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.

The laws of rugby made simple - for players, referees, coaches and spectators - in this indispensable guide, now in its fourth edition and fully updated to include all the latest international law changes from 2001. This is a book packed full of useful information and advice on how the modern game is played. Now all players, novice referees and school coaches seeking to understand more about the rules and regulations can find an answer to their various questions. Featuring all key areas in the game, including: The intricacies of the offside rule * Foul play and dangerous play * Rucks and mauls * Throwing in at the line-outs * Regulations regarding the scoring of points * The advantage law Written in a user-friendly style, with over 60 practical illustrations, you can't afford to be without this definitive reference book.

When they first picked up the ball and ran with it, this was the game they invented. This book brings together the original rules of the game drawn up at Rugby School in 1845 and the first rules of the Rugby Football Union in 1871, showing how the sport started and how it was first properly codified. It describes a sport almost unrecognisable as modern rugby, yet utterly familiar as the great game in it infancy. A book for both passionate fans and those with a passing curiosity about how a game with a ball could possibly be so complicated and so beloved.

This ambitious and fascinating history considers why, in the space of sixty years between 1850 and 1910, football grew from a marginal and unorganised activity to become the dominant winter entertainment for millions of people around the world. The book explores how the world’s football codes - soccer, rugby league, rugby union, American, Australian, Canadian and Gaelic - developed as part of the commercialised leisure industry in the nineteenth century. Football, however and wherever it was played, was a product of the second industrial revolution, the rise of the mass media, and the spirit of the age of the masses. Important reading for students of sports studies, history, sociology, development and management, this book is also a valuable resource for scholars and academics involved in the study of football in all its forms, as well as an engrossing read for anyone interested in the early history of football.

Two Welshmen who've been given the accolade of being the top rugby referee in the world. The only two Welshmen to have refereed a World Cup final. They've not only served the game that they love, they've contributed to its development and appeal over many decades.

This book is about how football was played in ancient times and worlds, from Australia and South America to China and Europe. It tells the story of how towns and parishes competed against each other. During the Industrial Revolution football moved from the streets to the schools. The book describes how rugby football started at Rugby School and how the schoolboys wrote the first laws in their schoolbooks. From there it grew into the modern international game we play and watch today. It also tells the story of other football games and how it happened that Rugby football and Association football (soccer) became two different sports.

The game of rugby has changed significantly in the course of its history. In the early part of the 19th century it evolved from a folk game played by the working class to a recreational activity for public schoolboys. From the 1820s rugby represented an opportunity for gentlemen to demonstrate physical prowess and masculinity and in more recent times it has developed into an activity that reflects the changing attitudes towards professional sport. For the most part of the last one hundred years, rugby union became an important international sport that represented the nationalistic ideals of a number of countries. However, a number of developments, including the increasing influence of a business ethos within sport during the latter decades of the twentieth century, exposed rugby union to the realities of commercialism and all the factors associated with it, especially the demands of a more diverse spectating public. Drawing on interview material with forty-eight elite level rugby union players from England, Wales, Scotland, France, Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia who participated in elite level rugby union either before, in the overlapping period or after the declaration of professionalism, this book traces the evolution of attitudes towards professionalism from a players’ perspective and develops a critical review of the impact that professionalism has had upon the sport of rugby union. Rugby Union and Professionalisation: Elite Player Perspectives is fascinating reading for all students and scholars with an interest in rugby union, sport history, sport policy, sport management and the sociology of sport.