'Your producers are not good': Fans fume at South African broadcast of All Blacks test

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Author: Samuel Sherry,
Publish Date: Sun, 6 Sep 2026, 8:52am

Fans have been left fuming at the broadcast of the All Blacks’ third test against the Springboks, with complaints of too many crowd shots and not enough play being shown.

Local broadcaster SuperSport has been hit with criticism of how much time they spent focused on the crowd and the shot selections they chose.

At one point in the second half, the television producers spent more than a minute rotating a camera around the stadium to follow a Mexican wave and later cut to a shot of Beauden Barrett, who was the water boy for the All Blacks, after Will Jordan scored in the 55th minute.

“Please give us better angles, too much zooming in on important plays takes the viewer out of the game, one can’t tell where the player is in relation to other player and the field,” one viewer told the broadcaster on X.

“Your producers are not good,” another account said.

“BECOME THE BEST RUGBY BROADCASTER BY ALWAYS SHOW A REPLY [sic] OF THE REASON FOR STOP IN PLAY.

South African broadcaster SuperSport has been criticised for its choice of shot selection in the third All Blacks test against the Springboks. Photo / Sky Sport

“OR ANY CONTENTIOUS PLAY.

“And for that you need rugby people to be producers.”

When Ruben Love was shown a yellow card near the end of the first half, the broadcast cut to an extended replay of the incident and then to fans in the stands, missing the moment he was sent to the bin.

“Guys I pay to watch the game NOT fans in stands when vital decisions like when yellow cards are being given,” a fan said in a direct comment to SuperSport.

“30 mins in and supersport has show more footage of the crowd than the game,” another wrote.

CANAL+, which owns SuperSport, confirmed a broadcast rights deal with the South African Rugby Union to broadcast the four test matches and the provincial games in South Africa.

CANAL+ Africa and MultiChoice Group CEO, David Mignot said at the time the deal was announced it showed the company’s commitment to investment in South African sport.

“We have been consistent and unwavering in our belief that local content is the key driver of growth in our business but also has more of a meaningful impact in the lives of the people who matter to us the most, our viewers and subscribers,” Mignot said.

“We are grateful to our partners, SARU and NZR, for making this partnership possible, and we look forward to an exceptional display of rugby between two of the best rugby nations in the world.”