The best PREM, PWR, URC and Top 14 action to see you through Christmas into the new year
Table of Contents
- The best PREM, PWR, URC and Top 14 action to see you through Christmas into the new year
- 5 matches to watch on TV this festive season
- Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh Rugby
- Harlequins v Bristol Bears
- Gallagher Premiership & URC: Matches to Watch This Weekend
- Munster v Leinster
- Top 14 Round 12 Preview: La Rochelle vs. stade Français – Can ROG’s Men Turn the Tide?
- Stream festive rugby fixtures from anywhere
The festive season always boasts a packed rugby programme, and this year is no exception. The gallagher PREMUnited Rugby Championship, Professional Women’s Rugby and top 14 all have packed schedules over Christmas, with many of them available to watch at home on TV.
Below we’ve picked out five highlights of the festive fixture lists, ready for you to pencil into yoru Christmas viewing schedules. There are big derbies, clashes of titans and Harlequins’ return to twickenham for their latest Big Game. We reckon they coudl rank among the best gifts you receive this year. Merry Christmas!
5 matches to watch on TV this festive season
Glasgow Warriors v Edinburgh Rugby
(Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
- Date: Saturday 20 December
- Time: 3.00pm gmt
- Where to watch in the UK/Ireland: Premier Sports
It’s a weekend of derbies in the URC, with Cardiff v Scarlets, Leinster v Ulster, Stormers v Lions, Sharks v Bulls and Benetton v Zebre parma all on the fixture list. The all-Scottish clash between Glasgow Warriors at Hampden Park (more traditionally used for football) may be the pick of the bunch, however.
2024 champions Glasgow Warriors are on course for a memorable season. Sitting in fifth place in the championship table, they’re very much part of the leading pack. Their only two league defeats have come against Benetton and Scarlets, two teams who’ve struggled this season, while their European Champions cup campaign has got off to a spectacular start – recovering from 21-0 down at half-time to beat the mighty Toulouse was one of the all-time great comebacks.
Edinburgh are currently 10th in the URC, but that doesn’t tell the full story of their season so far. Aside from their 43-0 blowout against Benetton, all of their league games have been settled by three points or fewer. They also have a game in hand over most of their rivals, and will be well aware that the return fixture at Murrayfield is just a week away.
Do the double over the team from the other end of M8 and their campaign could start to look very different indeed…
Harlequins v Bristol Bears
- Date: Saturday 28 December
- Time: 3.00pm gmt
- Where to watch in the UK/Ireland: TNT Sports
Harlequins’ annual Big Game is always a highlight of the festive season, and this year’s clash with Bristol Bears promises to be another cracker. The game will be played at Twickenham Stadium, and the hosts will be hoping to put on a show for a crowd of over 50,000.
Quins have been in good form this season, currently sitting in third place in the Gallagher Premiership table. They’ve won six of their eight games so far, and have been particularly remarkable in attack, scoring 33 tries in total. Bristol, simultaneously occurring, are struggling in ninth place, but they’re always a risky opponent, and will be keen to spoil the party at Twickenham.
With a host of international stars on display, this is one game you won’t want to miss.
Gallagher Premiership & URC: Matches to Watch This Weekend
The festive period of rugby continues with a cracking set of fixtures in both the Gallagher Premiership and the United Rugby Championship. Here are two matches you won’t want to miss…
Bath v Northampton Saints
(David Rogers/Getty Images)
- Date: Saturday 27 December
- Time: 5.30pm GMT
- Where to watch in the UK/Ireland: TNT Sports
The two most recent winners of the Gallagher PREM come face to face at the Rec, knowing that any hint of a post-Christmas hangover will be punished. Both sides have lost just a single match this season, and – with apologies to second-placed Exeter Chiefs – are looking like the teams to beat this season. A victory here could lay down a marker in their bids to lift the trophy in June.
bath have picked up where they left off last season, taking full advantage of the strongest squad in the league. Even their sole league defeat – against Leicester Tigers – went down to the final kick of the match. They’ll be particularly keen to maintain control in the PREM following their Champions Cup loss in Toulon.
Saints have no such worries in Europe, having secured wins in their first two games of the competition. And with the likes of England stars George Furbank, Fraser Dingwall, Fin Smith and Alex Mitchell running around behind the scrum – not to mention the exciting Henry Pollock in the back row – they won’t be overawed by a festive outing in the South West.
Munster v Leinster
Top 14 Round 12 Preview: La Rochelle vs. stade Français – Can ROG’s Men Turn the Tide?
The Top 14 returns after a short break, and Round 12 promises a thrilling set of fixtures. Top of the bill is a clash between La Rochelle and Stade Français, two sides heading into the match with contrasting form and fortunes.
Stade Français currently occupy a familiar spot at the summit of the Top 14 table (albeit tied on points with this season’s surprise package, Pau).They are beatable, however, as Glasgow Warriors proved with their stirring Champions Cup comeback.
La Rochelle, meanwhile, find themselves languishing in 10th place and on a run of three straight defeats. But with the highly respected Ronan O’Gara calling the shots, and a gifted group of players, there’s every chance of an upset in the south of France.
Stream festive rugby fixtures from anywhere
Going to be away from home over christmas? That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the best rugby action this festive season. Fans who are travelling overseas can watch their usual TV services with the help of a VPN.
A VPN (or Virtual Private Network) is a clever piece of software that allows you to change the IP address of your smartphone, tablet or laptop. This means your device can appear to be back home, allowing you to watch your usual live or on-demand content as if you were back on your sofa – assuming it complies with the broadcaster’s T&Cs, of course.
Right now, the tech experts at TechRadar and Tom’s Guide reckon NordVPN is top of the league, with Tom’s Guide saying it delivers “NordVPN delivers the best balance of privacy, usability, extra features, and value for money.”
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