Presenting live sport requires unflappable professionalism, a sporting anorak’s encyclopaedic knowledge and the management skills of a circus ringleader. As it can get fairly chaotic at times.
Take Premier Sports’ coverage of the United Rugby Championship, for example. They are thorough in their coverage but there is also an added element of entertainment central to how they go about their business, most notably since Ryan Wilson was added to their roster of pundits.
The former Scotland forward brings an extra level of mayhem to the proceedings as he tackles colleagues to the ground on air, rides a penny farthing (below) or pretends to be blown away by the wind.
Trying to maintain a check on all of that must keep their presenters permanently on edge but those charged with that responsibility do so with good grace and the requisite sense of humour.
‘It’s brilliant fun,’ confirms Jenny Drummond, a familiar face in the channel’s rugby coverage. ‘I’ve worked with Premier for several years now and they welcome that energy on screen.
‘They want to bring that across to the fans, both inside the stadium but also people watching at home.
Jenny Drummond presents alongside Ian Madigan, John Barclay and Ryan Wilson
Drummond has proven a calm presence as she presents live URC matches from pitchside
‘That’s a massively clear message from them. And with the pundits they have there’s a really nice mix although they keep you on your toes.
‘You’re trying to manage best mates like Ryan Wilson and John Barclay which is interesting! They are funny but they know their stuff.
‘They have a great connection with the clubs and the players. They’re so present with everything that’s happening that it makes it so easy to have a conversation with them.
‘It’s a chat like you would have in the pub. I’m someone who loves sport so the fact that element is promoted within Premier is brilliant for me.’
The channel’s commitment to broadcasting at pitchside is another staple although it can bring its challenges too, with Drummond quickly debunking the notion that television is all glitz and glamour.
‘There have been times when it’s pouring with rain and you’re trying to hold a microphone, an umbrella and either an iPad or a clipboard while listening to several different voices in your ear as you tell people at home what’s coming up next,’ reveals the Glaswegian.
‘Last season I dropped my notes on the ground and they were soaking and I couldn’t read them. Another time John was so wet and cold he apologised as he had nothing left to say and we also had Ryan pretending to be blown away by a gale.
‘So when it’s freezing and bucketing down — those are tough moments. And that’s when you have to try to bring some fun into it to get through it all.’
Levity has to be appropriately meted out, however. The demands of live television mean a microphone is often thrust under a player’s nose as soon as they’ve walked off the field and those tasked with asking the questions must do so with tact and sensitivity.
‘Your emotional intelligence has to kick in,’ notes Drummond. ‘Sometimes the person from the losing team doesn’t want to talk but you know as a journalist you have to get answers out of them.
‘Sometimes there are players who are a bit more introverted who just don’t like speaking. Duhan van der Merwe always says to me: “Two questions only, Jenny!” And then he’ll complain that I’ve asked five. But it’s all in jest. The more you do it, the more you learn about the characters of the players and how they best respond.
‘I just go with a human-led approach. Sometimes players cry or get emotional and it’s how you react to that.’
Drummond has an impressive pedigree and worked at major tennis events as well
Drummond’s dream is to sit in the ‘big chair’ for the world’s biggest tennis event – Wimbledon
Social media snipers tend to reserve their harshest judgments for female presenters and, while Drummond has had her fair share of criticism too, she’s learned it’s not worth wasting her time over.
‘As a female you get commented on how you look and what you wear rather than how you perform as a presenter or reporter,’ she adds. ‘Then people criticise the angle of your questions or how articulate you were in the way that you said something. That p****s me off, for sure.
‘I use Twitter/X for work but am not active on it. I’m sensitive and can’t hack that (abuse) side of it, so I don’t even bother looking.’
Drummond has seen and done it all over the past decade, presenting and reporting on a wide range of sporting occasions from Wimbledon to the Women’s Six Nations. Her first steps, though, were on the production side as she learned about the business, inside and out.
‘I purposely started in production to show as a female in a male- dominated industry that when it came to sport I knew what I was talking about,’ she adds. ‘I started out as a production manager or floor manager on trips and sometimes filled in as a reporter which allowed me to create a showreel.
Drummond’s dad Duncan, front right, played many sports, including a cricket match with West Indies legend Gordon Greenidge
Her grandad, Ian Rae, was a keen golfer and once played in The Open
‘From there I did a hybrid of both roles until just before Covid when I decided I wanted to focus on reporting and presenting. I went back and did a journalism degree in my mid-20s which helped a lot, too.
‘I was probably a bit later getting on camera than I wanted but equally it has allowed me to gain all that other experience which has proved invaluable.’
Drummond comes from a strong sporting stock. Her dad, Duncan, turned out for Glasgow Warriors in their amateur days, while one of her granddads played cricket for Scotland and the other was a keen amateur golfer who featured at The Open.
Little surprise given that gene pool that sport was a constant for Drummond growing up in Bearsden.
‘I come from a very sporty family,’ she adds. ‘My dad was a very keen rugby player, tennis, golfer, cricketer — he did it all. And my grandparents were the same.
‘My dad threw a ball at me from when I was in nappies so my hand-eye coordination was good from an early age. He’s the biggest influence on me when it comes to sport.’
The former High School of Glasgow pupil showed plenty of sporting talent, too. After trying the full gamut of pursuits, it was tennis where the young Drummond showed the greatest potential.
Set for a scholarship on the US college scene, a freak car accident ended those prospects, setting the then 18-year-old on a different path, studying Politics and International Relations at Aberdeen University before her move into the media.
‘I was a top British junior and was coached by Judy Murray and Leon Smith most of my life,’ she reveals. ‘And then I was in a car crash where some idiot didn’t stop at a give-way junction and I snapped my left wrist. They then mis-diagnosed the fracture and it fused in the wrong place.
‘So I ended up going to Aberdeen to study instead of America. I played a bit of tennis after that but not much more — I think there’s still a wee bit of PTSD floating around after what happened. I also had hip surgery last year because of an old tennis injury. Maybe I’ve just got one of those bodies that’s prone to injury!’
It has not been the worst career detour, with Drummond working across a raft of different sports — football, tennis, golf and snooker as well as rugby — for a number of different broadcasters. Asked to pick out a favourite memory, the 35-year-old alights on one particular highlight.
‘A few years ago I was reporting for the BBC at Wimbledon for the first time and interviewing Nick Kyrgios a fair bit as I had got him out of some terrible moods live on air and made him laugh,’ she adds.
‘So they wanted me to keep doing it. It was Court One, the match between Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas and it was quite fiery with both players almost getting defaulted.
‘I had to interview Nick afterwards and it all went fine. And then my boss text me after to say: “Just the 5.8million people watching, Jen”. I’m glad they didn’t tell me that beforehand!’
And what about the future? Two events come straight to mind as she reels off the items on her bucket list.
‘One day I’d love to be in the big chair presenting Wimbledon,’ she admits. ‘And to be able to present both the men’s and the women’s Six Nations would be a dream, too. If I ever got to do those two things at some point in my life then I’d be absolutely delighted.’
Jenny Drummond is part of the Premier Sports team bringing every Glasgow and Edinburgh game live from the BKT United Rugby Championship both home and away this season.
Watch Glasgow take on Benetton in the second round of the Championship on Friday night live on Premier Sports 1 from 7pm. Jenny will be joined by John Barclay, Ryan Wilson, Rory Hamilton and Jamie Lyall with all the action and build-up from Scotstoun.
Premier Sports now provides the most comprehensive live rugby club coverage available across the UK and Ireland with 80 top European rugby fixtures, 151 URC games across five rugby nations and 110 TOP14 games live – making Premier Sports the destination for any rugby fan. Premier Sports is available in the UK from £10.99 a month and is available on Sky, Virgin and Amazon Prime.
Premier Sports also streams online via dedicated apps on a wide range of devices and platforms, including iOS and Android smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac, Fire TV and Chromecast, LG Smart TVs and Android TV enabled devices.
