Willie Lose
played New Zealand age-grade rugby, including Colts, and for Auckland and North Harbour in
New Zealand’s NPC. From 1996-2001, Willie was a professional player for Yamaha in Japan.
He has a Diploma of Broadcasting 2002 and is a regular rugby commentator on SKY New
Zealand. Willie has commentated at Rugby World Cups in 2002, 2007, 2011 and 2017 and
RWC Sevens in 1997, 2005, 2009 and 2018, and is a regular on the HSBC World Rugby
Sevens Series.
Rupert Cox
television around the world. He’s worked for various global broadcasters, including Sky Sports in the UK, NBC in the US,
Channel Nine in Australia and Discovery/Eurosport. Rupert is particularly proud to have worked on women’s sport as it
has been given its rightful place in the limelight, including the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, the historic first
England v Barbarians Women game at Twickenham, the Women’s Six Nations and November internationals, the Netball
World Cup and women’s Rugby League.
Melodie Robinson
Melodie is now the General Manager of Television New Zealand’s Sports and Events, working in sports acquisitions
and leading sports content strategy. She also runs the Wonderful Group which is a support network she founded for
women working in the media industry and is currently on several boards, including Rugby World Cup Limited as the
IRP representative, and the Rugby Foundation looking after seriously injured players.
Karl Te Nana
Sevens as a former captain, winning RWC Sevens 2001, Commonwealth Games gold and four HSBC World Rugby
Sevens Series winner. Since retiring, KT has become a regular commentator and pitch-side reporter on the HSBC
World Rugby Sevens Series, the World Rugby U20 Championship, RWC 2019 – where he called the final – and for
SKY New Zealand broadcasts of All Blacks tests and Super Rugby.
Honey Hireme-Smiler
(family). Honey played all sports available to her, before advancing through representative grades in both
rugby and Rugby League to enjoy a long international career with the Black Ferns, Kiwi Ferns, and Black Ferns
Sevens. Since retiring from the representative sport in 2020, Honey has worked for SKY NZ most weekends,
commentating on both rugby and Rugby League, and works full-time for the Halberg Foundation supporting
young athletes with physical and visual disabilities. Honey lives in Hamilton with her wife and three teenage
sons.
Rachael Burford
Rugby World Cups in 15s and two RWC Sevens, earning 84 caps for the Red Roses. A multiple
Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam winner, Rachael helped England win RWC 2014 in France, the year
she was named England’s player of the year. She has gained broadcast experience across both men’s
and women’s domestic and international rugby as a co-commentator and pitch-side pundit, working with
broadcasters such as BT Sport, Channel 4, BBC, and TalkSport.
Kirstie Stanway
Kirstie fronts rugby coverage hosts The Breakdown panel show and features in various other capacities. Having worked
in New Zealand and abroad, the dynamic host and journalist has quickly built an impressive portfolio of experience,
including the 2017 America’s Cup and Rugby League World Cup, the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Rugby World Cup
2019 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
Natalie Yoannidis
Australia and around the world. The first female commentator to appear on Fox Sports’ Super
Rugby coverage, she has also worked as a host and sideline reporter on Super W, rugby
sevens and women’s international rugby broadcasts
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