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Scotty Stevenson, Stephen Donald headline Spark Sport, TVNZ's Rugby World Cup commentary team

August 9, 2019
Former All Black Stephen Donald.

Broadcaster Scotty Stevenson and 2011 Rugby World Cup winner Stephen Donald have been announced as part of Spark Sport and TVNZ's 2019 Rugby World Cup commentary team.

The World Cup will be held in Japan from September 20 to November 2.

The pair will be joined by TVNZ reporter Kimberlee Downs and other well-known voices in the rugby world, including former All Black Keven Mealamu, two-time Rugby World Cup winning coach Sir Graham Henry and former New Zealand Maori player Tamati Ellison. Former All Blacks centre Conrad Smith will join from the Quarter Finals onwards.

Scotty Stevenson

Joining TVNZ's Auckland studio team to deliver pre- and post-match analysis, and in-depth post-game debate, is Sky UK rugby presenter James Gemmell, Super Rugby stalwart Isa Nacewa, and All Black Damian McKenzie.

Rounding out the team is Black Fern Kristina Sue, and former All Black Jon Preston. The team will be supported by a state-of-the-art augmented reality analysis tool.

The former All Black is part of a new campaign to try and break down the stigma of mental health problems.

Kiwi singer Anika Moa is also set to bring her best game face as she interviews the All Blacks.

1 NEWS will also cover all aspects of the tournament across TVNZ’s news programming.

Andrew Saville, Jenny May Coffin, Matt Manukia, Dewi Preece and Kimberlee Downs will report on the ground in Tokyo for TVNZ 1’s news bulletins.

Seven Sharp’s Jeremy Wells, Te Karere’s Irena Smith and 1 NEWS Now’s Natalia Sutherland will also bring the best rugby stories out of Japan to viewers watching at home.

Anika Moa Unleashed goes live on TVNZ OnDemand

"What's different about this one is that we've brought in software technology, combined with TVNZ's Augmented Reality capabilities, that will allow us to analyse rugby to a level that hasn't been seen in this country before," TVNZ general manager sport & events Melodie Robinson said.

"Add to that we'll be balancing the rugby conversation and former players by sprinkling through entertainment stars that you wouldn’t usually see on a rugby broadcast."

All 48 games will be streamed live and on demand on Spark Sport, and twelve games will be free-to-air on TVNZ 1.

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