New Zealand is not involved, but the game at a sold-out Wembley is a fascinating prospect.
7) Another football friendly: All Whites v Socceroos, Wednesday 7.45am – FIFA+
The Battle of Brentford (true) in west London. Our national football side pops up in all sorts of places. Fair to say Australia has had better preparation (see above).
But wait, there’s more. The transtasman rivals are playing for ‘The Ashes’, having found a trophy in a cupboard which fits this bill. Hey guys - the Ashes is a famous cricket series, involving England and Australia.
But wait there’s more. They are cigar ashes.
Moving on…
The Kiwis will play Congo on Saturday morning in, yes you guessed it, Spain (5am, Fifa+). Congo is ranked 64 in the world, New Zealand is at 104. The return of Sarpreet Singh after a long injury absence is among the interesting points as the Darren Bazeley coaching era kicks off in earnest.
6) Constellation Cup: Silver Ferns v Diamonds, Sunday 9.30 - SKY
The Kiwi netballers will try to find their way against the mighty Australians in this four-game series.
The netball world has undergone a revolution but the more things change the more they stay the same when it comes to Australia’s toughness and prowess.
Game two on Sunday night is in Brisbane before Invercargill gets a rare taste of international sport on Thursday (7.30pm) .
5) Cricket World Cup: New Zealand v Bangladesh, Friday 9.30pm – SKY
New Zealand are on a roll but Bangladesh have a decent chance of victory, particularly on the sub-continent.
Bitter national rivals India and Pakistan (Saturday 9.30pm) meet in a battle between the world’s top-ranked teams. New Zealand’s next game is against Afghanistan (Wednesday 9.30pm).
4) RWC: Wales v Argentina, Sunday 4am – SKY
Rugby, rugby, rugby…that’s what this weekend is all about, as the World Cup quarter-finals take centre stage.
Argentina are no longer a scrum powerhouse but have added a sharp attack through some zippy runners to compensate.
Decades ago, Wales were masters of a beautiful game but Warren Gatland’s team are a pragmatic bunch who rely on creating pressure, set pieces and Dan Biggar, who will kick a lot and kick the goals.
Under World Cup knockout pressure, all teams may kick more than usual and the tactic is set to be particularly prevalent in this game.
3) RWC: England v Fiji, Monday 4am – SKY
England will turn this into a grind against a Fijian team that unravelled during the pool stage.
This is a wild guess, but England will kick deep and look to force mistakes as Fiji try to run it back.
The Fijians need to rediscover more unity and patience if they are to survive. Their ability to stay connected and protect the ball has been a growing problem.
2) RWC: South Africa v France, Monday 8am – SKY
A candidate for the greatest quarter-final match-up in Rugby World Cup history.
Rampant hosts v redoubtable world champs, Antoine Dupont (hopefully) v Faf de Klerk…and on and on.
Contrary to stereotypes, the South African set piece work has not been great and they may have to stop the hosts in other ways.
France will want to get their marauding ball-in-hand game going – the South Africans will try to find their mojo with massive tackles.
Prediction: La Marseillaise - the magnificent French national anthem - will be prominent. Just the thought of it sends shivers up the spine.
1) RWC: All Blacks v Ireland, Sunday 8am - SKY/SKY Open
A potential epic involving a booming rivalry since Ireland got really good.
This is the stage where rugby excels, with everything on the line. The game turns into a cascade of tension-drenched moments as the combatants go to war with each other and the nit-picking rule book.
The “best” rugby tends to come at the beginning of these types of massive World Cup duels, before exhausting close-quarter combat takes over.
I suspect all the quarter-final big guns have a trick play up their sleeve to unleash in the hope of scoring early.
It raises the prospect of an explosive start, and Ireland are superb at choreographing set plays.
This mighty showdown will be a clash of styles if the All Blacks can break free of Ireland’s expertise at suffocating opponents.
Ireland - the number one ranked side - are super-controlled and experts at winning turnovers.
The All Blacks are more off-the-cuff in moving the ball and invariably try to play the game at a quicker pace than their opponents.
Warning sign: The All Blacks played too many soft pool games, and a lot of their forwards have had disrupted build-ups to this game.
