HoR 2013/14

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When a new season comes around, fans often have to get used to a lot of different things, and this one coming up is no exception - for example, Leinster & Ireland both have new coaches, Racing Métro have a new out-half, and telly rugby has a new player in BT Sport.

Here at HarpinOnRugby we have decided to keep things on an even keel to make all the other transitions a little easier.  That’s not to say there won’t be a tweak or two, but for the most part the coverage will remain the same.

We come at you on three fronts…

1. The main HarpinOnRugby blog

Where it all began.  Match reports on every Leinster, Ireland & Lions game since the start of the 2008/2009 season.  The new posts are published every Monday at noon.

2. HarpinOnRugby2

We don’t need a screengrab to show you this blog…you’re here!  Of course rugby isn’t all about Leinster & Ireland, and it’s certainly not all about me and my take on things!  So here we have a space for all types of rugby opinion on all types of rugby topics.  Would you like to add yours? Drop us a line.

3. Social Media channels

We will maintain a strong presence on both the Twitter & Facebook timelines with a minimum of 5 posts per day from 9am to 9pm. 

It could be a link to new content on one of the blogs, it could be a link to a post elsewhere on the ruggersphere we find interesting, it could be an observation we’d like your opinion on.  The important thing is that you get involved and let us know what you think.

There is also an HoR page on Google+ and we plan to dabble in both Tumblr & LinkedIn this coming season, but if you want the full experience, it is to Twitter and Facebook where you must go.

And of course we’ll have our “unriggable raffle” competitions throughout the year with the usual great prizes on offer.

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So there you have it.  Another exciting season ahead, hope you’ll join us as we follow it.  Next Tuesday we’ll be introducing a brand new weekly feature, and as the season draws closer we have an exciting announcement to make about the site in general.  Stay tuned!!! JLP

Introducing…InTheLoose.com

Hi guys,

Just wanted to take a minute to introduce our new rugby blog In The Loose. We are currently a mix of young aspiring writers and seasoned rugby fans with an opinion to share about the great game. At the moment the site is currently opinion pieces about various aspects of rugby from whether transfers are starting to have an impact on the game through to who the biggest villains in world rugby are. We’re hoping to start extending our offering in the not too distant future so that we become a great resource for rugby fans whether you’re looking to find out more about training and positions or just to catch up on the latest news and rumours surrounding the game.

We already have well recognised figures in the game such as School of Hard Knocks coach Chris Chudleigh as well as some exclusive interviews with players in the game lined-up. We’re always open to suggestions about how we can improve the site so please do let us know and we’ll see what we can do and if you fancy getting involved and doing some blogging for us then fire us over a message as we want to get as many people as possible involved. We do try to cover as much as possible from top internationals through to amateur games but it’s always good to get some alternative points of view.

Other than that it would be great if you could check out the site In The Loose and give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook.

If you would like to introduce your site on HoR2 email us at paganoblog@gmail.com

The Other La Liga

Introducing a new site covering Spanish rugby…check it out & bookmark it!

We here at The Other La Liga aim to show people there’s more to Spanish Sport than simply El Clásico.

A world away from Twickenham, Murrayfield, and Le Stade de France lies the European Nations Cup Division 1A (or, if you like, Six Nations Division 2), which also doubles up as the qualifying rounds for the Rugby World Cup 2015, to be held in England. The top two placed sides will automatically gain a place in La Copa Mundial, and the third placed team goes into a repechage playoff for one last chance at making it.

New Leones coach Bevan Bryce – a Kiwi – took charge in July, and has quickly assembled a new core of Spanish-born players, complimented with a small group of distinctly non-Spanish sounding names who have qualified for selection via residency, playing in the División de Honor (the La Liga of rugby), who he believes are capable of helping Spain reach what would be only their second ever Rugby World Cup; the first and last being in 1999. Bryce will surely be looking to the example of Italy, who through a fine balance of home-grown talent, imports and clever use of their large diaspora (mainly found in Argentina) have gone from six-nations whipping boys to taking full points from World Cup finalists France in two of their last three meetings in the tournament.

Spain currently sit at a record-high 18^th in the world: an achievement all the more admirable, given there are only around 30,000 registered players of the sport (very few of whom are professional) in a country that boasts either the World and/or European Champions in the more lucrative games of football, basketball and handball, and has seven of the top 50 tennis players in the world. Even a newly expanded División de Honor only has 12 teams, with the vast majority of players having to do a regular nine-to-five job before training in the evenings. The worsening financial crisis does not help matters in the world of Spanish Rugby either; league champions VRAC Quesos Entrepinares unable to take their place in the Amlin Challenge Cup due to the fact they simply could not afford to embark on a European campaign. The nearest team who could afford to take on such a challenge in their absence was fifth placed Basque outfit Bizkaia Gernika, a side fortunate enough to benefit from regional government funding.

Despite all these setbacks there is a genuine desire to help the game grow, with both domestic and nationals sides improving rapidly, and a genuine chance of World Cup 2015 qualification, who knows, maybe Span could become the “Seventh” Nation.

We hope this has whet your appetite to discover more about the world of rugby in Spain. The blog can be found at http://theotherlaliga.wordpress.com and on Twitter: @TheOtherLaLiga

RugbyJunky.com

RugbyJunky.com searches, sifts and mashes news feeds from over 500+ different  sources around the world, serving up the latest Rugby Union News in easy to digest streams. 

The Same Rugby Stories, Different Points of View! 

It now includes a "Rugby Blogosphere" page that is a mashup of the best blogs from around the web.

Check it out!

© JL Pagano 2012