Disrespecting the game: Siya Kolisi, fans hit out at scrum ads during Six Nations broadcasts

“That is disrespecting the game.”

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi had that straightforward answer on English TV channel ITV running advertisements in the build-up to scrums during rugby broadcasts of the Six Nations Championship.

It is a new gimmick they are trying, and while Kolisi weighed in on it, the broader rugby-watching public who followed the Ireland vs France Championship opener also scoffed at the ads that put the game on mute in the background on Thursday evening.

Kolisi was quizzed about it by Independent Newspapers after Bok head coach Rassie Erasmus also reacted to the news on social media platform X.

“That is really bad, I don’t really want to talk about it,” Kolisi said

“The buildup to scrums is part of the game, and I don’t know why people would run away from it. We say rugby is a game for everyone, but are we now also going to stop and have ad breaks when Cheslin (Kolbe) is stepping people? That is not fair. We want to watch the game.”

The Springbok captain and coach were not the only ones reacting to the gimmick that mutes the rugby and minimizes the game to show a half-screen advertisement when the scrum is reset. According to reports, it’s set to happen for the duration of the tournament.

There was plenty of criticism after Thursday’s opener on social media, while some viewers accepted that ads would be coming.

An X user wrote: “Putting adverts during scrum resets is one of the most disrespectful things a broadcaster could do to a sport. Awful, awful choice.”

Another posted a short message criticising the American sports-style ad: “USA sports coverage arrives in the UK. Awful.”

“I’m sorry @ITV, I’m not quite sure what I just saw there, but it looked like you were trying to play an advert side by side with a live sporting event. Please don’t ever do that again,” another wrote in a more measured response.