For those of you who have
followed Out On The Full for a while now you might remember that at the
beginning of the season I wrote an article entitled “BT Sport Off To A Flying
Start” and after 18 Rounds of Aviva Premiership Rugby whilst we have a very
short European break, I felt that the time was right to follow up on the
article.
If you haven’t read the previous
piece allow me to provide you with a brief summary of its contents;
in short the first few weeks of the BT Sport coverage were refreshingly
brilliant, the informal yet knowledgeable format made for compelling viewing
and the team dynamics were absolutely spot on. So the lingering question is
have things changed over the past 5 months? In my opinion the answer is yes, they have improved even more as the team have settled into their various roles.
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| First show of the year JPMorgan 7s @andNickMullins |
Now before you ask no-one from
the BT Sport team has asked me to write an article like this, or like the
previous one, I think that you all know me well enough by now to know that I
wouldn’t do that. I’m proud that in Out On The Full I can express my views and
opinions on things, be it teams, players or coverage and that they are received with
open arms, even if they aren't always agreed with by all. The reason that I would like
to once again sing the praises of the BT Sport team is due to the outstanding
coverage that they have delivered week in week out showcasing what has undoubtedly
been one of the most exciting Aviva Premiership seasons in recent years.
On Sunday I spent the day in the
BT Sport Studio to enjoy the bottom of the table clash between Newcastle and
Worcester with the team, any of you that watched it will know that in the first half it certainly wasn’t
the most exciting game of rugby ever and instead of feigning
false positivity at half time Craig Doyle said what all of you were thinking; "Well this really hasn’t been great has it…!?!" Personally I thought
that, that was a moment that epitomised the team, they aren’t afraid to say the
slightly ‘controversial’ things that every single viewer is thinking however crucially
they never, ever over step the mark, even Austin!!! The team of presenters and commentators are
true professionals, they eat, sleep and breathe their rugby… they spend hours researching,
pouring over statistics and traveling all over the country to matches to
deliver coverage that is informal and jovial but has the crucially important backbone
of the solid rugby information and knowledge that we all crave. Personally I
couldn’t think of a better job in the world and I know for a fact that they all
absolutely love being a part of it.
You may be thinking now what the
point of this article is, well really it is my way of saying thank you…
obviously I have and will do so again in person, however as you all know a blog is
there to inform and also to express an opinion and this is mine. Speaking to supporters
throughout the country on my rugby travels I believe that most of you do agree
with these opinions; the live matches are sleek and professional and Rugby
Tonight has now become a Wednesday night institution… I know that some find
that particular programme a little too ‘silly’ however the consensus is that it
is a job well done and that the Smash-O-Meter is the single ‘toughest’ rugby
challenge around!!!
Who knows if there will be a
European competition next year or if the BT Sport team will cover it?
Regardless I cannot wait for the reason of this year’s campaign to be delivered
by an outstanding group of individuals reporting on first class rugby that we
all love and live for week in week out.
