Black Ferns Arihiana Marino-tauhinu, Kendra Cocksedge, Amy Du Plessis & Santo Taumata along with coaches Wayne Smith & Sir Graham Henry reveal both the nerves and excitement ahead of the Rugby World Cup on Saturday. Video / NZ Herald
Chris Rattue analyses the best sport to watch this weekend.
5) Bathurst 1000, Sunday, 1.15pm - Sky
The Holden brand heads into the sunset with victory assured in its longstanding rivalry with Ford.
The Holden name - an Australian icon - will be replaced by Chevrolet Camaro as new racecar regulations take effect next year.
And Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen is almost certain to bring down the curtain on this era with a Supercar series victory in a Commodore.
With such a big series lead, and only two further rounds remaining, The Giz and teammate Garth Tander can charge for high-speed glory at Mount Panorma where rain is predicted.
Things will get a little slower next year, because the new generation of cars will have less downforce.
So goodbye Holden, and thanks for the memories.
4) Japan Grand Prix, Sunday, 6pm – Spark
Champion-in-waiting Max Verstappen stuffed up in Singapore but gets another chance to wrap up a second consecutive Formula One drivers title at Suzuka.
Even more tantalising is the prospect of watching Ferrari do another Keystone Kops routine.
At the Dutch Grand Prix, they even managed to greet Carlos Sainz Jr in the pits with just three tyres ready.
Great car, shame about the team, seems to be the story of their 2022 season, which some have described as a horror show.
F1 fans can't wait for Netflix's next fly-on-the-wall documentary series Drive to Survive. It shapes as compulsory viewing.
3) Kiwis v Leeds (World Cup warm-up game), Sunday, 6am – Sky Sport Next/YouTube
A taste of things to come and a trip down memory lane.
Thomas Leuluai – who is not part of the World Cup squad – captains the Kiwis in his farewell-to-league appearance.
Leuluai is a man worth honouring – the playmaker gave his heart and soul to any match.
He played dummy half in the historic 2008 World Cup final victory over Australia in Brisbane, which will add some feel-good factor to the squad as they embark on this campaign.
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire will want his troops to hit the ground running in England with the World Cup starting next week.
And when it does it will be time to flick over to Spark Sport, which will carry all 61 tournament games live. Delayed free-to-air World Cup coverage will be on Three and Three Now.
Thomas Leuluai. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
2) Manchester City v Southampton, Sunday, 3am - Sky
Time to hit the record button, if you want to catch a true sporting phenomenon in early but full flight.
The football world desperately needed a new superstar. And the saviour is here.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland is banging in goals for fun - well, it's fun for the City supporters, and scary for everyone else in the English Premier League.
His numbers are incredible.
The 22-year-old Norwegian will be gunning for a fourth consecutive EPL hat-trick at home, against Southampton.
His hat-trick of hat-tricks has created a new and unbreakable record, coming in his first eight EPL games. The previous mark was set by Liverpool's Michael Owen, who was outrageously ponderous in taking 48 matches.
Haaland has scored 19 goals in just 12 games for Manchester City, and could get quite close to old scoring records thought to be out of reach in the modern game.
What a pity Norway isn't at the World Cup this year.
1) Rugby World Cup, Saturday, from 2.15pm – Spark
The World Cup kicks off this weekend.
And all eyes will turn to Eden Park, as South Africa hope for a miracle against France (2.15pm), Fiji forlornly try to take on the England juggernaut (4.45pm) and New Zealand launch their defence of the title by almost certainly continuing a long unbeaten run over Australia (7.15pm).
One of the great things about women's rugby is it often looks like the game some of us used to know and love.
A bit of space and clever ball handling is so old hat in the men's game, unfortunately. But it's what the women's game is largely all about.
Black Ferns winger Portia Woodman scores her seventh try during the rugby test match. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Time to revel in the skills of the great French halfback Laure Sansus, Black Ferns such as Ruahei Demant, Portia Woodman and Ruby Tui, England's Emily Scarratt, Aussie cross code star Mahalia Murphy, and Fiji's Vitalina Naikore.
No pressure, but all eyes will also be on Fijian lock Nate Serevi, daughter of sevens legend Waisale Serevi as Fiji take on mighty England and France in a tough pool.
On the downside, this World Cup will produce too many lopsided scores, and it's hard seeing anyone getting close to mighty England who have engineered a big jump on the pack.
I would love to be proved wrong on that score though.
