Former Irish international Fiona Steed joined Tommy Martin, Shane Jennings and Shane Byrne today on the TV3 panel for South Africa v Wales and if right were right in this day and age it'd be something we wouldn't bat an eyelid at.
However, given the lack of female punditry on television it was definitely a noteworthy and commendable move by TV3. A decision that was greeted by a largely positive reaction:
Great to see #TV3 using Fiona Steed as an analyst on their rugby coverage. Almost jarring to see a woman as an analyst but shouldn't be.
— Cormac O'Malley (@cormacpro) October 17, 2015
Delighted to see a woman on the TV3 panel for today's quarter finals! #equality #IREvARG #RugbyWorldCup
— Katie Doyle (@K8) October 17, 2015
Fiona Steed on the @TV3Ireland rugby panel makes sense, as men's rugby is comfortably the most female supported sport in Ireland. #RWC2015
— Conor Culkin (@ConorCulkin) October 17, 2015
Kudos to @TV3Rugby2015 having Fiona Steed on the panel for #WALvSA.
It will be seen as a ballsy decision, but it shouldn't be.
👏— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) October 17, 2015
The amount of People upset about a woman Pundit on Tv3 is ridiculous. She's actually played Rugby unlike most of the dopes complaining 😂😂😂
— 🇾🇪Steve🇾🇪 (@Stephen_R96) October 17, 2015
However there are always a few gobshites.
Tv3 have a random woman in the studio doing #RWC punditry. Just shows you how gimmicky & laughable a sport it is #thugby #smugby #optics
— ciandoylefanclub (@ramdoylefanclub) October 17, 2015
While it's obviously great to see a woman on the panel we would have to ask that Fiona refrain from every using the word 'bantership' again. That's nearly as bad as Shane Byrne's pint joke.
