- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
What a fantastic win for world rugby it was! The Samoan victory is more evidence of the fact that, contrary to what some claim, professionalism has actually benefited the so-called minnow nations, with talented players now able to ply their trade in tough competitions elsewhere in the world.
Incessant claims by rugby league commentators that playing in the European rugby competitions is akin to having a holiday have been shown to be nonsense through recent solid performances by lower-ranked rugby sides, made up of significant numbers of European based players.
So, well done Manu Samoa!
The same cannot be said for Channel 9’s first rugby broadcast of 2011, however.
Although it is early days, the standard of the coverage was not promising. My concerns will be outlined below.
Firstly, it seems apparent that the host of the broadcast, Ken Sutcliffe knows little about the game of rugby, despite his years as Channel 9s sports newsreader.
On about five occasions during the broadcast he infuriatingly referred to the Manu Samoa v. Wallabies Test match as an ‘international friendly’. This is hopelessly wrong and a bad advertisement for the game.
It was a ‘family fun day’ prior to the Test, but as soon as the whistle blew it was game on for the Test match, as ever.
As far as I can see, rugby union does not have international friendlies, except for games featuring Barbarian sides or invitational XVs.
Perhaps Ken was confusing the international game of rugby union with that of his first love, rugby league. Either way, I hope the ARU will ensure that that does not happen again.
Secondly, and this is a problem also at Fox Sports, there was no historical footage shown before or after the game. Channel 7 in the 1990s used to be quite good at showing old rugby footage.
It is great for fans young and old for things to be put into historical perspective, especially in an international game as old as rugby, and it is something which is done quite well still, I think, in rugby league, soccer, Australian Rules and cricket coverage in Australia.
Thirdly, Channel 9 had no commentators, instead switching without a word to the Foxtel commentary team. If this is the way the channel will be treating international rugby throughout the season, it is a real concern.
It is miserly in the extreme to not have an in-house commentary team. Where is ‘the voice of rugby’ Gordon Bray, I wonder?
Now that Tim Horan has gone to Foxsports, you would hope Channel 9 would form a competent new commentary team built around Gordon Bray and some former players who are either good speakers like Nick Farr-Jones, or who have interesting and controversial opinions such as David Campese. No need to bring back Dan Crowley!
Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, there was only 15 minutes of pre-match analysis, and only five minutes post-match analysis, before coverage switched to suburban rugby league.
This does not bode well for the upcoming Tests, as it seems that the “Wide World of Sports” may be in fact too wide to accommodate rugby properly.
Will we see clashes later on this season between rugby union and the other sports Channel 9 covers? Unfortunately, I think so.
One redeeming feature was the choice of expert analysts in George Gregan and Andrew Slack. It is nice to get the perspectives of former Wallaby captains of different eras, and both are measured and calm speakers (a la the much-missed Simon Poidevin, formerly with Channel 7), without any hint of the ‘yobbishness’ that had started creeping into rugby broadcasts over the last decade or so.
So, in conclusion, Channel 9 gets a C – a pass without distinction – in their inaugural broadcast of rugby in 2011. Things must improve, particularly as this is a World Cup year.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.