RTE's rugby coverage

weatherguy

Am I the only Irish rugby fan who doesn't enjoy mssers Hook and Pope on the RTE rugby panel?
I don't understand why they are there.
Neither played international rugby for their respective country's. Hook might have coached US and Connacht in far distant times; and Pope have played provincial representative rugby in NZ, but they never played for Ireland or the All Blacks.
I've no problem with Conor O'Shea, a former Irish international full back who is currently employed full time in the game in England.
So, why not have Keith Wood on the panel, whe he's not working for BBC?
Why not have Mick Galway when he is not involved with Munster's backroom set up or some other players who recently retired?

Hook is just an egotist who talks through his hat. Nobody takes him seriously. Pope coached some club teams in Dublin, but that's it. So what makes him an expert commentator?

And can I ask why is RTE's racing presenter, Tracey Pigott doing post match interviews? She doesn't know enough about the game to ask intelligent questions of the manager, captain or other players. She always conducts 'soft' interviews with the manager and captain.
There must be someone in RTE, who understands rugby, can read the game, and ask salient questions of the team after.

Judgement Day

In the context of all the problems facing Irish rugby, RTE's coverage should be the least of our concerns but if anyone needs to be got rid of from the show it's Tom McGurk. While Hook is becoming increasingly off the wall in his attempt to be rugby's answer to Eamonn Dunphy he does at least provide some entertainment value whereas McGurk adds nothing.

JustinDee

weatherguy wrote: »

Am I the only Irish rugby fan who doesn't enjoy mssers Hook and Pope on the RTE rugby panel?

No you're not.
Brent Pope is a pretty good analyst (you don't need to be a former international). Gerry Thornley can sometimes be a good reader of a game. What has he achieved as a player or coach?
Hook is purely there for entertainment value and to keep people tuning in or logging in.

weatherguy wrote: »

And can I ask why is RTE's racing presenter, Tracey Pigott doing post match interviews? She doesn't know enough about the game to ask intelligent questions of the manager, captain or other players

Yes, she does. She's an excellent post-match interviewer.

Mr.Applepie

Judgement Day wrote: »

In the context of all the problems facing Irish rugby, RTE's coverage should be the least of our concerns but if anyone needs to be got rid of from the show it's Tom McGurk. While Hook is becoming increasingly off the wall in his attempt to be rugby's answer to Eamonn Dunphy he does at least provide some entertainment value whereas McGurk adds nothing.

All McGurk does is interupt. the panel would be talking about an interesting topic and then in pops McGurk (persumbly because the camera hasn't been on him in 30secs) to ask some stupid question on some ridiculous topic.

thebaz

I'm surprised people still find Hook entertaing , he was perhaps, when he started out - his continual tirade against how partisan the refs always are towards Ireland , gets my goat up - out to pasture Mr Hook, well past your sell by date

bamboozle

Brent Pope toured with the AB's but just never got capped, he knows his rugby.

Tracey Pigott is dreadful, i still cringe at the thought of her on camera trying to kiss a highly embarrassed POC in a post match interview during the GS season.

O'Shea is excellent.

If mick galway became involved i think i'd switch to bbc, he's dreadful.

Liam Toland & Bob Casey do very good and entertaining articles for the times and Matt Williams is excellent.

as for Mark McDermott...the less said the better

i know plenty of people who watch the games at home rather than going to them because of the entertainment RTE's coverage provides.

Digifriendly

bamboozle wrote: »

i know plenty of people who watch the games at home rather than going to them because of the entertainment RTE's coverage provides.

I find this a strange comment for this simple reason - surely with Video/DVD recorders/PVRs/Sky + etc all these people have to do when they come home is watch RTE's coverage having been to the game themselves. Do people really stay at home for the entertainment or is it the price of getting through the turnstiles that keeps them at home?

Quint2010

Neil Francis is the best rugby analyst-both on TV and in print

WeeBushy

Hooks, imo, destroys the panel.

Conor O'Shea will come out with an insightful and intelligent comment, Pope (while not the best analyst in the world, but aint bad) can offer a non-Irish perspective which can be interesting. Then Hook goes and ruins what could have been an interesting discussion by making some off the wall, ludicrous comment just to get a reaction. It stifles any proper debate amongst the panelists. McGurk does butt in too much as well, and between the two of them its impossible for the panel to properly discuss a subject.

I don't put it down to them not having played rugby internationally, plenty of people can be wonderful analysts without playing the game to a high level - just take a look at some of the posters around here . Its just that they happen to know very little about the game.

And its not like we don't have good Irishmen who could work for RTE; BBC and Sky employ Irishmen who do a much better job than Hook and McGurk. I'm sure we could find better men than these two. I was quite impressed with Costello during Leinster's last match, and I thought Hickey was very good in an episode of against the head last season. Similarly, Munster, Connacht and Ulster have good analysts. There are better options out there, but in typical RTE fashion they have zero interest in change.

smurphy29

I found Hook entertaining and enjoyed listening to him for years, but these days I can't bear him any more. His points of view are never considered, everything is just bluster. And while it may be stating the bleedin' obvious, he is just such a moaner and is incredibly negative. He is also astonishingly anti-Leinster and finds it almost impossible to say anything good about them.

Take the recent Connacht v Leinster game. He said

- Connacht could win the game
- Leinster should win the game and win it comfortably
- if Connacht don't win then they are back to where they were two years ago
- if Leinster don't win easily then we'll know they have serious problems.

After the game he said both teams were dreadful, questioned the Connacht players' heart and continued his ridiculous call for Joe Schmidt's head. He then started going on about Munster fans wanting to win the Heineken Cup and that he would recant if Leinster won the Heineken Cup.

So in short, no matter what the outcome one team had to be in crisis (in fact both were) and that he would only stop calling for the Leinster coach's head if they won the Heineken Cup.

smurphy29

In terms of other analysts RTE could use, Matt Williams is head and shoulders above the rest. He is so deliberate and considered, everything is thought through with logic. Very insightful, and very balanced. Plus, his accent is hilarious to listen to.

I think Emmet Byrne is also a good analyst, even if he talks a bit like he just rolled out of bed five minutes before going on air.

Denis Hickie is probably still too close to his mates in Leinster to offer balance, which is a problem with a lot of the recent retirees. Poor old Frankie Sheahan, while nice to listen to at times, doesn't seem to think the game exists outside of Munster.

Franno's laid-back style comes across quite nicely on telly, but he can still be a bit one-eyed and tends to dig his heels in. His long-held grudge against Tommy Bowe would be an example.

ButtersSuki

Galway is dreadful, at his worst he's a Munster rabble-rouser; at his best, he's slightly better than Frankie "when I was playing for Munster" Sheahan - who is shockingly bad. Both need to realise their job is to commentate objectively and not be spokespeople for the Munster Agenda. Sure Mick O'Driscoll is the 3rd best lock in the world after PO'C and DO'C in their eyes! Hopefully after last Saturday, that opinion will never be offered again.

O'Shea and Wood are excellent and measured and the show would be much better were it take this more cerebral route. I'm sure Wood is exclusively contracted to the Beeb so it's unlikely we'll see him on RTE for a long time.

Hook and Pope can be okay, but too often they enter into a Waldorf & Statler routine and while it was entertaining for a while, it's not that funny anymore.



The biggest problem or me however is McGurk. He's appalling! I wonder is he watching the same game I was half the time. I realise his job is to provoke some reaction from "the stars" of the show (Waldorf & Statler) but he could do it in a much more subtle fashion and you'd think he'd have a better understanding of the game at this stage - or maybe he's an amazing actor fooling us all with his stupidity?

Franno hands down for me is the best on Irish shores.

bamboozle

Digifriendly wrote: »

I find this a strange comment for this simple reason - surely with Video/DVD recorders/PVRs/Sky + etc all these people have to do when they come home is watch RTE's coverage having been to the game themselves. Do people really stay at home for the entertainment or is it the price of getting through the turnstiles that keeps them at home?

in my experience yes, though the price also is a factor.

theKramer

My biggest problem with Hook is he's so bloody negative that I think he will actually turn people off watching Irish teams play. I dont mind realism, but he slams Irish teams needlessly.
As mentioned above, he always butts in when Popey or O'Shea are making an interesting and valid point, and McGurk just feeds the troll :mad:

Auvers

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Galway is dreadful, at his worst he's a Munster rabble-rouser; at his best, he's slightly better than Frankie "when I was playing for Munster" Sheahan - who is shockingly bad. Both need to realise their job is to commentate objectively and not be spokespeople for the Munster Agenda.
Franno hands down for me is the best on Irish shores.

are you for real? you go off on one slagging Galway and Frankie as having a Munster agenda and then proceed to highlight "Franno" as the only objective pudit in Irish rugby

what a load of bull :rolleyes: "Franno" is one of the most biased pudits I have ever heard

so I can assume its blue or nothing for you

ButtersSuki

Auvers wrote: »

are you for real? you go off on one slagging Galway and Frankie as having a Munster agenda and then proceed to highlight "Franno" as the only objective pudit in Irish rugby

what a load of bull :rolleyes: "Franno" is one of the most biased pudits I have ever heard

so I can assume its blue or nothing for you

Yes, it's blue or nothing for me - that why I sang the praises of ex-Leinster hooker Keith Wood....oh wait, didn't he play for Munster? And Conor O'Shea's dad is from Kerry and I praised him too - oh how biased I am. Am I anti-All Black too as I didn't find Pope to be the best by that logic?

Where exactly did I say Franno was objective? If you had bothered to read my post you'll have seen that I didn't say he was objective, I merely stated that I preferred listening to him. If you're going to have a go, at least base in fact.

Auvers

@butter just reading between the lines

imo Hook has to go, I used to quite enjoy the banter between himself and Pope but now all I see is an arrogant self serving tosser (think it was the Sky ads), I would love to see Keith Wood as a panelist but he would probably get paid a lot more on the BBC and hopefully BOD may get a shot at it when ever he hangs up the boots

ButtersSuki

Auvers wrote: »

@butter just reading between the lines

imo Hook has to go, I used to quite enjoy the banter between himself and Pope but now all I see is an arrogant self serving tosser (think it was the Sky ads), I would love to see Keith Wood as a panelist but he would probably get paid a lot more on the BBC and hopefully BOD may get a shot at it when ever he hangs up the boots

Was that a retraction/apology then?

weatherguy

JustinDee wrote: »

No you're not.
Brent Pope is a pretty good analyst (you don't need to be a former international). Gerry Thornley can sometimes be a good reader of a game. What has he achieved as a player or coach?
Hook is purely there for entertainment value and to keep people tuning in or logging in.


Yes, she does. She's an excellent post-match interviewer.

She hasn't a clue. She doesn't know what questions to ask because she doesn't understand the game, tactics, offsides etc. You must be an RTE hack to say she is excellent.
She asks bland, banal questions. It is typical of the mandarins in RTE who persist with the same old forumula and don't give other reporters/presenters an opportunity. Does she know difference between a loose head and tight head prop? Does she know the job of a number 7 as opposed to number 6. Why not give the job to Gary Moran? I don't know him, but he has commentated on lesser international rugby matches and Magners and Heineken Cup games and knows his stuff.
She sold stick to horse racing.

If you watch BBC or Sky they only have former internationals on their panels. Hook and Pope never played for their respective countries.
Conor O'Shea is the only genuine pundit and excellent to boot.

Why should Pope be on the panel when he is from NZ. Let him sit on the panel when Ireland is playing the All Blacks. There are plenty of former 'Irish' international players that could be hired.

BBC use an Irish international, Keith Wood, whenever they televise and Irish match.

Sky use Sean Fitzpatrick, former NZ captain, when they televise the All Blacks.

But whey does RTE stick with Pope. Why not include Matt Williams? He is far more articulate and speaks concisely and congently. He is excellent on Newstalk's rugby show on a Monday evening and in his column in the IT.

Auvers

ButtersSuki wrote: »

Was that a retraction/apology then?

nope

I think I was correct in my assessment, its the usual provincial nonsense that plagues this board that has been dressed up

ButtersSuki

Auvers wrote: »

nope

I think I was correct in my assessment, its the usual provincial nonsense that plagues this board that has been dressed up

Ah, no, you're not - and for the reasons I outlined. You talk of "the usual provincial nonsense" as if you're above it, yet you have tarred me with that brush. I took the time to reply to your message and clarify what I said - you have it seems deliberately chosen to misinterpret.

As for your "reading between the lines" comment, you're telling me you can read between the lines on my comments? Wow, what else can you tell me about my thoughts?

bamboozle

weatherguy wrote: »

She hasn't a clue. She doesn't know what questions to ask because she doesn't understand the game, tactics, offsides etc. You must be an RTE hack to say she is excellent.
She asks bland, banal questions. It is typical of the mandarins in RTE who persist with the same old forumula and don't give other reporters/presenters an opportunity. Does she know difference between a loose head and tight head prop? Does she know the job of a number 7 as opposed to number 6. Why not give the job to Gary Moran? I don't know him, but he has commentated on lesser international rugby matches and Magners and Heineken Cup games and knows his stuff.
She sold stick to horse racing.

If you watch BBC or Sky they only have former internationals on their panels. Hook and Pope never played for their respective countries.
Conor O'Shea is the only genuine pundit and excellent to boot.

Why should Pope be on the panel when he is from NZ. Let him sit on the panel when Ireland is playing the All Blacks. There are plenty of former 'Irish' international players that could be hired.

BBC use an Irish international, Keith Wood, whenever they televise and Irish match.

Sky use Sean Fitzpatrick, former NZ captain, when they televise the All Blacks.

But whey does RTE stick with Pope. Why not include Matt Williams? He is far more articulate and speaks concisely and congently. He is excellent on Newstalk's rugby show on a Monday evening and in his column in the IT.

Matt Williams has the same amount of international caps as Hook or Pope!

completely agree with you re Tracey Pigott tho

danthefan

Auvers wrote: »

are you for real? you go off on one slagging Galway and Frankie as having a Munster agenda and then proceed to highlight "Franno" as the only objective pudit in Irish rugby

what a load of bull :rolleyes: "Franno" is one of the most biased pudits I have ever heard

so I can assume its blue or nothing for you

He is? Which way? He has absolutely savaged Leinster in the past, in a manner I've seen no other pundit or writer.

Galwey is an absolute joke. Frankie is decent enough when he's not commentating on Munster.

Badabing

Breakdown live on Setanta with Matt Williams and Neil Francis is outstanding imo very insightful and no bull crap like Hook and pope.

LowOdour

The way Popey starts cracking 'jokes' half way through a debate really gets my goat....seems it has gotten worse in the last year or 2.
He jokes, laughs, turns to o'Shea who gives him a sympathy smirk and then turns to hookie, who as we all know doesnt smile unles he is talking about Sky+, the lovely ingrid or his sony vaio!

JustinDee

weatherguy wrote: »

She hasn't a clue. She doesn't know what questions to ask because she doesn't understand the game, tactics, offsides etc. You must be an RTE hack to say she is excellent

Nope, I'm not RTE but working at internationals, I have chatted to her on rugby and she's no philistine when it comes to the game.

anonymous_joe

Auvers wrote: »

are you for real? you go off on one slagging Galway and Frankie as having a Munster agenda and then proceed to highlight "Franno" as the only objective pudit in Irish rugby

what a load of bull :rolleyes: "Franno" is one of the most biased pudits I have ever heard

so I can assume its blue or nothing for you

Leinster have no harsher critic than Franno.

I'm not counting twats like Hook or whatever, who aren't critics in any way.

I don't think Franno likes Munster, that's clear, but he's not the type to give Leinster a free ride either.

ButtersSuki

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Leinster have no harsher critic than Franno.

I'm not counting twats like Hook or whatever, who aren't critics in any way.

I don't think Franno likes Munster, that's clear, but he's not the type to give Leinster a free ride either.

Good point - I doubt anyone forgets the "Ladyboys" comment from fanno on Leinster and I've yet to hear any commentator/pundit/critic ever go that far Munster.

its_phil

Neil Francis is a plonker, never hated any man on tv as much as him!

thomond2006

Badabing wrote: »

Breakdown live on Setanta with Matt Williams and Neil Francis is outstanding imo very insightful and no bull crap like Hook and pope.

+1

I agree strongly agree with the above. Francis isn't always my cup of tea but he normally justifies his opinions unlike Hook who I remembering reading in the Sunday Indo before Leinster vs Racing where he claimed that Schmidt had lost the dressing room. :rolleyes:

ButtersSuki

The Breakdown is excellent. I don't always agree with everything that Franno or Matt Williams say but they do explain their thinking and reasoning. Of course they get things wrong - they're pundits not fortune tellers, but I'd be happier listening to them and Gerry Thornley (his piece on Newstalk on Wednesdays is normally quite good) than to Waldorf & Statler on RTE.

Third_Echelon

Hooky has got a bit ranty recently alright, but in general over the years I think he has had valid points and made them well. Lately though, i think his ego is slightly taking over.

I think popey is quite rational in his analysis and generally has fair and constructive comments to make. O'Shea knows the game inside out and sees every little mistake or issues in a match and analyses it well and makes good points. Hook and Pope's sideshow tend to overshadow O'Sheas actual analysis sometimes by shouting him down etc.

Overall, it's not the worst coverage. McGurk is there to play devil's advocate, just like Bill on the football coverage. That's the anchor's job. Tracy pigott i think is ok.

Would definitely like to see Liam Toland involved. Definitely writes the best articles on the game.

I was at one of the recent Guinness Area 22 events and Alan Quinlan spoke quite well. He hinted that he was retiring at the end of the season and would like to get into a media/punditry position pretty much straight away. He might be a good option... definitely a fresh perspective on things.

I like Paul Wallace on sky. I think if RTE paid enough money they could get good pundits.... I think that's the issue at the end of the day more than anything else...

PhatPiggins

The only good thing about RTE's coverage is its free

I miss Setanta

phog

TBH, I like the RTE setup if they could find replacements for Hook and McGurk it would be a great programme and free, Hook freely admitted that he didn't watch the ML but this year as he is being paid he has no problem watching it and then belittling the teams.

Last night Jim Glennon was co-commentating from the Showgrounds, my god he was so boring. Was there anyone else available?


The Breakdown is good too but at times the two lads seem to be just nodding in agreement with each other with stupid smirks on the faces.

I'll be taking out Setanta at the end of the month so wont have to worry about it too much from now on.

Badgermonkey

weatherguy wrote: »

So, why not have Keith Wood on the panel, when he's not working for BBC?

Because Keith's quite bland as an analyst.

With McGurk we're either brilliantly talented worlbeaters or hopelessly flawed has beens. Makes him look silly imho.

On the Beeb Brian Moore and Jiffy are the only guys who don't seem to be afraid to ruffle feathers.

Quint2010

Badgermonkey wrote: »

Because Keith's quite bland as an analyst.

With McGurk we're either brilliantly talented worlbeaters or hopelessly flawed has beens. Makes him look silly imho.

On the Beeb Brian Moore and Jiffy are the only guys who don't seem to be afraid to ruffle feathers.

Who's Jiffy? Guscott? Davies?

Mr Tim Buktoo

Hook is a complete joke at this stage. i dont think he actually watches rugby.
dont think much of pope at this stage either. doesnt seem to be much insight there.
also keith wood isnt much good

whats the story with matt williams? does he reside in ireland now or just pop over and back?
i like him as an analyst

Podge_irl

Quint2010 wrote: »

Who's Jiffy? Guscott? Davies?

Davies

PhatPiggins

Mr Tim Buktoo wrote: »

Hook is a complete joke at this stage. i dont think he actually watches rugby.
dont think much of pope at this stage either. doesnt seem to be much insight there.
also keith wood isnt much good

whats the story with matt williams? does he reside in ireland now or just pop over and back?
i like him as an analyst

He must be living here as he's doing so much commentary and journalism, although he could pre record most ML/Irish games and still get it right.

I thought the reason he left Ulster was to go home?

thomond2006

PhatPiggins wrote: »

I thought the reason he left Ulster was to go home?

Likely story.

PhatPiggins

thomond2006 wrote: »

Likely story.

They've been on a downward curve since though. Pity he's not involved with an Irish team of some sort I rate him as a coach.

thebaz

bamboozle wrote: »

as for Mark McDermott...the less said the better

.

glad someone feals the same :-)

corny

weatherguy wrote: »

Am I the only Irish rugby fan who doesn't enjoy mssers Hook and Pope on the RTE rugby panel?
I don't understand why they are there.
Neither played international rugby for their respective country's. Hook might have coached US and Connacht in far distant times; and Pope have played provincial representative rugby in NZ, but they never played for Ireland or the All Blacks.
I've no problem with Conor O'Shea, a former Irish international full back who is currently employed full time in the game in England.
So, why not have Keith Wood on the panel, whe he's not working for BBC?
Why not have Mick Galway when he is not involved with Munster's backroom set up or some other players who recently retired?

Hook is just an egotist who talks through his hat. Nobody takes him seriously. Pope coached some club teams in Dublin, but that's it. So what makes him an expert commentator?

And can I ask why is RTE's racing presenter, Tracey Pigott doing post match interviews? She doesn't know enough about the game to ask intelligent questions of the manager, captain or other players. She always conducts 'soft' interviews with the manager and captain.
There must be someone in RTE, who understands rugby, can read the game, and ask salient questions of the team after.

The likes of Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho played at no sort of level. Doesn't mean they don't know the score.

Digifriendly

corny wrote: »

The likes of Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho played at no sort of level. Doesn't mean they don't know the score.

Not quite right about Sir Alex - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Ferguson but true about the other two.

Badgermonkey

weatherguy wrote: »

And can I ask why is RTE's racing presenter, Tracey Pigott doing post match interviews? She doesn't know enough about the game to ask intelligent questions of the manager, captain or other players.

The teams press officers don't encourage anyone to say anything interesting.

When was the last time a player or coach said anything that really made you sit up and take notice after a 6N game?

Brendan Venter had something interesting to say and that cost him £25,000.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CHGY6lEjQQ

GreeBo

Remove McGurk because of his continual interruptions of anything even resembling an interesting conversation and remove the need for an ad break every 4 seconds. Every single break I switch to BBC and often forget to switch back.

I think McGurks "style" brings down the rest of them. They have learned that there is no point trying to make a point that lasts more than 30s as he will just interrupt so they all just fire out outlandish one-liners. Way too often you can hear they guys (mainly OShea and Pope) continuing a conversation off camera as McGurk rattles on about something unrelated and most of the time I would rather hear them than him.

But the breaks kill it for me.

jacothelad

McGurk makes Daire O'Brien seem like the world's best sports presenter. Geaorge Hook is waste of blood and organs as a 'commentator'. He does no research at all before any game about the players or even the overall make-up of a team. he starts with pre-concieved ideas and then 'justifies' those by talking out of the back of his neck.

trackguy

jacothelad wrote: »

McGurk makes Daire O'Brien seem like the world's best sports presenter. Geaorge Hook is waste of blood and organs as a 'commentator'. He does no research at all before any game about the players or even the overall make-up of a team. he starts with pre-concieved ideas and then 'justifies' those by talking out of the back of his neck.

Hook brings interest in the same way as Dunphy does to football - stirs things up and he knows it too! Dunphy probably does about the same amount of research too!

Hook is around on the panel as long as he wants - he's too popular.

McGurk is dreadful - Daire O'Brien is quite good I think, seems to know his **** enough to ask reasonable question and his wit is under-rated I think.

I've been really impressed by Matt Williams as anchor on Setanta. Obviously he has the knowledge and he's got a good bit of charm and wit too. As for Neil Francis....:mad:

lologram

jacothelad wrote: »

He does no research at all before any game about the players or even the overall make-up of a team. he starts with pre-concieved ideas and then 'justifies' those by talking out of the back of his neck.

I honestly get the impression he has no idea who some of the people he's talking about are. I'm not sure that he watches that much Magners League, let alone leagues anywhere else in the world. You can often see that creeping out when he's talking about Connacht in particular. Seems to have no idea about the players involved or how the team is doing.

And yet he always seems utterly convinced that he's the most knowledgeable person on it. I reckon the average Boards rugby poster sees more rugby than him and knows more rugby general knowledge than him.

On the other hand, we have Conor O'Shea. RTE should focus their coverage around him, he really is the best one there.

Corcioch

I am SHOCKED that no one has picked up on who is imo one of the Worst things about Irish Rugby Coverage . . . . .RYLE NUGENT.

The guy is a complete ass . . . .totally and utterly useless!!!!!!! ( I know there is no one in RTE any better for Rugby!!! )



George Hook is a complete and utter muppet . . . . . I was delighted when O Shea turned on him and his daft comments at half time last week.

Conor O Shea is excellent . . . .I like Pope for an Outsiders View, and the man talks a bit of sense

. . .his only problem is he lets himself get drawn into Hooks stupidity and comments . . .without Hook there Pope would be wayyy better.

Matt Williams was good too . . . .

Its sad that Paul Wallace was let off to SKY imo.


But Nugent is just appauling imo . . . . .and he's the one you hear most!!!!!!!


( it is sad to see this thread presenting the same old tired inter provincial stuff again . . . . . .

MUNSTER, LEINSTER, CONNAUGHT & ULSTER are all great teams to watch imo . . .and its great to have 4 such teams, and 3 Ex European Champions on this tiny Isle. )

Podge_irl

lologram wrote: »

I honestly get the impression he has no idea who some of the people he's talking about are. I'm not sure that he watches that much Magners League, let alone leagues anywhere else in the world. You can often see that creeping out when he's talking about Connacht in particular. Seems to have no idea about the players involved or how the team is doing.

I'm reasonably sure he's admitted to not watching the Magners League in the past. I don't think he watches any rugby that he's not paid to watch.