Wigan are viewed as worthy favourites to win the Challenge Cup on their pedigree of competing in major finals but there is little between them and Huddersfield on current form. Just one point separates the teams in the Super League table and each has claimed a head-to-head win.
Leinster have looked in formidable form during the European Rugby Champions Cup knockout rounds and are fancied to see off La Rochelle in the final. The French outfit will be buoyed by playing at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille but that should only help to reduce the winning margin.
We’re continuing our Six Nations predictions with handicap picks for the second round of fixtures and are eyeing a 6.75 treble. Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Stade de France in Paris and Stadio Olimpico in Rome will stage this weekend’s big games.
Catalans may struggle to add Grand Final glory to this year’s League Leaders Shield success when facing St Helens at Old Trafford. Saints are chasing a hat-trick of victories in the season finale and were simply outstanding in their semi-final triumph over Leeds.
South Africa are in a strong position ahead of Saturday’s series decider against the Lions after last week’s dominant display. The Springboks bounced back from an opening 22-17 defeat to run away with the second Test, outplaying the tourists in a 27-9 triumph.
The British and Irish Lions are expected to get back to winning ways in their final warm-up game before their Test series with South Africa begins next weekend. Warren Gatland’s men fell to the first defeat of their tour on Wednesday as South Africa ‘A’ landed a psychological blow by registering a 17-13 victory at Cape Town Stadium.
The British and Irish Lions face their toughest test of the tour so far when they collide with South Africa A on Wednesday. The hosts have named a strong team and elevated the Cape Town clash into an unofficial fourth Test.
Emotions will be running high when the British & Irish Lions visit South Africa this summer looking to avenge a narrow loss from 12 years ago. Since then, they have prevailed 2-1 in Australia and played out a thrilling tied series against the All Blacks in New Zealand.
Exeter are red-hot favourites to retain the Gallagher Premiership trophy but Harlequins may make them work hard for it at Twickenham. Quins showed a never-say-die spirit to overcome a 28-point deficit against Bristol in the semis and their style of play is suited to this home from home.
With the ninth edition of the Women’s Rugby World Cup due to take place in New Zealand, we’ve taken a look at the numbers behind the previous tournaments. A delay until October and November 2022 is not expected to affect the excitement generated by this great spectacle.
The Six Nations title is on the line when France host Scotland in the delayed final match of the 2021 tournament. The match should have been played in February but was delayed because of a Covid-19 outbreak in the France squad, meaning Les Bleus know they need a bonus-point win and a winning margin of at least 21 points to deny Wales the title.
Wales have had a helping hand from the match officials in winning their first two Six Nations games but are still fancied to give England a tough test in Cardiff. The hosts go into this contest with a much-improved injury situation and can always be relied upon to be fired up for this fixture.
Ireland have shown plenty of courage in Six Nations losses to Wales and France and should now get off the mark when visiting Italy. However, this does not look a vintage Irish team by any means and we don’t think they are capable of running riot at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Ireland showed plenty of spirit in defeat against Wales after going down to 14 men early on and deserve another chance when entertaining France. Les Bleus are now favourites to claim a first Six Nations title since 2010 after thrashing Italy in Rome but this will be a totally different test.