The Purchas Cup is Australasia’s main gay and inclusive rugby tournament.

The 15th edition of the tournament kicked off in Auckland today, with eight teams from six clubs competing across two divisions.

The Sydney Convicts are the defending Purchas Cup champions and will seek to ward off challenges from the other top division teams, including tournament hosts the NZ Falcons.

Andrew Purchas, the founder of the Convicts (and the tournament’s namesake), told RNZ in the lead-up to the event that he started the club in an effort to create a welcoming environment for openly gay footballers.

He added: “Now there are about 140 gay rugby clubs, on every continent."

🏉 The Sydney Roosters secured the 2025 NRLW minor premiership last night with a 34-10 win over the Cronulla Sharks. The victory extended the Roosters’ win streak to 17 matches, but was overshadowed by a knee injury to star fullback Tarryn Aiken. The club will nervously await scans on Aiken’s knee, given her absence would mark a major setback for the Roosters’ campaign to win back-to-back premierships.

🚴‍♂️ Australian cyclist Jay Vine finished just 0.9 seconds behind Italy’s Filippo Ganna in the shortened Stage 18 individual time trial in Valladolid, denying him a third stage win this Vuelta. Despite the heartbreak, Vine retains a strong lead in the King of the Mountains classification. Jai Hindley remains the highest-placed Aussie in the overall standings in fourth. He is 39 seconds off third-placed British cyclist Tom Pidcock with three stages to go.

🏒 Five former members of Canada’s 2018 World Junior hockey team have been cleared to resume NHL careers starting on 1 December, after they were found not guilty of sexual assault. In July, a judge in the Canadian province of Ontario ruled the complainant’s evidence was “not credible or reliable”. On Thursday, the NHL released a statement saying the players will be able to resume their professional hockey careers. Four of the five are currently free agents, so they will need to secure a contract with a team ahead of the NHL season. The incident in question occurred in 2018, following the U20 World Ice Hockey Championship. The league reiterated in a statement that it found the events that transpired to be “deeply troubling and unacceptable.”

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Talking points: The first AFL semi-final of the weekend will see the Adelaide Crows host Hawthorn at Adelaide Oval. The Crows finished the regular season on top of the table, but after losing to Collingwood last week, they find themselves in a do-or-die situation. The Hawks finished the season in eighth place and will be relishing their underdog status after a strong showing against GWS in last week’s elimination final. If the Crows lose tonight, they will be the first team in 42 years to finish on top of the table and not win at least one finals match. The two teams have met twice already this year, with the Crows winning 101-87 in Round 21 and the Hawks winning 47-44 in Round 14. The winner will earn a spot in next week’s preliminary final against Geelong. 

How to watch: The match will begin at 7:40pm tonight. You can watch it on Channel 7, Kayo, or Foxtel. 

Talking points: And so the Penrith Panthers’ campaign to win a fifth consecutive NRL premiership begins. The Panthers sat in last place on the ladder after Round 12, but went on to win nine straight matches as part of a remarkable turnaround to land themselves inside the top eight. This year’s final series presents a different challenge for the Panthers dynasty as they try to win a premiership from outside the top four. Saturday afternoon’s match is an elimination final against the New Zealand Warriors at Go Media Stadium in Auckland. The Warriors have a strong finals record in Auckland, having won three of their four finals matches there. That being said, the Panthers have won their last 12 finals matches and nine of their last 10 against the Warriors. 

How to watch: The match begins at 4:05pm on Saturday. You can watch it on Channel 9, Kayo, and Foxtel. 

Talking points: The Wallaroos finished second in Pool A behind England to earn themselves a spot in the quarter-final against Canada. Australia, ranked seventh in the world, will head into this match looking to pull off a major upset against the world’s second-ranked team. Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp has made just two changes to the starting side that lost 47-7 to England, the tournament favourites, in the pool stages last week. Emily Chancellor will start in the forwards in place of Ashley Marsters, while Cecilia Smith will replace Trilleen Pomare in the centres. Captain Siokapesi Palu said: “The odds are against us this game, and you know the pressure then gets bounced back on Canada… If that means that it allows us, I guess, to take that pressure off us and play a little bit more freestyle rugby, which we're really good at, hopefully that puts belief in us that we can execute what we need.”

How to watch: The match begins at 1:00am on Sunday. You can watch it on Channel 9 and Stan Sport. 

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