A lot of rucking and mauling has gone on since William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball and ran, but this doughty little book heroically manages to capture the true essence of the daddy of all oval ball games in just 80 minutes (plus 20 minutes of overtime). This is the story of rugby, as it has never been told before: a jinking, weaving compilation of surreal match reports, spoof correspondence and quirky cartoons. From the playing fields of Edwardian England's public schools to the canopied splendour of Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, the game's towering achievements, hilarious happenings and ludicrous coincidences are entertainingly recalled. In the uber-professional rugby world of the 2010s, players don't drink or misbehave, as England showed in New Zealand in 2011 ...
Author Biography
Iain Spragg is a sports journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph and The Times. A former editor of the Rugby Icons website, he has also written many books on the subjects of sport, travel and humour, including The Jonny Wilkinson Story.
Tony Husband is a much-admired cartoonist, who has drawn all the cartoons for this successful Random History series.
