(What’s) Up (with) The Wahs?
New Zealand’s most-loved and watched sports team a matter of weeks ago, the Warriors’ recent matches have been best viewed from behind the couch as their many fans await a form turnaround.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix also cross the Tasman for a huge game which could set up a Wellington sellout next Saturday, while two classic Super Rugby derbies make it a packed list to watch this weekend.
Sunday 4pm, live on Sky Sport 4 (channel 54)
Last time the Warriors were in Sydney – a mere five weeks ago – they carved up a hapless Rabbitohs side. Now they return on a four-match winless streak, the latest an insipid defeat in Newcastle when their misfiring attack couldn’t convert some late scoring chances.
Coach Andrew Webster resisted the urge to wield the axe and said star playmaker Shaun Johnson was back training after being kept in cotton wool this past month with an Achilles injury.
Webster said a “clunky and slow” attack and ill discipline needed fixing. “Sometimes you are closer than you think but I keep saying to the boys we will have to make our own luck and not just assume or expect it to happen. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves.”
Monday 3.30am, live on Sky Sport 8 (channel 58)
Top ex-players are restless in Manchester. United manager Erik ten Hag is under immense pressure after their 4-0 hammering by Crystal Palace as they host top-ofthe-table Arsenal, still with an FA Cup final looming against their crosstown rivals.
Former striker Michael Owen said that ten Hag was “not good enough” and must go at season’s end. “At some point you’ve got to make a decision, they’re going to get absolutely hammered by Manchester City [in the FA Cup final], they’re going to get annihilated, in fact. Arsenal will smash them to bits at Old Trafford.” Ouch.
Tomorrow 7.05pm, live on Sky Sport 1 (channel 51)
That first scrum under the roof in Dunedin will pack a punch. Both sides rumble back some heavy artillery as the Highlanders look to cement their top-eight spot and deal a blow to the Crusaders’ tenuous playoff hopes.
Sunday 6pm, live on Sky Sport 3 (channel 53)
We don’t know for sure whether Giancarlo Italiano is a fan of 80s Aussie rockers the Hoodoo Gurus, but he knows his high-flying team has historical issues in Melbourne.
Remarkably, they haven’t won any of their last 20 matches at AAMI Park, as they eye leg one of a playoff that they hope will end in front of a sellout Sky Stadium crowd next Saturday, with a ticket to the grand final a week later.
“Haven’t won there in such a long time that it’s almost like a mindset thing, it’s almost like a hoodoo, right? But you have to break those hoodoos in order to be a champion team,” Italiano said.
Tomorrow 4.35pm, live on Sky Sport 1 (channel 51)
It was arctic at the Hurricanes’ training base in Upper Hutt yesterday as they brace for a top-of-the-table clash at the Blues’ fortress Eden Park, where they haven’t won in five years.
Thankfully the forecast for tomorrow is for fine weather after the Canes prepared in bone-chilling wind and rain.
Both sides, under new coaches Clark Laidlaw and Vern Cotter, are flying with remarkably similar records: both 9-1, with the Hurricanes leading by a point. The Blues have the best defence in the competition (147 points conceded) while on the tries-scored front, the Canes lead with 53, ahead of the Blues and Chiefs with 52. Game on, then.