The Tight Five: This Week’s Biggest Matches on Rugby Pass

We preview the best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this week.

NRL: Cowboys vs Broncos (Friday May 20, 5:50pm HKT)
Both teams will be practising field goals all week in anticipation of this game. When the Cowboys and Broncos met at Suncorp back in Round 4 they produced one of the greatest regular season clashes the NRL has ever seen. An Anthony Milford field goal in golden point securing the point for the Broncos, a reversal of the 2015 Grand Final where Johnathan Thurston slotted the decisive kick in golden point. There’s no reason to believe the meeting in Townsville on Friday won’t be just as close – the two sides are still dominating the competition and their Round 4 result is all that separates them at the top of the table.

Super Rugby: Reds vs Sunwolves (Saturday May 21, 1:05pm HKT)
Let’s take a moment to appreciate a team who are getting nowhere near the Super Rugby playoffs this year. By beating the Jaguares, the Sunwolves exceeded most people’s expectations of their season; by drawing with the Stormers last weekend they went beyond our wildest dreams. The underdog heroes have also been thumped 92-17 by the Cheetahs and luckily avoided all the New Zealand teams this season, but on the whole they’ve given it a fair whack and justified their inclusion in Super Rugby. A result against Goromaru’s Reds in Brisbane this week would be a beautiful thing.

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Aviva Premiership: Chiefs vs Wasps (Saturday May 21, 10:15pm HKT)
Semifinal weekend in the Aviva Premiership, and while Champions Cup winners Saracens are sure to grind Tigers into dust on their way to the double, Chiefs vs Wasps is harder to pick. Chiefs have the edge in the head-to-head, and deserve to go in as favourites after beating Wasps fairly comfortably in both fixtures this season. Wasps can attack like no other Premiership club, though, and if they get the bounce of the ball and claim the ascendancy early it could be a very different story this time out.

Top 14: Racing 92 vs Pau (Sunday May 22, 12:30am HKT)
After being shut out of the Champions Cup final by Saracens last weekend, Racing 92 now have a Top 14 campaign to resurrect. They have three games to go before the playoffs and it begins with Pau – a side which on paper they should be too good for, but with whom they could only draw 15-15 earlier in the season. Racing’s recent Top 14 form hasn’t been great, and while they’re not in any real danger of missing the playoffs altogether they won’t want to slip any lower than their current position of 4th. Pau’s recent form isn’t too impressive either, and they are out of the playoffs picture, but could still prove a banana skin team for Racing.

Super League: Hull FC vs Hull KR (Monday May 23, 12:30am HKT)
The battle for Hull sees Kingston Rovers cross the river to face Football Club, who went joint top of the table with a win over Wigan last week. Kingston Rovers also registered a win over Widnes, but remain stranded down the ladder, haunted by what happened in the last Hull derby in Round 7. That game saw FC produce a comeback for the ages, overturning a 20-0 scoreline with less than twenty minutes to play to win 22-20. What kind of emotional damage does that do to a rugby league team, and to what length will KR go to avenge it this week?