ITV Sport will reunite a number of England’s 2003 World Cup-winning heroes as part of their on-air presentation line-up for this year’s tournament.
Jonny Wilkinson, Lawrence Dallaglio and Jason Robinson and the coach who led them to that victory, Sir Clive Woodward, will all be studio pundits for the broadcaster throughout the six-week event this September and October.
England will host the competition, which starts on September 18, and the achievements of Woodward’s side 12 years ago have set the benchmark for Stuart Lancaster’s current squad as they look to win on home soil.
Wilkinson unforgettably kicked the winning drop goal for the Red Rose against Australia in the final back in 2003, while Robinson scored England’s only try in the topsy-turvy 20-17 triumph after extra-time.
George Gregan, who skippered Australia that day and also played in the victorious 1999 Wallabies side in Wales, is also part of ITV’s stellar punditry line-up, which also includes former Wales and Ireland skippers Gareth Thomas and Brian O’Driscoll.
Thomas, the first openly gay professional rugby player, reprises his ITV punditry role from 2011, while O’Driscoll will watch a World Cup from the sidelines for the first time after retiring from the sport last year.
Former British and Irish Lions and Scotland coach Sir Ian McGeechan and former Bath and England prop David Flatman are also included in ITV’s analysis team.
Victorious 1995 South Africa captain Francois Pienaar, New Zealand’s Sean Fitzpatrick and Australia’s Michael Lynagh, who have all been involved with ITV’s coverage at every Rugby World Cup since 1999, also return.
ITV has also confirmed that it has chosen veteran BBC rugby host John Inverdale to head its presenting team for the tournament, with Nick Mullins set to lead the channel’s commentary line-up.
Commenting on its punditry team, ITV’s director of sport Niall Sloane said: “A Rugby World Cup hosted by England is a once in a generation event.
“It’s our privilege as the exclusive television broadcaster to bring viewers the full impact of all the action and emotion throughout what we hope will be an unforgettable tournament.
“We believe we’ve assembled a world-class line up of rugby talent who, through their own expertise, experience and sheer passion for the game can help deliver the best possible coverage for those watching at home.”
ITV Sport will be the host broadcaster for the 2015 Rugby World Cup and all 48 matches are set to be shown live across ITV and ITV4 this autumn, with the majority of games airing on the main ITV network.
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