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.

Thando Manana was the third black African player to don a Springbok jersey after unification in 1992, when he made his debut in 2000 in a tour game against Argentina A.

His route to the top of the game was unpredictable and unusual. From his humble beginnings in the township of New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, Thando grew to become one of the grittiest loose-forwards of South African rugby, despite only starting the game at the age of 16. His rise through rugby ranks, while earning a reputation as a tough-tackling lock and later openside flanker, was astonishingly rapid, especially for a player of colour at the time. Within two years of picking up a rugby ball, he represented Eastern Province at Craven Week, and by 2000 he was a Springbok. But it isn’t solely Thando’s rugby journey that makes Being A Black Springbok a remarkable sports biography. It’s learning how he has negotiated life’s perils and pitfalls, which threatened to derail both his sporting ambitions and the course of his life.

He had to negotiate an unlikely, but fateful, kinship with a known Port Elizabeth drug-lord, who took Thando under his wing when he was a young, gullible up-and-comer at Spring Rose. Rejected by his father early in his life, Thando had to deal with a sense of abandonment and a missing protective figure and find, along the way, people to lean on.

Thando tells his story with the refreshing candour he has become synonymous with as a rugby commentator, pundit and member of the infamous Room Dividers team on Metro FM. He has arguably become rugby’s strongest advocate for the advancement of black people’s interests in the sport, and his personal journey reveals why.

In 2011 the world was shocked when the news broke that Joost van der Westhuizen, known for years as the golden boy of South African rugby and a former Springbok captain, had been diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND).

This rare condition attacks the central nervous system, causing progressive disability. There is no known cure. All who have seen Joost in action will know that he is not one to give up without a fight. His game-changing prowess as a brilliant scrum half is now focused on a battle for survival and, more importantly, on making a difference to the lives of others with the disease. In a race against time, Joost has a dream to fulfil. He says: “In the beginning you go through all the emotions and you ask, ‘Why me?’ It’s quite simple. ‘Why not me?’ If I have to go through this to help future generations, why not me?” His acceptance of his symptoms is equally pragmatic: “One day you can’t move your arm, another day you don’t have speech. Every day you are reborn and you take the day as it comes.”

Glory Game – The Joost van der Westhuizen Story is a compelling narrative of redemption set against the backdrop of an illustrious career in rugby. It is the story of a modern-day warrior forced to face his own human frailty. Joost shows us that beyond ambition, success and fame lies the true wealth of family and friends, and that within a ravaged body the spirit can remain invincible.

His truth. His story. In his words.

Siya Kolisi, captain of the Springboks, and the first black man to lead his country in over 128 years of South African rugby shares his story in Rise. In an extraordinarily intimate memoir, Kolisi charts his story from being born into the impoverished Zwide township, to leading his proud nation to an astonishing victory at the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

However, Rise is not simply a chronology of matches played and games won; it is an exploration of a man’s race and his faith, a masterclass in attaining a positive mindset, and an inspirational reminder that it is possible to defy the odds, no matter how they are stacked against you. The title, Rise, is inspired by Siya’s mother – Phakama – which translates to the book’s name, as well as a celebration of his Xhosa heritage.

The must-have companion to world rugby's biggest event.

For the first time ever, a nation outside the Six Nations or Rugby Championship, Japan, is hosting the tournament, and this book contains everything fans will need, from venue guides to detailed information on every team, key players, playing strengths, coaches, past form and a prediction of teams' chances of success. In addition to reports on the qualifying tournaments and the fill-in Rugby World Cup 2019 fixture schedule, famous games are recalled in special features, together with biographies of the men most likely to light up the tournament in the way the 2019 hosts did when they shocked South Africa in England in 2015.

The Rugby World Cup's glorious history and tournament records are also fully covered making Rugby World Cup 2019: The Official Book essential reading for all fans interested in RWC 2019.

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.

Eddie Jones is one of the most successful sports coaches of all time. From coaching three different nations to Rugby World Cup Finals and with a winning record with England of nearly 80%, Eddie Jones knows what it takes to lead and manage high performance teams.

For the first time, Eddie Jones shows just what it takes to be a leader in a high performance and high pressure environment and how these lessons can be applied to every walk of life, from coaching the U9 rugby team to leading a multinational organization to simply doing your job better.

As he explains the High Performance Cycle of Success at the heart of his philosophy, Eddie Jones reveals the lessons he has learnt from Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola as well as from the founder of Uniqlo and Ron Adams from the NBA. He also gives a detailed analysis of his own performance as a coach as well as how he gets the best out of the players and coaches around him and what he saw in Tom Curry that no one else saw, which makes him think that he could be the next Richie McCaw.

Drawing on stories of nearly thirty years of coaching, including the 2003, 2007, 2015 and 2019 World Rugby campaigns, the full story of England's 2021 Six Nations campaign as well as why it takes humour, humility and relentless curiosity to lead an eclectic mix of superstars from Maro Itoje to James Haskell, George Smith to Kyle Sinckler, to create teams that are relentlessly hungry to win, Leadership is the ultimate rugby book about what it takes to be the best.

Written with Donald McRae, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, Leadership is the book for anyone who wants to learn how to build and lead a team to success.

The Springbok rugby captain, over more than a century, has represented many things to many South Africans. He has united, and he has divided. He has thrilled, he has disappointed. He has inspired, he has disheartened. He has triumphed, he has failed. But he has always had an impact.

In this revealing narrative, Edward Griffiths and Stephen Nell depict the men who have been able to call themselves ‘Springbok Captain’ through their backgrounds, triumphs and disappointments. Relive the heyday of rugby legends Bennie Osler, Danie Craven, Hennie Muller, Johan Claassen, Naas Botha, Francois Pienaar, Gary Teichmann, Joost van der Westhuizen, Andre Vos and others.

Now fully updated with the accounts of Bobby Skinstad, Victor Matfield and Jean de Villiers, The Springbok Captains is the epic story that lies at the heart of South African rugby.

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.

Now filmed as INVICTUS directed by Clint Eastwood, and starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. SHORTLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2008 As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Zealand's all-conquering All Blacks, more was at stake than a sporting trophy. When Nelson Mandela appeared wearing a Springboks jersey and led the all-white Afrikaner-dominated team in singing South Africa's new national anthem, he conquered the hearts of white South Africa. Playing the Enemy tells the extraordinary human story of how that moment became possible. It shows how a sport, once the preserve of South Africa's Afrikaans-speaking minority, came to unify the new rainbow nation, and tells of how - just occasionally - something as simple as a game really can help people to rise above themselves and see beyond their differences.

The phenomenal international number one bestseller with exclusive interviews with Richie McCaw, Steve Hansen, Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter, The Jersey is the definitive story behind the greatest sports team on the planet.

With a better winning record than any other sports team in history, they stand head and shoulders above their nearest rugby rivals. How did a country of just 4.8 million people conquer the world?

Peter Bills, who has reported on international rugby for more than forty years, was given exclusive access to all the key figures in New Zealand rugby as he set out to understand the secrets behind the All Blacks success. Peter talked at length with ninety people, both in New Zealand and around the world, with intimate knowledge of what makes the All Blacks tick.

The Jersey goes to the heart of the All Blacks success. It is also an epic story of not just a rugby team but a nation, whose identities are inextricably linked.

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.

Praise for Eddie Jones 'A genuine super-coach' - The Sunday Times 'His gifts of leadership and organisation are remarkable' - The Daily Mail Eddie Jones is one of the most successful sports coaches of all time. From coaching three different nations to Rugby World Cup finals and enjoying a winning record with England of nearly 80 per cent, he knows what's needed to lead and manage high performance teams. For the first time, Eddie reveals what it takes to operate in high pressure environments, the successes and setbacks, and how these lessons can be applied to every walk of life, from coaching a children's sports team to leading a multinational organization to simply doing your job better. Forthright and unflinchingly honest, Eddie Jones reveals what he has learnt from Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola, as well as from the founder of Uniqlo and Ron Adams of the NBA. Drawing on stories from nearly thirty years of coaching, Eddie explains how you need humour, humility and relentless curiosity to lead an eclectic mix of superstars - from Maro Itoje to James Haskell, George Smith to Kyle Sinckler - and create teams that are relentlessly hungry to win. Leadership is the ultimate rugby book about what it takes to be the best. Written with Donald McRae, two-time winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award, Leadership is the book for anyone who wants to learn how to build and lead a team to success.

The English rugby team has been scrummaging its way around the rugby fields of the world since 1871. James Stafford's An Illustrated History of English Rugby takes you on a thrilling journey through a century and a half of glory, failure, mediocrity and brilliance. Mixing stats and facts with player profiles, match reports and social history, this book is perfect for hardcore and casual fans aged eight to 80. Packed with delightful illustrations from Raluca Moldovan, this follow up to Stafford's best-selling An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby will give readers a new appreciation of the stars of today and the pioneers of yesteryear.

'Few have a better feel for Argentine rugby than Rex Gowar ... his experience oozes from every paragraph. A fascinating, educational read' - Robert Kitson, The Guardian Argentinean rugby is a unique - and often mysterious - beast. In Pumas, veteran journalist Rex Gowar digs to the heart of rugby in Argentina to reveal a history like no other in the sport. Gregarious, colourful, controversial, violent, shocking, beautiful - these are just some of the words to describe the stories that emerge in these hair-raising pages as some of the biggest characters in the game are profiled, famous matches relived and painful history is scrutinised. In the first book in English to examine rugby in Argentina in any depth, Gowar explores how the roots of the game in the early twentieth century has produced a twisting, astonishing history that has flowered in the present day as the Pumas have established themselves as one of the world's powerhouse rugby nations.

This is a complete history of the England rugby union team - told by the players themselves. Based on a combination of painstaking research into the early years of the England team through exclusive interviews with a vast array of Test match stars from before the Second World War to the present day, world-renowned rugby writers Stephen Jones and Nick Cain delve to the very heart of the English international rugby union experience, painting a unique and utterly compelling picture of the game in the only words that can truly do so: the players' own. This is the definitive story of English Test match rugby - a story etched in blood, sweat and tears; a story of great joy and heart-breaking sorrow; a story of sacrifice, agony, endeavour and triumph. Behind the Rose lifts the lid on what it is to play for England - the trials and tribulations behind the scenes, the glory, the drama and the honour on the field, and the heart-warming tales of friendship and humour off it.Absorbing and illuminating, this is a must-have for all supporters who have ever dreamed of walking the hallowed corridors of Twickenham as a Test match player, preparing themselves for battle in the changing rooms and then marching out to that field of dreams with the deafening roar of the crowd in their ears and the red rose emblazoned on their chest.

'People think they know him but unless you read this book you will never know the REAL Alun Wyn Jones' - Warren Gatland 'One of the greatest, and seemingly indestructible, players in history' - A Daily Mail Book of the Year Belonging is the story about how the boy from Mumbles became the most capped rugby union player of all time. It is the story of what it takes to become a man who is seen by many as one of the greatest ever Welsh players. What it takes to go from sitting cross-legged on the hall floor at school watching the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa, to being named the 2021 Lions captain. But is it also about perthyn - belonging: playing for Wales, working his way through the age grades and club rugby and his regional side. How to earn the right to be there, and what it feels like to make the sacrifices along the way. Feeling the connection to players who have come before, and feeling the ties to the millions in front rooms and pubs across the country, coast to coast. Knowing that deep down you want to belong, as everyone does. From playing on the rain-swept pitches of Swansea to making his test debut against Argentina in Patagonia in 2006; from touring with the Lions in 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2021 to dealing with loss and creating a family - Belonging is the autobiography of one of the most compelling figures in world rugby. Told with characteristic honesty, this is his unique personal story of what it takes and what it means to play for your country: what it means to belong.

An anthology of historical rugby trivia with nostalgic reflections on the amateur game. The thinking man's game - New (velvet) caps A rugby match - not a cattle sale! The 'Great Game' 1914-1918 'Johnnie' foreigner's very welcome Goals, ties, miinor points of perhaps rouges? The Welsh and English innovators Before hymns and arias - Ladies, behind closed doors The rise and fall of corporate Old Boys An Afternoon at Muriel's some of the short stories within this book

'An intriguing study of the minds of some of rugby's greatest leaders' - Tom English, BBC Sport An Official Licensed Product of the British & Irish Lions A British & Irish Lions tour presents one of the greatest challenges in sport. Rugby is a game that rewards creative expression, toil, teamwork and a never-say-die attitude. It can be joyful, vibrant and beautiful. Equally, it can brutally expose human flaws and frailties - even more so in the hugely pressurised environment of a Lions tour. Every team, no matter how talented, will find itself in dark and difficult situations both on and off the field; the successful ones are those with a leadership group that can navigate these challenging moments. In Legacy of the Lions, former Lions captain Gavin Hastings draws on his own experiences in the famous red jersey and interviews other greats of the game - including, among many others, Sam Warburton, Warren Gatland, Paul O'Connell, Brian O'Driscoll, Martin Johnson, Finlay Calder and Sir Ian McGeechan, plus a selection of their illustrious opponents, such as Kieran Read, John Smit and John Eales - to explore how to forge a successful team in this most rarefied of environments, the difficulties they each encountered and what leadership lessons they learned. Inspiring, humorous and illuminating, Legacy of the Lions casts a unique light on leadership, team-building and elite performance and reveals a new perspective on touring with - and playing against - The British & Irish Lions in the modern era.

Featuring the thoughts of more than 180 players who have represented Scotland since the very first Test match in 1871 all the way through to the present day, Behind the Thistle gives a unique insight into the drama and emotion of playing for Scotland in that most rarefied of environments - Test match rugby. In this exhaustively research tome, David Barnes and Peter Burns provide inside access to more than 150 years of private moments in the changing room, on tour, on the training ground, during the tumultuous heat of battle itself, and lift the lid on numerous post-match antics. This is the story of what it is really like to play for Scotland, revealing the sacrifices and joys experienced by those who have shed blood, sweat and tears in pursuit of glory in the navy blue jersey.

Murrayfield, the Calcutta Cup, March 1990. England vs. Scotland - winner-takes-all for the Five Nations Grand Slam, the biggest prize in northern hemisphere rugby. Will Carling's England are the very embodiment of Margaret Thatcher's Britain - snarling, brutish and all-conquering. Scotland are the underdogs - second-class citizens from a land that's become the testing ground for the most unpopular tax in living memory: Thatcher's Poll Tax. In Edinburgh, nationalism is rising high - what happens in the stadium will resound far beyond the pitch. The Grudge brilliantly recaptures a day that has gone down in history when a rugby match became more than a game. This is the real story of an extraordinary conflict, told with astounding insight and unprecedented access to key players, coaches and supporters on both sides (Will Carling, Ian McGeechan, Brian Moore and the rest). Tom English has produced a gripping account of a titanic struggle that thrusts the reader right into the heart of the action. Game on. Fully revised and updated, this special hardback edition is published to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Scotland's most storied rugby season.

Who are the fifteen best rugby players ever to have represented the Lions? Was Willie John McBride better than Martin Johnson? Was Barry John better than Johnny Wilkinson? Was anyone better than Gareth Edwards? As incisive and decisive as he was on the pitch, Jonathan Davies has the answer to all these questions and more. -- Welsh Books Council

Leonard's story starts as rugby started - in the amateur days, when the Cockney Carpenter began playing for Barking and Saracens in the days before multi-million pound business owners and sponsorship deals. His big break came when he was invited to join the England squad for their tour to Argentina in 1990 and has been capped 100 times. It was a tour that precipitated one of the greatest periods in the history of the British game, and Leonard provides a compelling insight into life behind the international scenes with England and the Lions, as well as the domestic game through his time at Saracens and Harlequins. Once told that he would never walk again after undergoing life-saving surgery on his neck, Leonard describes the torment he went through during this period - both physical and financial - and how he fought against all the odds to re-establish himself on the international stage. With 100 Test caps won to date, and a career in rugby union spanning two decades, there is no more experienced player in the modern game. Leonard has plenty to tell about the people he has met during his career - Rob Andrew, Will Carling, Lawrence Dallaglio, Brian Moore, Dick Best and Clive Woodward all feature - and with nicknames like 'The Fun Bus' and 'The Scourge of the Barking Barmaids' the stories are as colourful and controversial as the man himself. All is revealed in this fascinating portrait of an English rugby legend who also reflects upon England's 2002 Six Nations campaign, his hopes for his international future and a tough year for Quins.

Irish Sports Book Award 2021 Winner! Fight Or Flight: My Life, My Choices is the autobiography of Irish rugby legend Keith Earls. Keith Earls started out in senior rugby as a teenage star and during the course of his long career has become one of the most admired and respected players of his generation. A British & Irish Lion at the age of 21, he is now closing in on his 34th birthday and still playing at the top of his game. He has won 93 caps for Ireland and played over 180 games in the famous red of Munster. He started every match of the 2018 Six Nations campaign that culminated in an Irish Grand Slam victory. A lethal finisher blessed with a sprinter’s speed, Earls is the second-highest try scorer of all time for his country. With Munster he is one try short of the all-time total and looks set to break that record next season. Yet, Earls has achieved these milestones whilst being racked by private battles with his mental health for most of his career. A number of crises brought him to the brink of voluntary retirement from the game. A native of Limerick city, Earls grew up in one of its most socially disadvantaged housing estates. Moyross was blighted by crime and violence and he did not escape unscathed from the surrounding fear and trauma visited upon his beloved community. His natural talent brought him into the privileged bastion of elite rugby union. His autobiography tells the story of his long struggle to reconcile the world whence he came with the world opened up by his brilliance with an oval ball. Earls has maintained a low profile throughout his career. For the first time he will talk in depth and at length about the inner turmoil that went unseen by team-mates, friends and fans. It is a confessional, intimate and courageous story of the pain that was a constant companion to the glory. Earls says: “It’s not me at all to be doing anything remotely like an autobiography. I don’t like talking about myself, I don’t like bringing attention to myself. And I guess that’s one reason why I am doing it. We’re supposed to get out of our comfort zone. I’ve learned enough along the way to know that much. It’s where your progress and growth happens. I hope if I can share some of my life experiences here, it might inspire others.�

Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Rugby Book of the Year Among the best stories in modern British team sport has been the rise of Exeter Chiefs. How, exactly, did an unfashionable rugby team from Devon emerge from obscurity to become the double champions of England and Europe? What makes them tick? What are their secrets? Exe Men is a compelling story of regional pride, fierce rural identity, larger-than-life local heroes, remarkable characters, epic resilience, big city snobbery, geographical separation, steepling ambition and personal sacrifice which will strike a chord with anyone who enjoys a classic underdog story. This is not any old rugby book, it is the inside story of Exeter's incredible journey from the edge of nowhere to the summit of the English and European club game.