The first match of Eddie Jones’s England regime, against Scotland at Murrayfield on Feb. 6, "will be shown live on the BBC after the full broadcasting plans for the RBS Six Nations Championship were outlined in detail," according to Alex Lowe of
the LONDON TIMES. The BBC will show eight matches of this year’s tournament, with ITV, which has a "long history with the Rugby World Cup but will be involved with the Six Nations for the first time, to broadcast seven." The deal struck between the two broadcasters last July stated that "the BBC, which gave up two years of exclusivity to begin the partnership early in a money-saving exercise, would show home matches for Wales, Scotland and France, with ITV holding the rights to England, Ireland and Italy home games" (LONDON TIMES, 1/20). The London TELEGRAPH reported leading ITV's team "will be presenter Mark Pougatch, joined by members of England's 2003 World Cup winning squad Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Robinson" along with their coach Clive Woodward. Other faces "include former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, former Wales captain Gareth Thomas and former Scotland coach Sir Ian McGeechan."
The BBC’s line-up "includes presenters John Inverdale and Gabby Logan with expert analysis from Jeremy Guscott, Matt Dawson, Jonathan Davies, Keith Wood and Gavin Hastings."
BBC Radio 5 live and 5 live sports extra "will also provide live commentary from all of the home nations’ matches and up-to-the-minute updates on the remaining games" (TELEGRAPH, 1/20).
