In the autumn of 2010, a little-known New Zealander called Joe Schmidt took over as head coach at Leinster. He had never been in charge of a professional team.

After Leinster lost three of their first four games, a prominent Irish rugby pundit speculated that Schmidt had 'lost the dressing room'. Nine years on, Joe Schmidt has stepped down as Ireland coach having achieved success on a scale never before seen in Irish rugby. Two Heineken Cups in three seasons with Leinster. Three Six Nations championships in six seasons with Ireland, including the Grand Slam in 2018. And a host of firsts: the first Irish victory in South Africa; the first Irish defeat of the All Blacks, and then a second; and Ireland's first number 1 world ranking. Along the way, Schmidt became a byword for precision and focus in coaching, remarkable attention to detail and the highest of standards. But who is Joe Schmidt?

In Ordinary Joe, Schmidt tells the story of his life and influences: the experiences and management ideas that made him the coach, and the man, that he is today. And his diaries of the 2018 Grand Slam and the 2019 Rugby World Cup provide a brilliantly intimate insight into the stresses and joys of coaching a national team in victory and defeat. From the small towns in New Zealand's North Island where he played barefoot rugby and jostled around the dinner table with seven siblings, to the training grounds and video rooms where he consistently kept his teams a step ahead of the opposition, Ordinary Joe reveals an ordinary man who has helped his teams to achieve extraordinary things.

The autobiography of New Zealand and All Blacks legend, Sonny Bill Williams, one of rugby's most entertaining and complicated figures.

As a shy part-Samoan boy growing up in the suburbs of Auckland, Sonny Bill Williams thought about footy constantly. For him, the dream of playing professional NRL was so big that nothing else ever came close. Fast forward to 2004, and eighteen-year-old Sonny Bill's dream was coming true. Making his first-grade debut for the Canterbury Bulldogs, he would become an integral part of their premiership-winning team and be named Rookie of the Year.

The league culture was train hard, play hard and then party hard. Alcohol, drugs, women - it was a slippery slope for a naïve teen looking to find his place. Too soon, the joy of winning a premiership gave way to an emptiness that not even footy could fix. Struggling, Sonny made a decision that for many was unforgivable. He walked out on the Bulldogs and flew to France. Scathing headlines, subpoenas and threatened lawsuits followed. But so too would come the realisation that he couldn't run from the man in the mirror.

In this powerful, open and honest memoir, Sonny Bill shares the triumphs and missteps of his extraordinary sporting life and reveals how faith and family have made him the man he is today. Compelling and searingly honest, You Can't Stop the Sun from Shining is essential reading for any sports fan.

The laws of rugby are as extensive as they are confusing, their nuances and interpretations argued over relentlessly by rugby fans around the world and virtually impenetrable to those who are new to the game. In an effort to provide some much-needed clarity, Paul Williams takes an irreverent, hilarious, p*ss-taking tour through the labyrinth that is rugby's rule book - or, for the pedantic, rugby's law book. Hilarious, off-beat and (surprisingly) insightful, this is the perfect gift for rugby fans all around the world.

Seventeen-year old Dennis O'Neill was a precocious talent. Widnes coach Joe Egan put him straight into the first team after he had signed as a professional in the summer of 1966. Not only Egan, but other Rugby League pundits of the day regarded him as "the best teenage prospect since Alex Murphy" In only his second season at the age of 19, he was selected for the Lancashire side to play Yorkshire in January 1968.The game was appropriately played at Naughton Park, Widnes. O'Neill's sensational match winning try was described nearly four decades later as "The Greatest Try" by a local journalist. The description inspired the title of Anthony J. Quinn's book. Not only with a brisk season by season narrative, but with numerous references to contemporary press reports, the book vividly portrays Dennis O'Neill's thrilling performances for Widnes in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It also highlights his constant injury problems and gives the reader an insight into events at Widnes RLFC during that period in its history and is interspersed with pictures and press cuttings. In addition, the author refers to several letters and articles that were published in the local press, commenting on the poor state of British Rugby League in O'Neill's prime playing days.

A talented yet ferocious player, and one of the acknowledged 'bad-boys' of rugby, Mark Jones' on-field brutality was a direct consequence of the off-field torment he suffered with a debilitating stammer. In Fighting to Speak, his revealing and uplifting autobiography, Jones explains how his frustration with his stutter led to a self-loathing and the internalising of an explosive hate that only playing rugby could release - with his unfortunate opponents often on the receiving end of his rage. Sent off six times and banned for over 33 weeks for violent conduct during his career, the dual-code Wales international and Great Britain RL forward was desperately unhappy and detested the thuggish reputation he'd created. After one exceptionally ugly incident, when he broke another player's eye socket, Jones realised that in order to defeat his demons and control his bad behaviour he needed help to conquer his stammer. Mark Jones fought and won the hardest battle of his life with a steely determination and has now found the inner peace and dignity he'd longed for as a young man. He has decided to tell his story in order to seek redemption for his violent past on the rugby field, and to help others overcome their stammers.

Since it's first publication, Rugby's Great Split has established itself as a classic in the field of sport history. Drawing on an unprecedented range of sources, this deeply researched and highly readable book traces the social, cultural and economic divisions that led, in 1895, to schism in the game of rugby and the creation of rugby league, the sport of England's northern working class. Tony Collins' analysis challenges many of the conventional assumptions about this key event in rugby history - about class conflict, amateurism in sport, the North-South divide, violence on the pitch, the development of mass spectator sport and the rise of football. This new edition is expanded to cover parallel events in Australia and New Zealand, and to address the key question of rugby league's failure to establish itself in Wales. Rugby's Great Split is a benchmark text in the history of rugby, and an absorbing case study of wider issues - issues of class, gender, regional and national identity, and the impact of the commercialization and recent professionalization of rugby league. This insightful text is for anyone interested in Britain's social history or in the emergence of modern sport, it is vital reading.

This is the story of Widnes RLFC one of rugby's most famous clubs and how it survived administration and returned to Super League. Backed by the club and written by the official club statistician this will appeal to fans of the club and the wider rugby world. The club will use their website and other social media to generate interest in the book. The author contributes to the match day programme and is a committee member of the supporters club. He also has contacts at the local media - both print and radio. Having sunk into Administration in 2007 former World Club Champions Widnes Vikings, under the stewardship of new owner Steve O'Connor, rose phoenix-like to eventually re-gain their place in the top tier of the sport in 2012. Along the way they suffered rejection by the Rugby Football League in the sport's inaugural Licensing process in 2008, only to be successful three years later. Mike Healing's informative account of how the club turned that failure into success takes an in-depth look at the many changes taking place within the club as it was re-structured for success in addition to the new Licensing process. While the main focus is on the behind-the-scenes developments, the highs and lows of the on-field action, including the return to Super League in 2012, also receive detailed attention.

Since it's first publication, Rugby's Great Split has established itself as a classic in the field of sport history. Drawing on an unprecedented range of sources, this deeply researched and highly readable book traces the social, cultural and economic divisions that led, in 1895, to schism in the game of rugby and the creation of rugby league, the sport of England's northern working class. Tony Collins' analysis challenges many of the conventional assumptions about this key event in rugby history - about class conflict, amateurism in sport, the North-South divide, violence on the pitch, the development of mass spectator sport and the rise of football. This new edition is expanded to cover parallel events in Australia and New Zealand, and to address the key question of rugby league's failure to establish itself in Wales. Rugby's Great Split is a benchmark text in the history of rugby, and an absorbing case study of wider issues - issues of class, gender, regional and national identity, and the impact of the commercialization and recent professionalization of rugby league. This insightful text is for anyone interested in Britain's social history or in the emergence of modern sport, it is vital reading.

A local boy made good, Kirkstall-born John Holmes was Leeds Rugby League's longest serving player and he will forever be an icon at his beloved Headingley. This is the story of his illustrious career, as told by his brother and his nephew.

The huge Sunday Times number one bestselling inspirational memoir from rugby league legend Rob Burrow on his extraordinary career and his battle with motor neurone disease. 'A pocket rocket of a player and a giant of a character . . . He is one in a million and his story is truly inspirational' - Clare Balding 'I'm not giving in until my last breath' - Rob Burrow Rob Burrow is one of the greatest rugby league players of all time. And the most inspirational. As a boy, Rob was told he was too small to play the sport. Even when he made his debut for Leeds Rhinos, people wrote him off as a novelty. But Rob never stopped proving people wrong. During his time at Leeds, for whom he played almost 500 games, he won eight Super League Grand Finals, two Challenge Cups and three World Club Challenges. He also played for his country in two World Cups. In December 2019, Rob was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, a rare degenerative condition, and given a couple of years to live. He was only thirty-seven, not long retired and had three young children. When he went public with the devastating news, the outpouring of affection and support was extraordinary. When it became clear that Rob was going to fight it all the way, sympathy turned to awe. This is the story of a tiny kid who adored rugby league but never should have made it - and ended up in the Leeds hall of fame. It's the story of a man who resolved to turn a terrible predicament into something positive - when he could have thrown the towel in. It's about the power of love, between Rob and his childhood sweetheart Lindsey, and of friendship, between Rob and his faithful teammates. Far more than a sports memoir, Too Many Reasons to Live is a story of boundless courage and infinite kindness.

Wartime and the scholarship to Grammar Schools allowed access to Rugby Union, an amateur game played by gentlemen in Rugby Clubs like Liverpool and Blackheath. Since the schism with Rugby League in 1895 the antipathy between the two codes was stark. Peter Harvey's story opened the door for hundreds of boys from Lancashire to play for England Schools. However, the suggestion that he might go to Rugby League was enough to prevent selection for England. The story of how this happened, and his subsequent success as a semi-professional rugby player, reaches its climax in Championships and Challenge Cups with the great St Helens RL side of the 1960s. Running parallel to this story is the training necessary to become a teacher and head teacher, and those people who helped me on that journey. The final chapters tell of rugby stars of the 1960s who he played with or against and the subsequent joys and fellowships of past players associations. It is a unique view of social history from coalmine to classroom, 1940 to present.

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.

True Professional tells the story of Clive Sullivan, who emerged from one of Cardiff's toughest neighbourhoods to become an icon of rugby league. Overcoming a major childhood injury and a car crash early in his career, he was a ruthless and thrilling presence on the wings of both Hull FC and Hull KR teams for over 20 years, scoring over 300 tries.The first-ever black Briton to captain a British sports team, Sullivan did so with great success, even lifting a World Cup and being awarded an MBE. He was loved by rugby league fans and revered following his untimely and tragic death. Yet the wider sporting public overlooked his achievements at the time and his name is rarely mentioned when discussing Britain's sporting greats. The book is a snapshot of the working class Northern towns that have long been the heartland of rugby league, and the communities that gave them their unique character. It is also a look at how Clive's career developed against the backdrop of a declining fishing industry, the lifeblood of the city of Hull.

Hull in 1980. The fishing industry is in terminal decline, the Humber Bridge still unfinished. A depraved killer is on the loose and Hull City FC look doomed to another relegation. But, on a long Bank Holiday weekend in May, all thoughts turn to Wembley...and the chance for ultimate bragging rights. Against a backdrop of a dramatically changing city, Last One Out...traces the story of how Hull's two rugby league teams emerged from mid-seventies gloom to take their place at the very top of the game - exerting a dominance over the sport that others would follow. Featuring first-hand interviews with players, officials and supporters, this is the definitive history of the ultimate rugby league derby; the early rounds and the draw that kept them apart,the clamour for tickets, the divided families and that famous sign on the road heading south. It tells of Roger's joy, Sammy's despair and the story behind 'that try'. Later, there was the pride and emotion of the homecoming. Later still, the game enteredhistory, spelling joy for one side, despair for the other and encapsulated in a song the losers were taunted with until another dramatic Wembley victory more than three decades on. More than just a derby, more than just a cup final, this is the story of an exodus: the day Hull invaded Wembley. Perfectly timed for the city being UK capital of culture in 2017.

The Big O by Patrick Skene is the story of Olsen Filipaina, a New Zealand Hall of Fame rugby league legend who was a pathfinder for the Maori and Pasifika players who today dominate the Australian National Rugby League. In a career that saw him play 29 Tests for New Zealand and more than 100 first grade NSWRL games, Filipaina was an object of fascination for the rugby league community. To fans he was "the Galloping Garbo", a working-class hero who thrilled crowds in between shifts as a garbageman. To opponents, who feared his Polynesian power game, he was The Big O. To coaches and critics, he was simply "Olsen the enigma". Featured in the book are some of the pivotal figures of 1980s Australia and New Zealand sport including Sir Graham Lowe, Arthur Beetson, Roy Masters, Sir Peter Leitch, David Tua, Sir Bryan Williams, Wayne Pearce, Sir Michael Jones, John Ribot, Mark Graham, David Lange and NRL Immortal Wally Lewis who for the first time opens up about being outplayed by Filipaina in the 1985 Test series. The Big O tracks Olsen's story from his rise out of working-class South Auckland, to overcoming depression, racism and cultural dislocation in Sydney, to the Cinderella story of his success for the New Zealand Kiwis. Forty years after Filipaina burst into Australian rugby league, Skene relates the tale of a humble and principled man, a dynamic and magical pioneer of the 'Pacific Revolution'. The Big O' is a timely story of resilience, redemption, bravery and love. To understand Olsen's story is to understand the cultural changes that have reshaped the game of rugby league.

Frank Whitcombe, described as 'one of the greatest Welsh rugby league forwards of all time', played for Bradford Northern, Wales, and Great Britain. Adored by Bradford supporters and admired by the rugby league fraternity, such was his prowess that he was named in the Bradford Northern all-time greats team. The Indomitable Frank Whitcombe, lovingly tells the incredible story of a rugby league legend who was born and raised, as one of ten children in Grangetown, the heart of working-class Cardiff. Frank's rugby career, after a brief and successful spell as a boxer, began in rugby union, when he played for the British Army and London Welsh, as a deceptively nimble and skilful 18 stone forward. His talents were quickly spotted by rugby league scouts, and Frank was persuaded to 'go north' for GBP100 and two new suits, although the cost of buying himself out of the Army left him just GBP10, and the suits! Frank was made for rugby league and he enjoyed a glittering career in professional rugby, winning the RL Challenge Cup three times, the RL Championship three times and was capped 14 times by Wales.He quickly created a big impression on the Great Britain selectors and he was chosen for the famous 1946 'Indomitables' tour of Australia. Frank excelled as the tourists made history and won plaudits from antipodean fans and media alike as the team became the first, and to date only GB tourists, to win a rugby league Test Series, undefeated, 'down under'. After 331 games, Frank bowed-out of rugby with Bradford Northern, four days after playing in a Challenge Cup final at Wembley, in his last match at Odsal; a game which attracted 19,000 fans. He then turned to life as an RL administrator and publican before his life was tragically cut short by pneumonia at the age of only 44. Frank was a true giant of rugby league and this is the first book to tell his remarkable story.

Eric Ashton was the epitome of a rugby league hero. Here, in the third in a series of republished 'Rugby League classics', his story is retold, accompanied this time by a new introduction from BBC commentator Ray French.

A Man of All Talents is the remarkable story of rugby and wrestling legend Douglas 'Duggy' Clark. Born in 1891 in the sleepy Cumbrian village of Maryport, at 14 he left school to work for his father's coal merchant business. Duggy grew into an exceptionally strong but quiet and reserved young man. His two great passions were rugby and Cumberland and Westmorland-style wrestling, and he excelled at both. By 24 he was already a rugby league great and a key member of Huddersfield's 'Team of All Talents', winning every honour the sport could offer. He represented Britain in the infamous 1914 'Rorke's Drift' tour of Australia before being called up to serve in the Great War. He was awarded the Military Medal for bravery, but his war injuries were so severe he was discharged with a 20% disability certificate. Doctors gave Duggy an ultimatum: either he could stay home and live a long but sedate and ordinary life or risk his health by returning to sport. He chose the latter and went on to achieve more extraordinary and pioneering feats.

"Taking risks and pushing oneself to the limit are strong themes, as well, and the loving bond between a father and son is evident throughout . . . . A tale that will appeal to sports fans and those who appreciate the determination and physical and mental toughness required to thrive at the top level of sports." -Kirkus The inspiring story of Nate Ebner's bond with his unconventional father and its remarkable consequences Nate Ebner and his father were inseparable. From an early age, they worked side-by-side in the family junkyard, where part of the job was dispensing citizen's justice to aspiring robbers, and they worked out side-by-side in their grungy homemade gym. Even though Nate was a great peewee football player in football-mad Ohio, he followed his father's passion for rugby and started playing for the same club as his father when he was only thirteen years old. But Nate had to face the fact that there was no way to make a living as a professional rugby player in this country. So Nate gave his dad the news that he planned to quit rugby and go out for the football team at Ohio State University, with an eye toward making the NFL. As a goal for someone who hadn't even played high school football, this was completely ridiculous. Without blinking, his father told him that if he gave up what he had built in rugby, he had to see it through. It was the last conversation they ever had--the next day, his father was brutally murdered at work by a would-be robber. Nate went on to make the Ohio State team and when NFL Draft Day came, he was selected by the New England Patriots. Three Super Bowl rings later, his legacy in the sport is secure. But he got another unexpected chance to honor his father's memory when the Olympics admitted rugby as a sport for the 2016 Games. Against long odds, he made the team and competed in Rio in the sport he and his father loved above all others. An astonishing story of what a father will do for a son and what a son will do for a father, Finish Strong is a powerful reminder that the lessons parents embody for their children continue to bear fruit long after they are gone.

World in their Hands recounts the remarkable events that led to a group of friends from south-west London staging the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup in 1991. The tournament was held just 13 years after teams from University College London and King's contested a match that catalysed the growth of the women's game in the UK, and the organisers overcame myriad obstacles before, during and after the World Cup. Those challenges, which included ingrained misogyny, motherhood, a recession, the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, provide a fitting framing device for a book that celebrates female achievement in the face of adversity. Although ostensibly a story about women's rugby, this is a tale that has rare crossover appeal. It is not only the account of a group of inspirational women who took on the institutional misogyny that existed in rugby clubs across the globe to put on a first ever Women's Rugby World Cup. It is also the compelling and relatable tale of how those women, their peers and others in the generations before them, reshaped the idea of what it means to be a woman, finding acceptance and friendship on boggy rugby pitches. At the time, with the men's game tying itself up in knots about professionalism and apartheid, these women were a breath of fresh air. Three decades on, their achievements deserve to be highlighted to a wider audience.

This title is Eddie Waring's personal take on some of the greatest rugby league players of all time written in his own idiosyncratic and entertaining style.