YouTube and the America’s Cup site
It’s pre-season time for the America’s Cup - a season that will kick off late next year when the Kiwi team goes for a three-peat - the Big Boat Show.
Running out of the tunnel for the five-team, three-day contest in Spain over the next few days will be the AC40s, a little sister design to the AC75 Cup boats proper.
There’s another preliminary AC40 regatta in Saudi Arabia later this year before things get far more serious - and no doubt uglier - in late 2024.
The big signing for Team New Zealand is the highly-respected Aussie Nathan Outteridge - a serious lift for Dalt’s Army.
Stand by for foiling thrills and spills.
3.) Singapore F1 featuring Liam Lawson
Sunday 11.45pm - Sky
Can the young Kiwi score a Formula One championship point? Probably not to be fair, but it’s worth tuning in to find out.
Even beating AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda would be a massive boost in Lawson’s bid to score a permanent F1 drive next season.
The growing army of Lawson fans will hope the surprise F1 rookie produces an error-free drive for this street course night race.
2.) RWC - Australia v Fiji
Monday 3.45am - Sky
Rugby World Cups struggle to maintain momentum with big gaps in the schedule and uneven encounters like Saturday’s morning’s dud between the All Blacks and Namibia (7am).
Now and then though, there are spectacular pool prospects, and this is certainly one of them.
Fiji got the rough end of the refereeing stick against Wales but they didn’t do themselves justice either.
That defeat has left them desperate, which makes this game all the more enticing.
It has been 70-odd years since Fiji’s only two victories over the Aussies. But they are a great chance to win this - it shapes as a thriller.
In other top match-ups, Ireland play Tonga (Sunday 7am) and England faces Japan (Monday 7am).
1.) Warriors v Knights
Saturday 6.05pm - Sky
It’s been a long time between drinks - 15 years to be exact.
NRL finals footy makes a return to Mt Smart Stadium in what is being billed as a sellout, and this one should even look like a sellout.
Previous sellouts this year, while perhaps technically correct, have still involved lots of empty seats.
The place will be packed this time.
Hunting down tickets has been the name of the game for many sports fans this week, along with praying for Shaun Johnson’s good health.
The remodelled playmaker missed last week’s loss to Penrith with a calf problem and I doubt he will be fully fit for this sudden death clash.
But Johnson has morphed from erratic genius to wily old fox and is capable of pulling the strings on one and a half good legs these days.
The crowd and an in-form Johnson will be vital.
Newcastle are without injured organiser Jackson Hastings, with the little-used Adam Clune stepping up.
But the Knights have all the good form - ie 10 straight wins - while the Warriors’ late-season plateau has deteriorated into a little slide.
With Johnson back, the clever Dylan Walker returns to his bench role, and his impact will provide a lot of clues to the outcome.
This NRL playoff game should be the sporting highlight of the weekend.
Meanwhile, over the ditch, the Storm and Roosters meet in the other NRL semifinal (Friday 9.50pm).
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
