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We preview the five best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this week.
Super League: Warrington vs Wigan (Friday April 29, 4:00am HKT)
For some reason Thursday night Super League games always seem to bring out the best of teams, and Wolves vs Warriors this week should be no exception. Warrington lead the competition after 12 rounds but only points difference separates them from Catalans and Wigan. When the two sides met at Wigan at the start of the month Warrington came out on top, but – 62-0 loss to Huddersfield aside – Wigan look to have improved since then, while Warrington slipped to a couple of losses to St Helens and Huddersfield before beating Widnes comfortably last weekend. The stage is set for a huge Thursday-nighter between the joint Super League favourites.
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Super Rugby: Lions vs Hurricanes (Saturday April 30, 11L05pm HKT)
The Hurricanes’ 27-28 loss to the Chiefs last weekend was a weird old game of rugby. Sometimes brilliant, sometimes bad, sometimes just confusing, in the end it was a game the Hurricanes really should have won. This week they travel to Johannesburg to meet the surprise team of the Super Rugby season – the Lions have a 6-2 record so far and are looking like a legit playoffs side. They made easy work of the lowly Kings last weekend after back-to-back wins over the Sharks and Stormers to assert themselves as the best side in South Africa at the moment. Last time they hosted a New Zealand team the Crusaders held on for a 43-37 win, and we should see a similarly high-scoring style of rugby this time.
Top 14: Racing 92 vs Clermont (Sunday May 1, 12:30am HKT)
With just five rounds of the Top 14 regular season remaining, Clermont hold a 7-point buffer at the top of the table and look reasonably assured of at least a top 2 finish, which would grant them an automatic spot in the semifinals. The European Cup finalists, Racing 92’s position is less certain after they dropped back to 4th following three losses in their last four Top 14 games. They are still only four points behind Montpellier, the other side currently in the coveted top 2. They beat Clermont 20-16 in the reverse fixture in December, but whether they can repeat that could depend on how they back up from their European Cup semifinal last weekend.
NRL: Sharks vs Broncos (Sunday May 1, 2:00pm HKT)
Two NRL teams have won 5 of their last 5 games – the Sharks and the Broncos. The Sharks managed to scrape home against the Panthers last weekend, relying on a couple of penalty goals to nudge them ahead despite only scoring three tries to the Panthers’ four. It’s the kind of result that Premierships are built on, and means they remain just two points behind the table-topping Broncos heading into the final game before the NRL takes a week off for international footy. The Broncos ran away with the game in the second half against the Rabbitohs on Friday night, so the Sharks will need a full 80-minute performance if they really want to stamp their mark on the competition here.
Aviva Premiership: Chiefs vs Wasps (Sunday May 1, 8:00pm HKT)
If the Aviva Premiership regular season ended today, Chiefs and Wasps would meet in one of the semifinals. The 2nd and 3rd placed clubs should still qualify regardless of the outcome this weekend, but with just two points separating them on the table home ground advantage is very much at stake. Having said that, will either side want to play their full hand so close to a potential semifinal meeting? Hard to pick, but Wasps are backing up from a European Cup semifinal defeat and last time the two sides met Chiefs won 27-41 courtesy of an extremely rare Thomas Waldrom hat trick.
