Scrum V returns

Scrum V is about to kick off for a new season, producer Joe Towns gives an insight into how the Welsh Rugby show is put together.

Rugby is deeply rooted in Welsh life. It defines us, brings communities together every weekend, and brings the nation together when Wales play. The rugby conversation in Wales is more popular than talking about the weather. It's this passion (obsession) for the game we try to reflect in our Scrum V programmes. 

The Scrum V brand now includes Scrum V Live, Scrum V Highlights, Scrum V Classics, Scrum V Six Nations Special, Scrum V Extra, Scrum V Radio, Scrum V Online and Scrum V Twitter.

You can't escape us.

We joined twitter a few years back which allows us to speak directly to our audience. We get instant feedback on our choice of guests (not always positive, but often about what they are wearing) our choice of music, choice of game, choice of kick-off time and our editorial direction. The discussion between programme maker and punter is both constant and continuous. Usually light hearted and always informative. Ospreys fans tell us we are bias towards the Blues. Blues fans tell us we are bias towards the Ospreys - so we're doing something right.

We are currently developing an exciting Second Screen appliance. It will allow our viewers to simultaneously interact with us on their phone or tablet during our live show by offering them the chance to select their own replays, access our stats and analysis feeds, and connect to our social media output. We refuse to stand still. We just signed a new four- year contract to cover Welsh rugby and we want to give our audience the very best.

Our TV ratings are the highest across our channel (BBC Two Wales). In live sport, ratings are often driven by the quality of the match itself, and we can't control that. The important thing is high production values, accuracy and entertainment. Producing Scrum V is a bit like managing a Premier League football team, we have a group of hugely talented individuals and my job is to make sure they all perform well on match day, which, for us is Friday night, our live show kicks off at 7.30pm. 

We pray for great games, but the reality is that some games are poor - and that's when we really need to try and bring something extra to the screens. We had a bizarre night at Rodney Parade a few years back where the heavens emptied and the pitch was waterlogged just before kick-off so we had to talk in studio for two hours while they decided whether or not to play. Our ratings actually went up and up - even though the match never happened.

Last year we were the first BBC programme to pioneer the REFCAM (a camera referees wear on their chest). We also use a super-hi-motion camera for those lovely slow motion big hits and tackles you see. It's very expensive so we only use it on the big games but it's becoming an integral part of sports broadcasting, where it’s vital to keep up-to-speed with the latest innovations.

The working week starts on Monday mornings when we review the match from the weekend just gone, deal with any issues and try and give some feedback to our pundits. We use a mix of pundits - some recently retired players like Martyn Williams and Shane Williams; some who are still playing - like Ryan Jones. And some legends of previous eras like Jonathan Davies and Rob Jones. These guys were my absolute heroes so it’s a dream to work with them...but sometimes difficult to tell them what to do.

We also use current professional coaches in our analysis truck - like Sean Holley, Phil Davies or Kingsley Jones. We take our analysis very seriously - we want viewers to learn something, but it's vital the message is clear. Our main commentator - Jonathan Davies - has a special screen and pen (called the TOG) which enables him to draw live lines and circles on our output to highlight various tactical moves or mistakes. Sean Holley is able to do the same from the analysis truck.

If there's been a technical issue on the live game we try to iron it out early the following week. If we made a mistake with analysis or a graphic or a replay or a camera didn't work properly, we try to figure out how to ensure it doesn't happen again. Our new graphics providers start this season and they need high-speed broadband to deliver their service. This is nerve wracking as internet access at stadiums - when everyone is on their phones - is always unpredictable. I'll never forget the day we were doing a live Skype interview with David Hasslehoff about his love of Welsh rugby and our engineering manager - Hugh Davison - was hanging out the back of the truck with a dongle in the air trying to maintain signal.

On Tuesdays the four Welsh teams hold press conferences.... we film these interviews ourselves and distribute the material to the news, radio and online teams so they can start drumming up a buzz towards our next live game.

We chat to the coaches every week and try to squeeze a bit of inside information from them. We may also have a special request for the Friday game... - like putting a camera in the dressing room... Or delaying kick off by a few minutes so we can have a bigger build up....or asking if we can interview a coach in the stands during play. (We were one of the first programmes to do this and it's now an integral part of our show. Can you imagine that happening in the Premier League? "Excuse me Sir Alex, can we have a quick word?")

Last year the Regions' team captains agreed to let our reporter - Phil Steele - interview them as they walk off the pitch at half time. This was pretty ground breaking stuff for us. And a real privilege.

I try and urge the pundits to always be constructive in their criticism but we don't want them being nice all the time - sometimes you have to say it as it is, the viewers can tell straight away if you're sitting on the fence and it's a turn off.

Wednesdays we plan and prep our VTs. We spend hours choosing soundtrack. I always check twitter during the closing credits to see if anyone has spotted the music being played. We'll also write our scripts and raid the library archives for all the best shots. These days our archive is all digitised so you can type "Warburton tackle" into the search and (hopefully) it will magically appear in the edit suite. 

Thursdays we spend honing the VTs. Thursday night is Scrum V Radio, which kicks off the rugby weekend with a 90-minute rugby preview discussion. This is always a big social media moment for us. We send out trivia via tweets and play games like #FantasyXV.

On the Friday night at the Outside Broadcast we've got a team of about 60 people. Security, cameras, sound, riggers, technicians, electricians, lighting supervisors, replay operators, VT experts, health and safety, and floor managers. And then the on screen talent. All the pundits, presenters, reporters and commentators are booked weeks in advance. We also have red button Welsh language commentators to book too.

We rehearse - and then kick-off comes. And everyone shouts, our director takes over, and things move fast, adrenaline flows, and we shout some more. The only advice I could ever give other live producers is try and be clear, and stay calm. Everything is a blur for two hours. When we come off air I sometimes can't even remember the score.

Joe Towns is producer of Scrum V.