Weekend sport preview

SBS World News Radio: Another busy weekend of sport is ahead, with rugby union and league, golf, tennis and basketball to look foward to.

Weekend sport previewWeekend sport preview

Weekend sport preview

Australia's Rugby Union team will be in Paris on Sunday morning, looking to keep its winning Spring Tour run going.

After victories against Wales and Scotland, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika may reshuffle his side for the showdown with France.

But Cheika says he is not making wholesale changes for the game, even though it is not a Grand Slam test.

"I don't think we played as well against Scotland as we did against Wales, and I think that some other players should have an opportunity to get in now and have a go at it. I'm not sure exactly how that's going to pan out, whether it's one or whether it's three or four, I don't know."

That match between France and Australia can be seen live on SBS at 6.50am (AEDT).

Also in action over the weekend will be New Zealand's world champion All Blacks.

They will be looking to avoid a repeat of their recent loss to Ireland when they play in Dublin in the early hours of Sunday morning.

In football's A-League, Round 7 kicks off tonight when the Western Sydney Wanderers take on Melbourne City.

Uruguayan star Bruno Fornaroli will be the man the Wanderers must stop, after scoring six goals in the first six rounds of the season.

Wanderers coach Tony Popovic says his side must fix its defensive frailty, which led to a 3-nil defeat against the Melbourne Victory last weekend.

But Popovic says he is also excited by the prospect of playing City, which sits in second on the ladder.

"It's a fantastic game. You know, you're playing at home, we expect a big crowd, Melbourne City's a very good footballing team, they've had a good start to the season. Football as a whole, and our fans, should be really relishing the challenge."

SBS has coverage of that match from 7.30 pm (AEDT).

The recent New Zealand earthquake has led to the postponement of Saturday's fixture between the Wellington Phonenix and the Victory.

Runaway league leader Sydney FC will take its six-point lead up to Brisbane to take on the third-placed Brisbane Roar.

The big match in the English Premier League this weekend has Manchester United taking on Arsenal at Old Trafford late on Saturday night.

In Rugby League this weekend, the Four Nations tournament will be decided in the early hours of Monday morning.

The match will be played at Anfield, Liverpool's home ground, which has not staged a Rugby League match since 1997.

Having seen off the challenge of host nation England, Australia's Rugby League stars are now going for the trophy against New Zealand.

Australia has lost forward Sam Thaiday, who suffered a facial fracture in the win against England.

The world number one ranking will also be on the line, along with the Four Nations trophy.

Despite winning the last three meetings between the sides, Australian centre Greg Inglis says his team will not be taking anything for granted.

"You know, they are still ranked number one. Even though the last few games have gone our way, that doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to win. So we have to turn up with the right attitude on Sunday at Liverpool, and that's our main goal throughout this whole tournament."

The Canberra Raiders' Shannon Boyd is expected to take Thaiday's place.

In tennis, the ATP world-tour finals continue in London.

The semifinals will take place on Sunday, with the final scheduled for the early hours Monday morning.

Britain's Andy Murray is hoping to hold onto the world number one ranking ahead of Serbia's Novak Djokovic.

The Australian Open golf will be decided on Sunday afternoon, with some big-name players expected to force their way up the leaderboard.

Amateur Curtis Luck and fellow young golfer Lucas Herbert dominated the early stages of the tournament at the Royal Sydney.

World number five Jordan Spieth, of the United States, was just off the pace, while Australia's Adam Scott struggled to find his best form in the opening rounds.

And, finally, SBS will have coverage of the National Basketball League on Sunday afternoon at 3pm AEDT, when the Illawarra Hawks take on the New Zealand Breakers.

 

 


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By John Baldock


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