Over the recent weekend, the sheer volume of televised sports led to a flurry of viewers relentlessly changing channels. Anna Woolhouse, known for her diverse presenting roles on Sky, addressed the abundance of Rugby games available on the platform. Yet, Rugby was just one choice among a variety of games involving balls of all sorts – football, hurling, camogie, tennis and golf, supplemented with rapid machinery such as bicycles in the Tour de France and Formula 1 vehicles in action at Silverstone. The abundance of choices meant there were insufficient hours for sports enthusiasts to satisfy their viewing appetites.
Woolhouse, popular for her boxing presentation skills, extended the heavyweight analogue for a thrilling faceoff between the world’s leading Rugby teams, South Africa and Ireland. Despite the odd timing in the sports season, this clash was one of four that was broadcast live on Saturday.
The run-up to the game saw former Springbok Bryan Habana voicing his insights against the backdrop of the Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, adding a bit of controversy with his theory on how the South African coach, Rassie Erasmus, manipulated the rules to favour his side.
In keeping with the boxing metaphor, commentators Martin Gillingham and Alan Quinlan highlighted the heavyweight competitiveness of this Rugby gathering, even in the absence of actual trophies. The match itself was gruelling, with numerous contested moments often appearing biased against Ireland. Consequently, much of the post-match analysis, featuring Rory Best and Shane Horgan, centred around the Video Match Official’s role and late replacement referee, Luke Pearce.
Especially notable were Gillingham and Quinlan’s remarks concerning two particular instances during the game – the ‘hairline call’ and ‘big call’ – both in reference to James Lowe’s tricky foot play and his subsequent ball handling.
After retiring from a successful rugby career, Best has channelled his finesse towards game analysis, often masking critical evaluations behind his affable smile. Nevertheless, Best has never been one to hold back, offering firm criticism aimed at the constant interference of the Television Match Official (TMO), especially following an incident which witnessed the retrospective penalty against Rónan Kelleher and the overturning of an Irish try by Lowe.
Best pointed out that if the referee was unable to spot infringements in real time, one could hold any breakdown under scrutiny and find some fault. He also insisted on empowering match referee Luke Pearce to perform his duties independently.
While Best didn’t question the veracity of TMO’s decisions, he implied a bias, stating that it always seemed to lean one way. Noting the razor-thin difference in decision making, Best asserted that there should be fairness in the way the game is adjudicated, the same way a coin toss could result in either a head or tail.
Beyond the realms of rugby, television coverage brims with a variety of sporting events. An awe-inspiring decision to broadcast live the All-Ireland camogie quarter-finals was taken by RTÉ, promising multiple matches next Saturday, including the second Test of South Africa-Ireland series.
The unexpected win of Dublin over Kilkenny, followed by Galway’s triumph over Waterford left presenter Joanne Cantwell beaming. Showing her witty side, she jested about the towering height of Brian Molloy, the Camogie president, above reporter Valerie Wheeler during the live draw at Croke Park.
As Cantwell announced the live broadcasting of the camogie semi-finals in the coming weeks, it offered a lively atmosphere exempt from the scrutiny of TMO decisions.