New York, NY – Fresh off a travel week bye, The Rugby Championship begins round 3 this weekend . In addition to that the Aviva Premiership and Rabodirect Pro 12 kickoff their seasons. There is also lots of action to discuss so let’s attack Weekend Rugby Preview like an open-side at the breakdown.
The Rugby Championship: New Zealand have rung the changes for their home match against Argentina. A few of the young bench options and training squad guys will get a chance to make a case. Not a bench guy or young, the incredible Dan Carter returns from injury for NZ in this one. Argentina will try and build off of their almost shock victory performance a couple weeks ago. Down in Australia, Ewen McKenzie tries to break his duck as coach of the Australian Wallabies. His South African counterpart Heyneke Meyer will try and prove that lessons were learned and applied after the scare on the road against Argentina. At stake is theNelson Mandela Challenge Plate. Here is the schedule:
New Zealand – Argentina
Australia – South Africa
Aviva Premeirship: After weeks of preparation the season finally kicks off. Though there is this weeks schedule with quality matches everywhere. USA winger Luke Hume has been signed to Gloucester and their match against Sale appears to be the most even contest of the 6 matches. Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Newcastle – Bath
Sat – 7th Sep 13
London Irish – Saracens
Gloucester – Sale
Northampton – Exeter
Wasps – Harlequins
SUN – 25TH AUG 13
Leicester – Worcester
Rabodirect Pro 12: Leinster begin the defense of their Pro 12 title and the Matt O’Connor era. The Glasgow vs Cardiff game is the only other game with playoff contenders battling each other. However, with it being the first game of the season, it will not provide any real indication of form. Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Scarlets – Leinster
Newport Gwent Dragons – Ulster
Glasgow – Cardiff Blues
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Connacht – Zebre
Benetton Treviso – Ospreys
Munster – Edinburgh
The Currie Cup: There are some mouth-watering contests this weekend. The Bulls vs Cheetahs and Sharks vs Province game will have big implications on who makes playoffs and who faces relegation. Here is this weekend’s schedule:
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Griquas vs Lions
Blue Bulls vs Cheetahs
Western Province vs Sharks
The ITM Cup: Canterbury seem unstoppable on their run to a 6 consecutive title as the rolled Bay of Plenty. Auckland squeaked by Counties Manukau as the blue and whites continue to do their part to set-up a finals rematch against Canterbury. We will see if both teams can keep up the pace or if another team emerges in the race. Here are the midweek results and this weekend’s schedule:
Wed – 4th Sep 13
Auckland 22 – 20 Counties Manukau
Thu – 5th Sep 13
Bay Of Plenty 18 – 48 Canterbury
Fri – 6th Sep 13
Southland – Waikato Preview
Tasman – Otago
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Taranaki – Auckland
Hawkes Bay – Counties Manukau
Sun – 8th Sep 13
Manawatu – North Harbour
Northland – Wellington
Rugby World Cup Qualifier: In the battle to make England 2015, two unlikely nations square off. The match between Poland and Sweden will also double as an European Nations Cup match. Neither team will make England but our gut says Poland will win on direct forward oriented play. Here is the schedule:
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Poland – Sweden
Women’s Rugby World Cup Qualifier: Kazakhstan and Japan dominated their midweek opponents and set-up a fight for the Asia qualifier spot. Meanwhile the fight for the Africa spot comes down to South Africa v Uganda. Outside of the Netherlands, the most winning womens rugby teams have respectable male counterparts. Based on that logic, SA and Japan will be the winners according to the math, Here is the schedule:
Wed – 4th Sep 13
Kazakhstan 91 – 7 Singapore
Japan 82 – 0 Hong Kong
Sat – 7th Sep 13
Hong Kong – Singapore
Japan – Kazakhstan
South Africa – Uganda
That’s it for now, feel free to comment below, look for and “Like” our Facebook Rugby Wrap Up Page and follow us on Twitter @: RugbyWrapUp, Junoir Blaber, DJ Eberle, Nick Hall, James Harrington, Cody Kuxmann and Declan Yeats, respectively.
And until the next time… stay low and keep pumping those legs.
