Coverage!

[josie andrews]

Rugby League World Cup organisers apologise after opening ceremony disruption

Rugby League World Cup organisers have issued an apology.

Rugby League World Cup organisers have issued an apology to supporters after the opening ceremony at St James' Park was disrupted by technical issues. The opening ceremony was going smoothly until the audio abruptly cut off when the World Cup trophies were being paraded on the field.

A glitch in the system left those watch at home and in attendance bemused as an awkward silence fell over St James' Park. At the time, Great Britain greats Kevin Sinfield and Jason Robinson were stood holding the World Cup trophy pitch side looking confused while the Kaiser Chiefs, the World Cup warm-up act, were left stood on stage waiting for an update. Ultimately, their act was cut short, playing just one song.

Organisers had planned a special flag ceremony and had local school children performing a dance. Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson took it upon himself to get the crowd involved, running up and down the side of the pitch before having his own issues as he slipped while running the length of the pitch.

In a statement, the Rugby League World Cup said: "RLWC2021 would like to sincerely apologise for the disrupted tournament welcome, which was severely affected by technical failure. It wasn’t the start we wanted but we would like to thank fans for their patience and for continuing to celebrate the teams and the tournament."

Thankfully, the issues that caused the problem appeared to fix themselves, with audio soon resuming, but not in time for the ceremony to be finished off due to time constraints.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... l-25272353

[josie andrews]

Rugby League World Cup disruption as confusion hits St James' Park and Kaiser Chiefs walk off

St James' Park was hit by technical difficulties ahead of the World Cup kick off.

The Rugby League World Cup opener between England v Samoa has been disrupted with a PA cut at St James' Park this Saturday afternoon spoiling the welcome ceremony and leaving people inside the stadium and watching on TV unsure what was happening.

A glitch in the system, spectators and welcome party guests alike were all left bemused as an awkward silence filled the stadium as the parade of the men's, women's and wheelchair trophies was about to take place.. Great Britain greats Kevin Sinfield and Jason Robinson were stood holding the World Cup trophy pitch side looking confused as a power cut came as the tournament was in the middle of it's opening welcome ceremony featuring the Kaiser Chiefs.

The technical problem brought silence upon the stadium and delayed the ambassadors and the flag bearing getting the ceremony under-way, with kick off which was orgianlly planned for 2:30pm delayed until 2:40pm. England players were videoed in the changing room keeping warm, on their toes, with both teams having to alter their preparation during this disruption.

Organisers had planned a special flag ceremony and had local school children performing a dance, with the Kaiser Chiefs providing the backdrop with a set. Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson took it upon himself to get the crowd involved, running up and down the side of the pitch before having his own technical incident as he slipped and fell to the floor.

Thankfully the sound returned just as the game was about to kick-off, but the opening ceremony was spoiled with just enough time for the national anthems to take place.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/ru ... t-25271976

[Wiganer Ted]

Great performance from England. Good tactics and team selection.
Must admit when Samoa scored just before HT I thought the first score after the break would be crucial.
Our lads got it and from there they never looked in danger.

Waney will change the squad around for the France game but he must now surely have an idea what his best team is. Today's!

[PJC]

I think having the women’s and wheelchair teams involved has proved a media masterstroke. I can’t remember as much publicity. It’s had main stream news coverage and on one channel came before Union.

[Blackpool_Pie]

The 'technical issue' just about sums our sport up. We had a chance to really put something special on before a big big games in front of a lot of fans in the stadium and no doubt a lot of neutrals on TV. What happens? Nothing. Awkward smiles, commentators struggling to fill the silence. A crowd bemused and somewhat muted during the game (wether that's down to this incident or not it was still a poor atmosphere) and a very bizarre, embarrassing episode. It always seems to be one step forward and two steps back. Like we are still an amateur sport trying to make our way in the world

[morley pie eater]

I thought the BBC coverage was dire. The apparent lack of atmosphere must sure have been to them failing to pick up crowd noise. A 43,000 crowd would make more noise than that if a few of them were eating a bag of crisps.

The commentators also failed to convey any sense of excitement imo. I ended up watching with the commentary off - bring back Stevo!

[fozzieskem]

I thought the BBC coverage was dire. The apparent lack of atmosphere must sure have been to them failing to pick up crowd noise. A 43,000 crowd would make more noise than that if a few of them were eating a bag of crisps.

The commentators also failed to convey any sense of excitement imo. I ended up watching with the commentary off - bring back Stevo!

Glad it wasn't just me Morley,awful coverage of both games to be honest

[moto748]

The Leb/Kiwis game on i-player was at least a bit more fun with Vossy. Can we clone him and lose some of these dull guys? Especially Jiffy and his "Just watch...".

[thegimble]

The Leb/Kiwis game on i-player was at least a bit more fun with Vossy. Can we clone him and lose some of these dull guys? Especially Jiffy and his "Just watch...".

Noble is the most irritating with "for the viewers at home". Every 5 minutes. Like his teams for us predictable and boring.

[moto748]

To be fair, they all do that, and I don't think it's unreasonable. They are speaking to a nationwide audience, many of whom will not have seen a lot of league and may be unfamiliar with the rules.