Commentators

Be interesting to see if this is Grant Nisbett’s last merry go round he turns 73 on the 26th December.
I know the legendary late Bill Mclaren went through until he was 78 before retiring.
Got to say i have been highly impressed with Mils Muliaina as his side kick.

In the event that Nisbett does move on , i probably only see 2 canditates ,Tony Johnson or Riki Swannell..?
It was a surprise not to hear Johnson calling at the RWC having been part of RWC broadcasting team previously
I know he suffers from peripheral neuropathy and he was diagnosed with prostate cancer back in 2019 so i am hoping illness is not the issue

Been really impressed with Riki Swannell and Joel Stransky as a combination , Swannell as a broadcaster is a class act so it would not surprise me if she was to jump the que if the situations eventuates

Jeff Mctainish from his days at TV3 has come a long way as a caller but probably falls into the too soon category

Only other person and it would be out of left field ,way out left field in fact would be Scotty Stevenson , but i know having spoken to Scotty a couple of years back his former employer was not happy.

Let the debate begin.

Agree on Rikki mate, I think she's really good

They should ask Justin Marshall to come back

Jeff Mctainish is the one they should go with, sounds like he is actually enjoying the games.

@Kirwan he’s a good dude ,but it would be a jump of epic proportions
I know Swannell is rated very highly at Sky after doing such a stellar job at last years Womens RWC

There needs to be a changing of the guard soon. Even TJ has been around 30+ years on either radio or TV.

Nigel Yalden is another who could make the move from radio to Sky permanent.

@Kirwan said in Commentators:

Jeff Mctainish is the one they should go with, sounds like he is actually enjoying the games.

He clearly enjoys his job and it isn’t obvious who he supports. Two massive ticks

TJ is also at retirement age

@Bovidae Yealden did some of the 2019 RWC calling didnt he, or was that just radio too?

@taniwharugby just for radio I believe,may have done the odd women’s RWC game
For me if his health is good it’s TJ if not it’s Swannell.
On saying all that if Bill Mclaren can go through to 78 there’s no reason Nesbitt hangs in a bit longer.

Rikki Swannell or Ken Laban for me.

@Duluth said in Commentators:

TJ is also at retirement age

shit like this makes me feel old

@African-Monkey said in Commentators:

Rikki Swannell or Ken Laban for me.

The latter, not so much.

@taniwharugby He has done plenty of rugby commentary for Sky from 1st XV, to U20s, to FPC and NPC. I think he also did some netball this year.

@booboo I'm a huge fan, even if I may be the only one.

Swannell is very good. Super professional, impartial and no-nonsense.
I like Yalden, too, but would rank him below Swannell.

Laban, absolutely not.

Aslong as it ain’t Karl Te Nana. That guy is super cheesy.

@Steven-Harris I guess some of it depends on how keen Nisbo is to carry on. They flicked across him in the commentary box the other day (probably against Ireland) and he's looking pretty grey these days. Doubt he'll do another RWC.

I'd imagine TJ hasn't gone to RWC for Sky for the same reasons Justin hasn't i.e. budget and diversity.

I think TJ would ascend to senior commentator af Nisbo retires, but he and Laban are both in their mid-60s already, so they need to be developing a few younger ones.

@Chris-B some really good co commentators coming through ,been highly impressed with Ant Strachan on both radio and television
I know Kanes Hames is not everyone’s cup of tea but his knowledge in and around set piece scrum ,lineout and breakdown is 2nd to none ,can be a bit biased at times but that doesn’t bother me unless it’s over the top talking Phil Kearns over the top

If you want fan boy stuff Joe Wheeler is your go to

@Steven-Harris I think there's lots of guys coming through who will make good co-commentators. But, as you will know better than me - being a co-commentator is a different skill to calling the play and there's less of those around.

Despite the Sky bosses' feelings on Sumo, sometimes you have to put professionalism ahead of grudges and I wouldn't mind seeing him back.

Joe is improving - you can't last long as the rugby clown and he's got more to offer.

@Chris-B Upvote for everything above your last sentence. I like Stevenson, but I think that ship has sailed after all his bitter posts on social media after he left Sky.