Just thank your stars it's not either of the sneering horrible pair of Inverdale/Logan.

On Sky I'd love a Vossy/Carney duo

BBC Woods and....hmmm Noble or Kear, Deighton on BBC radio is another good shout.

Mark Chapman did a great job - the fact that he isn't a RL man is fine by me because he doesn't have any baggage and sees it for what it is, and at face value i.e:- a great product, full of skill and drama.

Ray French, Steve & Eddie are all RL men but they send most people groping for the mute button so that argument doesn't really compute for me.

Brian Noble was also great this WC, really talked the game up and also has credibility to the audience given he is a current SL coach. I also thought Wilkin did well in the studio summary role; articulate, knowledgeable and not bad on the eye for the ladies.

Yeah I wouldn't say being a 'RL man' is particularly an advantage for a presenter. Surely if you want to attract a wider audience its better having someone that a non RL audience is familiar with in a different context, it looks more exclusive if we just have RL men all the time.

I get the feeling that to be classed as a RL man you have to be northern and cliched, eg Alex Murphy, Gary Schofield etc

Chapman presented MOTD2 on the Sunday following Englands defeat to Zew Zealand.

In the analysis following the first game, in which there had been some robust (for football) play, Chapman and Robbie Savage both made references along the lines of "it was like the rugby league yesterday".

It was obvious that Chapman and Savage had been discussing the events of 24 hours earlier and were hugely impressed by them - a comparrison drawn to RL during the BBC's flagship football programme is, I would imagine, previously unheard of.

Chapman for me is doing a fantastic job, and given his reaction to the defeat against NZ (he appeared to be genuinely gutted), if he isn't an RL man already, he soon will be.

Don't forget that he narrated(the rather excellent)"Rugby League Raw" show that was on a few years ago which followed the National League Play-Offs.

I noticed during half time at Cardiff, he said something to Ray French about when he first met him outside the truck as a young lad, so he must have some kind of background within the sport. Personally I think the smitten outsider image which started with Balding does wonders for the sport. It is one thing hearing how great it is from a northerner with a thick accent, but hearing it from a respected voice in sport carries a lot more weight.

Although Chapmans has a northern accent it is (thank god) not in the Eddie Wareing or even Ray French mould.

Woods / Noble and Jiffy are fine for me and Hunter-Paul and Peacock are good too as guests.

Not sure about the 'roving camera in your face' and 'instant half time comment from the players' works though.

Just a shame it'll be months before we see them on the box doing RL again.

Player interviews at half time...bin that no need.

Chapman has been pretty good, not claire balding wide eyed amazement good but stilll very good, i've liked the pre match stuff where he's played off peacock, Crabtree and Noble and RHP. Some good little talk, hyping the game, and a few little jokes, just the right balance.

I have to disagree on Jiffy, calling it straight or not, wire legend or not, it's just very very apparent that he doesn't watch Superleague, and he's not up to speed with the current product, and even less so with the NRL.

Commentators need to evolve with the product, he hasn't and he's now very early on in the stages that people have complained about French for ages in that, he's old product, he's pre superleague.

This isn't just bore from this current tournament,(it was evident though) but from Challenge cup games over the past couple of years.


(please note, try and read the last couple of paragraphs in jiffy's welsh accent and speech patterns, it's very very easy to do)

I suppose the BBC have to justify paying Jiffy though because apart from a handful of Challenge Cup games & Six Nations he doesn't do anything else unless he is on BBC Wales. Some of the other presenters are on week in week out.

God bless

I wish he'd've done it a decade earlier, so we don't have to put up with "Happy Christmas, War Is Over" every December

I always thought it was "Happy Xmas, War Is Over"

He never sung Xmas in the "song"

Your both correct! "Lets hope its a good one".