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Rugby Union for Dummies
This is a cheeky but informative guide to the most popular team sport in Britain after football. It features: rudimentary rugby; the aim of the game; grab your rugby gear; location, location - positions on the field; rules and regulators; breaking down the breakdown; and learn your lines.
- GenresSports
Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
About the author
Greg Growden
22 books6 followersGreg Growden (c. 1960 – 14 November 2020) was an Australian sports journalist, author and biographer.
Growden grew up on his family's rice farm in the Riverina. He joined the Sydney Morning Herald in early 1978 soon after leaving school. He was chief rugby union correspondent for the paper from 1987 to 2012, and was the Australian rugby union correspondent for ESPN from 2012 to 2018. He is one of just two international rugby writers to cover all of the first eight World Cups.
He died of cancer on 14 November 2020. - wikipeadia
Growden grew up on his family's rice farm in the Riverina. He joined the Sydney Morning Herald in early 1978 soon after leaving school. He was chief rugby union correspondent for the paper from 1987 to 2012, and was the Australian rugby union correspondent for ESPN from 2012 to 2018. He is one of just two international rugby writers to cover all of the first eight World Cups.
He died of cancer on 14 November 2020. - wikipeadia
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 30, 2012
I've been watching the 6 Nations since the competition was just the 5 Nations. In all that time, I've been thoroughly entertained, while so much of the game has remained a complete mystery to me.
Ahead of this season's 6 Nations (2012) I thought it a good idea to learn a little bit about the rudiments, tactics, laws and player positions. Rugby Union was never played at any school I attended, so the game with the wobbly ball only came into my life through t.v. coverage. Yet after so many years I still cannot tell a blind-side flanker from a tight-head prop.
Anyone who is as befuddled with Rugby Union should quite enjoy Nick Cain's efforts to explain all.
The meat in 'Rugby Union for Dummies' is in Part II, especially Chapter 4 which explains the positions on the pitch and Chapter 5 the laws of the game. The book has a very broad content and not all was of interest to me, such as the sections on coaching and training. For the study of statistics involving club or international teams, this book does not deliver due to lack of space, but overall there is plenty for the novice to tackle.
I now know that offside can happen anywhere on the pitch and unlike football/soccer it's the backs and wingers who score tries and the forwards who are involved in gory battle to win the ball. I am now equipped and ready to take up the mantle of arm-chair referee.
Ahead of this season's 6 Nations (2012) I thought it a good idea to learn a little bit about the rudiments, tactics, laws and player positions. Rugby Union was never played at any school I attended, so the game with the wobbly ball only came into my life through t.v. coverage. Yet after so many years I still cannot tell a blind-side flanker from a tight-head prop.
Anyone who is as befuddled with Rugby Union should quite enjoy Nick Cain's efforts to explain all.
The meat in 'Rugby Union for Dummies' is in Part II, especially Chapter 4 which explains the positions on the pitch and Chapter 5 the laws of the game. The book has a very broad content and not all was of interest to me, such as the sections on coaching and training. For the study of statistics involving club or international teams, this book does not deliver due to lack of space, but overall there is plenty for the novice to tackle.
I now know that offside can happen anywhere on the pitch and unlike football/soccer it's the backs and wingers who score tries and the forwards who are involved in gory battle to win the ball. I am now equipped and ready to take up the mantle of arm-chair referee.
December 30, 2023
Well-written basics of the game, main rules, and positions. Since the edition I read was already a bit old, some of the information was already out of date (not the author's fault, obviously), and the parts about the players and teams to watch also felt not-too-interesting due to that. Still, good basics and informative pictures and diagrams.
August 20, 2017
Great overview of the game but quite simplistic and basic in parts
February 12, 2014
I read this book so I could learn the basics of Rugby Union. Six Nations Rugby has started and I wanted to understand the calls made on the pitch. Plus, I was keen to impress my husband by knowing more than he thinks I do. Being American, I am at a strict disadvantage, but I do love the action of the game so felt it was time to learn properly.
As a spectator's learning guide this was not bad, but not great. It was lengthy and could have done with a good edit to cut down the size. Removing all uses of phrases like, "this is explained in greater detail later in this chapter", would have been wise. It was annoying after reading it for 20th time. There were a number of inconsistencies and even conflicting information. I consulted my husband to decode the meaning behind some of it but it just wasn't clear. I know the game can be complex but some of the information seemed misleading to me.
Not that this is a bad book. I expect it would serve well if you want to learn about the vast history, play rugby, coach, or be a referee. That's not what I was after so far more information than I needed. It did reference a short 10-page booklet called Instant Rugby offered by the RFU. That is my next stop.
As a spectator's learning guide this was not bad, but not great. It was lengthy and could have done with a good edit to cut down the size. Removing all uses of phrases like, "this is explained in greater detail later in this chapter", would have been wise. It was annoying after reading it for 20th time. There were a number of inconsistencies and even conflicting information. I consulted my husband to decode the meaning behind some of it but it just wasn't clear. I know the game can be complex but some of the information seemed misleading to me.
Not that this is a bad book. I expect it would serve well if you want to learn about the vast history, play rugby, coach, or be a referee. That's not what I was after so far more information than I needed. It did reference a short 10-page booklet called Instant Rugby offered by the RFU. That is my next stop.
May 28, 2015
as a beginners guide it covered all the basics however I need something with more of the rules so my next move is to get the Rugby union rulebook. a good overview but I need something a bit more technical
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews