31/10/1978 Thomond Park. One of the greatest days in rugby history, Munster beat the All Blacks. More than 100,000 people claimed to have watched the game, even though the ground could only hold 12,000. In this 40th anniversary edition of the widely acclaimed Stand Up and Fight, Alan English revisits some of the key characters involved in this extraordinary story to offer a fully updated account of this extraordinary match.

Munster's journey in pursuit of rugby glory has been long and often heartbreaking. The seeds for their ascent into the pantheon of great teams were sown long before Munster's current success, built on a reputation as a fearsome side for touring teams to play. These personal contributions of players, coaches, fans and pundits make fascinating reading for enthusiasts.

Covering the period from the game's origins in Ireland in the 1870s through to the onset of professional rugby in the twenty-first century, this book seeks to examine Munster rugby within the context of broader social, cultural and political trends in Irish society. As well as providing a thorough chronological survey of the game's development, key themes such as violence, masculinity, class and politics are subject to more detailed treatment. Since the turn of the twenty-first century rugby football in Munster has seen extraordinary growth in terms of popularity and cultural significance. The Munster rugby team in particular has become a hugely important provincial institution through which regional identity has been expressed on the international stage. This book will detail and analyse the game's evolution in Munster from its origins in the 1870s through to the dawn of the professional era in the 2000s. Focusing mainly on the game's two centres of popularity in Limerick and Cork cities, this book will display how contrary to popular myth, rugby football rarely expressed any kind of unitary, coherent identity throughout the province. The game was centred on clubs and was highly adaptable to local conditions throughout its history. In addition, the often fractious internal politics of the game within the province, reflecting the game's contrasting social development in Limerick and Cork, will also be discussed. Drawing on the unpublished records of the game's provincial and national administrative bodies and a comprehensive survey of the provincial press, this book will show how one sport served multifarious roles in terms of class, culture and politics in Munster.

October 31st 1978. Thomond Park, Limerick. The mighty New Zealand All Blacks, on an Irish tour, take on the none-too-mighty Munster team - and, to everyone's surprise, they lose 12-0. From this piece of Irish sporting history John Breen has fashioned a funny, lively play in which both teams, plus fans, children, relatives and even a dog, are portrayed by a cast of six, with no props and only a half-time change of shirt.

Twenty years of professionalism has seen rugby union undergo dramatic transformations, from changes to everyday training cultures to the growth of the Rugby World Cup into one of the largest global sporting events. The Rugby World in the Professional Era is the first book to examine the effect that professionalism has had across a number of different aspects of the game and the wider socio-cultural significance of these changes through case studies from across the globe. Drawing on contributions from scholars from across the rugby-playing world, the book explores the role of rugby's professionalisation through a number of social-scientific lenses, including: labour migration race and indigenous populations the globalisation of the game mega-event management male sexualities media representations of rugby - from broadcasting matches to rugby in museums and on stage and screen Offering insights into under-researched areas of the sport, such as the growth of Rugby Sevens into an Olympic sport, and providing the most up-to-date recent history of the sport available, The Rugby World in the Professional Era is essential reading for anyone with an academic interest in rugby, and any student or scholar with interests in sports history, sports sociology, sport management or the economics of professional sport.

Donncha O'Callaghan is one of Ireland's leading international rugby players, and a stalwart of the Munster side. He was a key figure in the Irish team which won the IRB 6 Nations Grand Slam in 2009, and has won two Heineken Cup medals and two Magners League titles with Munster. But that success did not come easy. For such a well known player with a larger-than-life reputation, his long battle to make a breakthrough at the highest level is largely unknown. In this honest and revealing autobiography, Donncha talks in detail about the personal setbacks and disappointments at Munster and the unconventional ways he dealt with the frustration of not making the team for four of five years in his early 20s. He had a parallel experience with Ireland where it took him nearly six years to get from fringe squad member to established first choice player. Here he talks candidly about how he brought discipline to his game, and about his relationships with the coaches who had overlooked him and the second row rivals who had kept him on the bench. Donncha talks also with great warmth about a hectic childhood that was shaped by the death of his father when he was only six years old. One of the heroes of his story is his mother Marie who showed incredible strength and resourcefulness to rear a family of five on her own. Often deservedly regarded as 'the joker in the pack', what is often less well known is the serious attitude and intensely professional approach Donncha brings to his rugby. Joking Apart gives the full picture, showing sides of the man that will be unfamiliar to followers of Irish rugby and will surprise the reader.

Bursting with humour and full of amusing anecdotes, 100 Irish Rugby Greats is a unique celebration of the most significant stars of the sport from the 1930s to the present day. A veritable who’s who of Irish rugby, it takes in all of the true greats, including Jack Kyle, Tony O’Reilly, Mike Gibson, Willie John McBride, Moss Keane, Keith Wood, Brian O’Driscoll and Paul O’Connell. Many of the in-depth and revealing profiles are based on interviews with the legends themselves, as well as with those who have lined up against them. The result offers remarkable insights into the myriad controversies, epic matches, thrilling contests and pivotal events on and off the field in which each player has been involved. Written with an insider’s knowledge, 100 Irish Rugby Greats will prove to be a thrilling read for all fans of the sport.