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The end of the season is nigh in the Aviva Premiership and Top 14 – and the possibilities and permutations are almost endless. Meanwhile, Super Rugby offers some intriguing New Zealand – South Africa match-ups.
Super Rugby: Highlanders vs Stormers (Friday, April 28, 3:35pm HKT)
After going unbeaten through the first seven rounds, the Stormers have hit the skids. Their tour of New Zealand began with a 57-24 shellacking at the hands of the Crusaders last week, and it won’t get any easier on Friday when they meet the Highlanders in Dunedin. The hosts are through the worst of their early-season injury crisis – welcoming back All Blacks winger Waisake Naholo last week – and now have their sights set firmly on a playoffs berth. With the Hurricanes looming next weekend, it’s looking like a long month on the road for the Stormers.
Premiership: Harlequins vs Wasps (Saturday, April 29, 2:45am HKT)
Despite just two wins from their last five matches, Harlequins remain in the mix for an automatic Champions Cup place next season. They are currently seventh, a single point behind Northampton who occupy the last of the all-important six available slots. Their mission this weekend – and they have no choice but to accept it – to beat the Premiership leaders, who have won every their last five outings, to keep their challenge alive.
Premiership: Exeter Chiefs vs Northampton Saints (Saturday, April 29, 10:00pm HKT)
By the time Northampton take to the pitch at Sandy Park, they will know how the nearest challengers to their Champions Cup slot have fared. Not that that knowledge will not make their job any easier – Rob Baxter’s Exeter don’t really do losing, especially at home. And with home advantage very much at stake in the looming playoff semi-finals, they’re not going to want to start now.
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Super Rugby: Cheetahs vs Crusaders (Saturday, April 29, 11:15pm HKT)
The Crusaders extended their unbeaten season to 8-from-8 with their resounding win over the Stormers in Christchurch last week. They’re unbeatable at home – but can they do it on a sunny afternoon in Bloemfontein? The Cheetahs haven’t been that bad in home games this season, they just haven’t been able to win. If they can play the way they played in the opening 25 minutes against the Chiefs for longer than 25 minutes they could cause the visitors some problems. However the points are shared, the scoreboard operator will be kept busy.
Top 14: La Rochelle vs Montpellier (Sunday, April 30, 6:30pm HKT)
It’s impossible to ignore this clash of the top two sides in the penultimate weekend of the regular season in France. When the season started last August, few expected the hosts to be in the playoff places at the business end of the campaign, let alone nine points clear at the top of the table. But the Rochelais wheels have threatened to come off in recent weeks, with two defeats in their last two outings, including a first loss at home since Brock James was a boy. Montpellier are just the sort of team to bludgeon their way through any perceived weakness – and they need a win to hang on to second place, which comes with a bye-week privilege come playoff time.
Top 14: Stade Francais vs Racing 92 (Sunday, April 30, 11pm HKT)
The match that is often called the Paris derby, even though it technically isn’t, has long been a mouthwatering affair. The failed merger of the two clubs six weeks or so ago has just added a little extra spice to the mix. Since that mad mid-March week, when Stade looked certain to disappear forever, both sides have won three and lost one, with the visitors and defending champions currently sixth – the last of the play-off places. Their hosts are seventh, just three points behind their neighbours. In an eight-way race for the final three play-off places, this match really matters.
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