There’ s an old joke about rugby players and oddballs. However, there certainly have been quite a few of them playing rugby in the history of the game. And not just oddballs, there’ s been pitbulls, quiet men, iron men, and unsung heroes. And you can meet them all in this quirky collection of the famous and infamous of the game. Characters include Wilfred Wooller, who, playing in the ‘ 30s, was described as a ‘ juggernaut, leaving a trail of prostrate figures in his wake.’ Then there was Gordon Brown (not the PM), known as ‘ Broonie’ but also as the baby-faced assassin when he first entered the Scottish team in 1696. Right up to Sir Clive Woodward who transformed the England side from amateur to professional – a man who knew his own mind, but didn’ t seem to sure about anyone else’ s. Using extensive research author John Griffiths wins bonus points for a funny, fascinating, remarkable collection of the good, the bad and the ugly, of the scrums, forwards, fly halfs, flankers and dummy passers. A great gift book for all rugby fans. John Griffiths is the author of six books on rugby and for many years co-edited Rothmans Rugby Yearbook and the IRB's Rugby Yearbook.

This is the first book to introduce key themes in the study of women’s rugby from multi-disciplinary perspectives, including history, sociology, gender studies, sport development and sport science. Featuring contributions from leading researchers and former international players from across Canada, England, France, New Zealand and the USA, the book opens with a global history of women’s rugby, locating the game in the wider context of the development of women’s sport and exploring important social issues such as race, gender and violence. The book then looks at training and performance analysis at pitch level, helping the reader get a sense of the game from the ground up, before focusing on women’s rugby through the eyes of others (such as rugby coaches), women’s experiences of rugby’s culture and promotional culture. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in women’s sport, rugby, sport and social issues, sport development, or sport history.

In 1995 rugby union became the last significant international sport to sanction professionalism. To some this represented an undesirable challenge to the traditions of the game. To others the change was inevitable and overdue – an acknowledgment of both the realty of modern sport and the extent to which money had already permeated the game. While there are some commonalities in the response to professional rugby, the contributions to this book, representing almost all of the significant rugby playing countries, reveal much more that was shaped by particular local contexts both within rugby and in terms of its place within the economic, political, class and social structures of the surrounding society. The authors assess the contrasting ways in which rugby administrators at local, regional and national level grappled with the changes that were required and the demands of the corporate backers who funded the transition to professionalism. But the more contentious relationships considered are those involving the many amateur rugby players and committed fans who found that significant community and historical reference points were subtly altered or simply obliterated in the face of new commercial imperatives – and especially new competitions that separated elite players from the grassroots of the game. Some have adapted to the replacement ‘product’ with relish, others have not. Some have genuine and well articulated grievances against the processes of changes. Others have fallen victim to a nostalgia which appropriates very selective memories of the amateur past to highlight apparent problems with the professional present. Above all, these contributions provide a range of perspectives that enable the reader to take stock at a particular point in what is still a rapidly evolving game. Read in ten or twenty years, this book may confirm that many of the right paths have been taken – or it may provide pointers to crisis as yet unimagined.

The must-have companion to the greatest event in world rugby, the Rugby World Cup France 2023. Containing everything rugby fans will need to enjoy the World Cup, this official guide is packed with images, profiles, previews and charts, making it essential reading for any fan and the perfect companion to all of the tournament action. Contents include: • Team-by-team profiles • Star player profiles • A guide to every venue • Fill-in tournament progress chart • History of the Rugby World Cup • Rugby World Cup records • Qualification round-up And much, much more besides.

The official guide to rugby in North America, revised and updated Rugby For Dummies is the guide to rugby in North America, endorsed by USA Rugby and Rugby Canada, the official regulating bodies for the sport. It gives you a look at how rugby is played, offers strategies for winning, and covers every level of the sport, from high school to college (including women's rugby) to the international leagues. Plus, this new edition addresses changes to the rules of rugby, includes new rugby player bios, and looks at rugby's upcoming return to the Olympic games. Inside you'll find easy-to-understand explanations of rugby rules and positions, plus in-depth lessons on skills, fitness training, and winning techniques. Add in entertaining stories from rugby in North America and around the world, and you've got the definitive book on rugby! Covers every level of the sport Includes the latest rules and information on rugby Discusses rugby's return to the Olympic games Whether you're new to rugby or a scrum veteran, this friendly guide is for you.

Rugby has always been a sport with as much drama off the field as on it. For every thrilling last-minute Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal to win the world cup or Jonah Lomu rampage down the touchline for a try, there has been a split, a feud or a controversy. The Oval World is the first full-length history of rugby on a world scale – from its origins in the village-based football games of medieval times up to the globalised sport of the twenty-first century,now played in well over 100 countries. It tells the story of how a game played in an obscure English public school became the winter sport of the British Empire, spread to France, Argentina, Japan and the rest of the world and commanded a global television audience of over four billion for the last world cup final. And how American football – and other games such as Australian, Canadian and Gaelic football – emerged from rugby and highlight just how much the modern gridiron game owes to its English cousin. Featuring the great moments in the game's history and its great names – such as Jonah Lomu, David Duckham, Serge Blanco, Billy Boston and David Campese alongside Rupert Brooke, King George V, Boris Karloff, Charles de Gaulle and Nelson Mandela – The Oval World investigates just what it is about rugby that enables it to survive and thrive in countries with very different traditions and cultures. This is the the definitive world history of a truly global rugby.

As France's oldest team sport, rugby football has throughout its 125-year history reflected major changes in French society. This book analyzes for the first time the complex variety of motives that have led the French to adopt and remake this rather unlikely British sport in their own image. A major site for the construction of masculine, class-based regional and national identities, France's tradition of 'Champagne rugby' continues to be as subject to dramatic upheavals as the society that produced it. The game's precocious professionalism and endemic violence have not infrequently caused the French to be cast as international pariahs. Such isolation, exacerbated by internal politics, has led the French not only to encourage the extension of the sport beyond its British imperial base (into Italy and Romania, for instance), but also to engage in some uncomfortable tactical alliances, most obviously with apartheid South Africa.Taking his analysis both on and off the field, the author tackles these issues and much more: the relationship of sport and the state (including particularly the Vichy period and the period under de Gaulle); professionalization; the persistence of colonial and postcolonial structures (including the role of ethnic minorities); and gender issues - especially masculine identities. At the same time he links the evolution of the sport to the broader context of French socio-economic, political and cultural history.This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the cultural analysis of sport or French popular culture.

My name is Francis Levi. Well, not really, that's just a pseudonym. You see, every character in Revelation for the Revolution is an actual person, so I have changed our names to keep us anonymous. We characters lived the content, and the content is very real. I invite you to enter into our dialogue, the questioning, the seeking of Truth. This is something that will touch your core and suck you into the saga of actually knowing yourself. Honest transparency shows both the ugliness and beauty of our human experience. I have shared mine so that you might judge yours and test the existence we now share. The Foundation takes you through my coming-of-age moment in time. It begins after my high school graduation in 2002 and ends just before I enter graduate school in 2007. My goal in this four-part series is to empower you, to show you how I have changed since college over thirteen years, to encourage you to own your own life's story. Remember, if your life/world is not how you want it to be, change it so that you might be fulfilled. I do not believe in fate; however, I do see how good may come from the evil horrors that free will (by its very nature) must allow to exist. I hope you will too. Flip through these pages and see if anything hits you. Look at the illustrations, read a poem, see if anything corresponds. Enter the story. It begins now.

This is the story of a sport told through its communities. Rugby League in New Zealand: A People’s History unveils the compelling journey of a game flourishing against the odds. Beginning with the game’s introduction to the country in 1907, Ryan Bodman reveals the deep-rooted connections between rugby league’s development and the evolving cultural fabric of New Zealand. By questioning the mythic status of rugby union in the nation’s identity, this history highlights how power, politics and people have collectively shaped the country’s sporting scene. Drawing on first-hand interviews and a wide range of illustrations and archival material, Bodman locates rugby league history in working-class suburbs, and among Kiingitanga Māori, Pasifika migrants, and clubs and communities across the country. The people behind the game share accounts of change, triumph and resilience, while emphasising rugby league’s lasting influence on New Zealanders’ lives.

SHORTLISTED FOR RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE 2020 TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS. 'excellent' Donald McRae, The Guardian 'Gatland is the master' Sir Ian McGeechan 'Gatland is a coaching star' Sir Clive Woodward 'Gats is one of the all-time great coaches' Sam Warburton Warren Gatland is one of the world's most renowned and intriguing rugby coaches of the modern era, leading Wales to four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals and masterminding two history-making tours as Head Coach of the British and Irish Lions. As he leaves his post as Head Coach of Wales at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Gatland's definitive autobiography provides a colourful and vivid chronicle of an extraordinary three decades at rugby's dynamic coal-face. The personal journey has been rewarding and challenging in equal measure, spanning many of the sport's most passionate heartlands such as New Zealand, Ireland, England and, of course, Wales. Gatland reflects in characteristically forthright and intelligent fashion on a lifetime spent playing and coaching the sport which has been his passion since as a young boy he first picked up an oval ball on New Zealand's North Island, dreaming of joining the ranks of the mighty All Blacks. Along the way we encounter the greatest matches, players and rivalries the sport has to offer, get introduced to a stunning cast of unforgettable characters who grace the story with their humour and humanity, and emerge with a striking appreciation of what makes this outstanding rugby man tick.