The Little Book of Wales Rugby is the latest volume in this highly successful series of sports-themed quotes books. Focusing on the mots justes from the great players of the past 50 years. Includes quotes from many Welsh rugby giants, plus from players, coaches, journalists and fans from every era when the Welsh dragon was rampant.

The Little Book of England Rugby is the latest volume in this highly successful series of sports-themed quotes books. Focusing on the mots justes from former players such as Steve Smith - who noted that Colin Smart who had been rushed to hospital after quaffing aftershave in Paris, 'He may have been unwell, but Colin had the nicest breath I've smelt' - and Will Carling - who, as England captain, called his bosses '57 old f**ts' - to the key men today such as coach Eddie Jones and Owen Farrell.

'Extraordinary . . . great fun' Barry Egan, Irish Sunday Independent 'A wonderful story . . . vivid and comprehensive.' Stephen Jones, Sunday Times ''Throughout it all though there is a feeling of warmth for the sport and for others. Above all there is a sense of achievement . . . Best was never one of the glamour boys, but he deserves star billing.' Daily Telegraph Rory Best is widely-regarded as one of Ireland's greatest ever captains. Entrusted by Joe Schmidt to lead the side that looked on the wane following the 2015 World Cup, Best's inspirational leadership skills and abrasive qualities proved to be the foundation stones for the most successful period in Ireland's history. His first year in charge saw Ireland complete a hat-trick of victories against the southern hemisphere 'Big Three', including leading his side to a first ever victory over world champions New Zealand in Chicago, a feat that etched Best's place in Irish sporting folklore and ended the All Blacks' record-winning streak of 18 Test victories. Ireland's annus mirabilis under Best's captaincy would come in 2018 however, when he led the side to only their third Grand Slam title, culminating with a famous victory over England at Twickenham, and a record-breaking run of 12 successive Test victories. When he stepped down as Ireland captain at the age of 37 following the World Cup in Japan, his fourth tournament, history will no doubt also judge Best to be one of their greatest forwards. A hugely-popular figure across the game, Best finished his career as Ireland's most capped forward, behind only Brian O'Driscoll and Ronan O'Gara in the all-time records, and also made over 200 appearances for his province Ulster.

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.

The All Blacks have had a brilliant run of brothers in the last decade, with the Barretts, Whitelocks, Saveas and Franks, but there have also been many more standouts throughout New Zealand rugby history like the Meads, Whettons, Gears, Bachops and Brownlies. Jamie Wall writes insightfully, revealing fascinating stories and providing analysis of some of the massive changes that have occurred in New Zealand rugby over the years, while sharing great yarns about the high-profile tests that live on in every rugby fan's memory.

What is the state of rugby? Is the game on the brink of expansion? Or is it on the brink of implosion? No game has undergone so traumatic a transformation since the turn of the century. The last of the major sports to embrace professionalism, rugby was propelled on a trajectory that has twisted its cumbersome frame to the limit in a drama compelling and appalling to behold. After a hundred years defying the future, rugby now shudders with the turmoil of its sudden leap into the modern world, attaining heights hitherto undreamed of, even as the strains - financial, political, social and medical - threaten to tear it apart. Unholy Union is a fascinating and in-depth analysis of the sport, examining the journey so far and speculating on where it will go next. It is irreverent and provocative, asking uncomfortable questions of rugby, but imbued throughout with affection for a game that integrates all human life, as beautiful as it is ugly, as in love with itself as it is terrified. Sports enter periods that make or break them. Rugby is in one now . . .

Budge Rogers: A Rugby Life is the long overdue biography of one of rugby's most iconic players, Derek Prior Budge Rogers. The story of the wing forward who lit up rugby grounds around the world in the 1960s and 1970s with dazzling and determined wing play, Rogers is a true rugby great. He captained Bedford RFC for five seasons, including the year they won the National Cup in his last game for the club. He spent nine years as England captain and toured overseas with the British Lions and Barbarians - with many a tale to be told from these trips, which are a real highlight of his story. Rogers's exemplary playing career was followed by years in management and administration at the highest level as both Chairman of England Selectors and President of the RFU. An OBE soon followed. A player who epitomised the best values in the amateur game, he also became a key figure in managing the difficult transition of rugby from its amateur status into the modern, professional game we know today. Budge Rogers: A Rugby Life gives a unique insight into the life of this electrifying wing forward and his time at the top of the sport.

'This book belongs on the shelf of every genuine rugby fan' - News24.com When Rassie Erasmus took over as coach of the Springboks in 2018, few thought they had a chance of winning the Rugby World Cup. The Boks had slipped to seventh in the world rankings and lost the faith of the rugby-loving public. Less than two years later, jubilant crowds lined the streets of South Africa's cities to welcome back the victorious team. Sportswriter Lloyd Burnard takes the reader on the thrilling journey of a team that went from no-hopers to world champions. He examines how exactly this turnaround was achieved. Interviews with players, coaches and support staff reveal how the principles of inclusion, openness and focus, as well as careful planning and superb physical conditioning, became the basis for a winning formula. The key roles played by Rassie Erasmus and Siya Kolisi shine through. There were ups and downs along the way: beating the All Blacks in Wellington during the Rugby Championship was a high point, but then came Kolisi's injury, while in Japan the distractions of a volatile support base sometimes shook the players' focus. Miracle Men is filled with marvellous anecdotes and sharp insights. It is also inspiring testimony to what can be achieved when a group of South Africans from all backgrounds come together as a team.

This is the second edition of the acclaimed "IRB World Rugby Yearbook", the most comprehensive rugby yearbook on the planet. Published just after the Rugby World Cup, this special edition will feature all the stats, tables, features and reports from France 2007 as well as all the usual international stats, records and appearances plus incisive features by rugby legends Keith Wood, Will Greenwood, Francois Pienaar, Michael Lynagh and Nigel Starmer-Smith. It includes: all the 2007 world rugby stats; 2007 world cup section including stats and results; world rugby records; 2008 fixtures; the five irb players of the year; and, emirates airlines rugby photo of the year.

Jack Kyle was the rugby giant of his time, but he was also so much more than a sporting legend. Whilst he was winning a Grand Slam and touring with the Lions, Jack Kyle was also studying to be a doctor. When he retired from playing rugby - as the world's most-capped player - his sense of adventure and medical ambition led him to settle in Chingola, Zambia, where he spent the next thirty-four years of his life. For many years, he was the only medically trained surgeon in the town and so faced many challenges, not least the appearance of and devastation caused by AIDS. Written as a series of conversations with his daughter, Justine, Conversations with My Father reveals Jack Kyle as a supremely gifted rugby player, a dedicated surgeon and a gentle family man.

English Rugby 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, stats, stories, personalities and trivia - perfect for all fans of English rugby. From the very first Test match against Scotland in 1871 all the way through to the present day, England's rugby's rich history is distilled into 101 facts, stats and stories. This entertaining volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent - but always affectionate - guide to some of the groundbreaking firsts, controversies, innovations, characters, achievements and disasters that have taken place in at Twickenham and around the world. Whether an expert or a novice, this is the perfect companion for those who follow the exploits of the red-rose warriors on the field and love to bask in light of their glorious (and sometimes inglorious) past.

"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.

Winner of the Telegraph Sports Book Awards Children's Book of the Year Small, skinny and short-sighted . . . and dazzlingly talented. Jimmy Joseph loves rugby. All he dreams about is one day playing for his country in a World Cup, or winning a Test series for the Lions with a last-minute drop-goal. But when he kicks an up-and-under in the schoolyard and accidentally hits the new head of PE, Mr Kane, on the head, he makes a powerful enemy. Jimmy and his best friends - Manu, Scott and Kitty - try to prove their worth on the rugby field, but to no avail. Mr Kane has it out for them, and he's being helped by team captain Mike Green, well known as the school bully. Can Jimmy and his friends overcome the tyranny of Mr Kane and help Mike see the error of his ways? Or will the combination of bullying, pressure and dirty tactics derail the friends' rugby careers before they have even begun? An epic new rugby series begins here!

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.

Who are the fifteen best players ever to represent Wales at rugby? We all know the answers, but all our answers are different! In pubs and clubs, in classrooms and chat rooms the length and breadth of this rugby-mad nation, this is a question that prompts energetic and entertaining debate; a question that has divided households and destabilized lifelong friendships. In The Greatest Welsh XV Ever, which includes over 130 full-colour photographs, Eddie Butler has gone where angels (and ex-international back-row forwards) fear to tread. Devoting a chapter to each position on the field, he produces a shortlist of the great players, before making his final, decisive, definitive choice in each case. So will it be Barry John or Phil Bennett at number 10? Jamie Roberts or John Dawes at number 12? Graham Price or Adam Jones at number 3? This is your chance to join in the greatest national debate since devolution.

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.

'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.

Voted Rugby Book of the Year at the 2018 Sports Book Awards. Wrecking Ball is a captivating and humorous memoir by Billy Vunipola, one of the stars of England's recent rugby renaissance, and will be enjoyed by those who have read the recent autobiographies by Jonny Wilkinson, Brian O'Driscoll, Dan Carter and Paul O'Connell. Standing at 6 feet 2 inches and weighing almost 20 stone, Billy is a rampaging and unmissable presence on the rugby pitch, for both club and country. Wrecking Ball is his captivating story so far, chronicling his remarkable personal odyssey of 10,000 miles, from the tiny Tongan village of Longo Longo to the imposing vastness of Twickenham. Join Billy on his journey from the year-round sunshine of Tonga to the bitter cold of a British winter, from his favourite Pontypool kebab shop to finding himself eating broccoli for breakfast, and from carefree childhood games in the middle of the Pacific to the serious business of playing professional rugby in Europe. Wrecking Ball is a wonderfully eccentric and witty book, written with bags of charm. It captures Billy's colourful family and upbringing, and creates a rounded and fascinating portrait of a young man finding his feet as a modern English rugby player.

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.

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.

Rugby World Cup 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, stats, stories, personalities and trivia - perfect for all fans of rugby from around the world. From the genesis of the tournament in 1987 all the way through to the present day, the Rugby World Cup's rich history is distilled into 101 facts, stats and stories. This entertaining volume is an instructive, if sometimes irreverent - but always affectionate - guide to some of the groundbreaking firsts, controversies, innovations, characters, achievements and disasters that have taken place in rugby's marquee event. Whether an expert or a novice, this is the perfect companion for rugby lovers around the world.

The Rugby Almanack is the world's longest running rugby book of record. It was first published in 1935 to cover the previous season's first-class rugby in New Zealand. Since then it has been published uninterrupted (apart from two combined issues during World War II). Now in its 84th edition, the 2020 Rugby Almanack records another huge year, including the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks in the Rugby Championship and the Bledisloe Cup, plus Women's Rugby, Super Rugby, Mitre 10 Cup and Mitre 10 Championship and a full summary of sevens rugby.

In 1905, Vic Cartwright's England rugby team lined up against Dave Gallaher's touring All Blacks at Crystal Palace - the first ever meeting of two national teams. Ensuing matches, in both the amateur and professional eras, have been dramatic and controversial, steeped in the historical rivalry of the traditional home of the game for the nation that has claimed rugby as its own. Men in white (such as Wakefield, Beaumont, Carling, Leonard and Johnson) versus men in black (Meads, Lochore, Fitzpatrick, Lomu, McCaw). Hakas drowned out by rousing renditions of 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. Grinding forward tussles on cold, murky afternoons and sweeping back-line movements on sun-lit grounds. Thorny Encounters chronicles the first 40 Test matches between England and New Zealand, in which giants of the sport have measured themselves against each other. In the professional era, the match has become the clash of the hemispheres.