From today, Sunday, August 21, 2008  (our 14th birthday) there will be a few changes here at Harpin Manor... ?????? ****************************************************** article-focused content  supported by social media & podcasts ?????? podcast- & video-focused content supported by social media & articles ****************************************************** www.harpinonrugby.net ?????? www.harpinonrugby.com ****************************************************** All our content from 2008/09 to 2021/22 seasons will remain here for th ..read more

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As happy as we were as Irish rugby fans in the wake of that wonderful win in Wellington, the few weeks since then have brought many of us back down to earth. First there was the vote by the RFU on their policy regarding the participation of transgender players in the women's game, although it wasn't just the result that was alarming but also the protracted debate around the issue which preceded it - I briefly harped on this over the weekend. Then there was the announcement by SANZAAR (a name which looks more and more like the home planet of an evil species in a sci fi movie every time ..read more

Normally I try to use "seeing both sides" as a starting point when it comes to forming an opinion on an issue, but for the "debate" surrounding Friday's RFU ruling it has honestly been very difficult. At one extreme, the premise seems to be that if you are against the ban, you either "don't care about women's safety" or you are "being too political". For me, it is obvious that the indifference to safety one is nonsense. Even in the hyperbolic opinionated world of social media, virtually everyone wants sport to be played as safely as possible, and to briefly reference another issu ..read more

It's the end of July, we've seen the snazzy new jersey for next season plus news is starting to trickle through about fixtures...so before we're really counting the days to when it all starts up again, time for one post to look back through the timeline of Leinster's 21/22 campaign. On the "End of Season" episode of our podcast we talked about it in a general sense so be sure to have a listen - the whole point of this post is to remind you of the progress from September all the way through to June.   Naturally there were disappointments towards the end, but I have a funny feeling t ..read more

Listen to the pod using the player above or better still, subscribe to our feed we're on most major platforms Twitter accounts for our guests: Neil “Keego” Keegan > https://twitter.com/keegolaughs_irl Mark Jackson > https://twitter.com/hoomanbear Tom Coleman > https://twitter.com/LeinsterRoyalty ..read more

© INPHO/Photosport/Elias Rodriguez TEAM OF AWESOME The clock was approaching 25 minutes as the scoreboard read New Zealand 3, Ireland 5. The home side had good attacking ball from a lineout and were heading for our 22. On the second phase, Tadhg Beirne got a hold of the ball, seemed to snaffle it, but went off his feet and so he wisely let it go. Pity - who knows when he'll get a chance to do that again in this match... So the All Blacks play on and try to send it wide to their left wing, but that gets quickly shut down and sent back inside. O'Mahony, Doris and Porter are among the tack ..read more

A selection of the “keyboard warrior” reactions after the full-time whistle of our featured matches of the weekend. If you’d like to contribute stay tuned to our Facebook page for our “Feel free to leave your thoughts…” posts which show up around full time after Leinster & Ireland matches. Conor Cronin But for a blip at the start of the second half, we eye better all day! So pleased to see the lads prove how good they are. This is awesome! Noel Hewson Ah lads what a day Right, I've managed to gather a single thought for now. I think my favourite aspect of that win is that there's no ..read more

There have been some interesting debates during the week about this third test. Other discussions haven't been quite so interesting, in fact they have been really, really boring because they go through the usual motions like "Why are we picking Sexton when we should be developing the squad" and the such. But one that really caught my eye was featured in this poll posted on Twitter by Gavan Casey from The42.ie, where he asks whether as Irish fans we'd prefer a series win in New Zealand over reaching a World Cup semifinal (and going no further). The reason it got me thinking is that I had ..read more

Listen to the pod using the player above or better still, subscribe to our feed we're on most major platforms Twitter accounts for our guests: Michelle Tobin > https://twitter.com/CorkSeashell Rich Mifsud > https://twitter.com/Once_in_the_job Padraig Kelly > https://twitter.com/the2ndRow ..read more