This Week's Biggest Matches On Rugby Pass

We preview the best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this weekend, including the possible triumphant return of Quade Cooper, and two big clubs in search of their first win of the Top 14 season.

NRL: Titans vs Panthers (Saturday August 27, 3:30pm HKT)
A couple of weeks ago this fixture loomed as a massive top 8 decider, but the way results have since fallen now means both teams are basically assured of seeing finals footy in a few weeks. The Titans kept their campaign rolling last week with an easy win over the Knights while the Panthers wiped the Tigers off Pepper Stadium and out of finals contention. Now with two rounds to play everyone is start talking about ‘momentum’ – the Sharks seem to have lost theirs altogether, but the Titans and Panthers are just warming up. This shapes as an exciting match-up – keep an eye on the halves battle between Jarryd Hayne and Matt Moylan in particular.

Rugby Championship: New Zealand vs Australia (Saturday August 27, 3:35pm HKT)
You have to hand it to the Wallabies just for taking the field in the second half of last weekend’s test. The first half will probably go down as one of the biggest rugby disasters in Australian history – the Wallabies shipping 32 points to the rampant All Blacks while also losing half their backline to a series of injuries. The scoreline was a little more favourable in the second half but the damage had been done. What do the Wallabies do to turn the ship around in Wellington on Saturday? Maybe the solution is simply to start Quade Cooper and pray he plays the game of his life.

Rugby Championship: Argentina vs South Africa (Sunday August 28, 1:40am HKT)
The Springboks are making a habit of leaving it late this year. Just like against Ireland in June, they left it to the final ten minutes to overturn a 10-point deficit and beat Argentina in Nelspruit on Saturday. While Warren Whiteley’s late try ensured they got the points, it was far from convincing and Agustin Creevy’s Pumas will be confident they can overturn the 30-23 scoreline this weekend. History suggests more heartbreak could be in store, however: last time the Springboks visited Salta’s Estadio Martearena in 2014 a late penalty saw them sneak a 33-31 win.

Top 14: Montpellier vs Clermont (Sunday August 28, 10:15pm HKT)
The first round of Top 14 last week saw some classic first round upsets – defending champs Racing 92 downed by Bordeaux, Toulon upset by Bayonne and Clermont held to a 30-30 draw by the boot of La Rochelle’s Brock James. They travel to Montpellier this weekend where both teams will be looking for their first win of the season. Montpellier are still looking for their first try of the season after all their points came off the boot of Ben Botica in their opening 20-12 loss to Toulouse.