Mike Whittaker
Referees in England
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2005
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Clearly, to be a good TV commentator cannot be easy - after all there is only one Bill McClaren in a lifetime.
However, the fellows on ITV just don't seem to be much of an enhancement to the match for me.
As someone who watches the Tour de France on TV, I appreciate the skill of the commentator who is faced with a set of pictures over which he has no control and still has to fill a 4 or 5 hour programme. They find things that cyclists find interesting and chat about them while leaving the viewer to watch the obvious.
This is not appropriate for a rugby match. They do not have to fill every gap with endless twittering coupled with a commentary more appropriate to radio. Regularly talking over the ref feed and then telling us (sometimes incorrectly) what the ref is saying when if only they would shut up then we would be able to hear it is infuriating.
As usual they have an 'expert' with them who is a past player who may have been brilliant on the pitch but does not qualify as an expert on matters of law and their application.
Enough to start with and get that off my chest! Meanwhile thank god for the mute button...
However, the fellows on ITV just don't seem to be much of an enhancement to the match for me.
As someone who watches the Tour de France on TV, I appreciate the skill of the commentator who is faced with a set of pictures over which he has no control and still has to fill a 4 or 5 hour programme. They find things that cyclists find interesting and chat about them while leaving the viewer to watch the obvious.
This is not appropriate for a rugby match. They do not have to fill every gap with endless twittering coupled with a commentary more appropriate to radio. Regularly talking over the ref feed and then telling us (sometimes incorrectly) what the ref is saying when if only they would shut up then we would be able to hear it is infuriating.
As usual they have an 'expert' with them who is a past player who may have been brilliant on the pitch but does not qualify as an expert on matters of law and their application.
Enough to start with and get that off my chest! Meanwhile thank god for the mute button...