Traditional rivals need to have Six of the best
Gavin Cummiskey on the Six Nations battle of the airwaves.
'Clash over cash looms at venue of 'Bloody Sunday'" read the headline for BBC rugby anchorman John Inverdale's column in the
Daily Telegraph last September.
Inverdale had just made an exploratory trek down Jones's Road to check out the All-Ireland football and hurling finals. Henry Shefflin left an abiding memory. King Henry the amateur that is.
"I can't tell you much about him except that he was beyond brilliant on Sunday. Think O'Driscoll at his mesmeric best," wrote the son of a Royal Navy dental surgeon. "However, Shefflin is sitting at his desk today remembering the glory but concentrating on the world of credit finance because that's the reality of life for the best that hurling has to offer. But will the next generation be so accommodating? If all the big matches in Irish sport, whether with round or oval ball, start heading for Croke Park, it can surely only be a matter of time before someone takes a hurly (sic) to the GAA and starts demanding a slice of the action."
Hmmm. Inverdale has, understandably, missed the millions of words printed in the GAA pay-for-play debate but his column marks one of the rare occasions that the English media juggernaut has addressed Gaelic Games.
Rugby moving into Croke Park is the common denominator.
Inverdale even delved into the stadiums' blood stained relationship with the War of Independence by noting the origins of the Hogan Stand. The stand was named after a victim of a British reprisal to Michael Collins's hit squad assassinating 11 intelligence officers, known as the Cairo Group.
"Croke Park was the scene of Bloody Sunday in November 1920 when during a Dublin-Tipperary hurling match, British police auxiliaries entered the stadium, and in response to the deaths of several of their colleagues earlier, fired shots which led to at least a dozen people, among them Michael Hogan, the Tipperary captain, losing their lives. As if that was not enough, the ground's famous terracing is called Hill 16 having been originally made from the rubble left after the Easter Rising in 1916.
"So while a lot of sports stadiums may boast of having rich histories, Croke Park is different - it's not just been part of Irish history, it's helped shape it."
The Irish Times interviewed Inverdale recently to uncover BBC plans for the Six Nations, with a particular focus on Croke Park hosting France and England.
Just like the governing of Ireland from Dublin Castle in 1916-20, an Irish element has infiltrated the Beeb's inner circle.
Craig Doyle, a former student at Blackrock College, will be asking all the pertinent questions and providing continuity. Keith Wood will be in the studio - alongside Inverdale, Jonathan Davis, Jeremy Guscot and Andy Nicol - while Philip Matthews joins Eddie Butler as a match commentator.
An obvious question springs to mind: does the English public understand the gravity of Croke Park opening its gates to rugby? "Not really, no," says Inverdale. "We in the media could bang on about the historic significance of this but an awful lot of people in this country (England) aren't aware that Croke Park even exists.
"The symbolism of Croke Park is a complete mystery to them." So, the BBC will undertake the task of informing the masses? "From our point of view it will be an educational exercise because people in this country just don't know. If you say to most people: 'Hurling,' they'll say: 'That mad game in Ireland,' so you are having to start from a very low base.
"We will be illustrating the cultural and social significance of this team playing at Croke Park and the singing of God Save the Queen. The interesting thing is how the Irish crowd respond to it." No doubt, many of the Ulster contingent will join in.
Despite England losing eight of their previous nine Test matches, Inverdale has thrown a few quid on Brian Ashton leading them to a Grand Slam. At 22 to 1 it's an enticing bet.
"If I was on Ireland's side at the moment I would be worried, because England can't carry on being garbage. So much will be made of the game's significance from an Irish point of view but the venue is irrelevant from an English perspective. It could be played in Kazakhstan. England have to win because they haven't done terribly well lately.
"It's the nature of sport to throw spokes in wheels. From an Irish perspective, Sod's Law will see the English spoil the occasion but, like most of my bets, I don't hold much hope for it."
Quiet English optimism is a worrying trait.
RTÉ's access to live rugby has suffered some knock backs recently, but the Six Nations remains their flagship presentation.
Tom McGurk, George Hook and Brent Pope will provide their usual discourse during Ireland's quest for a Grand Slam but, thankfully, the Three Musketeers caricature (guess who's Porthos?) is augmented by the sensible rationale of Conor O'Shea (the d'Artagnan of this analogy).
The former Irish fullback also brings a unique knowledge of the Croke Park backdrop for the visit of France and England as his father, Jerome, won three All-Ireland medals at the venue with Kerry in the 1950s.
O'Shea senior started at right corner back in the 1955 and 1959 finals, featuring on the panel in 1953. He returned for 1960 decider when Kerry were defeated by Down.
A specially commissioned documentary - pencilled in for Thursday, February 8th, three days before the French game - will chart the historical and political wranglings that eventually led the GAA to temporarily relent on Rule 42.
Produced by Motive productions, who brought us the Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh documentary over Christmas, the programme will be interview driven with plenty of archive footage.
The rugby magazine programme Against the Head also returns on Monday nights.
The only change to the Six Nations team sees Gary Moran join Ryle Nugent and George Hamilton as match commentators, filling the gap left by Jim Sherwin.
RTÉ may be losing rugby's bidding war but all Six Nations angles are available to the terrestrial viewer until 2009.
Unfortunately, for those out Montrose way at least, the national station surrendered live coverage of the Heineken European Cup to Sky Sports this season (although deferred transmission continues for another four years), while Setanta Sports sprung a genuine coup by acquiring the rights for September's World Cup.
To comply with the government edict that certain events should be free to air, Setanta sold partial rights, including the Irish games, to TV3.
"The loss of the rugby World Cup was disappointing," admitted RTÉ head of sport Glen Killane. "It's a shame that the same numbers of people that are currently watching our international output won't be able enjoy the World Cup. It's gone to pay TV but it will also be on ITV and TV3, parts of it anyway. The audience will be fragmented. I don't think people will settle on any one channel."
It's a similar story on the airwaves, as Newstalk gained exclusive radio rights for France 2007.
"The opposition really ganged up on us a little bit to bring financial muscle to bear on the situation," says Killane. "The 2011 World Cup is still on the table. The Heineken Cup is off limits for four or five years so that's another disappointment.
"We are aware of the increased competitive nature of the market at the moment. From RTE's perspective we are here to serve the audience. It's a shame that people have to pay for some of these events but we are by no means out of the market. The Six Nations is part of our output for the next three seasons and we will be in the hunt for the next round of contract negotiations in a very strong way."
After the Six Nations, the only live internationals on RTÉ in this momentous year for the sport are the World Cup warm-up games against Italy and Scotland in August, although the two summer Tests in Argentina remain a target.
"We're also covering A internationals and under-21s as part of our deal with the IRFU. The deferred Heineken Cup coverage will continue for three or four years. We expect the figures for this to be impressive."
Of course, the rugby fan unable to procure a ticket has a television alternative in the BBC but statistics from last season show a strong loyalty factor towards the national broadcaster.
Take the Triple Crown clinching victory over England in Twickenham on March 18th. An average of 643,000 tuned into RTÉ, peaking at a Six Nations record of 822,000, while BBC viewers in Ireland averaged 124,000 and peaked at 148,000.
Presuming everything goes to plan in the coming weeks and Ireland are closing in on a first Grand Slam since 1948, then McGurk and company will decamp to Rome for St Patrick's weekend to ensure the atmosphere is transferred to your livingroom.
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