No half measures as Biggar settles into new TV role

FOR so long, rugby commentary has been about telling the audience what just happened and why.

- BEN JAMES Reporter

This summer saw something a little different. Like former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo’s Nostradamus-like play-calling in the NFL, former playmakers Dan Biggar and Ronan O'Gara (ROG) spent the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia not just saying what had happened and why. But also what was about to occur.

So soon after retiring from the game, Biggar was already excelling in his next career move, with the former Wales captain set to be a regular on TNT's coverage of the Gallagher Prem and the Quilter Nations Series throughout the season.

Be it club or Test rugby, expect to hear Biggar telling you what is likely to unfold in the coming weeks and months. And as anyone who followed his playing career closely, they'll know it’s his relentless work ethic that is driving his new career.

“The boots are definitely up,” the 112-cap fly-half tells the Evening Post. “They are not coming back!

“It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to it. Not just joining the TNT team, but adding some value. That’s always been my motto in life.

“How can I add value, not just be part of a team? That entails trying to help people understand why teams are doing this or why players would be doing that.

“So it’s a different part of my life and different aspect, but still the mentality is trying to be as good as I can be in that role while sort of continually trying to get better myself personally as well. Looking back to the summer, it was about just really trying to set the bar high for myself.

“Myself and ROG sat down at the start a bit and we just said, ‘Look, if we're gonna do this, let’s make sure we do it properly and let’s do it well’ The easy option could have been just to roll through it and put the minimum effort in, but I think we both rolled our sleeves up and said we're going to do this the best of our ability.