This Week's Biggest Matches On Rugby Pass

We preview the best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this weekend, when the Sharks attempt to claim their first ever NRL title in Sydney, the All Blacks attempt to keep their perfect Rugby Championship record alive in Buenos Aires, and Harlequins attempt to repeat last week’s Premiership miracle in Coventry.

Top 14: Clermont vs Castres (Saturday October 1, 11:00pm HKT)
Six weeks into the Top 14 season no one team has emerged as a clear competition frontrunner – Clermont’s first loss of the season at the hands of Toulon last week left unlikely La Rochelle to ascend to the top of the table. They can regain top spot with a win this weekend, but they will have to do it against a Castres side who can beat anyone on their day. They proved as much at Stade Pierre-Antoine last weekend, handing Racing 92 a 31-23 defeat. Clermont are notoriously strong at home, though, and despite their strong showing last weekend Castres have been horrible on the road so far this season. It’s Clermont’s game to lose.

TRC: South Africa vs Australia (Saturday October 1, 11:05pm HKT)
With a third of the Rugby Championship still to play the competition is already a dead rubber – the All Blacks secured their fourth title when they beat the Springboks a fortnight ago. But a test match is a test match and there won’t be any drop in intensity when the Springboks and Wallabies run out onto Loftus on Saturday. The Springboks will be relieved to be back home after losing 3-from-3 on their travels, and especially especially to be playing in Pretoria, where the Wallabies have never won. A victory here would ensure South Africa avoid the wooden spoon and give them some much-needed momentum heading into their clash with the All Blacks next week.

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TRC: Argentina vs New Zealand (Sunday October 2, 6:10am HKT)
Here’s something to keep an eye on: the All Blacks have won plenty of Tri Nations and Rugby Championships over the years but they’ve never played the perfect tournament – that is, winning every game with a bonus point (they came closest in 2013, when they won all six games and claimed bonus points in four of them). So far this season they are 4-from-4 bonus point wins, but they might have their work cut out for them scoring three or more tries against the Pumas at Estadio José Amalfitani. Expect a tight first half, but if history is any indicator the New Zealanders should pull away in the final 20 minutes.

NRL: Storm vs Sharks (Sunday October 2, 4:15pm HKT)
If there was a sense of inevitability about the way the Storm squeezed the life out of the Raiders on Saturday night, then there was a sense of destiny about the Sharks’ win over the Cowboys 24 hours earlier. You couldn’t find two more different clubs to meet in the NRL’s biggest game: Cronulla has famously never won a Premiership since their inaugural season in 1967 and have only reached the Grand Final three times, the last being in 1997; between 1997 and now the Storm have played in six Grand Finals and won four. Despite having some of the biggest grubs in rugby league on their roster, every neutral fan should be aboard the Sharkies bandwagon this Sunday.

Aviva Premiership: Wasps vs Harlequins (Sunday October 2, 9:30pm HKT)
Harlequins achieved what many thought impossible at Twickenham Stoop on Saturday, handing the mighty Saracens their first defeat since March. Can they do it again this weekend against the only remaining unbeaten club in the Premiership? Wasps have already beaten Chiefs, Tigers and Saints this season, and put 10 tries past a Bristol side powerless to stop Dai Young’s men. The late-career revival of Jimmy Gopperth as an inside center is a beautiful thing to behold; shutting him down may be the key for Quins if they are to have any chance of toppling the Premiership leaders for the second week in a row.