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How to Watch a Game of Rugby
Full of enthusiasm, this guide sets out to convince non-believers that rugby is the world's greatest game.
- GenresNonfiction
120 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 2, 2012
This book is a series of well-written, intelligent essays about the appeal of rugby as something to watch rather than to play. It manages to capture the essence of why people love the game so much and tries to capture the passion felt by fans of the best game in the world.
On the downside, the book does have a Southern Hemisphere bias which spoiled my enjoyment a little. This book was released in 2004 and this bias is particularly clear when it claims of the Pacific Island teams: "I predict that one of these countries, most likely Fiji or Samoa, will play in a World Cup final before, say, Ireland, Scotland or Wales." The last World Cup saw Ireland finish above Australia in their group and Wales miss out on a final spot by a disputable red card, while Tonga, Samoa and Fiji all failed to get past the group stage. This bias towards the Southern Unions - particularly New Zealand and Australia - is a constant reminder that the writer isn't as analytical and doesn't know as much about the game as he thinks. . . however, maybe this is part of the tribalism and passion of which the book talks about.
The cover also claims: "This amusing and enlightening book will enchant not only keen rugby fans, but readers who don't know a fly half from a fullback". This statement isn't true. I cannot imagine someone who is not already an established rugby fan finding it even mildly interesting.
So, if you like rugby and are particularly supportive of the All Blacks or Australia then read it. If not, there's better rugby books on the market.
On the downside, the book does have a Southern Hemisphere bias which spoiled my enjoyment a little. This book was released in 2004 and this bias is particularly clear when it claims of the Pacific Island teams: "I predict that one of these countries, most likely Fiji or Samoa, will play in a World Cup final before, say, Ireland, Scotland or Wales." The last World Cup saw Ireland finish above Australia in their group and Wales miss out on a final spot by a disputable red card, while Tonga, Samoa and Fiji all failed to get past the group stage. This bias towards the Southern Unions - particularly New Zealand and Australia - is a constant reminder that the writer isn't as analytical and doesn't know as much about the game as he thinks. . . however, maybe this is part of the tribalism and passion of which the book talks about.
The cover also claims: "This amusing and enlightening book will enchant not only keen rugby fans, but readers who don't know a fly half from a fullback". This statement isn't true. I cannot imagine someone who is not already an established rugby fan finding it even mildly interesting.
So, if you like rugby and are particularly supportive of the All Blacks or Australia then read it. If not, there's better rugby books on the market.
October 2, 2022
I've never liked rugby...hated it all my f@&kin life to er misquote Billy Connolly (he actually said that about the beach). Where I was growing up, rugby was regarded as a bizarre sport played by people from the banking industry or who came from farms and had strange accents (the kind similar to the lying politicians we saw on TV).
Anyway I enjoyed aspects of this, there were some interesting stories and compelling histories, but it is far from funny. I found the style too dry, and the title is a tad misleading too, but maybe it will be a lot more enjoyable for Antipodean rugby fans.
Anyway I enjoyed aspects of this, there were some interesting stories and compelling histories, but it is far from funny. I found the style too dry, and the title is a tad misleading too, but maybe it will be a lot more enjoyable for Antipodean rugby fans.
August 11, 2016
1. This set the style for the Ginger Series contributions that follow.
2. Perhaps rugby is over-rated as being something worth watching, hence the rating.
3. Joanne Black's quotation on page-62 is "so bleedingly, forehead thumpingly" funny; go to a library and have a chortle.
4. To watch rugby, one has to 'see-in' into the game, and one has to digest the experience . . . as per Richard Wollheim's Art and Its Objects and Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.
CJHD
05-Feb-14
2. Perhaps rugby is over-rated as being something worth watching, hence the rating.
3. Joanne Black's quotation on page-62 is "so bleedingly, forehead thumpingly" funny; go to a library and have a chortle.
4. To watch rugby, one has to 'see-in' into the game, and one has to digest the experience . . . as per Richard Wollheim's Art and Its Objects and Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals.
CJHD
05-Feb-14
August 20, 2011
fun, with some excellent quote & anecdotes, but a very slim volume, indeed.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews