HoR highlights Aug 19-26

Time to look back over the rugby we’ve been harpin on for the past 7 days, follow the links if you missed them…

• You still have time to enter the competition to win tickets for Leinster v NG Dragons on September 8…

• For my Monday morning Leinster match writeup I needed a bit of help…

• All Black fan Tim Cronin is looking for a bit more from his heroes

• Our esteemed rugby official RE Ferry gave his thoughts on the new scrum laws

• Facebook Likes are up to 854 – most popular post last week was this gag on the English & French clubs’ desire to change the HCup.

• Our Premiership columnist Felix McCabe had a look at the preseason so far for the 12 clubs…

• We had some keen columnists penning two pieces, first Trevor Murphy remembered his favourite Munster match then analysed the first Bledisloe Cup contest…

• And our Ulster columnist Kristian Ross is happy to see a certain player back at Ravenhill plus he told us about his favourite English club

• We launched a new slot which will feature fitness training programs

• The Midweek Quiz had the final trial night for its first game – the 15 playoff qualifiers were decided.

• The 67th Around The Fringes cartoon proved to be the most popular of all-time…

• Keego also chose to offer his two cents on the scrum dilemma this week

• Twitter following is up to 3309, unfortunately the most popular tweet was a link to news of a tragedy involving a rugby player

• The week ended with a couple of introductions – first, our Scottish Lions Selector panellist…

• …and finally the Leinster representatives in the Roots & All project.

As you can see, a busy week overall at HarpinOnRugby Manor, and with the Pro12 season about to kick off, it’s only going to get busier so stay tuned! JLP

Sale Sharks-10 Leinster-10

This season on HarpinOnRugby we’ll be featuring input from fans all over the world on all aspects of the great pastime of chasing the egg…for the most part, their contributions will be on the HoR2 blog while I will deal with Leinster & Ireland rugby over here.  This week, however, I am extremely grateful to both Liz & Ginine Power for volunteering to be my eyes & ears at Leinster’s final pre-season warm-up game last Friday evening.

SALE-MATE

“We didn’t want you to lose your first game in the new stadium but we couldn’t let you win either”

This was my post match banter with some of the Sale fans. Ok, so it was only half true. After the hefty defeat last week (I promise that’s the last time I will mention it) losing was not an option but new stadium or not, Leinster were there to win..

The new Sale stadium is very impressive both from the outside and inside. The stands are all covered which was very welcome as the rain was pouring down. We took our place among the good number of Leinster fans who made the trip over for a pre-season friendly. During the match we made our presence well know with choruses of the usual tunes although “Come on you boys in blue” was stopped quite promptly as we realised on this occasion Sale were the boys in blue.

Sale were first to put points on the board with a penalty scored by Danny Cipriani in the first 10 minutes. We were all a little confused though when the scoreboard declared it a “goal”.

Leinster were quick to get back in the game though with Noel Reid kicking the ball deep into Sale’s 22. Leinster proceeded to win the lineout and impressive play from Reid and Ian Madigan fell just short of getting them the first try of the game. Their efforts were awarded with a penalty which Noel Reid easily kicked over to get Leinster our first “goal” and bring the score to 3-3.

With the scores even, Leinster came into their stride. Leinster were awarded another penalty which Ian Madigan kicked into touch but the ball was soon turned over and the game was back in Leinster’s 22. It wasn’t there for long though as an impressive run from Fionn Carr brought it back into the Sale 22. Leinster were then awarded another penalty but this time Reid’s kick fell wide of the posts.

With the rain still pouring down heavily the first half ended with the honours even at 3-3.

It wasn’t long into the second half before Andrew Conway scored the first try of the game on the other side of the pitch to the pocket of Leinster fans. Unfortunately we did get to see a close up of Rob Miller’s try for Sale about 20 minutes later. Nick McLeod kicked the conversion and the game was once again level at 10-10. About 2 minutes later Sale were awarded a penalty which could have won them the game but McLeod's kick fell wide.

Both teams fought hard for the remainder of the game but the score remained at 10-10 although some would argue the score could have been a lot different but for a few controversial refereeing decisions. In who’s favour the game would have gone though is anyone’s guess as was stated by a nearby fan “David Pearson is an equal opportunities gobdaw”!

A lot of high tackles and players off their feet went unnoticed as well as the touch judges awarding line outs to the wrong team. The hecklers were out in force with shouts of “Yes, that is what your right hand is for” when a penalty was finally awarded Leinster’s way and “You’re not in Paris now” when it wasn’t. Andy Powell also got some thrown his way and was told to “get in your golf cart” on more than one occasion.

Both teams provided brilliant performances and I think a draw was a fair result. It was a great game and it’s good to go into the season recovered from last week’s defeat (oops, sorry)

Ginine (@neenyp) and Liz Power (@gizmopuddy) are daughter and mother, Leinster fans from Maynooth. Unusually it is the two women in our family who are the sport and particularly rugby fanatics; the men just humour our obsession. Liz grew up in Churchtown, surrounded by rugby, and didn’t realise there was any other sport until she moved to the “country”! She made sure Ginine was well acquainted with the joys of rugby.

Naas RFC introduction

Time to meet Leinster’s representatives in this year’s Roots & All project…

Well here we go – my first cap at blogging for Harpin on Rugby!! Let hope the coach doesn’t drop me after one!!

I hope to keep you updated on the happenings and goings on at Naas Rugby Football Club this season. So as it’s the week before the much anticipated start to the new season I thought I would kick it off with a little introduction to our club.

This is our 90 year playing rugby most of which was as a fairly successful Junior Club until we join the senior ranks in 1999 with a brief visit back to Leinster Division 1 we are now well established in AIL Div 2B with ambitions to move up!

Our club has a rich and distinguished history. We have received many sporting accolades and helped produce successful players such as Philip Lawler, Geordan Murphy and Jamie Heaslip, Fionn Carr to mention but a few and currently we have a number of ex Naas youth players who are at different stages of the Leinster ladder from schools, representative and the academe.

Today at our home at Forenaughts, we boast over 600 youth and minis from the ages of 7 to 18. We have 120 players 19 and upwards and 300 or so adult members. We have teams from minis to juniors to seniors, girls and veterans and each summer run a full VW tag tournament. In addition to top class coaching (had to put that one in!) and the opportunities to compete in leagues, our club offers our members the chance to learn life skills such as the importance of discipline, team work and learning to be gracious in victory as well as dignified in defeat and hopefully develop a passion for the game we all love.

We have the usual teams of volunteers who give their time, skills, passion, energy and commitment to the club for no remuneration. These people coach, sit on committees, pursue sponsorship opportunities, prepare lunches, run tuck shops and a million other things that happen behind the scenes, without which the club could not function.

We also have an army of supporters for our players – parents, relatives, friends, neighbours - people who stand at the side of the pitch come rain or shine to ensure the players know that their efforts, successful or otherwise matter, the heart of any club. We appreciate all of this. This is what community is and why community matters.

As for me I played on scrumhalf all the senior teams at some stage over a 12 year period in the late 80’s and 90’s, until, like most, a promising career was cut short by injury!! Before that it was schools rugby in Newbridge College, now a proud coach to the U12’s We had 80 kids playing at U11 last year putting out 5 non graded teams each week and we are expecting the same again this year at U12. We play in both the North Midlands and Metro Areas of Leinster along with filling many requests for matches from other areas.

So there you have it and our season kicks of with the first playing Old Wesley Away on Saturday 25^th Aug in the Leinster Senior Shield and the AIL on the 29^th Sept Away to NUIM Barnhall. As for the U12’s we get straight into it with a fixture against Newbridge RFC on the 1st Sept.

If you have any comments you can get me @michaelcahill67 or follow @naasrfc on twitter or www.facebook.com/NaasRugby on facebook. www.naasrugby.com

Thanks Michael, look forward to hearing from you throughout the season and best of luck to all at Naas RFC!

Click here to read the introduction of our Connacht representatives

Click here to read the introduction of our Ulster representatives