Rugby Union Books

'I've been to hell and I'm back. If you're in that same place, then I understand what you're going through.' John Kirwan was one of the most devastating wingers New Zealand, and world, rugby had ever seen. A prominent and revered figure at the dawn of the professional age of rugby, he seemed to ...

Sean Fitzpatrick played for the best rugby team on the planet, the All Blacks. His aggressive, uncompromising approach made him one of the greatest players ever. Ruthless, devious and compelling to watch, he was a one-man wrecking machine. He was also an inspirational leader. Between 1986 and 1997, ...

When in 2008 Williams turned his back on the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and rugby league, ‘SBW’ was one of sport’s most maligned brands. His move to French rugby was vilified throughout Australasian sports media. But three years later, many of those same scribes are now singing ...

Dan Carter is without doubt the hottest property in world rugby. At just 23 years of age, Carter is now regarded as the pre-eminent flyhalf in the game. In Dan Carter: Skills and Performance?a book aimed at the 'kidult' market?Carter will offer tips on playing the game, skill drills and training to ...

Football has Pele, golf has Tiger Woods, basketball has Michael Jordan and, of course, boxing has Muhammad Ali. Rugby’s race for the tag is a little more complicated but the chances are the debate will be over if and when Dan Carter wins the Rugby World Cup for the All Blacks in 2011. Ever sin...

With more than 50 test matches at fullback under his belt, Mils Muliaina is the most capped All Blacks No.15 of all time. Muliaina combines pace and a dangerous counterattacking ability with dependability and strong positional play at the back for New Zealand. He also has the speed and rugby nous to...

Retired All Blacks captain Tana Umaga is one of the most respected players in world rugby. As the first player of Samoan heritage to captain the All Blacks in test rugby, his story is unique. One of the proudest players ever to wear the famous black jersey, Umaga became an inspirational captain - a ...

When Graham Henry replaced John Mitchell as All Black coach, his job description would have been simple - win the 2007 Rugby World Cup. That an ex-school teacher, who had never played rugby at international level, ever came to be in this position is unusual. How he then planned and successfully exec...

Following on from last year's stunningly successful bestseller, Ali's Book of Tall Tales, the All Blacks' big lock with the off-beat (and oft irreverent) sense of humour has teamed up again with James Griffin to produce this hilarious preview of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Although an Achilles hee...

Few New Zealanders have achieved the iconic status of Sir Wilson Whineray, who has been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame, the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, and the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame. When people speak of the great leaders New Zealand has produced, Sir Wilson&rsq...

This book has a central proposition: that rugby is not sustainable if it continues down the commercial path it is currently following. Control of the game is being steadily transferred from those who thought they owned it to commercial and media interests who see it purely as a commodity. Of all the...

This thought-provoking book is a search for answers to the vexing phenomenon of why the world's undisputed greatest rugby team can't win the World Cup. It is an in-depth investigation that explores how societal change, combined with the arrival of professionalism, has impacted on the ability of the ...

This is the first comprehensive history of the New Zealand Maori rugby team, including analysis of the politics behind the side and insights into the New Zealand-South Africa relationship.  The book is divided into decades, with a focus on provinces that were strong at the time. Among&n...

With the endorsement of the New Zealand Rugby Union, this is a book about the All Blacks of a type never before published. It will trace the history of rugby's most notable and most successful team over more than a century entirely in pictures. Drawing on archives and contemporary sources in New Zea...

There's an old joke about rugby players and oddballs. However, there certainly have been quite a few of them playing rugby in the history of the game. And not just oddballs, there's been pitbulls, quiet men, iron men, and unsung heroes. And you can meet them all in this quirky collection of the famo...

In June 1995, Nelson Mandela conquered the hearts of white South Africa and united his country, black and white, behind their rugby team. This book tells the extraordinary story of the journey to that moment. As the day of the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup dawned, and the Springboks faced New Ze...

Rugby is a sport that embraces players of every shape, size and fitness level. The success a player achieves, no matter what position he plays, will depend on his physical abilities. This book explains how those abilities, and therefore playing performance, can be improved. This book: discusses the ...