IT WAS CONFIRMED today that next year’s Rugby World Cup will be broadcast in this country by TV3.
Some have been unwelcoming of the change, but we reckon with these five (some simple, some slightly more difficult) steps; TV3 could take to really impress while Ireland set out on their latest quest to break into the World Cup’s final four.
1. Keep Kissane on the touchlines, ready to ask the hard questions
And hey, if she happened to offer Steve Hansen an aul’ Jaffa Cake at some point sure what harm.
2. Say hi to HD
For a while we were suspicious that HD channels were simply a little louder than their stone age equivalent. However, of all television events sports are the one which benefit the most from having two million pixels to luxuriate in.
The broadcaster has already confirmed that they are in discussion with HD providers to come on board next year, but if it doesn’t come about by then TV viewers will feel they are watching an amateur era World Cup.
3. Reinforce the panellist depth chart
The rugby will take care of itself, but it’s important to get the window dressing right for before during and after an emotional 80 minutes.
We’d be more than happy to have the Matts – Cooper and Williams – as regular tenets, but a World Cup so close to home and on at prime time can be no two-man job. We’d love to see an array of fresh voices who have played professional rugby recently come in to add real value in between the ad breaks.
4. Get BOD on
Recently retired? Fresh voice, you say? Well, that Brian O’Driscoll fella seems comfortable enough on the tele.
We’d love to listen to O’Driscoll pick the bones ouf of Jared Payne’s jackle technique against Canada. And who better to offer an insight into the workings of Joe Schmidt’s camp than his on-field voice who just happens to be the most capped player in the game?
If Ballymount could make this happen, we’d happily put up with the extra ads wedged between anthems and kick-off.
5. Tactics truck is a must have
Okay, so maybe TV3 can’t quite roll out the funds to get a Sky Sports style renovated golf cart for in-depth tactical analysis, but they’ll surely be able to drum up a big iPad from somewhere. If that’s not a goer, they can always cut to a darkened, screen-filled room where their very own version of Mark McDermott or Dean Ryan can get his slow-mo on.
Without wanting to retire anybody early, Connacht fullback Gavin Duffy sounded excellent as a pitchside analyst during Newstalk’s recent coverage of Munster v Toulouse. If he’s not busy playing in the early stages of the 2015/16 season, the broadcaster would be missing a trick in letting him sit idle.
What would you like to see TV3 do differently?
