Stuart Cummings will not be a part of Sky Sports’ coverage next season after taking up a role with International Rugby League.

Cummings has been appointed as the governing body’s first-ever match official manager, with the IRL confirming he will step down from his TV role.

The news will be well-received by many rugby league watchers, with Cummings’ role of scrutinising refereeing decisions become a popular criticism amongst viewers.

Professional players have been among his biggest critics throughout his stay on programming.

They have Sam Tomkins in the studio yet we have to listen to Stuart Cummings 😩🙈 — Ryan Brierley (@RyanBrierley) February 22, 2019

Please tell me why we need stuart cummings explaining every decision the ref makes!? So anoying… — Jamie Ellis (@Ellis_2025) May 26, 2017

Stuart Cummings can't be serious there, talking 💩😂 — Ben Currie (@BenoCurrie) May 25, 2017

In his new role, the IRL say Cummings will be the ‘public face of match officials for International Rugby League and Cummings’ portfolio will include appointments, development, high-performance evaluation, pathways and educational frameworks’.

“I am really excited and honoured to be taking on this role with International Rugby League,” he said.

“Since I refereed my first international in 1994, I have seen officiating in international competition as the pinnacle of a match official’s career. I look forward to developing opportunities for officials to experience some of the highs that I did during my officiating career as well as working with countries where Rugby League is developing as a sport in order to create pathways for their match officials to progress.”