Harpin' On Rugby

Leinster play a third away interprovincial in four weeks on Saturday as we head down the N7 to Thomond Park, I invited Michelle Tobin back on to the pod to look at how the season has gone so far for Munster, what kind of matchday squad they might put out against us and also we talked about the Six Nations for both Women and Men. Our Connacht v Leinster writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/202...

I wanted to learn more about how the Irish women’s squad is set ahead of their own Six Nations which kicks off this weekend, and I couldn’t have picked a better guest than the owner of the great twitter account @IrishWomens.  She lays out the implications of the IRFU report on the aftermath of the World Cup qualifiers before telling us what players to look out for over the coming weeks as wel...

This week we’re looking ahead to Ireland’s final match in the 2022 Six Nations coming up against Scotland on Saturday, and as we often do here at Harpin On Rugby we’re using the podcast to go looking for a view from opposition fans on how their team is looking.  And with the first leg of the 1872 Cup also taking place this weekend, I asked fans from both Edinburgh and Glasgow on to offer thei...

On our last pod I got views from fans of Leinster, Munster & Connacht on Ireland’s Six Nations campaign so to complete the set this week I spoke to Ulsterman Ian Frizzell who looked at our chances for the big match at Twickenham on Saturday.  And while I had him on I guess it would have been rude not to also get his thoughts on a certain rearranged top of the table URC clash at the Kingsp...

This week I put together a panel to talk about Ireland’s unconventional win over Italy, how the squad might shape up as we head to Twickenham, and there was even some time left over for the lads to talk about their own provinces in the URC. Our Ireland v Italy writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/02/ireland-57-italy-6.html …and Leinster v Lions > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/02/l...

This week with Ireland set to play Italy on Sunday and Leinster bound for Treviso the following weekend, I invited the author of The Italian Rugby Blog back onto the pod to give us a sense on how their squads are looking and also how despite all the simplistic negativity in the media these days about Italian rugby, there are actually a lot of signs that things are set to improve. Our Leinster v Os...

This week with Leinster and Ireland matches to both review and preview I invited three of our top contributors to the pod and I think you’ll agree they came up with some great points about last weekend’s match in Paris and also what lies ahead in both the Six Nations and the URC. Our France v Ireland writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/02/france-30-ireland-24.html Leinster v Edinburgh &...

First up I spoke to Mark Jackson about how Ireland did in 6N Week 1 plus what to look forward to in Week 2, then it was the turn of Edinburgh & Scotland fan Sandy Smith to harp on how things are going up there before Friday's clash at the RDS. Our Ireland v Wales writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/02/ireland-29-wales-7.html Twitter accounts for this week’s guests: Mark Jackson >...

We’ve a straightforward pod this week, I invited a multi-provincial panel of fellow Irish fans on to help me select a matchday 23 from Andy Farrell’s Six Nations squad and then we had a go at predicting the final standings. Our Cardiff v Leinster writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/01/cardiff-rugby-29-leinster-27.html Twitter accounts for this week’s guests: Michelle Tobin > https://...

It’s time to turn our attention to the URC and Six Nations and with Leinster facing Cardiff this weekend and Ireland hosting Wales the following Saturday, I found the perfect guest in Dan Pearce to come on and offer an opposition view.  Our Bath v Leinster writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/01/bath-7-leinster-64.html Twitter accounts for this week’s guest: Dan Pearce > https://...

I had a couple of fellow Leinster fans on to discuss that big win over Montpellier at the weekend looking at the stats and individual performances from the boys in blue and then we had a look at the season in general and how both the URC and Champions Cup are set at the time of recording. Our Leinster v Montpellier writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2022/01/leinster-89-montpellier-7.html Go...

After a bit of a break from Leinster rugby over the holiers, I thought I’d get back into the swing of things by asking a few fellow fans on to talk about those provinces which actually have been getting some pitch time of late.  Twitter account for this week’s guests: Neil ‘Keego’ Keegan > https://twitter.com/keegolaughs_irl Conor Cronin > https://twitter.com/ccbooms Tom Coleman > ht...

Hasn't been much rugby to harp on these past couple of weeks so to round off 2021 we had a bit of an aul quiz to look back over the year.  I invited four fellow Leinster fans on to split into two teams and battle it out for bragging rights, and afterwards I also got them to offer their hopes & predictions for 2022. Our Montpellier v Leinster* writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2021...

This week in our latest Opposition View pod I’m looking ahead to Friday night’s match in Montpellier, obviously this is all pending confirmation that it’s actually going ahead but even if not it was great to get an insight on the Top 14 outfit’s season so far from Illtud Dafydd who has been covering French rugby for a while now. Also as a bonus I had a panel of Leinster fans to give their thoughts...

This week in our latest Opposition View pod I spoke to Matt Price also known as @BathBytes ahead of the Premiership clubs' visit to Dublin this coming weekend.  Obviously it can’t be easy to talk about your club when they’re on a bad run so fair play to Matt for coming on and spelling out what has been going wrong, and we all wish them all the best for the rest of the season, except maybe whe...

For the next few weeks we’re returning to our Opposition View pods where I talk to fans from teams Leinster are facing in the URC and Europe to see what it’s like from their end of the pitch, so this time the chat was about Ulster from last weekend and Connacht who are coming to Dublin on Friday.  Also this week we have a collection of tributes on the career of the great Rob Kearney. Our Lein...

This week I had on three fellow Leinster & Ireland fans to look back over November, look ahead to December, and as an extra bonus towards the end, I tested their knowledge of Leinster’s starting lineups from their 4 Heineken Cup triumphs. Our Ireland v Argentina writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2021/11/ireland-53-argentina-7.html Twitter accounts for this week’s guests: Cian O’Muilleo...

I already had a lot to say about "that performance" in this week’s writeup but it was still a pleasure to be able to harp on it some more with the help of two fellow Leinster & Ireland fans for this latest pod.  We also kept the discussion going on Irish Women's rugby. Our Ireland v New Zealand writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2021/11/ireland-29-new-zealand-20.html Twitter accoun...

This week I was looking for an opposition view for Ireland’s big challenge at the Aviva this weekend and I reckon I found just the ticket in Paul “Driving Maul” Bains.  I can absolutely guarantee that this is the best podcast you’ll hear today involving an Ireland fan talking with an American accent and a New Zealand fan with an English one.  Also with Irish Women’s rugby very much back...

This week I looked ahead to Ireland’s Autumn Nations Series with the help of a new guest, Owen Harrison who is better known in the ruggersphere as @overthehillprop - he gave us some great insight on what to expect from our opponents over the coming weeks as well as spelling out the many challenges ahead for Andy Farrell. Our Montpellier “mini-writeups” > Leinster Euro Opposition Watch : Montpel...

The "mock quiz" format is back and while I might be biased I reckon my guests this week served up the best yet.  It was a Halloween themed matchup between the Zombies and the Werewolves and somewhere among the scary puns you'll find some top notch harpin' on the opening rounds of the URC plus a look ahead to Ireland's November tests. Our Glasgow v Leinster writeup > http://www.harpinonrugb...

Over the past several weeks I have asked my guests on the pod to give their thoughts on all that has been going on in Irish Women’s Rugby so to round off this mini-series, I have the owner of the great twitter account @IrishWomens on to talk about the proposed Women’s Lions team and what needs to be accomplished before that happens. Our Leinster v Scarlets writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net...

This week we’re turning our attention back to Leinster Rugby so I had a chat with a couple of fellow fans about players who have stood out in our first three matches, plus one or two who may not have done.  I’d like to apologise here for a few yips in Mark’s audio in the recording I tried to fix them as best as I could and I tried to leave the bulk of it in anyway as he made some great points...

Last week I had fans from Munster and Ulster on to give first impressions on both their teams and the URC in general after the opening weekend.  That’s a theme I have brought forward to this week where I have fans from elsewhere around the league doing the same thing. Our Dragons v Leinster writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2021/10/dragons-6-leinster-7.html Twitter accounts for this w...

This week we’re going to look back at the opening weekend of the URC - I’ve already harped on Leinster’s home win over the Bulls so I invited fans from two other Irish provinces to describe how their nights went for them. Our Leinster v Vodacom Bulls writeup > http://www.harpinonrugby.net/2021/09/leinster-31-bulls-3.html Twitter accounts for this week’s guests: Michelle Tobin > https://twitt...