Super Rugby Update

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby

After five rounds of the 2016 Super Rugby competition, seven of last year’s top eight find themselves in finals positions on their respective conference ladders, with only the Waratahs of that eight not having won at least three matches thus far.

The Brumbies are sitting pretty at the top of the Australian conference, and they will host the Chiefs next week in a top-of-the-table clash that should provide a fairly strong indication of how they are progressing a third of the way through the season. At the other end of the ladder, the Reds are still winless after five matches, although they have played out a draw and two close losses, including a two-point defeat to the Waratahs last game.

The Brumbies ground out a 25-18 victory over the Cheetahs to remain top of the Australian conference

RESULTS – Round 5:
Hurricanes defeated Kings 42-20; Chiefs defeated Force 53-10; Rebels lost to Highlanders 3-27; Sunwolves lost to Bulls 27-30; Cheetahs lost to Brumbies 18-25; Sharks lost to Crusaders 14-19; Jaguares lost to Stormers 8-13; Reds lost to Waratahs 13-15.

CURRENT STANDINGS – after Round 5 of 17:

Australasian Group

South African Group

-A try bonus point is now awarded to a team for scoring 3+ tries more than their opponent
-A loss bonus point is also awarded to a team for losing by 7 points or less
-The finals series involves the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Round 6:
Highlanders vs Force at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Fri, Apr 1 at 5:35pm)
Lions vs Crusaders at Emirates Airlines Park, Johannesburg (Sat, Apr 2 at 4:00am)
Blues vs Jaguares at QBE Stadium, Albany (Sat, Apr 2 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Chiefs at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Sat, Apr 2 at 7:40pm)
Kings vs Sunwolves at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth (Sun, Apr 3 at 2:05am)
Bulls vs Cheetahs at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Apr 3 at 3:10am)
Waratahs vs Rebels at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sun, Apr 3 at 4:05pm)
Bye: Hurricanes, Reds, Sharks, Stormers

*All times AEDST except Bulls vs Cheetahs and Waratahs vs Rebels, which are AEST. Times, dates and venues subject to change

Super Rugby – Round 1

RUGBY UNION – Super Rugby

Tomas Cubelli scores one of the Brumbies’ seven tries in their 52-10 thrashing of the Hurricanes

RESULTS – Round 1:
Blues defeated Highlanders 33-31; Brumbies defeated Hurricanes 52-10; Cheetahs lost to Jaguares 33-34; Sunwolves lost to Lions 13-26; Crusaders lost to Chiefs 21-27; Waratahs defeated Reds 30-10; Force lost to Rebels 19-25; Kings lost to Sharks 8-43; Stormers defeated Bulls 33-9.

CURRENT STANDINGS – after Round 1 of 17:

Australasian Conference

South African conference

-A try bonus point is now awarded to a team for scoring 3+ tries more than their opponent
-A loss bonus point is also awarded to a team for losing by 7 points or less
-The finals series involves the four conference winners, the next three best teams from Australasia and the next one best team from South Africa

UPCOMING FIXTURES – Round 2:
Crusaders vs Blues at AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Fri, Mar 4 at 5:35pm)
Brumbies vs Waratahs at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Fri, Mar 4 at 7:40pm)
Chiefs vs Lions at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (Sat, Mar 5 at 3:15pm)
Highlanders vs Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Sat, Mar 5 at 5:35pm)
Reds vs Force at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Sat, Mar 5 at 7:40pm)
Bulls vs Rebels at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria (Sun, Mar 6 at 12:00am)
Cheetahs vs Stormers at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (Sun, Mar 6 at 2:05am)
Sharks vs Jaguares at Kings Park, Durban (Sun, Mar 6 at 4:10am)
Bye: Sunwolves, Kings

*All times AEDST. Times, dates and venues subject to change

The Week to June 29

RUGBY UNION

The 2015 Super Rugby final will be an all-New Zealand affair, after the Hurricanes and the Highlanders both easily disposed of their semi-final opponents, the Brumbies and Waratahs respectively.

The Hurricanes hosted the Brumbies in the first semi-final in Wellington and showed again why they are the hot favourites for the 2015 title. From the outset, they had the Brumbies defence under pressure, with two quick tries midway through the half allowing the home side to take a 12-3 halftime lead. Another try shortly after the break saw the Hurricanes out to a commanding 19-3 lead, and though the Brumbies closed the gap with two penalty goals, they were not able to penetrate the Hurricanes’ defence, and the Wellington side wrapped up a convincing four-tries-to-none 29-9 victory.

Julian Savea scored the Hurricanes’ opening try in their 29-9 semi-final thumping of the Brumbies

 

The Waratahs welcomed the Highlanders to Sydney for the second semi-final, but it wasn’t to be a happy night for the home side. Rob Horne scored the game’s opening try, putting the Waratahs ahead 5-3, but that was only one of several lead changes for the half, which finished with the Highlanders leading 15-14. A penalty goal saw the Waratahs hit the front again shortly after the break, and the match continued to seesaw until a controversial incident in the 58th minute. A swinging arm from Jacques Potgieter to the head of Patrick Osborne was deemed by referee Craig Joubert to have prevented a “probable try”, and the resultant penalty try awarded to the Highlanders, as well as the yellow card to Potgieter, effectively ended the Waratahs’ challenge. The Highlanders ended up running in 20 unanswered points in the final half hour to close out a 35-17 win, and the referees were roundly booed off the pitch by the 32,000-strong crowd.

Rob Horne scored the Waratahs’ sole try in their 35-17 semi-final loss to the Highlanders

 

The Hurricanes and Highlanders will both be contesting their second-ever Super Rugby final next week. The Hurricanes lost 19-12 to the Crusaders in 2006, whilst the Highlanders went down in 1999, also to the Crusaders, 24-19. The match will be played in Wellington, and is the first all-Kiwi final since 2006.

Semi-final results (home team listed first): Hurricanes defeated Brumbies 29-9, Waratahs lost to Highlanders 17-35.

Upcoming fixture – Super Rugby Final:

Hurricanes vs Highlanders at Westpac Stadium, Wellington (Sat, Jul 4 at 5:35pm)

*All times AEST

RUGBY LEAGUE

Round results (home team listed first): Broncos defeated Knights 44-22; Rabbitohs defeated Sea Eagles 20-8; Warriors defeated Raiders 30-8; Cowboys lost to Sharks 18-24; Eels defeated Dragons 16-12; Roosters defeated Titans 20-10; Tigers lost to Panthers 12-35; Bulldogs defeated Storm 20-4.

Current standings – Round 16:

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Round 17 of 26:

Panthers vs Rabbitohs at Pepper Stadium, Penrith (Fri, Jul 3 at 7:45pm)

Dragons vs Cowboys at WIN Stadium, Wollongong (Sat, Jul 4 at 7:30pm)

Sea Eagles vs Sharks at Brookvale Oval, Brookvale (Sun, Jul 5 at 4:00pm)

Tigers vs Eels at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Mon, Jul 6 at 7:00pm)

Bye: Broncos, Bulldogs, Knights, Raiders, Roosters, Storm, Titans, Warriors

*All times AEST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 61/118 after Round 16 (55/110 after Round 15)

HIGHER-RANKED: 64/118 after Round 16 (59/110 after Round 15)

 

TENNIS

The third major tournament of the year – Wimbledon – commences in London today, with a sixteen-strong Australian contingent in the men’s and women’s singles draws.

On the men’s side, world number one and top seed Novak Djokovic will kick off his title defence against Philipp Kohlschreiber, whilst on the women’s side, 2014 champion Petra Kvitova will play Kiki Bertens in her opening match.

Here’s who the Australians will play in the first round:

MEN

Lleyton Hewitt vs Jarkko Nieminen; Bernard Tomic (27) vs Jan-Lennard Struff; Thanasi Kokkinakis vs Leonardo Mayer (24); Matthew Ebden vs Blaz Rola; John Millman vs Tommy Robredo (19); Marinko Matosevic vs Liam Broady; John-Patrick Smith vs Kenny De Schepper; Luke Saville vs Richard Gasquet (21); Nick Kyrgios (26) vs Diego Schwartzman; Sam Groth vs Jack Sock (31); James Duckworth vs Malek Jaziri.

WOMEN

Daria Gavrilova vs Irini-Camelia Begu (29); Sam Stosur (22) vs Danka Kovinic; Jarmila Gajdosova vs Sabine Lisicki (18); Ajla Tomljanovic vs Klara Koukalova; Casey Dellacqua vs Tamira Paszek.

 

CRICKET

9 days until the Ashes…

(1st Test: July 8 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff)

The Week to June 22

RUGBY UNION

The 2015 Super Rugby semi-finalists have now been decided following the completion of the qualifiers, with two sides from Australia (NSW Waratahs and ACT Brumbies) and two sides from New Zealand (Wellington Hurricanes and Otago Highlanders) making the final four. The Highlanders defeated the Chiefs 24-14 to progress one step further than last year, whilst the Brumbies upset the Stormers 39-19 in Cape Town to move into the semis for the third straight season.

The Highlanders hosted the Chiefs in the first of the qualifiers, and in a tight but entertaining encounter, they found themselves behind 9-8 at the break despite having scored the only try of the match. They regained the lead shortly after the resumption when Waisake Naholo crossed for his second try, and though the Chiefs scored a try of their own to trail by just four with twenty minutes remaining, they were unable to crack the Highlanders’ defence again and the home side ran out 24-14 victors to secure a spot in the semi-finals for the first time since 2002.

Waisake Naholo celebrates one of his two tries in the Highlanders’ 24-14 victory over the Chiefs

 

The second qualifier was a far less tense affair, with the Brumbies leading the Stormers 24-6 at halftime, thanks to Joe Tomane hat-trick inside 25 minutes and another try right on halftime to Scott Sio. The Stormers fought back to trail by eight midway through the second half, but further tries to Ita Vaea and Jesse Mogg sealed a superb 39-19 victory, spoiled only by a 74th-minute red card to Henry Speight and a yellow card a minute later to Scott Fardy.

Joe Tomane (R) celebrates following one of his three tries in the Brumbies’ 39-19 win over the Stormers

 

Qualifier results (home team listed first): Highlanders defeated Chiefs 24-14; Stormers lost to Brumbies 19-39.

Upcoming fixtures – Semi-Finals:

Hurricanes vs Brumbies at Westpac Stadium, Wellington (Sat, Jun 27 at 5:35pm)

Waratahs vs Highlanders at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Jun 27 at 7:55pm)

*All times AEST

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

Round results (home team listed first): Sea Eagles defeated Tigers 30-20; Raiders lost to Cowboys 20-21; Titans lost to Warriors 14-36; Bulldogs defeated Panthers 24-12; Knights lost to Sharks 28-30; Storm lost to Broncos 12-14; Dragons lost to Roosters 14-19.

Current standings – Round 15:

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Round 16 of 26:

Broncos vs Knights at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Fri, Jun 26 at 7:35pm)

Rabbitohs vs Sea Eagles at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Fri, Jun 26 at 7:35pm)

Warriors vs Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland (Sat, Jun 27 at 3:00pm)

Cowboys vs Sharks at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville (Sat, Jun 27 at 5:30pm)

Eels vs Dragons at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta (Sat, Jun 27 at 7:30pm)

Roosters vs Titans at Central Coast Stadium, Gosford (Sun, Jun 28 at 2:00pm)

Tigers vs Panthers at Leichhardt Oval, Sydney (Sun, Jun 28 at 4:00pm)

Bulldogs vs Storm at Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore (Mon, Jun 29 at 7:00pm)

*All times AEST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 55/110 after Round 15 (53/103 after Round 14)

HIGHER-RANKED: 59/110 after Round 15 (56/103 after Round 14)

 

CRICKET

16 days until the Ashes…

(1st Test: July 8 at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff)

The Week to June 15

RUGBY UNION

The 2015 Super Rugby qualifiers had already been decided at the completion of the penultimate round, but the final positions of the top six weren’t locked in until midway through the final round, when the Chiefs fell to the Hurricanes and lost their chance to sneak into fourth spot.

Following the Blues’ loss on Friday night, the Force travelled to Melbourne needing a bonus-point win over the Rebels in order to avoid the wooden spoon. Though they took an early lead through a penalty goal, it wasn’t until the 65th minute that they crossed for their first try, and with both sides scoring one try apiece, it was the conversion of that try that proved the difference, with the Force doing enough to hold on for a 13-11 win, but not enough to lift them off the bottom of the ladder.

The Brumbies needed to beat the Crusaders and hope that the Waratahs lost to the Reds in order to steal second spot and earn a week off before hosting a semi-final. It wasn’t to be, however, as they went down 24-37 at home to a side saying goodbye to two of the game’s greats in Dan Carter and Richie McCaw. To earn a spot in the semi-finals, the Brumbies must now travel to Cape Town and beat the Stormers, who they lost to 25-24 back in Round 13.

The Brumbies’ loss meant the Waratahs had top spot in the Australian conference sewn up, but they still needed a win in their clash against the Reds in Sydney to lock in a home semi-final in two weeks’ time. The Waratahs led just 3-0 early in the second half, but within twenty minutes, they had secured a four-try bonus point and eventually ran out 31-5 victors.

Dave Dennis crosses for the first of the Waratahs’ four tries in their 31-5 victory over the Reds

 

The Hurricanes and Waratahs now have a week off as a reward for finishing in the top two, with the Stormers, Highlanders, Chiefs and Brumbies rounding out the top six. The Waratahs will host the higher-ranked of the two winners of the qualifiers next week, with the Hurricanes to host the other victors.

Round results (home team listed first): Blues lost to Highlanders 7-44; Rebels lost to Force 11-13; Brumbies lost to Crusaders 24-37; Chiefs lost to Hurricanes 13-21; Waratahs defeated Reds 31-5; Bulls lost to Cheetahs 29-42; Sharks defeated Stormers 34-12.

Final standings:

Upcoming fixtures – Qualifiers:

Highlanders vs Chiefs at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin (Sat, Jun 20 at 5:35pm)

Stormers vs Brumbies at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town (Sun, Jun 21 at 1:05am)

Bye: Hurricanes, Waratahs

*All times AEST

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

The Wests Tigers notched up their first win in nearly two months with an emphatic 34-6 thrashing of the Rabbitohs. James Tedesco and Marty Taupau both picked up doubles to end the Rabbitohs’ three-match winning streak and help the Tigers move back within striking distance of a spot in the top eight.

The Roosters bounced back from a poor performance last week with a nailbiting 25-21 victory over the Warriors in Auckland. The Warriors had the majority of possession in the first half, but only led by eight at the break, and with ten minutes remaining, the Roosters had locked up the match at 20-all. James Maloney gave the Roosters a one-point advantage with a 75th-minute field goal, but Shaun Johnson knocked one over just a minute later for the Warriors, before Roosters centre Blake Ferguson crossed in the corner to snatch victory in the final minute.

Roosters centre Blake Ferguson scored a last-minute try to seal a 25-21 victory against the Warriors

The Titans backed up their win last week with an impressive 28-14 victory at home over the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon. It was the Bulldogs who looked to be headed to the sheds with a six-point advantage, but a couple of superbly placed kicks from Aidan Sezer and Daniel Mortimer led to a Kevin Gordon try which levelled the scores at 10-all. The second half was one-way traffic, with the Titans crossing three times to post a fourteen-point win and move back into the top eight.

Eels winger Semi Radradra has scored a second consecutive double in his side’s thrilling 26-22 win over the Storm in Melbourne. In a see-sawing clash, the Storm led 12-0 inside twelve minutes, found themselves trailing 16-12 half an hour later, then held a 22-16 advantage with just over ten minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the 10,000-strong home crowd, they were unable to hold on to the lead, as two late tries saw the Eels snatch a four-point win.

Round results (home team listed first): Tigers defeated Rabbitohs 34-6; Warriors lost to Roosters 21-25; Titans defeated Bulldogs 28-14; Storm lost to Eels 22-26.

Current standings – Round 14:

Upcoming fixtures:

State of Origin II:

NSW vs QLD at Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (Wed, Jun 17 at 8:00pm)

QLD leads the series 1-0.

 

NRL Round 15 of 26:

Sea Eagles vs Tigers at Brookvale Oval, Brookvale (Fri, Jun 19 at 7:45pm)

Raiders vs Cowboys at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Sat, Jun 20 at 3:00pm)

Titans vs Warriors at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast (Sat, Jun 20 at 5:30pm)

Bulldogs vs Panthers at ANZ Stadium, Sydney (Sat, Jun 20 at 7:30pm)

Knights vs Sharks at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (Sun, Jun 21 at 2:00pm)

Storm vs Broncos at AAMI Park, Melbourne (Sun, Jun 21 at 4:00pm)

Dragons vs Roosters at Allianz Stadium, Sydney (Mon, Jun 22 at 7:00pm)

Bye: Eels, Rabbitohs

*All times AEST

**If you are tipping and have no idea who to go for, you could pick the home team, or the team that’s higher on the ladder. I’ll put up the tally each week of where you would be placed for each option. (The underlined team is the higher-ranked team as at the end of the previous round.)

HOME: 53/103 after Round 14 (51/99 after Round 13)

HIGHER-RANKED: 56/103 after Round 14 (55/99 after Round 13)

The Week to March 2

CRICKET

23 matches have now been completed in the 2015 ICC World Cup, and as was the case last week, New Zealand, India and Ireland remain the only teams to have won each of their matches. New Zealand heads Pool A on eight points with four wins from four matches, while India leads Pool B on six points with three wins from as many games. Ireland sits in third on four points, having played just two matches to date. Scotland and UAE both remain winless after three matches each.

Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand played out the match of the week, New Zealand sneaking home by one wicket in a low-scoring thriller in Auckland. Australia batted first, and looked like posting a huge score when they sat at 1/80 in the 13th over. Barely ten overs later, they had collapsed to 9/106 and were in danger of being bowled out for their lowest ever World Cup total. 43 crucial runs from Brad Haddin carried them to 151, but on the small Eden Park ground, it never looked like being enough, particularly after Brendon McCullum went berserk and reach 50 from just 21 deliveries. His dismissal sparked a mini-collapse of 3/1 in five balls, but Corey Anderson and Kane Williamson steadied the ship with a 52-run stand before Anderson fell for 26, leaving New Zealand at 5/131, still in a comfortable position with more than 30 overs in hand. Mitchell Starc wouldn’t let his side go down without a fight, sending down some thunderbolts to the New Zealand lower order and claiming three quick wickets to reduce the Black Caps to 9/146. Kane Williamson, who had batted serenely to this point, decided enough was enough and on the first ball of the 24th over, he smashed paceman Pat Cummins for a huge six down the ground to secure a nailbiting one-wicket victory, sending the home crowd into raptures.

Man-of-the-match Trent Boult collected career-best figures of 5/27 to help New Zealand to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Australia

The performance of the week was undoubtedly AB de Villiers’ record-breaking 162 not out against the West Indies, who posted just 151 in reply to South Africa’s mammoth total of 5/408. After he had won the toss and chosen to bat, de Villiers watched his top order make a strong start, reaching 3/146 in the 30th over. He came in at the fall of Hashim Amla’s wicket, and with Rilee Rossouw, the pair put on a 134-run partnership in just 75 balls before Rossouw fell for 61 off 39 balls. At this point, de Villiers was 68 from 38, having reached 50 off 30. He accelerated to post his 100 off 52 deliveries, then moved into top gear to bring up his 150 off 64 deliveries. To top things off, he then hit the last two balls of the innings for six to finish on 162 not out from just 66 balls. The West Indies never looked like recovering from the onslaught, being dismissed for 151 in 33.1 overs, leg-spinner Imran Tahir picking up 5/45.

AB de Villiers smashed 162 not out from just 66 deliveries to steer South Africa to a mammoth total of 5/408 against the West Indies at the SCG

 

Results:

England 8/303 defeated Scotland 10/184 by 119 runs

West Indies 2/372 defeated Zimbabwe 10/289 by 73 runs (D/L method)

Ireland 8/279 defeated UAE 9/278 by 2 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)

Afghanistan 9/211 defeated Scotland 10/210 by 1 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)

Sri Lanka 1/332 defeated Bangladesh 10/240 by 92 runs

South Africa 5/408 defeated West Indies 10/151 by 257 runs

New Zealand 9/152 defeated Australia 10/151 by 1 wicket (with 161 balls remaining)

India 1/104 defeated UAE 10/102 by 9 wickets (with 187 balls remaining)

Sri Lanka 1/312 defeated England 6/309 by 9 wickets (with 16 balls remaining)

Pakistan 7/235 defeated Zimbabwe 10/215 by 20 runs

 

Current standings:

POOL A (after 12 of 21 matches):

POOL B (after 11 of 21 matches):

Upcoming Fixtures:

Match 24 (Pool B): Ireland vs South Africa at Manuka Oval, Canberra (Tue, Mar 3 at 2:30pm)

Match 25 (Pool B): Pakistan vs UAE at McLean Park, Napier (Wed, Mar 4 at 12:00pm)

Match 26 (Pool A): Australia vs Afghanistan at The WACA, Perth (Wed, Mar 4 at 5:30pm)

Match 27 (Pool A): Bangladesh vs Scotland at Saxton Oval, Nelson (Thu, Mar 5 at 9:00am)

Match 28 (Pool B): India vs West Indies at The WACA, Perth (Fri, Mar 6 at 5:30pm)

Match 29 (Pool B): Pakistan vs South Africa at Eden Park, Auckland (Sat, Mar 7 at 12:00pm)

Match 30 (Pool B): Ireland vs Zimbabwe at Bellerive Oval, Hobart (Sat, Mar 7 at 2:30pm)

Match 31 (Pool A): New Zealand vs Afghanistan at McLean Park, Napier (Sun, Mar 8 at 9:00am)

Match 32 (Pool A): Australia vs Sri Lanka at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sun, Mar 8 at 2:30pm)

*All times AEDST

 

RUGBY UNION

Round 3 saw four Australian teams in action, but only the Brumbies managed to claim a win, maintaining their spot at the top of the Australian conference. The Brumbies travelled to Melbourne to face the Rebels, and put in a sound performance to beat a much-improved Rebels side 20-15. The Brumbies scored two tries to nil, but five penalties to Mike Harris meant the Rebels earned a losing bonus-point. The Reds fell to their second loss of the season, but also grabbed a losing bonus-point in their 20-13 defeat to the Highlanders. Former Wallaby James O’Connor impressed in his debut for the Reds, and he will be looking to put in more strong showings to try to make his way back into the national side. The Force hosted the Hurricanes in Perth, but were unable to use their home ground advantage to challenge the unbeaten Wellington side. The Hurricanes dominated from the outset, and powered their way to a five-tries-to-one victory, consigning the Force to their second straight loss.

Round results (home team listed first): Highlanders defeated Reds 20-13; Force lost to Hurricanes 13-42; Cheetahs defeated Blues 25-24; Chiefs defeated Crusaders 40-16; Rebels lost to Brumbies 15-20; Bulls defeated Sharks 43-35; Lions lost to Stormers 19-22.

Current standings – Round 3:

Upcoming fixtures – Round 4:

Chiefs vs Highlanders at Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (Fri, Mar 6 at 5:35pm)

Brumbies vs Force at GIO Stadium, Canberra (Fri, Mar 6 at 7:40pm)

Blues vs Lions at QBE Stadium, North Harbour (Sat, Mar 7 at 5:35pm)

Reds vs Waratahs at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Sat, Mar 7 at 7:40pm)

Cheetahs vs Bulls at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein (Sun, Mar 8 at 2:05am)

Stormers vs Sharks at Newlands Stadium, Cape Town (Sun, Mar 8 at 4:10am)

Bye: Crusaders, Hurricanes, Rebels

*All times AEDST

 

RUGBY LEAGUE

Upcoming fixtures – NRL Round 1:

Broncos vs Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane (Thu, Mar 5 at 8:05pm)

Eels vs Sea Eagles at Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta (Fri, Mar 6 at 7:45pm)

Knights vs Warriors at Hunter Stadium, Newcastle (Sat, Mar 7 at 4:30pm)

Titans vs Tigers at Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast (Sat, Mar 7 at 7:00pm)

Cowboys vs Roosters at 1300SMILES Stadium, Townsville (Sat, Mar 7 at 9:00pm)

Panthers vs Bulldogs at Pepper Stadium, Penrith (Sun, Mar 8 at 4:00pm)

Sharks vs Raiders at Remondis Stadium, Woolooware (Sun, Mar 8 at 6:30pm)

Dragons vs Storm at Jubilee Oval, Sydney (Mon, Mar 9 at 7:00pm)