Editors' Picks: US Open, Nations League & NFL headline weekend's action
Here's what our editors will be watching:
Saturday, September 7th
South Africa vs New Zealand - 17:00 CET
The southern hemisphere’s elite rugby nations are exactly halfway through their annual Rugby Championship with three rounds played and three to go. South Africa lead the way as it stands with New Zealand second, Argentina third and Australia currently occupying last spot.
The latter two meet for the second week in a row this weekend in Santa Fe (21:00 CET, Saturday) but before that, the Springboks and All Blacks will go head-to-head in the pick of the fixtures and the second meeting of, arguably, the world’s two best sides.
Last weekend at Ellis Park, the world champion Boks roared back to edge the All Blacks 31-27 in what was an instant classic and the first meeting of the sides since last year’s World Cup final in Paris.
The winner may have been the same but a bit has changed since the World Cup in 2023, especially over on the Shaky Isles with the All Blacks transitioning to a new head coach in Scott Robertson and trialling new halves pairings since the international retirement of Aaron Smith departure of Richie Mo'unga to Japan.
The Boks are fielding many of their usual suspects but one fresh face has particularly sparkled in 22-year-old Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who started the first three games of the competition at 10 but has been dropped to the bench for this weekend.
The form guide and bookmakers suggest that South Africa hold the edge this Saturday in Cape Town but the All Blacks have come very close in the previous two losses. Two things are for sure: You can never write off the All Blacks even against the world’s best and, whatever the result, this will be one of the better rugby matches of the year.
Pat Dempsey
Ireland vs England - 18:00 CET
Near-neighbours England and Ireland go head to head this weekend in Group 2 of League B in the UEFA Nations League.
It is a new era for both nations, with Lee Carsley taking over from Gareth Southgate as interim manager of England, as they aim to return to League A after a shock relegation.
Carsley has already made his intentions clear, calling up a number of players to the national team for the first time, including Noni Madueke, Tino Livramento, Angel Gomes and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Promising to move away from a conservative brand of football - something his predecessor was routinely criticised for - England fans will be hoping for a bright new start under Carsley.
Ireland appointed former Iceland and Jamaica manager Heimir Hallgrimsson to take over after John O’Shea’s interim spell, with the aim of bringing some success back to the country.
Prior to O’Shea, manager Stephen Kenny won just 11 of 40 matches, so the pressure will be on Hallgrimsson to get things back on track. But with England standing in the way, there is no guarantee he will be able to make a fast start.
It promises to be a fiery clash between these two rivals, and the Aviva Stadium will undoubtedly be bouncing.
Tolga Akdeniz
US Open finals - all weekend
I think it's fair to say that the US Open is always a lot more fun when there are Americans on the court, and given that, we're in for quite the final weekend in New York.
First up will be the women's final from 22:00 CET on Saturday, in which native New Yorker Jessica Pegula will look to send the home crowd wild by causing an upset and defeating world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka is undoubtedly the favourite. She's dropped just one set in her last 11 matches and beat Pegula comfortably in the Cincinnati final in the middle of that run.
That being said, the American did prevail in their clash at the WTA Finals and has been playing her best tennis in a long time in the last few months, with her loss to Sabalenka in Ohio being her only defeat in her last 16 matches.
As those numbers suggest, this will be a clash between the two best players in the world since the tour returned to hard courts following the Olympics. That, and the fact that the crowd will no doubt create a raucous atmosphere, should give us a thrilling final.
There will be such an atmosphere for the men's final a day later too, with an American - either Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz - guaranteed to be in it and fighting to become the first man from the US to win their home slam since Andy Roddick in 2003.
They'll most likely be coming up against world number one Jannik Sinner as he looks to take another step forward on his path to greatness. If Jack Draper beats the Italian in their semi, however, we'll be guaranteed a new Grand Slam winner! Follow the men's side here.
Even for the city that never sleeps, this weekend will surely be one that lives long in the memory.
Finley Crebolder
Sunday, September 8th
Buffalo Bills vs Arizona Cardinals - 19:00 CET
It’s been six months since the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl, and the NFL makes its long-awaited return this week!
The champions kicked the season off already on Thursday, downing the Baltimore Ravens in a repeat of last season’s AFC Championship game, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some other stellar games to be found on the first full Sunday of the year with one in particular standing out.
After years in the wilderness, the Buffalo Bills have become the dominant force in the AFC East, and led by Josh Allen, they have fallen agonisingly short in recent campaigns. The Bills face the Arizona Cardinals at 19:00 CET, knowing that this could be the last chance with this core group of players to go and win it all.
For the Cardinals, they have the exciting Kyler Murray as quarterback. Murray is in his fifth year with the Cards, and as a former number-one draft pick, has not always lived up to the billing. Injuries have hampered him in the last couple of seasons, so the now 27-year-old needs a blockbuster season to show he can mix it with the best. What better way to start than with a tough match-up against the Bills?
Follow the full opening round of the NFL here.
Josh Donaldson