This Week’s Biggest Matches On Rugby Pass

We preview the best matches to catch on Rugby Pass this weekend, including the start of the Champions Cup, a trans-Tasman league duel and the Battle of the Bays.

Mitre 10 Cup: Hawkes Bay vs Bay of Plenty (Saturday October 15, 12:35pm HKT)
It is the final round of the Mitre 10 Cup and while the outcome of this game has little to no bearing on the playoffs picture it is the most important game of the round – perhaps even the year – for supporters of these two sides. This is the Battle of the Bays. Whoever wins this will claim not just bragging rights but the exclusive right to refer to themselves definitively as ‘The Bay’. It is almost a year to the day since Hawkes Bay won the 2015 Championship semifinal between the two sides 33-26. For almost a whole year residents of the Bay of Plenty have had to grin and bear it while people from Hawkes Bay referred to their home as ‘The Bay’. This weekend thy have the chance to take it back.

League: Australia vs New Zealand (Saturday October 15, 4:50pm HKT)
After years of green and gold domination of trans-Tasman rugby league tests the Kiwis won three in a row in 2014 and 2015. Included in those three was a successful defence of the Four Nations and a rare Anzac test victory. The Aussies took back the Anzac test title earlier this year with a 16-0 win at Hunter Stadium and mount their campaign to reclaim the Four Nations with a hit-out in Perth on Saturday. Mal Meninga has named a strong Kangaroos side despite some controversial omissions such as NRL champions Paul Gallen (old) and Andrew Fifita (public support of convicted killer).

Champions Cup: Toulon vs Saracens (Saturday October 15, 11:15pm HKT)
The 2016/17 European Champions Cup kicks off on Saturday with a host of intriguing fixtures – none more so than defending champs Saracens travelling to Toulon to play the previous season’s winners at Stade Mayol. Sarries have picked up where they left off after winning the double last season, only losing one Premiership match so far, and come in off a good win over Wasps. Toulon on the other hand looked a shadow of their former selves at the start of the season, but have put together a string of solid results in the last few weeks, with wins over Clermont and Montpellier and a draw at La Rochelle. They are favourites to win at home this weekend.

Currie Cup: Cheetahs vs Golden Lions (Sunday October 16, 12:00am HKT)
The semifinals of the Currie Cup sees a battle of the big cats as the Free State Cheetahs host the Golden Lions in Bloemfontein. The Cheetahs breezed through pool play with a record of played 8 won 8 and are just begging to to be upset by the defending champions this weekend. The Lions only just snuck into the playoffs after beating the Sharks in the final round, but Johan Ackermann’s side have the talent, not to mention history – when the two sides met at Ellis Park in the semifinals of last year’s Currie Cup the Lions won 44-33.