ITV UNVEILS RUGBY WORLD CUP PRESENTING LINE-UP AND COVERAGE PLANS
As kick-off rapidly approaches, ITV looks forward to live and exclusive coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2023 with a line-out of rugby’s biggest stars.
With teams on the ground in France and in the UK, every game of the tournament from the massive opening match, France v New Zealand on September 8, through to the Final at the Stade de France in Paris on October 28 will be broadcast live on ITV1 and ITV4 with extensive content and match highlights available on ITVX.
Mark Pougatch leads the presentation team alongside Jill Douglas, who will host coverage from France along with David Flatman and Hugh Woozencroft.
Expert analysis comes from a formidable pundit line-up including Jonny Wilkinson, Maggie Alphonsi, Sam Warburton, Jamie Roberts, Brian O'Driscoll, Greig Laidlaw, Philippa Tuttiett, Bryan Habana, Sir Clive Woodward, Rory Best, John Barclay, Sergio Parisse, Gareth Thomas, Jim Hamilton, George Gregan, Sir Ian McGeechan, Lawrence Dallaglio, and Sean Fitzpatrick.
Co-commentators include rugby figures with a wealth of experience, including: Ben Kay, Ugo Monye, Shane Williams, Scott Hastings, Tom Shanklin, Gordon D’Arcy and Nolli Waterman.
Gabriel Clarke, Lee McKenzie and Topsy Ojo will provide reports, interviews and insights from the teams competing in France while match commentary comes from Nick Mullins, Miles Harrison, Johnnie Hammond, Martin Gillingham and Claire Thomas.
For the tournament ITV have designed an interactive studio set in the UK that allows the pundits to demonstrate physical analysis in the programmes, creating the platform for some of rugby’s biggest names to bring viewers fresh perspectives and insights into the sport.
The augmented reality set will also feature a balcony area overlooking traditional Parisian scenes for presentation purposes. A world-class former referee, JP Doyle, will also be on standby to help unpick the very latest rule changes and give an insight into how they work in reality. ITV’s coverage will also feature in its opening titles the version of iconic song Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien by legendary French chanteuse Édith Piaf.
Viewers will be able to watch and engage with Rugby World Cup coverage at any time with ITV Sport’s digital offer.
Fans can watch all games live and on the go with the ITVX app which will have short highlights of every game, exclusive interviews, in-depth analysis and demos featuring with our expert pundits.
ITV Rugby’s X and Facebook pages will feature all the tries and key moments of live broadcast games just seconds after they happen. Our Instagram and TikTok accounts will take you behind the scenes in France to give viewers the chance to see how France are hosting the famous tournament.
The ITV Rugby World Cup podcast will be available to download from your podcast provider. David Flatman is hosting 12 episodes across the tournament and will be joined by co-hosts and guests including Tom Shanklin, Sam Warburton, Nolli Waterman and more. Episodes will begin on September 4th with another 11 to follow throughout the tournament.
ITV recently revealed its creative campaign, across on-air promo, OOH, social, and influencer marketing, which turns to more unconventional methods to predict which nation will take the Webb Ellis Trophy - ‘This One’s Impossible to Predict’.
With no clear favourite to win and a strong chance of a northern hemisphere team taking the trophy, the Rugby World Cup 2023, broadcast exclusively on ITV this Autumn, is due to be the most unpredictable in history.
ITV Creative Directors, Jack McPartland and Shane O’Neil worked with the illustrator Yousef Sabry to design 20 tarot cards, one for each nation participating in the tournament. The cards draw on the culture and symbolism of each nation, as well as recent form on the pitch and are brought to life in Yousef’s trademark style, which blends surrealism, mysticism and iconography.
The promo, directed by Sami Abusamra of Mister Tibbs, uses a blend of comedy and suspense to tell the story of a rugby fan visiting a tarot card reader, looking for answers on who will win the Rugby World Cup. As the scene unfolds, even the tarot card reader is left perplexed when the cards take on a life of their own in a dramatic finale.
The OOH which showcases a number of the tarot cards can be found all around England and Wales in the weeks leading up to the tournament. The cards will also be shared with iconic rugby pundits, such as Lawrence Dallaglio and Sam Warburton, who can be seen drawing and discussing the cards as part of the social campaign.
The Rugby World Cup 2023 kicks off with an unmissable match between the host nation, France, and the All Blacks on the September 8 at 6.45pm on ITV1 and ITVX.