Was this the best sports interview of all time?

Last week was a strange one for media interviews.

There was, of course, the now-infamous Prince Andrew interview with Newsnight.

And at the other end of the scale, there was an interview given by a sporting star that went viral for completely different reasons.

Harlequins and England rugby player Joe Marler took the internet by storm with a pre-match interview he gave on the training ground.

The interview started in fairly routine fashion as Marler discussed a recent dispiriting 53-21 defeat ahead of the next match against Bath.

🐴 Our @bathrugby preview with @JoeMarler took an unexpected turn...

🏆 Join us for @ChampionsCup rugby at The Stoop on Saturday - tickets and hospitality: https://t.co/KJc7HQb4Yx #COYQ pic.twitter.com/k2B7qAtw72

— Harlequins 🃏 (@Harlequins) November 20, 2019

“I wasn’t hurting as much as the lads who were out there, but I definitely felt it and I know how hard the boys have taken that. They will be disappointed with the account that we put out, but we have got another week to get back on the horse,” he said.

But then things went more than a little bizarre as Marler expanded his metaphor.

He said: “And take that horse to the water, and you can ask that horse, you can say, ‘Hey, horsey, do you want to have a drink or do you want to swim.

“It’s up to that horse to then realise what he wants to do in his life. That horse, at the moment, wants to go out on Saturday, he wants to clippity-clop all the way to The Stoop and he wants to say hello to those fans.”

Then, imitating the horse, he added: “And he goes, ‘I’m sorry about the result last week, but I’m going to give a better performance here at home against Bath’. He’s a slightly Irish horse. So, we are looking forward, like I say, to getting back on that horse.”

Asked if he was personally looking forward to getting back on the horse, Marler said: “I don’t like horses. I can’t ride.”

And @JoeMarler instantly takes the award for INTERVIEW OF THE YEAR 👏🏻😂🐴 @Harlequins pic.twitter.com/x6OWaUyPCE

— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) November 21, 2019

The best interview I’ve ever seen 🤣🤣 Well played sir @JoeMarler 👏🏻 https://t.co/wJwn4ZzAP1

— Richard Mathers (@RichardMathers) November 20, 2019

Amusing stuff, but why are we sharing this with you?

Well, firstly we thought it might brighten your day.

But there are some media training lessons here as well.

Marler’s interview certainly provided the ‘unusual’ element which we tell delegates on our media training courses is so crucial for capturing attention.

Consequently, a routine pre-match interview was viewed by a much wider audience, creating headlines across the world, including in the US where rugby is not one of the main sports.

A rugby player talks about horses in hilarious interview. We don’t know what it means, either The Washington Post

Joe Marler horses around in Harlequins interview as he stretches out bizarre metaphor in true David Brent fashion Daily Mail

Rugby Player’s interview devolves into extended metaphor about ‘slightly Irish horse’ Sports Illustrated

‘Hey horsey!’: England rugby star Joe Marler bucks trend of dull sporting interviews The Guardian

Of course, the unusual, 'horsing about', part of this particular example is a little extreme, but finding that unexpected or surprising angle can be the difference between having something which is important to your organisation and something which is newsworthy and picked up by a wider audience.

Perhaps the story your spokesperson is trying to tell is the first, the biggest, or even smallest. Encourage your spokespeople, and other people in the organisation, to think about what would surprise an audience and make them sit-up and take note.

To stick with the animal theme of this blog, and to use an old journalism aphorism, dog bites man is not a story, but man bites dog is news.

The other interesting thing about some of the coverage of this interview is how media training is blamed for the often-dull interviews athletes carry out where they stick rigidly to the ‘one game at a time’ message and say little of note.

The Guardian coverage, for example, talks about athletes being ‘media trained to within an inch of their lives lest they say anything remotely interesting’. 

What we can say about that, is that they are not having the right media training.

On our courses, whether they are with people from the sporting world or elsewhere, we always stress the importance of spokespeople coming to interviews with something to say and being willing to share stories and anecdotes.

It is something the England football team did particularly well during the last world cup where the messaging noose was loosened and the players used their own words. Danny Rose, for example, gave interviews about his mental health and the pressures on a modern-day athlete. Fabian Delph also spoke openly about becoming a father again during the tournament and his experiences of popping home for a few days and escaping the world cup bubble.

 

Don’t flog a dead horse in your next interview – make sure you bring the unusual factor.

 

Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers. 

Click here to find out more about our practical media training.

 

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