Paul O'Connell - best pundit in the game?

[ratsapprentice]

Based on his work for the BBC this 6N, I'd have to suggest he is.

His thoughts are genuinely insightful and well reasoned. His technical knowledge of the game, and of players/teams outside of the competitions he's played in is outstanding.

The state of rugby punditry is quite poor in my mind, so Paul's knowledge of the game has been extremely refreshing for me.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Aye, I'm a big fan too.
It's rare that you see recent ex players take to it so well/quickly.
Can't stand flatman or monye. Was it martyn Williams they rolled out yesterday? Cause he was unbearable.

 

[Groundhog]

Yeah if you read his book he comes across as thoughtful to a fault, driven, as well as being a nice guy and a bit of craic to be around.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yeah he has been 10/10.

What is it with second rows being pretty good pundits.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Also, the BBC's "Rugby Special" is by far the best format for sports punditry.

One presenter, 3 pundits/analysts and NO ****ING AUDIENCE!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

I miss the rugby club show, it was good in my eyes even if Morris and Barnes are annoying.

Rugby Tonight is too ladish really like it wants to be the Top gear of rugby which is a shame as Kay and Healey are really good analysts IMO.

Wish Sky could of got the highlights right at least so they could recap the prem and super rugby games

Having say Rugby Club on a Monday and rugby tonight on a Wednesday would of been nice.

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I miss the rugby club show, it was good in my eyes even if Morris and Barnes are annoying.

Rugby Tonight is too ladish really like it wants to be the Top gear of rugby which is a shame as Kay and Healey are really good analysts IMO.

Wish Sky could of got the highlights right at least so they could recap the prem and super rugby games

Having say Rugby Club on a Monday and rugby tonight on a Wednesday would of been nice.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

Yeah if you read his book he comes across as thoughtful to a fault, driven, as well as being a nice guy and a bit of craic to be around.

Bias as **** though. O'Sulkivan was ****e and Kidney couldn't do wrong was a clear message. He rated Kidney as much as Schmidt which is retarded.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

G. Murphy bio is great.



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G. Murphy bio is great.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

G. Murphy bio is great.



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G. Murphy bio is great.

Murphy was better than Dempsey but EOS was better than Kidney. Kidney couldn't win three in a row outside of his first year, EOS couldn't beat France what incompetence do you want?

 

[ratsapprentice]

Completely agree re: Rugby Tonight and The Rugby Club.

That's kind of what I was getting at, TRC was actually fairly efficient, in that there was little time wasted on fluff.

Morris talks utter ****e constantly, and Barnes was a contrarian troll a lot of the time, but it was actually still enjoyable.

I don't watch Rugby Tonight at all, and haven't done since the first season. It's just third rate trollop.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I quite like Johnny Wilkinson as a pundit on ITV; just think he comes across well and sincere he conveys what players go through in mentally in specific match situations. Prefer him to Sir Clive, who just comes across as quite pompous.

 

[Bruce_ma gooshvili]

Me likes O'Connell, Maggie Alfonsi, Monye and Wilkinson (in small doses). The rest are pretty ordinary and either are not great communicators or offer no insight. Woodward, Nicol, Davies and O'Driscoll are completely replacable. I'd like to think they could get an insightful and articulate ex-coach to be at a higher standard than Woodward.

 

[Groundhog]

Sorry to take us off the topic of punditry to a personal gripe, but in response to Alpha's post I just wanna say

Bias as **** though. O'Sulkivan was ****e and Kidney couldn't do wrong was a clear message. He rated Kidney as much as Schmidt which is retarded.

That's not the case at all I reckon. The way it came across to me was that Kidney coached the team in a way which really suited Munster in that he was very open to the opinion of his players because during our golden age the team was filled with very wily operators in their prime who were in general capable of running the show without too much babying. They knew it was a matter of when not if. In that way he was the perfect coach for that group of players at that time. Of course O'Connell will look at Kidney as a good coach because he worked with him for a long time in two different teams who both enjoyed great success. Is that bias, or a guy reacting to the fact his coach helped him be a success? He acknowledges that Kidney wasn't anywhere nearly as modern as Schmidt and is taken aback but very impressed with the way Schmidt coached the team, but he obviously didn't spend the bulk of his career with him.
Eddie O'Sullivan he clearly has gripes with for very good reason, because although he had very interesting patterns he was completely inconsistent, failed to communicate what he wanted effectively, gave players way too much to think about, and had them playing a different way every few months which is not possible for a team.

On the actual subject of the thread, I quite like ITV's coverage. It might have something to do with the variety they get in, the fact that, a few characters aside, the BBC and RTE could put me to sleep or the fact I'm getting a sexy Idris Elba vibe off Monye, but I think it's the pick of the coverage.

 

[munstermuffin]

BBC gave best pundits I feel though. I think Moore is best commentator around too.

On Paulie Alpha of course he'd rate Kidney as high. He won a Slam as well as earning club honours. Like I think it's fair to say Schmidt isn't held in same regard outside Leinster. Like yes he's a worldclass coach but from a Munster POV I hold Kidney to as high a regard. Schmidt's of course held higher in Leinster due to club success too

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Moore doesn't get enough recognition, I feel.
People know he's English so automatically write him off as a biased ex-England player, whereas in reality he's very fair and very knowledgeable.


I'm a big fan of Will Greenwood, it's a shame he's with Sky because it means he's rarely about since they lost most of their rugby coverage.

 

[munstermuffin]

Moore doesn't get enough recognition, I feel.
People know he's English so automatically write him off as a biased ex-England player, whereas in reality he's very fair and very knowledgeable.


I'm a big fan of Will Greenwood, it's a shame he's with Sky because it means he's rarely about since they lost most of their rugby coverage.

Fully agree on Moore. And I'd say I thought he'd be bias but he calls out anyone regardless of being English or not.

I like Sky's coverage. I think Quinny is good too. It's commentary lets Sky down.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Moore doesn't get enough recognition, I feel.
People know he's English so automatically write him off as a biased ex-England player, whereas in reality he's very fair and very knowledgeable.


I'm a big fan of Will Greenwood, it's a shame he's with Sky because it means he's rarely about since they lost most of their rugby coverage.

Yep, Scott Quinnell and Greenwood make a good double act and hopefully see more on them this summer when the Lions play. Their enthusiasm is really infectious.

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

BBC gave best pundits I feel though. I think Moore is best commentator around too.

On Paulie Alpha of course he'd rate Kidney as high. He won a Slam as well as earning club honours. Like I think it's fair to say Schmidt isn't held in same regard outside Leinster. Like yes he's a worldclass coach but from a Munster POV I hold Kidney to as high a regard. Schmidt's of course held higher in Leinster due to club success too

Anyone who thinks Kidney is anywhere near Schmidt needs checking. One guy got a team to do well in '09 and was **** thereafter the other has had success everey year since 2010... Call Kidney one dimensional, its telling the truth.

 

[munstermuffin]

Anyone who thinks Kidney is anywhere near Schmidt needs checking. One guy got a team to do well in '09 and was **** thereafter the other has had success everey year since 2010... Call Kidney one dimensional, its telling the truth.

But see your looking at it from international level. I'm looking at it from overall. And I wouldn't say last season was success for Schmidt. But as I said regarding O'Connell Kidney brought him a slam and European success. Of course he will hold him high.
Like truth is alot of people say Schmidt needs to win a slam to be truly great. I'm notbsaying I agree but alot say that. Also as you probably already know alot don't rate Schmidt as highly as Leinster fans would in other 3 provinces.
But as I said back on Paulie of course you'd rate a guy who did what Kidney did as high as Schmidt. Like in Paul I'Connells eye's what did he achieve under Schmidt that he didn't under Kidney.

And for what it's worth I consider 2011 World Cup more successful than 2015. Beating Aus down there was our best ever RWC result. Also I'm sure Paulie based it on everything from coaching to treatment on a human level when he was dealing with groin infections

 

[BraddersTheDog]

I have really liked O'Connell's input this tournament, but I still rate Michael Lynagh as hands down the best pundit in the sport. The man can remain balanced despite a loss like few others. Also, I keep thinking Wilkinson should be a good pundit but he just waffles a bit too much. He needs to learn when to close his mouth as much as open it.