Sport
The week’s best live action
RUGBY With their domestic competitions done for the year, the two oval-ball codes are hitting the road north – and in the case of the All Blacks, doing it in numbers. An unprecedented squad of 51 is being spread across games in Japan (host country for next year’s Rugby World Cup) and the big fixtures in Europe. First up is the traditional Bledisloe Cup dead rubber in Yokohama ( Sky Sport 1, Saturday, 6.30pm). Australia actually won this one last year – might they squeak in again? Not if the crop of bolters into the squad has any say in the matter. There are players with plenty to prove in these matches.
RUGBY LEAGUE
The Kiwis, fresh from surprising probably even themselves with a dominant performance against Australia, play the first of two tests against England in Hull ( Sky Sport 2, Sunday, 2.00am; replay 6.00am).
NETBALL
Fast5, netball’s fun, furious answer to rugby sevens, returns with five-a-side teams from New Zealand, Australia, England, Jamaica, South Africa and Malawi each playing six 24-minute games over two days at Melbourne Arena. Live coverage on Sky Sport 2 begins at 3.30pm on Saturday and 2.00pm on Sunday.
BOWLS
Even bowls is getting on the fast train, with Bowls3Five, a new version of the old game making its debut. Teams from as far afield as Gore and Pt Chevalier play 55-minute matches at the new covered facility of the New Lynn Bowling Club in Auckland each Tuesday and Wednesday at 7.00pm on Sky Sport 2.