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 perfect way for kids ages 6 months to 6 years old learn the alphabet while learning about Rugby League simultaneously. This is what it means to #GrowTheGame of Rugby League. Working with Harry R P Jones from Wales to the USA, this will be great for the game.

Nineteen ninety-seven is the most important year in rugby league history - at least since the Great Schism of 1895. It's also the year the sport's current administrators want you to forget, when a pay television war in Australia drove the game to the brink and brutally exposed it's ingrained qualities and flaws in all their bloody glory. Journalist Steve Mascord covered the Super League War for the Sydney Morning Herald and on the 25th anniversary of the divided season has interviewed more than 100 others who lived through it - from Ken Arthurson and John Ribot to Newcastle Knights ballboy Michael Maher - bringing you the absolute definitive story of rugby's Second Great Schism. It's the rugby league's most important story, being told while it's not too late. You'll never quite see the game the same way again.

Here, for the first time, is the 110 year history of rugby league in oneinformative book. All the great namesare here with wonderful stories,essential statistics and rare photosof players, clubs and key events.Expertly told by Andrew Ferguson,The Story of Rugby League is boundto inform, entertain and amaze anysporting fan or budding champion.Andrew

Hard-bound book of 298-pages covering the great days of rugby league during the Winfield Cup. Over 1000 lavish images of the greats teams, players and fans who supported rugby league during the era of the 'Greatest Game of All'. Foreword by Peter V'landys AM and Les Davidson.

Called ‘the greatest game of all’ by its supporters but often overlooked by the cultural mainstream, no sport is more identified with England’s northern working class than rugby league. This book traces the story of the sport from the Northern Union of the 1900s to the formation of the Super League in the 1990s, through war, depression, boom and deindustrialisation, into a new economic and social age. Using a range of previously unexplored archival sources, this extremely readable and deeply researched book considers the impact of two world wars, the significance of the game’s expansion to Australasia and the momentous decision to take rugby league to Wembley. It investigates the history of rugby union’s long-running war against league, and the sport’s troubled relationship with the national media. Most importantly, this book sheds new light on issues of social class and working-class masculinity, regional identity and the profound impact of the decline of Britain’s traditional industries. For all those interested in the history of sport and working-class culture, this is essential reading.