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Big games call for big venues, and this weekend we’ve got appointments at Twickenham and Wembley, Kings Park and Newlands.
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Premiership: Bath vs Leicester Tigers (Saturday, April 8, 9:00 pm HKT)
Somewhere close to 150,000 fans are expected to attend two club matches in the English Premiership this weekend. And this is the first of them – rather grandly called ‘The Clash’ – at Twickenham. This one, however, might actually live up to all the hype, as fifth-placed Bath face fourth-placed Leicester in front of a crowd of more than 55,000 fans and counting. At stake is a late advantage in the race for that all-important fourth playoff berth. After this weekend just three matches remain in the regular season.
Super Rugby: Sharks vs Jaguares (Saturday, April 8, 9:05 pm HKT)
The Sharks were on a nice little 4-game winning streak going into last week’s game against the Lions at Ellis Park, a streak that looked set to continue right up until about the 77th minute. It was a great game – and this weekend’s clash against the Jaguares could be just as good. Of course, it depends which Jaguares side turns up – but they have been much more consistent so far this season, and they’re starting to look like the test match side they basically are. Fresh off a bye last week, the Argentineans should give the Sharks a run for their money.
Super Rugby: Stormers vs Chiefs (Saturday, April 8, 11:15 pm HKT)
The New Zealand sides have dominated Super Rugby through the first six rounds, but there’s one catch: so far this season none have made the trip to South Africa. That changes this weekend when the Chiefs, with an unbeaten 5-from-5 record, travel to Cape Town to meet the Stormers – who are also unbeaten, also 5-from-5. A trip to South Africa (or vice versa for South African sides) has always been the real test of a team’s mettle in Super Rugby, and this match should be no exception.
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Premiership: Saracens vs Harlequins (Saturday, April 8, 11:30 pm HKT)
Following ‘The Clash’, the Premiership champions continue the so-far successful defence of their title against London rivals Quins at Wembley, in a match that goes by the slightly less grand-sounding ‘Derby Day’. Sarries have won seven of their nine Premiership away-days at the national soccer stadium, in front of crowds that regularly soar past 80,000. This year, the host club has offered 10,000 complimentary tickets to members of the emergency services in the capital. There’s no danger of breaking the club rugby crowd record of more than 99,000 who saw Racing 92 beat Toulon in the 2016 Top 14 final at the Nou Camp, but there’s still going to be an epic atmosphere.
Pro 12: Munster vs Glasgow (Sunday, April 9, 2:30 am HKT)
There’s no denying the Six Nations window did Warriors no favours – they lost three games on the bounce while their squad was ravaged by international call-ups. That stutter has seen Gregor Townsend’s men lose vital ground in the Pro 12 title race. If they are to make up the 10 points that separate them from fourth-placed Ulster, and a place in the play-offs, they need to add some Ws to their results tally. Problem is, starting a must-win run-in at Champions Cup semi-finalists Munster is easier said than done.
Top 14: Toulon vs Toulouse (Sunday, April 9, 11:00 pm HKT)
Another match that has moved from its expected venue sees the ailing original galacticos of nouveau Top 14 rugby face the fading crown princes of the French game at the 67,000-seat Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. This is a match neither side can afford to lose. Toulouse have never failed to reach the Top 14 play-offs, but – unaccustomed as they are to the lower reaches of the Top 14 – they are languishing in 10th place, still just five points off the play-off places. Toulon, meanwhile, sit in 4th, but their hold on a play-off place is precarious. They are one point ahead of Pau, in 6th, and four in front of Racing 92 in 8th.
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