The Rugby Broadcast Report Issue 2: TV Guide April 11-13
Never miss a game
Welcome to the second issue of the Rugby Broadcast Report. Fans have 30 fixtures to look forward to this weekend, including the quarter finals of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, the third round of the Women’s Six Nations - and much more. Super Rugby round 9 kicks off on Friday morning as the Hurricanes host the Crusaders at 08:05am, followed by Waratahs v Chiefs at 10:35am
If morning rugby isn’t your thing, you can watch the first of the weekend’s Champions Cup quarter finals at 8:00pm as Leinster host URC champions Glasgow Warriors on RTE 2 and Premier Sports. It’s difficult to foresee a win for Glasgow - particularly when you consider the Leinster bench, which includes Doris, Porter and Sheehan.
The action on Saturday starts with a League One fixture between Brave Lupus and Blue Revs at 4:00am. On Saturday afternoon, one of the standout fixtures is the all-URC clash between Edinburgh and the Bulls in the Challenge Cup quarter-final, kicking off at 12:30pm.
Ireland host England in the Women’s Six Nations at 4:45pm and it is difficult to predict anything other than a win for England. After their heroics of last weekend, Munster take on Bordeaux in the Champions Cup quarter final at 3:00pm. Premiership champions Northampton, who are the only Premiership side to make it past the round of 16, host Castres at 5:30pm.
Some other noteworthy fixtures on Saturday include Ospreys v Lyon in the Challenge Cup at 5:30pm (with free-to-air coverage on S4C) and Connacht v Racing 92 at 8:00pm - which could include an exciting head to head between Bundee Aki and Owen Farrell.
Moving to Sunday, there are plenty of exciting MLR fixtures on both Premier Sports and the Rugby Network. In the Champions Cup, an upset could be on the cards as Toulon face Toulouse at 3:00pm, with both sides enjoying excellent seasons so far. Later on Saturday, Premiership leaders Bath host Gloucester at 5:30pm in the Challenge Cup.
Fixture of the weekend (admittedly biased)
Toulon v Toulouse on Sunday could be the game of the weekend but it is difficult to overlook Bordeaux v Munster as the fixture of the weekend. Jack Crowley steered Munster to a famous win against a struggling La Rochelle side last Saturday. The fixture was a timely reminder of European Cup days of old.
Can Munster keep the momentum going against an impressive Bordeaux team that, at times, was tested by a brave Ulster effort last weekend? The one week turnaround will be challenging for both sides but Munster will be strengthened by the return of centre Alex Nankivell, whose red card against Connacht was successfully appealed.
Quote of the week
It was refreshing to hear the CEO of Premier Sports Richard Sweeney highlight the importance of the Six Nations staying on free-to-air TV while speaking on the Ruck Podcast this week. The pay TV broadcaster recognises the significance of free-to-air coverage in making rugby widely available and these comments were echoed in an interview that Rugby Broadcast held with the Premier Sports boss recently, which will be released in the coming days - stay tuned.
“It’s great that it’s on free-to-air, I think it’s important there’s a free-to-air element.. for a wider audience to view it”
Rugby media rights news
The IRFU has confirmed that TG4 will again broadcast both the men’s and women’s AIL finals in April this year. Coverage will be available live worldwide on the TG4 player and on TG4 in Ireland. In other news, Premier Sports subscribers (via Sky and app) in the UK now have access to the Rugby Journal. It has also been confirmed that the new Premier Sports rugby channel will be launching on Sky Glass and Sky Stream later this year - it is worth noting that Sky Q customers will not be included in the rollout.
Super Rugby Pacific viewership figures are up in New Zealand, Australia and Fiji. However, no figures were released for viewership numbers in the UK and Ireland. Separately, Rugby Australia announced a new five-year broadcast deal with Nine Entertainment, worth over 30% more than the previous agreement. Sky’s existing SANZAAR deal ends this year and it remains to be seen if the broadcaster will renew for another cycle.
Finally, the Pro D2 blackout in Ireland and the UK could be set to end from next season - watch this space.
TV Guide April 11-13
Friday, April 11
8:05am – Hurricanes v Crusaders (Super Rugby Pacific) Sky Sports Action / NOW
10:35am – Waratahs v Chiefs (Super Rugby Pacific) Sky Sports Action / NOW
8:00pm – Leinster v Glasgow (Champions Cup) Premier Sports 1 / RTE 2 / NOW
Saturday, April 12
4:00am – Brave Lupus v Blue Revs (Japan League One) Premier Sports Rugby / The Rugby Network
5:35am – Blues v Moana Pasifika (Super Rugby Pacific) Sky Sports Action / NOW
5:35am – Waratahs Women v Reds Women (Super Rugby Women) RugbyPass TV
8:05am – Highlanders v Drua (Super Rugby Pacific) Sky Sports Mix / NOW
11:00am – Sweden Women v Portugal Women (Rugby Europe Championship) RugbyEurope TV
12:00pm – Turkey v Serbia (Rugby Europe Conference) RugbyEurope TV
12:30pm – Edinburgh v Bulls (Challenge Cup) Premier Sports 2 / NOW
12:45pm – France Women v Wales Women (Women’s Six Nations) BBC 1 Wales / iPlayer / RTE Player
2:00pm – Sweden v Poland (Rugby Europe Trophy) RugbyEurope TV
2:00pm – Hungary v Ukraine (Rugby Europe Conference) RugbyEurope TV
3:00pm – Bordeaux v Munster (Champions Cup) Premier Sports 1 / NOW
3:00pm – Spain Women v Netherlands Women (Rugby Europe Championship) RugbyEurope TV
4:45pm – Ireland Women v England Women (Women’s Six Nations) BBC 2 / iPlayer / RTE 2
5:30pm – Northampton v Castres (Champions Cup) Premier Sports 1 / NOW
5:30pm – Ospreys v Lyon (Challenge Cup) S4C / Premier Sports 2 / iPlayer / NOW 7:00pm – Free Jacks v San Diego Legion (MLR) Premier Sports Rugby / The Rugby Network
8:00pm – Connacht v Racing 92 (Challenge Cup) Premier Sports 1 / NOW
Sunday, April 13
12:00am – NOLA Gold v Old Glory DC (MLR) The Rugby Network
12:30am – Miami Sharks v SaberCats (MLR) Premier Sports 1 / NOW
3:00am – RFC LA v Utah Warriors (MLR) The Rugby Network
6:30am – Kubota Spears v Sungoliath (Japan League One) Premier Sports Rugby / The Rugby Network
12:30pm – Railway Union v Old Belvedere (Women’s AIL) IrishRugby+
2:30pm – UL Bohemian v Blackrock (Women’s AIL) IrishRugby+
3:00pm – Scotland Women v Italy Women (Women’s Six Nations) BBC 1 Scotland / Red Button / Virgin Media 2
3:00pm – Toulon v Toulouse (Champions Cup) Premier Sports 2 / NOW
5:30pm – Bath v Gloucester (Challenge Cup) Premier Sports 1 / NOW
7:00pm – Hounds v Anthem Rugby (MLR) Premier Sports Rugby / The Rugby Network
Useful links (all free):
Final thoughts
Let’s hope a parachutist doesn’t delay this weekend’s fixtures. Thanks for the feedback on Issue 1 and please feel free to reach out.