- Claire Stocks
- 17 Jan 07, 02:06 PM
Four BBC rugby union commentators and a selection of other BBC journalists working on our Six Nations coverage on the web & Ceefax in London, Cardiff, Belfast and Glasgow, will be writing on this blog during the tournament.
We also have an international referee who will be posting here and answering questions about the finer points of the game (be nice to him please).
You can find out a bit more about them all here.
John Beattie
I was born in Borneo, and swinging from tree to tree helped me in later years as I ended up playing rugby for Scotland.
This was predicted, funnily enough, by my Malaysian headmaster who said, on the day I left to start his new life in Scotland as an eleven year old: “Beattie, you are the roughest boy we have ever had here - you will surely play rugby for your new country.”
I won 25 caps and went on two British Lions tours and on retiring slid into broadcasting even though Chartered accountancy was tugging at my heart strings..
I play guitar in a rock band for fun, coach West of Scotland rugby club, and host radio and TV programmes North of Hadrian’s wall. I’m, frankly, a bit alarmed that my son, also John, now plays international rugby as it doesn’t seem that long since the child was brought home in a blanket.
Continue reading "About the authors"
- Nigel Owens
- 17 Jan 07, 01:50 PM
It all began at the age of 16 when a pupil at Maesyryrfa School in Cefneithin, when I refereed my first ever game. That was 18 years ago and I have now been a professional referee for five years.
I have officiated in more than 20 games in the Heineken Cup and four Internationals - Japan v Ireland was my first and this February I will be refereeing my first ever Six Nations match when England play Italy at Twickenham.
Outside rugby I do entertainment work as a stand-up comedian and singer. I also do television work on a Welsh language programme called 'Noson Lawen', as well as the Jonathan show on S4C with Mr Davies.
My best heckle happened a few seasons ago when one spectator shouted out at a game at Stradey Park: "Owens you're a comedian on the stage but you're a better one on the field!"
- Jim Stokes
- 17 Jan 07, 01:45 PM
I was always a man of letters ... I worked as postman for two years before changing tack.
My first job as a sports journalist more than 30 years ago, was as a sailing correspondent at the Belfast Telegraph, that is, until I became becalmed one weekend on Strangford Lough and ended up writing about the wildlife.
That trend continued when I became rugby correspondent.
For 16 years, I was a dedicated traveller covering the game from the days of the amateur ethos to the present professionalism of playing by numbers and taking in four World Cups. And I finally succumbed to a change of life when I joined "Auntie" six years ago.
It was inevitable that I would end up as a sports journalist. Sport was my life from my early school days with rugby, football, basketball and cricket my tour de force.
I played rugby for my local Belfast team Malone, and captained the club back in the 1972/3 season and collected an Ulster Senior League medal and Ulster Senior Cup gong.
I was a bit of a rare breed who started life as a fly-half one season, and ended up playing number 8 the next. I don’t think the rugby world was ready for a side-stepping, dummying, two-footed kicker in the back-row who had a penchant for dropping goals from the base of the scrum.
During a short break from rugby, I played for the Northern Ireland Youth international team in the 1962 European Championships as a goalkeeper.
But some fella by the name of Pat Jennings strangely got to play in the final against England at Wembley.
They won 4-0. Soon after that, won two caps in the Home International series that year, drawing 1-1 with England at Boundary Park where George Best wore the Northern Ireland jersey for the first time.
Now, my engine just keeps on running, literally. I’m a regular jogger and cyclist, having done a couple of marathons and a stream of 10Ks. I can still give my 24-year-old twins a run for their money, much to their chagrin.
- Mark Orlovac
- 17 Jan 07, 01:36 PM
I'm one of the team that helps look after the rugby union section on the website and on digital text & Ceefax on TV.
But just in case any of the bosses are looking, I do write other stuff as well...
Despite going to a rugby-dominated school, I never played regularly (to be honest I wasn’t good enough) but somewhere in my mind I have an image of myself as a dogged, sniping scrum-half – a bit like Gary Armstrong.
Unfortunately, five knee dislocations led to the premature end of my sporting career in 1997 although I am sure I will be living out my dreams through my two sons – all I am asking for are Scotland and Lions caps.
I started my journalistic career at a local newspaper in Teddington, covering the likes of Harlequins, London Irish, Richmond, London Scottish and London Welsh, before joining the Beeb in 2000.
Away from work, I am a drummer in a 50s jive band and my claim to fame is that my uncle invented hit 80s quiz show ‘Bullseye’ (my eldest son is the very proud owner of a bendy Bully and before you ask, I can’t get you one).
- Nick Mullins
- 17 Jan 07, 01:33 PM
I’m one of BBC Sport’s all-rounders. Over the course of a year you might hear me commentating from Centre Court at Wimbledon, the River Thames on Boat Race day or Tower Bridge on London Marathon Sunday.
My day job though is rugby union. I switched codes - from radio to television - in 2001 to help fill the gap left by Bill McLaren and this will be the seventh year I’ve talked my way through the Six Nations for BBC Sport.
I’ll spend the majority of the tournament with my head in the BBC scrum, but when I come up for air I’ll look to spend time with the guitar I’m learning to play, a large film collection and Erin and Rosie - my two young daughters.
- Phil Harlow
- 17 Jan 07, 01:29 PM
My rugby ‘career’ peaked in the early 1990s as a member of the now-legendary Mitcham junior side which reached - and lost - the Surrey Cup final two years in a row.
Since those heady days I have turned out for Croydon and Chipstead as one of the least prolific wingers in England, while writing on infinitely more talented players on the BBC Sport website.
I’ve also worked on a variety of other sporting events including the World Snooker Championship, Wimbledon and rugby league’s Challenge Cup and Grand Final.
Outside of sport, I love my music and purport to be a DJ... even if only two people have let me play in public to date.
I’m also getting married in the summer (sorry girls), and am discovering the joys of wedding planning on an almost daily basis.
As for claims to fame, I’m struggling. My mum used to teach Millwall midfielder Neil Ardley, and he was “a nice lad” apparently.
- Andrew Cotter
- 17 Jan 07, 01:23 PM
I’m one of BBC Television’s rugby commentators. I come from Troon on the Ayrshire coast (south-west Scotland) but have lived in London for the past seven years - although I make frequent trips north to “visit the family” (play golf).
My grandfather J.L.Cotter played stand-off for Scotland in the 1930’s, as far as I’m aware was the only minister to have pulled on the dark blue jersey.
My own international sporting recognition was far more limited, representing Scottish Schools at golf against England. Scotland lost.
I started commentating on rugby and golf on BBC Radio in 2000 before a Bosman-style free transfer to TV.
- John Beattie
- 17 Jan 07, 12:45 PM
I was born in Borneo, and swinging from tree to tree helped me in later years as I ended up playing rugby for Scotland.
This was predicted, funnily enough, by my Malaysian headmaster who said, on the day I left to start his new life in Scotland as an eleven year old: “Beattie, you are the roughest boy we have ever had here - you will surely play rugby for your new country.”
I won 25 caps and went on two British Lions tours and on retiring slid into broadcasting even though Chartered accountancy was tugging at my heart strings..
I play guitar in a rock band for fun, coach West of Scotland rugby club, and host radio and TV programmes North of Hadrian’s wall.
I’m, frankly, a bit alarmed that my son, also John, now plays international rugby as it doesn’t seem that long since the child was brought home in a blanket.
- Claire Stocks
- 17 Jan 07, 11:25 AM
We’re aiming to enliven the northern hemisphere’s biggest rugby union tournament, which starts on 3 February, by bringing you as much insight, passion, anecdote, rumour and behind-the-scenes chat as we can.
Our bloggers include BBC commentators Nick Mullins, Andrew Cotter, Gareth Lewis and John Beattie as well as some of our best rugby writers such as Jim Stokes, Bryn Palmer and Rob Hodgetts.
And we will also have regular posts from a top referee, who will explain and answer questions on, some of the action’s finer points (be nice to him please, it won’t be his fault if the man in the middle gets it wrong...except in the England/Italy game when he will be officiating).
To find out more about all our contributors, check our about the authors page.
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Wales 27-18 England
