Matt Williams Pundit

footie_fanatic

I was watching the game this morning, First time i saw matt williams as a pundit, thought he was quite good, once you get used to the accent, but knows his stuff. change from the norm.

WeeBushy

Best television pundit in Ireland imo.

A line up of himself, O'Shea and Francis (for the 'hook factor') would be my first choice punditry team I think.

Leslie91

footie_fanatic wrote: »

I was watching the game this morning, First time i saw matt williams as a pundit, thought he was quite good, once you get used to the accent, but knows his stuff. change from the norm.

Were Setanta Ireland showing the game live?. Are they showing the Ireland matches live too?. Was he hosting this morning or a pundit?.

CatFromHue

When you look at most of the other pundits on Irish TV like Hook, Pope, and Francis for example none of them have any roots in the pro game. It's interesting when you see O'Shea on RTE and the completely different opinions he puts forward.

Williams has had coaching stints at Leinster, Scotland, and Ulster. All in the pro game. He's also been on both sides of the popularity stakes so is quite balanced in his opinions.

I like him.

footie_fanatic

Leslie91 wrote: »

Were Setanta Ireland showing the game live?. Are they showing the Ireland matches live too?. Was he hosting this morning or a pundit?.

yea all games on Setanta Ireland, free on upc, like me

I do like O'shea as well, but I find Matt Williams personality shines through very well, Like he was slaggin off the all blacks, but in a nice way if you get me Supposed i was just to used to the other eejits :P but find him very good. Suppose your right helps to have a real grounding in the sport.

David900

Leslie91 wrote: »

Were Setanta Ireland showing the game live?. Are they showing the Ireland matches live too?. Was he hosting this morning or a pundit?.

They are showing every match live as far as I know. He was hosting this morning but is a pundit at the same time, more necessity than anything I think as he only has Frano along side him.

trackguy

Was he the anchor or a pundit?

David900

trackguy wrote: »

Was he the anchor or a pundit?

An anchor punditing

circos

Really like him, seems very honest but still has a high level of optimism.

Pride Fighter

David900 wrote: »

An anchor punditing

That's how it is on Setanta. He is the anchor, but he and Francis are pundits as well. They're like old rugby buddies talking about the match over a pint. They're both excellent IMO.

bamboozle

Emmet Byrne is excellent also

Blindside87

Williams is a great pundit! I actually like Neil Francis on the breakdown/Setanta but as a writer he seems to come out with some mad ole shiz!

mrboswell

Williams is the best out there. Franno is ok but can be a bit clueless at times

David900

If we're talking about pundits I think Liam Toland is worth a mention. His pieces in the Times are good too. He seems like a really intelligent person, I seen him on TV3 once talking about the economy, I've no idea how he is an expert on that but he came across well.

bamboozle

David900 wrote: »

If we're talking about pundits I think Liam Toland is worth a mention. His pieces in the Times are good too. He seems like a really intelligent person, I seen him on TV3 once talking about the economy, I've no idea how he is an expert on that but he came across well.

+1, always a great article in the times.

chris85

Cant beat a bit of Matty and Frano on the breakdown.

wixfjord

Love Matt, his BNZ cup (Bloody New Zealanders) is hilarious!

And we're stuck on RTE with utter bluster from Hook, O Brien, Shehan, Nugent, Lenihan and McGuirk.

Conor O Shea is also brilliant, level headed, fair and unbiased.

Franno is ok, but completely biased and I hate that smug look about him tbh!

Blindside87

Ahh I love Franno's smugness. I wouldn't take him too seriously..he looks like he's made out of icecream though.

Williams is great, he's in real weird mood the last few weeks though. Far bubblier than I remembered! Lots of joking and a bit of madness.

It's good craic, but it's a bit weird to see him like that after years of being more controlled in front of the tv. The Pre RWC show on Setanta he was class, joking away as if he was in the pub after 5/6 pints!

ambid

Deleted User wrote: »

Williams is great, he's in real weird mood the last few weeks though. Far bubblier than I remembered! Lots of joking and a bit of madness.

It's good craic, but it's a bit weird to see him like that after years of being more controlled in front of the tv. The Pre RWC show on Setanta he was class, joking away as if he was in the pub after 5/6 pints!

He and some Aussie mates have bought/ are buying the rugby club in Narbonne so he's probably very excited about that. He was compaining about how poor the skills of the French blokes are recently on Newstalk.

I do love when he refers to Ireland as "us" in his big Aussie accent. The Irish diaspora rules!

footie_fanatic

He's not a pundit, but did anyone think that Ciaran Fitzgeralds commentary sounded a bit like Jimmy magee! as in his voice, or am I alone in that one.

irishbucsfan

I can't take Neil Francis seriously after reading his articles.

I'd love if he was replaced with someone more knowledgeable about the modern game.

footie_fanatic

Awh I like the way Matt was calling him Franno, as if they werent even on telly! I think its a good balance.

Mister Dread

He's great. I love hearing him constantly drop a few "awww mate" and "Franno". He knows his stuff about the pro game in Ireland. He makes you feel like you're hearing about some club side.

GerM

Francis can be a pain but he isn't a complete fool. He knows he's on a wind up half of the time. Williams can give insight into the game but if they had Williams and O'Shea, for example, we'd never be able to wake up properly before kick off in this WC. MW and Francis have a good rapport and I don't think Williams ever takes him too seriously. They've a nice blend of entertainment and insight without ever putting us to sleep or descending into buffoonery.

macman2010

wixfjord wrote: »

Love Matt, his BNZ cup (Bloody New Zealanders) is hilarious!QUOTE]

He's had that a couple years now, seems like a nice bloke + he's trying to get a decent irish seven's team going so fair play to him.

hook is painfull to watch (and listen to!!)

thomond2006

Williams and Franno were great this morning. Worth the subscription to avoid Hook. I find Williams a proactive presenter, given that's he a pundit himself he brings up really good points for himself and Franno to discuss.

As someone said it would be good if O'Shea was on Setanta as well.

Quint2010

Anyone see Hook and Pope's rehash of the famous "breakfast" sketch by Morecombe and Wise? Brings the word "embarrassing" to new depths...

CatFromHue

I didn't get the Morecambe and Wise connection so had no idea what was going on!

Quint2010

CatFromHue wrote: »

I didn't get the Morecambe and Wise connection so had no idea what was going on!

Here's the original..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFgdhZGLJrY

Paparazzo

Williams is great. He's on Off The Ball on Newstalk a lot. Love his talking about New Zealand. Ireland should get him temporarly on our coaching staff any time we go up against them.

"In Gerrys article today, he called New Zealand the "all blacks" on 13 occasions". Funny as well as informative!

corny

bamboozle wrote: »

Emmet Byrne is excellent also

Great man for the analysing the scrum.

irishh_bob

Pride Fighter wrote: »

That's how it is on Setanta. He is the anchor, but he and Francis are pundits as well. They're like old rugby buddies talking about the match over a pint. They're both excellent IMO.

francis,s smugness is often too much to bear , as for williams , sounds like he,s married to kat from kat and kim

astonaidan

Personally I dont mind RTE for rugby, Saying that I like Matt Williams and would like him on the panel, However I really dont like Franno and I cant decide why He just annoys me

fryup

ambid wrote: »

I do love when he refers to Ireland as "us" in his big Aussie accent. The Irish diaspora rules!

the irish diaspora but he not the slighest bit irish

i find it cringeworthy tbh, its like he's trying too hard to lick up to the irish, its really false

Minister Boyce

Really enjoy williams on Off the Ball - Always very relaxed talking to Mc Devitt. i don't have great knowledge of rugby but he's always interesting to listen to - when did he coach leinster?

Taco Corp

Minister Boyce wrote: »

Really enjoy williams on Off the Ball - Always very relaxed talking to Mc Devitt. i don't have great knowledge of rugby but he's always interesting to listen to - when did he coach leinster?

I think it was 1999-2001

icdg

Quint2010 wrote: »

Anyone see Hook and Pope's rehash of the famous "breakfast" sketch by Morecombe and Wise? Brings the word "embarrassing" to new depths...

Probably the most embarrassing thing RTÉ Sport have ever done. Although the billboard advert they have advertising the World Cup is even scarier.

No1J

I was between the two chanells all morning until I hit ITV, by accident, Sean Fitz, Lawrence D, and Pinner, what a line up.
Pure sh1t, 3 of the best players/captians, huge respect, crap, bad mix.
Love to get them full of pints and here the truth.

BarackPyjama

Not a big fan of the Setanta commentary myself. Williams seems sound enough but very banal. Neil Francis... over-opinionated. Doesn't seem to know a huge amount about the sport, which I find odd. Very caustic at times and refuses to back up a lot of his contentious statements. Not a fan.

astonaidan

Now I realised why I hate Franno, He just takes what Williams says and repeats it back in his monotone voice:mad:

GerM

Surley wrote: »

I think it was 1999-2001

Think it was 2000-03 before Scotland came calling. Ella replaced him for one magical season.

GerM

fryup wrote: »

the irish diaspora but he not the slighest bit irish

i find it cringeworthy tbh, its like he's trying too hard to lick up to the irish, its really false

Not really. He has made a life here. He coached our national A side for a couple of seasons, knows most of the players personally and dedicated more of his rugby life to Ireland than anywhere.

Taco Corp

Are Setanta going to have anyone but Williams and Franno?

philstar

astonaidan wrote: »

Now I realised why I hate Franno, He just takes what Williams says and repeats it back in his monotone voice:mad:

do any of you notice that neil francis has got this constant cheeky smirk on his face...it makes me want to smack him in the mouth

bluefinger

really warming to matt. very insightful, and naturally has a great knowledge of southern hemisphere rugby.

today when they odds were put up on the screen, he said something to the effect of if you're having a bet make sure you think about it. thought that was a nice touch.

ambid

fryup wrote: »

the irish diaspora but he not the slighest bit irish

i find it cringeworthy tbh, its like he's trying too hard to lick up to the irish, its really false

Think you're wrong about that. I remember an interview on Newstalk where he referred to his ancestors emmigrating from Ireland.

Regardless of whether or not he'd be eligible to play for Ireland, he's been involved in Irish Rugby for a far longer time than most.

He's done an awful lot for the game here, good and bad sometimes, but I think its fair to say that he has a lot of love for Irish Rugby.

omerin

ambid wrote: »

Think you're wrong about that. I remember an interview on Newstalk where he referred to his ancestors emmigrating from Ireland.

You are correct.

He is on Newstalk now with Keith Wood

MaryKing

ambid wrote: »

Think you're wrong about that. I remember an interview on Newstalk where he referred to his ancestors emmigrating from Ireland.

I think his grandfather was from Limerick.

irishh_bob

No1J wrote: »

I was between the two chanells all morning until I hit ITV, by accident, Sean Fitz, Lawrence D, and Pinner, what a line up.
Pure sh1t, 3 of the best players/captians, huge respect, crap, bad mix.
Love to get them full of pints and here the truth.

francsior pienier is one of the most charismatic sportsmen of all time , dallagio is ok , dont like fitzpatrick , apart from his horrible accent , hes an arrogant twat , i lived in NZ for six months at the end of the nineties , used to see him doing adds on tv about this that and the other , always came across as an arrogant prick