What's happened to good quality rugby journalism?

What's happened to good quality rugby journalism?

Sorry, but I've got to have a bit of a rant.

I just saw a headline on the BBC saying that Wales 'need street fighters' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34170751 Colin Charvis).  Charvis then goes on to say that you'd want to pick the biggest bats in a street fight, so choose the biggest players. Sorry, but how is this insightful journalism?

There are more examples of this in the written press (Stuart Barnes in particular) and plenty more in commentary. Scott Hastings and John Beattie in the Edinburgh vs Leinster game just moaned about why the SRU hadn't moved ground persistently (which has been discussed tirelessly) instead of discussing the career path of youngster Hoyland or going over (new star signing) Nasi Manu's career.

Also, how many times do commentators say "I have no idea what's going on there" when it comes to scrums? Why can't you try to learn what's going on?

It just seems like journalists are choosing the easy way out.

One example breaking this trend is BT Sport's rugby program where they do on-field demos of moves/set pieces and discuss why certain players excelled. It's new, different and interesting to understand things from a player's perspective (or a ref - Barnes). Also Brian Moore's full contact is useful to hear from players how they feel they and their team are getting on.

Topics that I'd like explained would be what's going on in the scrum, why a particular try was scored, what tactics a team is using, players to watch & why, why a team is improving/falling behind etc. These are points that a professional journalist should be covering, something that myself of perhaps a fellow 606v2 poster might struggle to answer.

If you know any good, under-the-radar journalists, please list them.

I quite like Tom English on the Beeb, although he did manage mistake David Denton and Richie Gray in the captions, and state that we started our campaign against the USA (rather than Japan). Details details.

Anything written by Mike Blair is also good, and David Walsh in the Sunday Times (not normally a rugby specialist) writes really well and his player interviews are perceptive.

I do think rugby lacks a really insightful journalist though - a rugby equivalent of Michael Atherton for example.

The problem with rugby journalism is that journalist types are not die hard rugby types in the first instance!

There are those that do both and thus neither adequately, but for a die hard rugby expert trying to explain things to rugby fans is infuriatingly impossible.

The scrum is pretty simple to explain, the better 8 either push the weaker 8 off the ball, or 1 front row of the 6 decides to cheat. IIt is all down to pressure, and recognising the 'out' signals. When a comentator says he has no idea what is going on part of me is refreshed at the attitude and the other part of me asks why they didn't employ an ex prop to explain whats going on, but then I remember that the scrum has changed 2/3 times in recent years, coaching techniques change by the week and props evolve by the day so an ex prop would be just as clueless.

Murray Kinsella "analysis" articles on the 42 are quite good and detailed with plenty of footage to help to understand its points.

http://www.the42.ie/analysis-ireland-defence-defeat-joe-schmidt-2315000-Sep2015/

wish we had a guy like that over here.

There are some good ones about. The overall quality of journalism, IMO, is pitiful in the uk so it shouldn't be odd that it's the same for rugby specifically

whocares wrote:Murray Kinsella "analysis" articles on the 42 are quite good and detailed with plenty of footage to help to understand its points.

http://www.the42.ie/analysis-ireland-defence-defeat-joe-schmidt-2315000-Sep2015/

wish we had a guy like that over here.

He's doing some rugby coverage in Ireland for TV3 so hopefully he'll bring that same level of detail to TV.

Every serious rugby broadcaster should have a former front row forward on hand to analyse the scrums.

What's happened to good quality rugby journalism?

Bill Maclaren Died!!!!!!!

Directors of the TV coverage are awful too. I don't want to see 30 seconds of slow mo a replay of a player diving over the line and celebrating after a flowing back's move, I want to see the back's move!

Thought this was a really good piece, tough to understand what happens at the scrum a lot of the time, this made a lot of sense

http://www.the42.ie/ireland-england-scrum-analysis-2315340-Sep2015/