Geoff Parling swears at and shoves Craig Doyle in bizarre on air bust-up

Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling became embroiled in a surreal touchline flashpoint on Saturday after swearing at TNT Sports presenter Craig Doyle and physically ushering him off the pitch during Tigers’ warm-up.

The incident unfolded at Villa Park ahead of Leicester’s PREM clash with Gloucester, where Doyle and colleague Liam MacDevitt were filming a light-hearted pre-match segment. As part of an on-air initiation, MacDevitt attempted a kick at goal, but the ball went wide towards an area where Tigers players were going through their final preparations.

Parling, already known for not being the most sympathetic to rugby union media, clearly wasn’t impressed.

The former England lock strode over and told Doyle to “fuck off” before giving him a firm shove off the field, visibly furious that broadcasters had encroached on team space during their warm-up.

Doyle immediately apologised on air, acknowledging “Geoff not happy about that” and issuing a further apology to viewers for the language picked up on microphones.

Meanwhile, Brian O’Driscoll, co-anchor and good friend of Doyle, did his best to stiffle a laugh on the sidelines.

Craig Doyle being told to fuck off by Geoff Parling wasn’t on my bingo list today. 🤣 #GLOvLEI #SlaterCup #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/uldmu3PF62

— Howie Gosling (@Howgozza) March 28, 2026

The confrontation quickly circulated on social media. While many watchers found humour in Tigers’ head coach playing the role of warm-up bouncer, others sympathised with him.

Several argued that broadcasters shouldn’t be kicking balls around in a team’s active prep area, pointing out that the equivalent in football would never be allowed.

One wrote: “I’m with Geoff Parling on this. He shouldn’t be pushing the presenter, but can’t be having TV broadcasters mucking about and booting balls into an area where a team are preparing for a game. As a football fan, imagine TNT attempting a crossbar challenge during a warm-up?”

Others felt Parling’s reaction, while understandable in principle, tipped into over-the-top territory given there was no intention to disrupt Leicester’s session.

“Miserable Geoff Parling should not be swearing anywhere near TV cameras,” said another account. “Unacceptable on every level. Well handled Craig.”