SHORTLISTED FOR THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2020 - RUGBY BOOK OF THE YEAR This is a complete history of the Welsh rugby union team – told by the players themselves. Based on a combination of painstaking research into the early years of the Wales team to interviews with a vast array of Test match players and coaches from the Second World War to the present day, Ross Harries delves to the very heart of what it means to play for Wales, painting a unique and utterly compelling picture of the game in the only words that can truly do so: the players' own. Behind the Dragon lifts the lid on what it is to pull on the famous red shirt – 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 the ultimate history of Welsh rugby – told, definitively, by the men who have been there and done it.

Revised and Updated Third Edition For almost 140 years the Welsh rugby team has battled proudly on the international stage. Full of tales of fighting clergymen, poisoned arrows and deathbed confessionals, James Stafford's An Illustrated History of Welsh Rugby takes a unique look at the games, the players, the legends and the myths behind Wales's national game. Blending fun and facts with trivia and social history, this is Welsh rugby like you've never experienced it before. Brimming with delightful illustrations from Raluca Moldovan and irreverent humour, this book will fascinate young readers and curious adults alike.

Welsh Rugby 101 is a compendium of fascinating facts, stats, stories, personalities and trivia – perfect for all fans of Welsh rugby. From the very first Test match against England in 1881 all the way through to the present day, Welsh 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 the Principality over the years. Whether an expert or a novice, this is the perfect companion for those who follow Wales's exploits on the field and love to bask in light of its glorious (and sometimes inglorious) past.

"Rugby football has become identified with modern Wales. This book shows how and why this came about - how a game devised by and for English public school boys became the passion of an industrial, Welsh working class, why the game of rugby channelled a burning urge for dramatic, communal expression. The authors ... have written a history that combines an account of rugby play and administration with analysis of the vibrant social history of Wales."--Blurb.