The worst or most annoying TV pundit

[Tony Manx]

Dewi Morris is a really nice guy as I found out in an airport lounge at Heathrow many years ago…..it's OK Dewi, I do not expect you to remember me!!

However, why he is still employed by Sky to comment on matters rugby on the Rugby Club and at matches (even given two matches (Wasps and Ulster) over the weekend) is totally beyond me!

On the Rugby Club, I am still waiting for him to have an original thought (other than his campaign against crooked feeds which may or may not be original) and he constantly is looking to Barnes (?) for confirmation that he is saying the right thing and how many times does he say "I agree"!!!

Mind you, the Rugby Club, sole existence being promotion of Sky's weekend production, has been worth watching for a long time solely because of the contributions from Will Greenwood and/or Dean Ryan and, when they are not there, I switch off.

Come match day, Dewi makes up for his lack of perception of what is happening on the field with an inane, irrelevant and constant chatter given in monotone. I wish these guys would let the commentator commentate and just pop up where relevant! He appears to me to be handed, before the game, a list of things that he should know about how the teams have played in the past and their tactics and then regurgitates these "facts" throughout even when they are patently not playing in the same style or using the same tactics!

Yesterday, at Ulster, with a penalty given he was still going on about some non existent argument between captain and kicker as to whether there will be a scrum or a kick at goal with the scrum clearly being formed in picture!!

He also seems to be biased in favour of England (of course) and the home club (with the exception of when he is in France) at which he is commentating as if he does not want to offend his hosts!!

I propose the inestimable Dewi as the worst/most annoying rugby pundit on TV - but there are several other candidates but will be really annoyed if anyone proposes Greenwood, Hogan or Dean Ryan!!!

 

[nickdnz]

For me it is Justin Marshall as both a commentator and pundit.

When I was a kid I heard Justin Marshall was signing autograph's at 'The Warehouse' (a cheap department store for people outside NZ who don't know). Anyway I would have been 11-12 years old at the time and was a fan of Marshall so I turned up and waited in line. I couldn't afford a book but instead bought a rugby ball from the store for him to sign. ANYWAY - I waited in line until I got to the front, when a women said Marshall was only signing his books and insisted I leave the line. Justin Marshall then said it was alright and signed it for me anyway. The reason I tell this story is for a very simple point. Never have I hoped someone accidentally drink hydrofluoric acid, that I admired as a kid.

To start with:
He doesn't know what he's talking about. He gets things wrong so often. The number of times he'll get the rules wrong or the players wrong. People have a go at Nisbett or even TJ (Nisbett is fair enough cause he needs to buy a freaking pair of glasses), but Marshall is just wrong so often. But not only is he wrong - he corrects commentators who know what they are talking about - with wrong information and the other commentators either have to put up with it or try and not make him seem like a fool.

His voice is just pure annoying. It's not especially distinctive or refined. It's sheepish and whiny. His vocabulary is arbitrary and often doesn't make sense, both in rugby terms and otherwise. He takes gambles thinking words fit and often they just don't come off - not dissimilar to his style of commentary. All of this would be fine if he only contributed once and a while, but he talks like he gets paid per word. He never shuts up. Ever. Just recycles the same negative tripe over and over and over.

That's what is worst about him, and is one of the reasons I rarely hear people outside the All Blacks complain. He is the most negative person in the world to NZ rugby. He seems to intent on not being bias - that he goes a mile in the other direction. Every try against the All Blacks is an amazingly worked move, while every try the All Blacks score will be followed by "I think XXX was hard done by there - looked like there was a forward pass" etc. I remember Israel Dagg taking the ball towards the edge of the 22 metre line and booting it to touch - Marshall wouldn't shut up about it for two minutes until the replay shows he had another 2 feet to give. He does the same when a team plays Canterbury - or any NZ team vs an Aus/SA team. He genuinely derides the game as a spectacle for me - I get annoyed at not at what is happening on the pitch, but about the useless **** coming out of Marshall's mouth. Every time I read the Dominion Post and see his collum I quickly draw a hitler mistache and move on. I have literally not watched games because I hear Marshall commentating them. I hate him.

Felt good to get that off the chest.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Whoever they get to commentate on the non-televised games no the Aviva Premiership site (the televised ones just have the TV commentary).
They're f**king useless, knowing nothing about the game and none of the players (once watched a game where, and I'm not exaggerating, they got none of the names right for the first 20minutes, even calling the players names of players who werent even playing that day).


TV wise: Barnes.
Barnes barnes barnes.
Barnes.

 

[psychic duck]

I think Tony Manx is spot on with his post to be honest.

Dewi Morris is the most annoying and just blathers on trying to make jokes with the other commentator and just paying attention to the game in the background. He is probably the most irritating on TV right now. Worse is that they put him on matches with teams like Castres for example and he knows barely any of the players, and he was singing live on air last week during the Connacht vs Biarritz game.

Another terrible TV pundit is Tom Shanklin, not as annoying as Morris perhaps, but constantly states the obvious which makes him sound dumb. Shane Williams on the otherhand is a legend player, but is too nice and afraid to upset people and never offers any sort of criticism of teams even when they are poor.

 

[Patchey]

A mate of mine summed up Barnes very well when watching the Munster game last weekend, something along the lines of 'I just hate Stuart Barnes. He's got ten Englnd caps and about thirty points and he thinks he is God's gift to rugby. I wish he would just shut up'.

When I see him sitting next to Will Greenwood the gulf between their ability to comment on the game makes me laugh.


(I checked the stats afterwards and its true, ten caps, thirty four points in case you were wondering.)

 

[Tony Manx]

People have a go at Nisbett................... Nisbett is fair enough cause he needs to buy a freaking pair of glasses

I though he only wore a monocle!!

 

[nickdnz]

I though he only wore a monocle!!

Haha - I don't think he's especially bias by any means. However he's certainly more educated on the NZ teams than others - and seems to make a fair few mistakes with player names. People mentioned Stuart Barnes, he's another who I hate. He just has this arrogance that I hate. Extremely bias against any team that isn't England.

 

[psychic duck]

Barnes.

Barnes tipped Sale to come top 4 ...

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Lots of people did, or at least top 6 - don't think anyone predicted the season to go this way for us.

One flattering prediction doesn't stop him being a numptie!

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

I don't mind Barnes on TV but that might just be for the reason we share a love of Jonny Sexton, wouldn't say he's good though.
Morris is the worst of the Sky pundits and can ruin a really good team for the matches. I remember one game where they had Quinlan (Who is really good) and Greenwood (Also very good) but Morris was there too and making outrageously bad and off topic points, it was incredibly annoying.

All in all Sky put on a very good show for the HEC and have done a lot in making the tournament what it is today and anyone who complains about there pundits should try watching an Ireland match on RTE, you'll see that you're getting off lightly.

 

[Tony Manx]

I don't mind Barnes on TV but that might just be for the reason we share a love of Jonny Sexton,

He must be on the rebound as not over his luuuuuve for ROG yet!!

One man's meat and all that but thought Quinlan was total crap at Biarritz on Friday................incidentally, he is not a patch on Shane Horgan who is by far the best of the Irish pundits....erudite, knowedgeable, tells it how he feels and precise!! Does he work with RTE on match days as he does not seem to do match punditry for Sky?

 

[Leonormous Boozer]

He must be on the rebound as not over his luuuuuve for ROG yet!!

One man's meat and all that but thought Quinlan was total crap at Biarritz on Friday................incidentally, he is not a patch on Shane Horgan who is by far the best of the Irish pundits....erudite, knowedgeable, tells it how he feels and precise!! Does he work with RTE on match days as he does not seem to do match punditry for Sky?

I wasn't concentrating on the punditry on Friday and I've only seen Quinny at Munster matches maybe it's just his knowledge of Munster that makes him so good. He could be useless with the rest.

 

[SelimNiai]

My top 3 pundits/TV coms I dislike and like:

Like:

Dean Ryan
Greenwood
Keith Wood
with an honourable mention to Eddie Butler

Dislike:
Guscott
Barnes
Morris
with a dishonourable mention to Austin "boner for the Tigers" Healy

 

[TRF_Olyy]

I like Healey as a pundit, he may be biased but he knows his stuff, and he's funny too.

 

[Tony Manx]

I like Healey as a pundit, he may be biased but he knows his stuff, and he's funny too.

I would agree but he IS a cocky little barsteward though!!

 

[big ginger 8]

Frankie Sheahan and Donal Lenihan that is all.

 

[LittleGuy]

For me it is Justin Marshall as both a commentator and pundit.

When I was a kid I heard Justin Marshall was signing autograph's at 'The Warehouse' (a cheap department store for people outside NZ who don't know). Anyway I would have been 11-12 years old at the time and was a fan of Marshall so I turned up and waited in line. I couldn't afford a book but instead bought a rugby ball from the store for him to sign. ANYWAY - I waited in line until I got to the front, when a women said Marshall was only signing his books and insisted I leave the line. Justin Marshall then said it was alright and signed it for me anyway. The reason I tell this story is for a very simple point. Never have I hoped someone accidentally drink hydrofluoric acid, that I admired as a kid.

To start with:
He doesn't know what he's talking about. He gets things wrong so often. The number of times he'll get the rules wrong or the players wrong. People have a go at Nisbett or even TJ (Nisbett is fair enough cause he needs to buy a freaking pair of glasses), but Marshall is just wrong so often. But not only is he wrong - he corrects commentators who know what they are talking about - with wrong information and the other commentators either have to put up with it or try and not make him seem like a fool.

His voice is just pure annoying. It's not especially distinctive or refined. It's sheepish and whiny. His vocabulary is arbitrary and often doesn't make sense, both in rugby terms and otherwise. He takes gambles thinking words fit and often they just don't come off - not dissimilar to his style of commentary. All of this would be fine if he only contributed once and a while, but he talks like he gets paid per word. He never shuts up. Ever. Just recycles the same negative tripe over and over and over.

That's what is worst about him, and is one of the reasons I rarely hear people outside the All Blacks complain. He is the most negative person in the world to NZ rugby. He seems to intent on not being bias - that he goes a mile in the other direction. Every try against the All Blacks is an amazingly worked move, while every try the All Blacks score will be followed by "I think XXX was hard done by there - looked like there was a forward pass" etc. I remember Israel Dagg taking the ball towards the edge of the 22 metre line and booting it to touch - Marshall wouldn't shut up about it for two minutes until the replay shows he had another 2 feet to give. He does the same when a team plays Canterbury - or any NZ team vs an Aus/SA team. He genuinely derides the game as a spectacle for me - I get annoyed at not at what is happening on the pitch, but about the useless **** coming out of Marshall's mouth. Every time I read the Dominion Post and see his collum I quickly draw a hitler mistache and move on. I have literally not watched games because I hear Marshall commentating them. I hate him.

Felt good to get that off the chest.

I guess this would be a bad time for me to say I like Justin Marshall.....

 

[Groundhog]

Ryle Nugent commentates rugby on RTE. He's a shite football commentator and a worse rugby commentator, who has no knowledge of the game. He's genuinely not fit to pundit a back alley cock fight.
Barnes does my head in too

 

[big ginger 8]

Ryle Nugent commentates rugby on RTE. He's a shite football commentator and a worse rugby commentator, who has no knowledge of the game. He's genuinely not fit to pundit a back alley cock fight.
Barnes does my head in too

No slagging Nugent. TOMMY BOWE!!!​

 

[LittleGuy]

Ryle Nugent commentates rugby on RTE. He's a shite football commentator and a worse rugby commentator, who has no knowledge of the game. He's genuinely not fit to pundit a back alley cock fight.
Barnes does my head in too

I HATE Nugent!!!! Everything is "Absolutely Cruuuucial", his voice is irratating as well and he speaks at a million miles an hour.