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

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

Super Rugby: Brumbies vs Highlanders (Friday July 22, 4:00pm HKT)
Is it possible Brumbies have been deliberately underperforming for the last couple of months just to lull the Highlanders into a false sense of confidence going into their quarter final this week? They laboured in their 24-10 win over the Force on Saturday after the Waratahs had already gifted them the Australian conference, while the Highlanders came out on top of another New Zealand conference blockbuster with the Chiefs. When the two last met back in Round 10 the Highlanders fought for a scrappy 23-10 win on a cold, wet Invercargill night, conditions which are likely to be replicated in Canberra. On form the result should go the same way too, but you wouldn’t put it past the Brumbies to have been planning a stunning ambush all along.

NRL: Broncos vs Panthers (Friday July 22, 5:50pm HKT)
The NRL is back in full swing this week, and few teams will be happier to see the back of the niggly old Origin period than the Brisbane Broncos. Wayne Bennett’s side looked to be getting back some semblance of their early season form last weekend when they made easy work of the Rabbitohs. You fancy they’ll step it up another notch on Friday night, against a Panthers side who got the job done against the Eels at Pepper Stadium last week even if they never quite looked altogether convincing. A volley of tries to start the second half did the damage and showed their attacking potential, but they’ll need to be more consistent if they want to trouble the Broncos and nudge the top 8.

Super League: Wigan vs St Helens (Saturday July 23, 3:00am HKT)
With one round left until Super League splits into the Super 8’s, all the teams who will compete for the Super League title have already been found. Wigan and St Helens have both made the cut, as you’d expect, and they get a preliminary shot at each other this weekend. Wigan will be looking to consolidate their spot at the top of the table, which they currently share with Hull FC. For St Helens this is the start of their campaign to break into the top 4 – they are currently neck-and-neck with Catalans for the fourth spot, and five points behind 3rd-placed Warrington. The business-end of the Super League season starts here.

NRL: Raiders vs Warriors (Saturday July 23, 1:00pm HKT)
What are the odds this goes to golden point? The Raiders and Warriors are making a habit of it this season, with each having had three games taken into extra time. The Warriors’ latest came last weekend in Perth, and it would have been a long plane ride home after Daly Cherry Evans coolly slotted the winning field goal for the Sea Eagles. They back up this week against a Raiders side fresh off the bye, and who have fashioned a formidable 7-2 record at home this season. If it does go to golden point, the Raiders have the slightly better record – they’ve won one, lost one, and had a rare tie with the Knights in Round 3. The Warriors have won one and lost two of their golden point games.

Super Rugby: Lions vs Crusaders (Saturday July 23, 10:30pm HKT)
Johannesburg is probably the last place the Crusaders expected – or wanted – to end up this weekend. Then again, the Lions probably aren’t over the moon about playing the Crusaders either. Both sides are coming off losses in the final round – in the Lions’ case because they decided to spare their starting squad the trip to Buenos Aires to play the Jaguares, while the Crusaders simply got dealt to by a ruthless Hurricanes side. The Crusaders have one thing going for them here: they haven’t lost to a side from outside New Zealand all season, and they have already beaten the Lions in Johannesburg, 43-37 in Round 6. All signs point to this being the pick of the quarter finals.