
In different circumstances you might think the headline was “clickbait”, but to be fair to Nathan the article does exactly what it says on the tin.
Apparently Tuesday was officially “World Redhead Day” so I’m not sure if this was a factor in the timing of this article but it’s true his leaving Leinster for Connacht has been much discussed since last Saturday when his introduction at first receiver seemed to make a difference to Leinster’s attack.
For my part I am torn on the Frawley debate. Of course I don’t want to see him go, but I also think it’s very naive to assume that Leinster could have easily kept him.
The formal announcement of his departure was just before Christmas, which means the decision was made prior to then. At this time, Sam Prendergast, rightly or wrongly, was the presumptive starter for both Leinster and Ireland, and Harry Byrne was pushing him strongly for the reserve role, in fact for many the argument was that it was he who should be starting, which he did in Bilbao.
Plus do we really think that we have full autonomy in such things? Was it purely that “Leinster let him go”? That is not how the Irish pro rugby model works. What annoys me about a lot of the opinion is that it seems to assume our provinces are clubs like they are in the 🔝🐱🐴. For me, this is the deepest issue. Unless we revert to an exact replica of what the French do and let sugar-daddies own and operate the teams, we will always have limitations and priority has to be given to the national team.
If Ciarán is guaranteed gametime at 10 in Galway, it should improve his Ireland chances. Working under Stu certainly won’t hurt either. It will be very interesting to see how they get on next season with Champions Cup rugby also on the menu.
Going back to Sam, I really hope we’re not writing him off altogether. I can totally see a redemption arc for him, but to my mind FWIW I believe it is crucial that, barring injuries, he does not start at 10 for Leinster again this season, nor does he start on the South African tour to kick off next season. For me that sends the message that he is to fight for the jersey, and with Joey Carbery seemingly on the way in, we should have options. There is of course also Caspar Gabriel on the conveyor belt, though I hear there may be plans for a short stint away from Leinster, nothing concrete just yet.
Sometimes I wonder if we are subconsciously holding our prospects up against the memory of Johnny Sexton, when he was clearly the definition of a once-in-a-generation talent. The superstar of your team does not have to be the 10. But it does help to know who is your preferred option so you can develop an overall attack strategy so hopefully now that all the moves are done Leinster can at least have a handle on this going into 2026/27.
THE ANNUAL POST MORTEM
…there is too long a trail to just write this off as a bad weekend for Irish rugby.
Irish rugby faces a tough ask in keeping up with vibrant French system
Ciarán Kennedy - The42.ie
Twas inevitable that there would be a flurry of “here’s what’s wrong with Leinster” articles after Bilbao and sometimes I wonder are they just effectively copy/pasting from previous years.
Obviously being a Leinster-centric entity we want to discuss this, and we have extensively, the latest wrap pod included, and there will no doubt be more to come.
Sometimes however I think it’s important to introduce factors to the conversation that are beyond Leinster’s control. On the wrap pod I set aside time to discuss the many head-scratching referee calls, as well as the way the bounce of the ball absolutely seem to be favouring UBB throughout. Again, to be absolutely clear, this is not to say we deserved a different result by any means, it’s just worth mentioning. There were also the climate factors, although they should not have come into play before at least the half hour mark when our goose was well on the way to being cooked.
But there is also the broader picture. How the hell can Irish provinces, which are primarily designed to keep our best players at home and not only limit their playing time but also limit the signing of foreign stars, compete with the 🔝🐱🐴 clubs who can solve shortcomings at given positions by producing a chequebook? In some ways we could be could be considering Leinster’s Champions Cup campaign a success, overcoming three French clubs on the way to the final, although I reckon we would probably have also struggled against Toulouse in Bilbao and indeed Montpellier too.
And would the French model even work with the provinces? You think Leinster get railed for having most of the Irish team now - imagine a free market where we could just buy the players we wanted. It would probably lead to the demise of at least one other province if not more.
What’s the answer? Long term I’d suggest relaxing the rules to allow for some Irish players to spend time in the 🔝🐱🐴. Yes it’s a risk for injuries but all big changes involve risk. Playing abroad helped Sexton IMO, and even Leo Cullen himself benefitted from a stint abroad, maybe not at France but at what was then a trophy-winning Leicester side.
Anyway…no doubt the debate will continue…
UNNECESSARY REF CHAT
Officials will be told to adopt a stricter approach during the knockout stages than it had been during the regular season.
‘It is coming to the extent that it’s excessive’ - Expect crack down on barracking of match officials, says URC ref chief
Simon Lewis - Irish Examiner
I was unable to join the media call with URC ref chief Tappe Henning but by all accounts they are looking to crack down on backchat by players, captains included. Personally I would also like some clarity on TMO checks. I still have a small bee in my bonnet about the 200,000 checks of the flick off Hugo Keenan’s finger in Bilbao. I’m not disputing that it touched him, but I’m wondering if the long scrutiny from different angles was purely down to LBBs claims and if so, can all players make claims at all times which must be investigated as thoroughly. Sorry. Probably still a tad bitter from Saturday!
RED FLAGS
“That’s certainly my intention, that’s always been my intention”
Clayton McMillan wants assurances Munster ‘all heading in same direction’
Michael Glennon - RTE.ie
Not a good answer from McMillan as Munster are heading into playoffs. You gonna be here next season? We’ll see. I think they see European qualification as job done and especially with Messrs Crowley and Beirne unavailable, anything else achieved his season will be seen as a massive bonus. But it’s not like they haven’t succeeded in the URC against the odds before…
(TIE) BREAKING NEWS
…each team will nominate three goal kickers who will take six place kicks between them from different positions along the 22 metre and 10 metre lines.
URC Play-offs: Tiebreaker Permutations
Rugby365.com
I know this is nerdy Rugby Laws stuff but then again I’m a nerdy Rugby Laws kinda guy and when knockout matches end in a draw I invariably get WhatsApps from mates asking what comes next. So it helps to check out articles like this to be ready for if and when the sister-kissing analogies get dragged out on the day of big matches. But it goes without saying that we all hope that no match ever gets decided by penalty kicks.
BOUNCING BACK FROM BILBAO
“For our wrap pod, Hugo and I harped on the Champions Cup final as much as we wanted — maybe even more than we wanted. But now the boys in blue need to regroup and chase back-to-back URC titles, so we’ll need to regroup and start harping on that. Starting with the Lions next weekend, how do they pull it off, Hugo?”
FULL TIME THOUGHTS
For the sake of my mental health I chose to stay off all social media after the full time whistle on Saturday, including my own Facebook page where many like to leave their thoughts. My apologies for ignoring them until now, but I still think it was a good decision on my part.
Generally I find narratives like “we lost, therefore the coach must go” to be lazy and simplistic but when it comes to Leo Cullen’s position it has been a topic of debate for many years now so at this stage after so many defeats in finals you have to wonder if it’s time for a change at the top.
Still, right after the full time whistle was not when I wanted to be confronted by that narrative, or indeed ANY narrative, so I left it until Tuesday morning to go over them and in the interests of full disclosure, here they all are; it actually wasn’t as bad as I first thought.
They broadly felt the better team won, with Bordeaux dominating physically and tactically while Leinster’s attack, discipline and accuracy collapsed again on the big stage. Many pointed to long‑term stagnation, an ineffective game plan, repeated unforced errors and a coaching ticket that has run its course. While there was pride in the squad’s effort and Leinster’s wider success, frustration dominated: five finals lost, no attacking spark, organisational drift and a sense that major changes are now unavoidable.
Here they are…
Conor Cronin
Better team won. They were all over us first half and doing better second half isn’t enough on a game like this (Northampton game excepted). Let’s get out and smash lions next week
Martin Byrne
Very sadly Leinster were not competitive today. And for sure Bordeaux were the better team and very deserved winners.
But Leinster are still an awesome team to support & follow.
Their win rate is amazing and is a great buzz to follow them everywhere.
Greg Kelly
It’s is clear now and has been clear for a long time that our game plan does not work and it hurts us against quality teams. We get away with it against the cannon fodder but UBB got 2 tries off us being over eager off the line on D and then 2 off over eager and forcing the play in attack.
It’s not a total loss....the first 10 after the half we were spirited and Dickson bottled the 2nd yellow for them dropping the maul that was still going forward to the line. The score there and playing 7 mins or so against 13 might have offered a slim chance of doing something but probably not. Our scrum too was pretty solid.
At the end of the day UBB were heavy favourites going into the game and Im not sure having this French hegemony benefits European rugby. In 2/3 years UBB will burn out and it will be some other French money monster we’ll be losing to 🤷♂️
Tom Clarke
Too many unforced errors in first half. We looked clueless in attack.
Can’t fault the effort from the boys. Just not good enough on the day.
A change of coaching staff is surely imminent. Cant help but feel we sacrificed our attack for defense and neither is good enough.
Cian Ormond
Sad thoughts.
Fair play to UBB, they were the better team. Leinster didn’t get the rub of the green, but we were undoubtably second best.
John O Halloran
No doubt the better team won, they won by a lot. Leinster have been stagnant for a long time now, stale and devoid of innovation. That’s a massive shame because they were the opposite for so long.
A wealth of playing talent, academy, support systems, backroom team, passionate fans and a player management system unique to Ireland that French teams would envy.
Ye all know what’s wrong and what needs to happen.
Cormac Mannion
Really annoyed by Leo’s post-match interview. It smacked of being just happy to be there today and they couldn’t have done any more.
Tee Burton
Better team on the day won.
Leinster looked asleep. Have been off all season
Kettlebell Padawen
Lost the collisions lost the match
Richard Collumb
Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over & over and expecting different results.
Our attack has decorated over the past few years & not going to be helped with Frawley going West as Harry & Prendergast not there yet.
We brought in Nienaber to give us a gritty defence but that’s not working.
New coaching set up.
Lorcán Murphy
You know in Aliens where the marines get absolutely mullered the first time round when they go in? Well, this is us now! “Game over man, game over”
Peter Tracey
Thank you Leo but time to go. We need a new coaching ticket. Last few minutes we could’ve scored 3 tries and skill set lets us down. Beaten up front. No new signings for next season. Need to develop young lads again now. Won’t be at the top table for a few years. Maybe get Cheika back in for a year and go after Contepomi back in if he wants it. Big big changes needed. Lacking in so many positions going forward. Clarkson and Furlong our tightheads but need new talent there and at 9 and centers and need to develop them now. Not in three or four years. We still don’t have a 10 of any notable standard. Get Casper into the setup. I could go on but things definitely need to change. Well done lads. I know you tried and tried and I feel for you but we need to change tack and now. Irfu bringing us back down to the other provinces instead of making the others better.
Tony Joyce
Worst Leinster performance in a final ever, no matter who the opposition was. Tough watch. Dust off and go and win the URC. C’MON LEINSTER
Christy O’Connor
Sure how could you expect anything other than that result after watching how we played all season. All the coaches need to go
Darran Kearney
we absolutely bottled it and didn’t show up. No shame in losing to Bordeaux but not a single one of our players were on their game today. Organisational issues. at least Mayo can blame it on a hex, we’ve no such excuse for it
Dave Murray
Bordeaux all over us everywhere unfortunately. All over at half time
Ruairi Niall Eiméid
Surely that has signed Leo Cullen’s P45 being Leinster coach, thanks for everything but that’s 5 lost finals in a row and our worst ever defeat in a Final, nothing has changed since 2018. We sacked Matt O’Connor for much less than this!
LEINSTER SQUAD UPDATE
Tough decisions to be made this weekend. Even though we beat the Lions a couple of weeks ago, they’ll still fancy their chances so we need to be smart with any post-Bilbao rotation. As I say in he bonus chat, this is not the same as last season where we had a weekend off ahead of the knockouts. I reckon a 23 like this could work provided the bench is super strong.
HARPIN’ POSSIBLE MATCHDAY 23 V LIONS
Jimmy O’Brien, Jordan Larmour, Reiko Ioane, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe, Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park
Jerry Cahir, Rónan Kelleher, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, Diarmuid Mangan, Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (c)
Dan Sheehan, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, James Ryan, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley, Tommy O’Brien
caveat : I have no “ITK” a la Thornley
OFFICIAL INJURY REPORT
AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Joshua Kenny: has returned to full training and is available for selection this weekend.
Brian Deeny: has returned to full training and is available for selection this weekend.
FURTHER ASSESSMENT REQUIRED:
N/A.
NOT AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION:
Paddy McCarthy sustained an injury at the weekend and will be unavailable for the rest of the season.
NO FURTHER UPDATES ON:
Ryan Baird, Jack Boyle, Will Connors, Hugh Cooney, RG Snyman, Charlie Tector.
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.
Like I said earlier going online was difficult to say the least after the full time whistle on Saturday so I pretty much stayed off it completely. Unfortunately that can’t prevent memes being shared on WhatsApp, and there’s one in particular I want to get hauled in for questioning by the Troll Patrol.
I can accept all the slagging re Leinster losing finals - the avoidance of doomscrolling does not equate to disagreement with the overall narrative. But this meme doing the rounds was just downright wrong. I won’t even share the actual picture, I’m sure most Leinster fans have seen it anyway. Instead I will print the “ALT-TEXT” version of it.
For this meme the creator’s desire to demean the Leinster coach by depicting him in a bridesmaid’s dress has blinded them to the fact that to use the analogy, he actually HAS been the bride, in 2018. Argue all you want about whether or not his tenure at Leinster should continue (and we shall) but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this premise simply doesn’t work so it’s a perfect case for the TP.
<A meme showing Leo Cullen’s head edited onto a woman wearing a blue bridesmaid dress and holding a bouquet, standing in front of a Leinster Rugby backdrop. Large white text above reads “ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID, NEVER THE BRIDE,” joking about Leinster’s repeated near-misses in major finals>
Super Rugby has one round left before their playoffs - they have gone with pretty much the same knockout format as last season, where all six qualifiers play in the first round and the highest placed loser gets a second chance. Hurricanes definitely seem to have the inside track.
And I know we dont include the URC stats in this feature but the playoffs mean we’re close to crowing the latest Harpin Prediction League and as you can see we have three former champions in the top positions, although with multipliers there are still more in the running. There’s also the race at the foot of the table to avoid The Jersey of Shame - Kristian does appear to have one arm in the sleeve as things stand.
This week my eye was caught by what’s left of Major League Rugby in the US as we had the result Chicago Hounds 57–17 Seattle Seawolves. The Hounds are 8 and 0 this season - sadly they don’t have as much Irish influence as they had in the past with Dave Kearney and Nick McCarthy having played in the Windy City. Now there’s just winger Mark O’Keeffe - he played for Michaels in that famous 2013 Leinster Schools Cup final that included Garry Ringrose and James Ryan among others, and now seems to be just on the fringes with the Hounds.
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
EPCR CHALLENGE CUP
PREMIERSHIP
Round 17
Fri May 29
Bristol Bears v Bath Rugby
Sat May 30
Saracens v Harlequins
Northampton Saints v Gloucester Rugby
Newcastle Red Bulls v Sale Sharks
Sun May 31
Leicester Tigers v Exeter Chiefs
🔝🐱🐴
PROD2
CURRIE CUP
The top four teams at the end of the SA Cup league phase will again qualify for the Carling Currie Cup Premier Division, where they will be joined by the Vodacom Bulls, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Fidelity ADT Lions and DHL Western Province.
SUPER RUGBY
JAPAN LEAGUE ONE
QUARTERFINALS
Tokyo Sungoliath 40–35 BlackRams Tokyo
Kubota Spears 26–3 Toshiba Brave Lupus Tokyo
SEMIFINALS
Sat 30 May
Kobelco Kobe Steelers v Tokyo Sungoliath
Sun 31 May
Saitama Wild Knights v Kubota Spears
MAJOR LEAGUE RUGBY
WEEK 9
California Legion 42–10 Old Glory DC
Chicago Hounds 57–17 Seattle Seawolves
Anthem RC 7–20 New England Free Jacks
WEEK 10
Saturday 30 May
Old Glory DC v Chicago Hounds
Sunday 31 May
Anthem RC v California Legion
Monday 1 June
Seattle Seawolves v New England Free Jacks
STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 18
NEXT BATCH OF HARPIN’
Thursday
Throwback Thursday - The Leo Cullen debate (Substack)
Friday
Leinster v Lions preview (YouTube)
Saturday
Leave your thoughts after full time whistle on our Facebook page
Sunday
Leinster v Lions wrap pod featuring Tom Coleman
In the meantime be sure to enjoy your rugby wherever you are. JLP