Rugby books
Rugby books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
Playing the Enemy
John CarlinAccount of how Nelson Mandela used South Africa's 1995 Rugby World Cup win to help unite the country after apartheid. Adapted as the film Invictus; the 2009 edition appears under that title in the catalogue.
Legacy
James KerrStudy of leadership and team culture drawn from the New Zealand All Blacks, widely read outside rugby as a business and leadership book.
Rugby's Great Split (Sport in the Global Society)
Tony CollinsHistorical account of the 1895 split between rugby union and rugby league over payments to players and the class and regional tensions behind it.
The Art of Coarse Rugby
Michael GreenHumorous book on rugby as played and watched by ordinary clubs, an early example of comic writing about the game's culture.
Sevens Heaven
Ben RyanMemoir of coaching Fiji's sevens team to Olympic gold at Rio 2016 (the book predates that result; the catalogue lists it as 2015). Covers coaching and team building in the sevens form of the game.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More rugby books
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Real McCawRichie McCaw - A Game for Hooligans
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Loose HeadJoe Marler - Muddied Oafs
Muddied OafsRichard Beard - Rugby Skills, Tactics and Rules
Rugby Skills, Tactics and RulesTony Williams - Total Rugby
Total RugbyJim Greenwood1978 - Invictus
InvictusJohn Carlin2009 - Black magicBlack magicGraham Hutchins1988
- Dancing on our bones
Dancing on our bonesTrevor Richards1999 - Rugby Revealed
Rugby RevealedGavin Hickie2015 - Open Side
Open SideSam Warburton2019 - The final whistle
The final whistleStephen Cooper2012