Coming up this week: a southern hemisphere rugby showdown in west London, McLaren on the brink of Formula One glory, the WNBA Finals tipping off with a twist, and more. Here’s your Inside Track to the action.
RUGBY UNION
Twickenham turns green and gold as South Africa eye glory
For one afternoon only, the heart of southern hemisphere rugby will be located in west London. Twickenham, England’s national rugby stadium and the citadel of the north, hosts the decider of the Rugby Championship on Saturday — a rare twist in a tournament usually played out under southern skies, but one that offers more lucrative ticket sales and access to one of the sport’s richest markets.
It’s only the second time a Rugby Championship match has been played in the northern hemisphere, the first being Argentina vs Australia in 2016. But this one carries real weight: the final match of a tightly contested series, with the title hanging in the balance and South Africa’s reigning champions, the Springboks, surging into pole position as they prepare to face Argentina.
The fixture had already long been marked as a date not to be missed by London’s huge South African community. But the last two weeks, when the Springboks handed New Zealand their biggest-ever defeat and then thumped Argentina 67-30, mean that the title is in their hands and has ramped up the excitement levels. While Twickenham is not about to hand over its well-swept environs to hundreds of braais — as much as South Africa’s barbecue-loving fans might wish — the bars and surrounding pubs will be guaranteed a roaring trade and around 70,000 tickets have already been sold.
If South Africa beat the Pumas with a bonus point, they retain the title. Even without it, a win should suffice. New Zealand, who play earlier in the day against Australia in Perth, could still sneak it with a bonus-point win and a massive points swing — but given the Boks’ current +55 differential to the All Blacks’ –6, that outcome belongs to fantasy.
Unless, of course, Argentina throw a spanner in it all. If the Pumas pull off an upset, any kind of New Zealand victory would crown the All Blacks champions in the dead of their night. And if the Wallabies (+1 points difference) can grab a bonus-point win, they’ll need Argentina to deny the Springboks even a losing bonus. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? Not quite.
For South Africa, a win would mean a sixth Rugby Championship title and, for the first time, back-to-back crowns. Twickenham may be a long way from Cape Town or Pretoria, but on Saturday it could well belong to the Springboks.
Rugby Championship, Twickenham, London — October 4
FORMULA ONE
McLaren’s to lose, as the title sits within reach in Singapore
Formula One moves on to Singapore this weekend — and surely McLaren won’t mess up this time? They could have sealed the constructors’ title on September 21 in Azerbaijan, for the second year running and with a record seven rounds to spare, but Mr Consistency Oscar Piastri crashed out and Lando Norris could manage only seventh.
Now, in Singapore, they can do it with six rounds to spare — equalling Red Bull’s 2023 record — and this time it’s truly there for the taking. McLaren simply need to score 13 points, regardless of what rivals do.
They’ve failed to do that only twice in 17 races, although Baku was one of those two. In even simpler terms: one driver on the podium will be enough — and Norris won last year, with Piastri finishing third.
Only Mercedes and Ferrari can mathematically stop them, but closest rivals Mercedes will have to outscore McLaren by 31 points to keep the fight alive until the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin.
In the drivers’ standings, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen will be chasing his third straight win in the hopes of proving that talk of him still being in the title mix isn’t just fantasy, even if he is currently trailing Piastri by 69 points.
Formula One Grand Prix, Singapore — October 3-5
WNBA
Mercury rising, Aces rolling as WNBA Finals break new ground
The WNBA Finals tip off this week with a fresh twist, expanding to a best-of-seven series for the first time and featuring a fresh face in the mix: a rebuilt-from-scratch Phoenix Mercury side taking on the red-hot Las Vegas Aces.
Back in the Finals for the first time since 2021, this is a very different Mercury team. Gone is Diana Taurasi, the firebrand legend who once punched a hole through a locker-room door in defeat. Gone too are 10-time All-Star Brittney Griner, now in Atlanta, and sharpshooter Sophie Cunningham, who followed Caitlin Clark to Indiana.
Fans who feared a mediocre “rebuild” year were proven wrong, with newly signed Alyssa Thomas putting up her 19th career triple-double in September — the most all-time in the WNBA by a laughable margin — and Satou Sabally averaging more than 16 points per game in the regular season after joining from Dallas.
They’ll need all of it against an Aces side that turned their season around in stunning fashion. Las Vegas limped into the All-Star break at 11-11, before A’ja Wilson took control and dragged her team to 16 straight wins — a franchise record — and a post-season berth that once looked out of reach. Her reward: an historic fourth league MVP title.
WNBA Finals, Las Vegas and Phoenix — October 3-17
EXTRA TIME
What else we’re watching
Rugby League: The Brisbane Broncos ended Penrith’s four-year National Rugby League reign with a stirring comeback last weekend, and it will take a similar enormous feat to win the big prize on Sunday. Standing in their way are the ruthless Melbourne Storm, rugby league’s most efficient machine. Under coach Craig “Bellyache” Bellamy, once a Broncos assistant, they’ve reached 10 Grand Finals since 2003, winning five (two later stripped for financial irregularities), and in the process have built an aura of cold-blooded dominance.
Soccer: Serie A is tight at the top: Milan, Napoli and Roma on 12 points, Juventus one back. Next weekend Juve host Milan, marking Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri’s first meeting with his old club since his sacking in Turin. Allegri won the title in his first season at Milan and five straight with Juve, but his second stint there yielded little until a Coppa Italia farewell in 2024. Back at Milan, he has them top after Sunday’s win over champions Napoli — Antonio Conte’s first dropped points — and, with no European distractions, looking like genuine title contenders.
Cycling: The Giro dell’Emilia, a key one-day classic on the Italian cycling calendar, takes place on October 4 with a trademark uphill finish in Bologna. But one notable team will be missing from the start list: Israel-Premier Tech have been excluded after race organisers withdrew their invitation, citing security concerns.
Baseball: After 162 games of hard graft, the gloves come off. Major League Baseball’s postseason shifts up a gear this weekend as the Division Series gets under way, with four rested heavyweights joining the October fray. In the American League, top seeds Toronto and Seattle host Games 1 and 2 of their best-of-five series, banking on home crowds to deliver early momentum. Over in the National League, Milwaukee — owners of the best record in baseball this year — and Philadelphia aim to make their byes count as the road to the World Series turns from marathon to sprint.
Ice Hockey: The puck drops Tuesday, October 7, and once again the Edmonton Oilers are among the favourites to lift the Stanley Cup. But in Alberta — and across hockey-loving Canada — hope comes laced with heartache. Beaten by the Florida Panthers in June for a second straight Final, the Oilers extended the so-called “Canadian Curse” to a 32nd year. The country that gave the world hockey hasn’t celebrated a Stanley Cup champion since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. Faith remains strong, but patience is wearing thin.
Horse Racing: The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Europe’s most prestigious flat race and the crown jewel of the French racing calendar, thunders down the turf at Longchamp on Sunday. Aventure, the home hope, carries the weight of French expectation and sits among the favourites. Breathing down her neck is Minnie Hauk, trained by Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien, who is chasing his first Arc triumph since 2016. A win would make O’Brien the first Irish trainer to reclaim the title in nearly a decade — and burnish an already glittering legacy. With international talent, local pride, and historic stakes, the Arc once again promises high drama on Parisian turf.
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Editing by Yasmeen Serhan and Toby Chopra; Illustration by Jeremy Schultz