This week's biggest matches to watch on Rugby Pass

Challenge and Champions Cup rugby returns oop north, while some tasty Super Rugby and NRL fixtures keep the party going south of the equator.

NRL: Storm vs Panthers (Saturday, April 1, 4:30 pm HKT)

Everyone’s talking up the Panthers this season but it’s been hard to get a gauge on them in the first four weeks. Sure, they looked good demolishing the Knights 40-0 last week and dispatched the Tigers in a similar fashion, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if those two teams ended up fighting for the wooden spoon this year. Their 14-12 loss to the Roosters in Round 3 is probably a better indication, but the Storm are the one true consistent benchmark of the NRL. If the Panthers can steal 2 points off them at AAMI Park on Saturday night you can be assured they’re the real deal.

Challenge Cup: Bath vs Brive (Saturday, April 1, 7:45 pm HKT)

A long time ago, in a tournament far, far away, these two sides met in the final of the 1998 European Cup. At the time, the French side were the reigning champions but Bath won a tight game in Bordeaux to lift the first – and biggest – of their two European titles. But that was then. This is now. Bath come into the game on the back of that 53-10 loss at Saracens, their worst domestic defeat since 2002. They will be relieved to enjoy the comforts of home against notoriously poor travellers Brive, though they need to beware the howitzer boot of Gaetan Germain.

Champions Cup: Leinster vs Wasps (Saturday, April 1, 10:15 pm HKT)

This encounter, between two longtime European rivals noted for their attacking, high-intensity rugby, bears all the hallmarks of the match of the quarterfinal weekend, if not this year’s two European competitions. Leinster and Wasps top their respective domestic leagues with records that are uncannily, mouthwateringly, similar. Both sides have played 18 games in their respective competitions. Both have lost just three times. Leinster have scored more tries (79 to Wasps’ 73) and conceded fewer (38 to Wasps’ 49) but the Premiership outfit has scored more points (577 to Leinster’s 573). And there’s always the memory of Wasps win in Dublin in last year’s competition… Expect an edge-of-the-seat encounter, with a semi-final against the winners of Clermont vs Toulon the prize.

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Champions Cup: Munster vs Toulouse (Sunday, April 2, 12:45am HKT)

Random fact klaxon: Whoever wins here will set a new record for European Cup appearances when they meet either Saracens or Glasgow in the semifinal – both sides are currently locked on 156 games each. These two sides go way back, most notably nine years ago when they met in a tense final in Cardiff. The Irish side edged that game, but have not appeared in the showpiece match since, while Toulouse were crowned champions once more in 2010. For Munster, this European campaign has been a tribute to head coach Anthony Foley, who died hours before their scheduled opening pool match against Racing 92 in October. They roared through the pool phase to set up this home quarter-final at Thomond Park. Toulouse, meanwhile, edged in by denying Connacht a bonus point in the final match of the pool phase.

Super Rugby: Waratahs vs Crusaders (Sunday, April 2, 2:05 pm HKT)

A rare Sunday night game of Super Rugby sees the Waratahs host the Crusaders in a history-filled encounter in Sydney. For ‘Tahs faithful it’s a chance to remember the glory days of the 2014 final, but with that game’s goalkicking hero Bernard Foley’s fitness looking doubtful they could be in for a tough night. If this season’s form is any indication they’ll want to open up at least a 30 point first half lead if they want to withstand the inevitable Crusaders comeback. But if the Reds can get as close as the last kick of the game, the Waratahs will back themselves to go one better.

Champions Cup: Saracens vs Glasgow Warriors (Sunday, April 2, 8:00 pm HKT)

Gregor Townsend’s Glasgow entered uncharted European waters when they booked their place in the last eight of the Champions Cup for the first time in their history. It’s just their luck that the seedings meant they get to face the defending champions in their own backyard. In the past three Champions Cup competitions, only two of the 12 quarter-finals have been won by the visiting team. On both occasions, that visiting team was Saracens. Now, they are at home, with a full contingent of internationals at their disposal. Glasgow are ambitious, and they have a fair few big-game players of their own, but this is Allianz Park, where away wins are rarer than hens’ teeth.

Champions Cup: Clermont vs Toulon (Sunday, April 2, 10:15 pm HKT)

Champions Cup rivalries do not get any bigger than this. Clermont – top seeds after the pool stages – have a third European final in five seasons in their sights, but their previous two appearances ended in defeat to their Top 14 rivals and opponents this weekend. Toulon, meanwhile, scraped into the last eight by the skin of their teeth courtesy of a losing bonus-point against Saracens in the final round of the pool stages. Their reward: this apparent mission impossible at Stade Marcel Michelin – where not many visiting teams enjoy success, and where the hosts have averaged 45 points a game in Europe. Clermont also hammered Toulon 30-6 when the two sides met here in the Top 14 in January, when they destroyed the visitors’ scrum at will. A few days later, a certain Richard Cockerill arrived in the Var to take up a short-term job as consulting forwards coach.