For Orla Chennaoui, there is one upside to the abuse she regularly receives on social media. ‘It’s mostly about how I look or how I dress, which is standard fare for a woman,’ sighs the new face of Friday night Premiership Rugby on TNT Sports.
‘But hopefully that means that what I am saying and how I am presenting comes across quite well. People don’t tend to say, “You are talking rubbish”, so that’s good, because that’s the bit that I am there for!
Far from talking rubbish, Chennaoui is one of the best in the business. The 43-year-old from Northern Ireland has just been shortlisted for sports presenter of the year by the Broadcast Sport Awards, pitting her against such industry heavyweights as Gabby Logan, Mark Pougatch and Ed Chamberlin.
‘It’s really exciting and terrifying in equal measure,’ she tells Mail Sport from her home in Amsterdam. ‘To see your name on a list like that with absolute legends, you think “whoa” and you get that imposter syndrome. It is very humbling that I could ever be considered amongst that level of broadcaster.’
Formerly of Sky News and then Sky Sports News, Chennaoui has made her name on Eurosport fronting their cycling coverage, most notably the Tour de France. Now – after BT Sport’s merger with Eurosport’s owners, Warner Bros. Discovery – she is branching out into rugby. She arrives at a critical time for the ailing domestic game, with three top-flight clubs having gone bust in the past year.
Orla Chennaoui (above) is the new face of Friday night Premiership Rugby on TNT Sports
‘The difficulties that the game has had, it certainly feels like a good time to be trying to open up the fan base,’ says Chennaoui. ‘I’m deeply respectful of hardcore fans of any sport. I understand what kind of coverage that level of fan requires, demands and expects. But I’m really passionate about bringing more people into sport.
‘I don’t believe that keeping a closed shop and talking in a code that only hardcore fans of the sport will understand is something that will bring new fans into the sport. My mission is to open it up, to make it more fun and more accessible. It has to be entertainment.
‘We are getting into the dressing room more and bringing the viewer into the texture of the sport – the look, feel and smell of it – and making them feel more a part of it.’
For the new Premiership season, TNT Sports plan to conduct pre-match chats in the dressing room and in-game interviews with try scorers. They are also looking at mic’ing up players during warm-ups and putting cameras on coaches.
Chennaoui will also bring a new flavour to proceedings with her vibrant personality and bold outfits, something which has attracted plenty of attention during her stint on cycling, not least the gold jumpsuit she wore on the final day of this year’s Tour de France.
‘When I was growing up, I was massively into Gaelic football and athletics but I would always see them presented by men in suits,’ says the former all-Ireland triple jump champion. ‘I knew I was an outsider. So I want people like me to know that there is a space for them in sport.
She has just been shortlisted for sports presenter of the year by the Broadcast Sport Awards
‘I dress very “female”, if you like. That leads to questioning, but I’ve never wanted to blend myself to fit into that environment. I want to help to change the environment.
‘I feel it’s really important to express your personality if and when you can. If you like wearing high heels and lipstick, if you are interested in fashion, sport can still be for you.
‘For every one person who will say something mean about what I wear, I get so many women messaging me saying, “Thank you for showing that this is OK and I can dress as I wish”.’
This summer, TNT Sports announced an all-female football presenter line-up. And Chennaoui is grateful that attitudes towards women in sport have improved since the start of her career, when she was subjected to some of the worst behaviour imaginable.
‘I’ve had incidents of sexual assault,’ she says, revealing she has been groped at least twice by cycling team directors at social events around bike races. ‘I spoke up about it at the time and one person apologised and one didn’t.
‘I hesitate to make it too much of a headline, but at the same time I can’t shy away from it because I think a lot of women will have had similar incidents.
‘The only reason I’ve spoken about this in the past is to show that it’s not OK to grope a woman. Whatever the situation, it’s just not OK and not something that should be easily passed by.
‘It’s not just physical, it’s that objectification, which is much less measurable but very obvious. That is difficult because what do you do about that? Do you cover up? Do you hide?
Chennaoui attracted attention with a gold jumpsuit on final day of this year’s Tour de France
‘That is not how I wish to live my life. You have to decide, “How do I make this better for the people coming after me?”. I tried to make it better by staying in the game and showing people I am here to be taking seriously. Women in sport these days are not just there to be looked at.’
As well as empowering women in sport, Chennaoui is passionate about promoting mental health. She has a ‘side passion project’ called Ten Times Braver, an online wellness platform to ‘encourage people to live their bravest lives’. It largely leans on her own personal struggles.
‘I’ve had to overcome a lot of internal obstacles to be able to do the job that I love,’ she admits. ‘I had post-natal depression and anxiety after my first child.
‘It was a horrific experience. It’s a really hard, lonely, dark place. My husband was the one who called the doctor for me because I couldn’t work out what was wrong. I couldn’t figure out why I felt like my life had turned upside down.
‘When I had the diagnosis, everything felt slightly easier. I stopped drinking alcohol and that that led me into meditation and trying to gain control of my own mind.
‘If anyone is reading this who has just had a baby and they feel like they are not quite themselves, please speak up because it’s the first step to getting better.’
Chennaoui now has two children, eight-year-old Eve and four-year-old Austin. After this interview, she will do the school run on her bike – the transport mode of choice in Amsterdam – and then cycle her daughter to piano and her son to judo.
She balances parenting and presenting with podcasting and writing, often setting her alarm for 4.30am. ‘Balls may drop,’ is how she refers to that juggling act on her Instagram and X bios.
‘Whenever I was offered the rugby job, I made it clear to the bosses that I would have to speak to my husband first to see whether it will work for the family,’ she says. ‘It’s not always easy and balls do drop, but we make it work.’
Chennaoui has made her name on Eurosport fronting their cycling coverage
Chennaoui has been travelling from Amsterdam – where she relocated for her husband’s work as a scientist – to present Premiership Rugby Cup games since last month. On Friday night, she will be at Ashton Gate fronting the league season opener between Bristol and Leicester.
‘The matches I’ve been to so far have been really welcoming,’ she adds. ‘Everyone has been so kind. I’ve had several huge names in the sport reaching out to me to say, “Anything you need, ask me, I’ve got your back”. That respect I’ve been shown already gives me this lovely feeling that it is the right place and the right time.
‘I love my rugby. It’s something that I’ve followed since I was a teen. Rugby and cycling are two very different sports, but to be able to bring what I do to cycling to our rugby coverage feels really right and really exciting.’
Watch Gallagher Premiership Rugby only on TNT Sports and discovery+. Bristol Bears v Leicester Tigers is live on Friday from 7pm
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