ITV Unveils Wales Legends and Surprising New Face for Six Nations
ITV has announced its punditry lineup for the 2025 Six Nations, featuring Welsh legends and a surprising addition in Eddie Jones
Wales, Six Nations, Eddie Jones, ITV, Rugby
Cardiff: ITV has just revealed its lineup for the 2025 Six Nations, and it’s pretty exciting! They’ve got three Welsh legends on board, plus a surprising twist with Eddie Jones joining as a pundit.
This year, ITV will share the tournament coverage with the BBC, showing all the home games for England, Ireland, Italy, and France. Meanwhile, the BBC will handle the home games for Wales and Scotland.
The action kicks off with Wales heading to Paris to take on France on January 31. There are some thrilling matches lined up, including Ireland versus England the next day and the Calcutta Cup on February 22.
Jill Douglas and Mark Pougatch will be leading the coverage, and they’ll be joined by rugby stars like Dan Biggar and Jamie Roberts, who’ll bring that Welsh flair to the commentary. Other legends like Brian O’Driscoll and Johnny Wilkinson will also be part of the team.
Now, Eddie Jones is a bit of a wildcard here. He’s known for his outspoken style, and it’ll be interesting to see how he fits in with the rest of the crew. The lineup also includes Ugo Monye, Maggie Alphonsi, and a few others.
Nick Mullins and Miles Harrison will be the commentators, with Shane Williams adding his Welsh touch as a co-commentator. It’s a solid team, for sure!
But here’s the kicker: this could be the last time we see the Six Nations on regular TV. The current deal ends in 2025, and there’s a real chance that future matches could end up behind a paywall.
Unlike major events like the World Cup or the Olympics, the Six Nations isn’t protected, which means it could be sold to paid TV networks. Some Welsh MPs are pushing for it to be classified as a ‘Category A’ event to keep it on free-to-air TV, but the Welsh Rugby Union isn’t on board with that idea.
They argue that moving it behind a paywall could hurt rugby in Wales at all levels. S4C already provides free coverage of Welsh games, but if the English language coverage goes behind a paywall, that could change the game.