Updated at 13.45pm
IT’S THE YEAR’S biggest sporting event and after months of build-up, the Rugby World Cup is finally here.
Over the next six weeks, 20 countries from both the southern and northern hemisphere will draw battle lines and we’ll be treated to 48 mouth-watering high octane, high stakes contests.
As is always the case with big tournaments, the games will come thick and fast with as many as four fixtures on any given day.
It’s going to be sporting heaven and you’ll be able to watch it all unfold from the comfort of your own sofa.
So with that in mind, we’re going to make things as easy as possible for you to consume an inordinate amount of rugby.
We’ve put together the ultimate Rugby World Cup TV guide with all the details you need to know for the best viewing experience of the sporting event of the year.
Sit back, get comfortable and don’t touch that remote, because the Rugby World Cup is here.
First things first, where can I watch the tournament?
Every single game is exclusively live on TV3 after they outbid RTÉ for the rights last year.
To acquire the sole rights for a tournament of this magnitude is a significant coup for the station and although there were suggestions they would sell some of the fixtures to other broadcasters, they will show every single game live themselves.
The viewership figures will be huge, particularly if Ireland can advance to the latter stages, and TV3 will have the opportunity to showcase their propensity to provide coverage of big sporting events and their ability to rival the state broadcaster.
As well as showing all matches on screen, TV3 will be live streaming them all online on their 3player.
Nonetheless, broadcasting all 48 games is a huge operation and they’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure their coverage is as good as the alternative choice – ITV.
ITV beat off competition from BBC and Sky Sports to broadcast the tournament in the United Kingdom and many people in Ireland will also have access to their coverage – unless you’re with UPC and stuck with UTV Ireland instead.
Who will be on my screens?
A lot of eyebrows are being raised at the thought of watching the tournament on TV3 and not the state broadcaster but Ballymount chiefs have invested heavily in this project and their line-up reflects that.
Matt Cooper fronts the coverage and he’ll be joined by some renowned pundits throughout the course of the tournament. In Dublin, Keith Wood, Matt Williams, Shane Jennings, Peter Stringer, Neil Back and Hugo MacNeill among others will provide the analysis while Conor McNamara, now of the BBC, will be the lead commentator.
The voice of Sky Sports’ GAA coverage, Dave McIntyre, will also be behind the mic while Stuart Barnes and Liam Toland will also be in the gantry.
Our very own Murray Kinsella will join TV3 reporter Sinead Kissane with regular updates from the Ireland camp.
ITV’s budget is, as you would expect, considerably larger than TV3′s and their stellar cast of pundits, presenters and commentators is evidence of that.
They’ve a host of World Cup winners from 2003 with Jonny Wilkinson, Sir Clive Woodward and Lawrence Dallaglio three of the faces we’re likely to see most of throughout the next six weeks.
Brian O’Driscoll will be flying the Irish flag in studio while other big names include George Gregan, Gareth Thomas, Sir Ian McGeechan, Francois Pienaar, Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh, David Flatman and, most notably, England Women World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi.
John Inverdale, formerly of BBC, is the lead presenter while Nick Mullins, Miles Harrison, Jon Champion, Martin Gillingham, Simon Ward, Geordan Murphy, Scott Hastings, Shane Williams and Ben Kay will be on commentary duty.
What about highlights?
A cursory glance at the TV schedule suggests there is no rigid schedule to TV3′s highlights programmes throughout the tournament. It appears they are showing full highlights of some games on 3e but overlooking the majority.
The broadcaster confirmed to The42 that they will have full highlights of certain games while you’ll be also able to watch replays of all the big incidents throughout their live coverage.
ITV, however, have an extended highlights show at the end of each match night, although the start time varies (with the X-Factor presumably taking precedence on the weekends).
All the fixtures and kick-off times can be viewed here in our dedicated Rugby World Cup micro-site. All games are shown live on either TV3 or 3e and ITV.
