Rugby Special

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Rugby Special was the main rugby union programme on the BBC in the UK. The show ran from 1966 and past presenters included David Vine, Keith Macklin, Cliff Morgan, Chris Rea, Nigel Starmer-Smith, Bill Beaumont and John Inverdale. The main commentators were Bill McLaren, Cliff Morgan, Nigel Starmer-Smith, David Parry-Jones, Martyn Williams, Lynn Davies, Jim Neilly and Eddie Butler.

From the start of the 1994/95 season, the programme was contracted out to an independent production company Chrysalis after 28 years as an in-house BBC production. John Inverdale replaced Chris Rea as host at this time.

The programme ended its original run in 1997 after losing the rights to cover English domestic games, then known as the Allied Dunbar Premiership, to Channel 5, who showed highlights on a programme titled Rugby Express. After one season, the rights to the English Premiership again moved to Channel 4 who showed highlights on Saturday mornings in a programme titled Inside Rugby.

The programme returned on late Thursday nights in 2002 but was discontinued in 2005, when it was a highlights programme of Autumn internationals and Six Nations with studio guests and an audience of fans from the Six Nations. But when the Premiership highlights rights were regained from the 2001–02 season highlights were shown on Sunday Grandstand.

Rugby Special returned to the BBC on 7 February 2016, covering the highlights of Six Nations. The programme returned in 2023 again covering highlights of the Six Nations.^[1]