Forty years ago, a South African rugby tour in the United States became a crucial turning point for the nation's burgeoning protests against apartheid and a test of American foreign policy. In Flashpoint: How a Little-Known Sporting Event Fueled America's Anti-Apartheid Movement, Derek Charles Catsam tells the fascinating story of the Springbok's 1981 US tour and its impact on the country's anti-apartheid struggle. The US lagged well behind the rest of the Western world when it came to addressing the vexing question of South Africa's racial policies, but the rugby tour changed all that. Those who had been a part of the country's tiny anti-apartheid struggle for decades used the visit from one of white South Africa's most cherished institutions to mobilize against both apartheid sport and the South African regime more broadly. Protestors met the South African team at airports, chanted outside their hotels, and courted arrests at matches, which ranged from the bizarre to the laughable, with organizers going to incredible lengths to keep their locations secret. In telling the story of how a sport little appreciated in the United States nonetheless became ground zero for the nation's growing anti-apartheid movement, Flashpoint serves as a poignant reminder that sports and politics have always been closely intertwined.

'He's one of the best players I've ever played with. As a forward, I'd say he's the best.' Johnny Sexton Sean O'Brien does not come from a traditional rugby background. He grew up on a farm in Tullow, far from the rugby hotbeds of Limerick and Cork or the fee-paying schools of Dublin. But as he made his way up through the ranks, it soon became clear that he was a very special player and a very special personality. Now, Sean O'Brien tells the remarkable and unlikely story of his rise to the highest levels of world rugby, and of a decade of success with Leinster, Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

Dublin 4, probably best-known in sporting terms as the spiritual home of Leinster Rugby, has one of the highest densities of diverse sports clubs in all of Ireland. In this new work from Kurt Kullmann, a founding member of the Donnybrook, Ballsbridge and Sandymount Historical Society, the author explores the history of these clubs, creating a picture of the kaleidoscopic nature of Dublin's sporting culture.

In 2009, Warrington RLFC reached the nadir of their long-term, chronic underachievement, prompting one fan to write to the local newspaper questioning the players' commitment. He signed the letter 'Spirit of '55' - a reference to the year the club were last champions. Results began to improve dramatically, with back-to-back Challenge Cup wins followed by a League Leader's Shield - but still no championship. Spirit of '55 follows Warrington's quest to become champions in 2012, as seen through the eyes of their most passionate fan. But are the team cursed by the town's expectations, and the ghost of '55? Laced with terrace humour and tempered by the expert eye of a professional coach, the team's record of failure and the 'curse of hope' will strike a chord with all sports fans. The book builds to the climax of the play-offs where one team will achieve glory. But will it be Warrington?

"Voices from the Back of the Bus" provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at international rugby at the height of a golden period. Recounted with genuine warmth and much humor, over a hundred players recall the scrapes, the games, the laughs, the glory, and the gritty reality of the pre-professional game. Packed with true rugby tales from the days when men played purely for the love of the game and of their nation, and multimillion-pound contracts and sponsorship deals were unheard of, this refreshing, revealing, and often hilarious collection will inspire sports fans of all generations.

This inside story of the Lions in South Africa will preserve the memories of the millions of fans who follow the tour in the press, on Sky and at the games themselves. A Lions tour is the pinnacle in the career of any rugby player from the four Home Unions. It is also increasingly a highlight in the life of the vast number of travelling supporters and indeed of any rugby follower. The "Complete Book of the Lions Tour to South Africa 2009" will be an enduring record of what is bound to be an outstanding, sometimes controversial and always absorbing six weeks of rugby history, from the first match on 30th May to the third, and final, Test against the Springboks on 4th July. "The Complete Book of the Lions Tour to South Africa 2009" will recall every aspect of the tour from selection and preparation, through the early bruising encounters in the warm-up games, the high points and the low, the constant battle against injuries, the mind games and the man management, the individual successes and disappointments, gruelling training sessions and lighter moments off the field but most of all the Test series itself. The BBC's voice of rugby Ian Robertson masterminds the book as its editor and will provide comments and interviews with all the key figures on both sides. Mick Cleary's perceptive writing will throw much light on the atmosphere within the South African and Lions camps throughout the tour, examining tactics, game plans in practice on the field, individual players within the squads, including Ronan O'Gara, Brian O'Driscoll and Phil Vickery, and the leadership of Lions captain Paul O'Connell.

This book is part of the Images of Sport series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local sports in Great Britain.

Michael's talent became apparent early on and, having given up on studying for a degree to play for Pontypridd, he was soon playing at international level as an under-19 and an under-21. He followed his try-scoring Man of the Match debut against Canada with an impressive first Heineken Cup campaign. The highlight of his Pontypridd career was in 2001-2 season which saw this promising young team deliver by winning the Principality Cup and reaching the final of the European Challenge Cup. As well as the triumph that goes hand-in-hand with great sporting achievement, Michael has also been through his fair share of lows. Following his first cap, his first child was born seriously ill and the new father was forced to choose between his career and his family. Not long after this trauma, the national side were dubbed the worst Welsh team in history. This fascinating sporting biography takes an in-depth look at these peaks and troughs, as well as giving the lowdown on the tumultuous Lions tour of New Zealand, the rifts within the Welsh rugby camp and how Michael coped with having his dream career brought to an end by injury. This book is a must-read for any rugby or sports fan.

The story of Leeds Rugby League Club, based on the historic venue of Headingly, which through a vivid pictorial account follows the tribulations and successes of the club from Northern Union days, through the golden thirties and up to the present day.

This book is part of the Images of Sport series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local sports in Great Britain.

This book is part of the Images of Sport series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local sports in Great Britain.

This book is part of the 100 Greats series, which collects short biographies and statistics of the 100 greatest players on various sporting teams or clubs throughout their histories.

A history of Bath Rugby Football Club 1865-1965

A book of stories about the amazing and often forgotten working-class heroes that gave Rugby League its reputation as a hard hitting egaletarian game. This is the story of when rugby league was a bruising tribal contest with local rivalries, muddy country grounds were packed with fans and the corporate juggernaut of today's game was a distant dream. It's a look at the days when footballers had 'real jobs', smoked cigarettes at half time and had a beer together after training. Days when your footy boots were a treasured possession - and rules and regulations barely mattered. Read about how legends were forged in steel by men who refused to countenance defeat. When back then, before fulltime professionalism, you might buy your bread or rabbits from someone you barracked for on Saturday; an uncommon hero of Rugby League.

Never before in the UK has a Rugby League man of Malcolm Reilly's legendary status issued such a full and revealling autobiography. Reilly has been a household name in Rugby League for over 30 years -three decades in which he strode like a colossus over the world of this toughest of team sports. He was a champion player, and a champion coach, in both England and Australia - and Reilly reveals one man's personal story behind many of Rugby League's most famous, and infamous, days of the last 30 years, told just as he played his football - with no holds barred. Malcolm Reilly developed a reputation as the most feared player in the game at a time when Rugby League was at its most brutal during the 60's and 70's. His book recalls that club career at home with highly controversial Lions tour in which he starred the last time a British team won the coveted Ashes. Rupert Murdoch's million dollar war to take control of the game, with Malcolm Reilly bang in the middle of it He also describes the fairytale triumph with his Newcastle team in Australia in 1997 followed by the drugs storm that broke around them less than a year later. Reilly has been adapted in this UK version with Harry Edgar, one of the most experienced writers on international affairs in the world of rugby.

Bristol Football Club (RFU), to give it its original title, is one of the most famous Rugby Union teams in England. The club's heritage and traditions are an important aspect of one of Britain's leading cities. This is the first of two volumes illustrating the history of the club with over 200 images, including action shots, team groups, programme covers, cartoons and other items of memorabilia. Compiled by Dave Fox and Mark Hoskins, rugby historians and memorabilia enthusiasts of note, this book traces the evolution from the rabble that the merged Carlton and Redland Park teams produced in 1888 to a side brimming with international players and sporting celebrities fifty years later. The names of Sam Tucker and Len Corbett are etched in the history of this great sport not only in Bristol and England but around the world. Tucker, the tough hooker known affectionately as 'Our Sam', and the elegant Corbett played for Bristol at the same time and both captained England between the wars. The selection covers the time when the club were tenants of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and includes the move to their spiritual home on Buffalo Bill's field, later christened the Memorial Ground and dedicated to the rugby players of Bristol who fell in the First World War. This fascinating book is an essential read for those interested in the trials and tribulations of sport, its heroes, the ethos of rugby and the city of Bristol.

This book is part of the Classic Matches series, in which long-term followers of various sporting clubs and teams look back on some of their finest moments. This book looks at fifty of Hull Rugby League Football Club's best matches.

An illustrated history of Bath Rugby Union, between 1966 and 1996.

A compilation of one hundred of Wigan Rugby League Club's greatest players is comparable to a who's who of the most famous names ever seen in the 13-a-side code. There are few clubs that boast a history awash with such a glittering array of stars as the Cherry and Whites of Wigan. Names like Eric Ashton, Dean Bell, Billy Boston, Shaun Edwards, Joe Egan, Andy Farrell, Ken Gee, Ellery Hanley, Jimmy Leytham and, of course, the great Jim Sullivan, is just the tip of a very large iceberg. For over a century, the men from Central Park and, more latterly, the JJB Stadium, have dominated events in British Rugby League, providing the country with more Test players and tourists than any other club. But it is not just home-grown talent that features in Wigan's great sides. Over the years, club officials have spread the net far and wide in search of the best there is. New Zealanders such as the great Cec Mountford, the first overseas player to win the coveted Lance Todd Trophy, Australians like magical Queensland scrum-half Hector Gee, South Africans of the calibre of flying winger Attie van Heerden, who ran behind a police horse in scoring a try during the 1924 Challenge Cup final, and Scottish stalwarts like the talented George Fairbairn, and, of course, the many men from the valleys of South Wales; Boston, Sullivan, Johnny Ring, Johnny Thomas - the list is endless. All these great players, and many more, are featured within these pages. Illustrated throughout with over 120 photographs, each player receives a full profile, complete with biography and statistics. Compiled by Rugby League historian Graham Morris, and with a foreword by Eric Ashton MBE, a former, player, captain and coach of the club, this volume provides an excellent addition to the collection of any Wigan supporter.

The story of the Springboks 2019 Rugby World Cup victory is one of the most inspiring in South African sporting history.

It is about how two men – coach Rassie Erasmus and captain Siya Kolisi – led a team of warriors into battle and conquered the world when inequality and division are still undeniable realities in South African society. When the Boks won the 2007 World Cup final, they did so with 20 white players in their match-day squad of 22.

In 2019, there were five black Africans in their starting line-up for the Yokohama final and the images of Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Cup will be replayed forever.

None of this seemed possible just two years ago when the Boks had reached an all-time low. They had slipped to No 7 in the world and had lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Erasmus came in with just 18 months to prepare for the competition.

Sports writer Lloyd Burnard takes the reader on a thrilling journey from the time when no-one gave the Boks a chance of winning, to the delirious victory tour. He covers the key roles played by Erasmus and Kolisi, and their special relationship. There are ups and downs en route to victory: the first signs of self-belief when they beat the All Blacks in Wellington, Kolisi’s injury, the fall of Aphiwe Dyantyi when he was caught with banned substances in his system, and the Langebaan incident involving Eben Etzebeth that threatened to derail the team.