Commentating

 

Commentating

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It may seem an obvious remark to make, but there is a difference between radio and television commentators. Radio commentators have to paint a picture for their listeners, while on television the pictures speak for themselves.

Watching cricket can be enhanced by watching the game and listening to the commentary on the radio and maybe the same is true of rugby, football or any other sport. I don’t know how difficult it is to switch between the two media but I’m convinced that the man we were listening to yesterday during the England versus Wales match had made the transition from radio to television. Maybe it was temporary – I hope so.

He didn’t really say much about the game but seemed captivated by other things. We lost count of the number of times he described someone’s hair – greying locks, hair slicked back, ginger hair and neat beard, bald!

Then he described one player who obviously, to his mind, anyway, ‘wore a shirt a size smaller that clung to every sinew’ in addition to his ‘very tight shorts’. A substitute came on and his shirt ‘looked like a washing powder advertisement’ – that was pointed out twice.

It was very entertaining, for all the wrong reasons!

Ireland and Italy are playing at present and it looks as though Italy is being trounced. I do hope they manage to get some points on the board. There are still 30 minutes to play so there is a chance. I have a tendency to support the underdog.

Today’s commentators are good and the referee is definitely in charge of the game, which is good for players, coaches, managers and crowd.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The days of tobacco companies being associated with sport are long gone, thank goodness!

*Late edit; Ireland 36-Italy 0 😞

Guinness Six Nations

Guinness Six Nations

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World Rugby is the governing board for rugby union and has decreed that elite players should wear mouth guard sensors in an effort to monitor possible concussion. The aim is for them to be an integral part of every rugby player's equipment during training and in matches across the world.

Sensor mouth guard

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They may already be in use in ice hockey, field hockey, volleyball and any other sport in which blows to the head through collision might occur. It is sensible to attempt to minimise head injuries. The days of getting up, shaking the head and carrying on in a haze are gone, thankfully. More is known about the effects of concussion, particularly the potential long-term effects, and the players are generally heavier than those of decades past.

The 2024 Guinness Six Nations Championship is entering its second weekend. Already, two players have been sent off for head injury assessments (HIA) because their mouth guard sensors have indicated trauma. Will it slow the game even more? Perhaps it will open the way for substitute players to be given a chance to win a ‘cap’.