Sport

A rugby-mad boy. A huge game. And a chance for an epic win . . . or an epic fail!

Gordon D’Arcy is an ordinary boy, but he’s not so ordinary once he gets a rugby ball in his hands. He’s the star player for Wexford Wanderers and dreams of one day wearing the Ireland jersey. A dream like that means hard work, raw talent and never losing sight of your goals.

But Gordon has a wild streak that often lands him in trouble. Mum and Dad think that if he can just channel his energy, all will be well. Then something utterly mad happens and he gets a chance to live his biggest dream.

Can he stay on his game and do everyone proud? Or will trouble follow him . . . like it usually does?

Gordon’s Game is a funny and inspiring adventure for rugby lovers of all ages!

‘A cracking read . . . which will appeal to all the family’ Irish Country Magazine

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From the author of Rugby’s Greatest Mavericks.

The true stories behind 20 of the toughest players to ever play the game, from pre-WWI firebrands to modern-day YouTube sensations. They are shocking, gruesome, often very funny and sometimes tragic, but what unites these men is their total commitment to the sport. Irrespective of size, reputation or opposition, they never took a step back, and many were as lively off the pitch as they were fiery on it. In our era of citing commissioners, slow-motion replays and trial by social media, some of their actions are hard to believe. Featuring exclusive interviews with some of the players themselves, insights from former teammates and a foreword from refereeing legend Nigel Owens, if you love the characters that make rugby great, then this is the book for you.

Table of contents: Foreword by Nigel Owens Introduction Paddy Mayne Brian Lima Wayne Shelford Bobby Windsor Colin Meads Jerry Collins Norm Hadley David Bedell-Sivright Scott Gibbs Gérard Cholley Trevor Brennan Wade Dooley Bakkies Botha Tomás Lavanini Jacques Burger Armand Vaquerin Martin Johnson Brian Thomas Sébastien Chabal Weary Dunlop Author acknowledgements Bibliography Notes

It was safer and certainly more fun to read about the Hard Men of Rugby than to play against them! It’s like having a few laughs over beers with them in the bar post-match, rather than what would have taken place on the pitch! – Al Charron, Former Canada Captain & World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee

I couldn’t put the book down. It was great to learn more about some of the hardest men in rugby folklore. And I had the misfortune to play against some of these legends! – Bernard Jackman, Former Ireland & Leinster player, coach and commentator

A cracking read, with some great stories about some guys I played with and against. Plus many more I am relieved I never had to face.- Lee Byrne, Former Wales & Lions player and pundit

I laughed, winced and even found myself moved by this lively and fun rundown of rugby hardmen.- Ben Mercer, Former rugby polayer & author of best-selling ‘Fringes: Life on the edge of professional rugby’

Fresh, entertaining, well-researched and full of really fun nuggets. – Robbie Owen / Squidge, Youtuber, podcaster & writer

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THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘Hilarious, and straight talking but also articulate and insightful – I am just hugely fond of this guy’
–Eddie Jones

‘James Haskell: what a flanker, what a book’
–Rugby World

‘I’d like to be remembered as a player who showed that you can be incredibly professional but also a lot of fun – a bit of a joker in the changing room, but the ultimate competitor on the pitch. That should have been the subtitle of this book, really…’

One of rugby’s most ferocious flankers and biggest characters, James Haskell has had an extraordinary, global experience of the game, having played for the Wasps, Northampton and England, and in New Zealand, France and Japan. After seventeen years and with 77 international caps under his sizeable belt, he has a shitload to say about rugby life – from pitch to pub and everywhere in between.
 
In What A Flanker, Haskell sheds fresh light on the dynamics and the day-to-day of the game. Whether he’s recalling the most brutal team socials; dispelling the myths surrounding New Zealand’s dominance; introducing his Japanese teammates to manscaping or calling out play-acting in the modern game, no subject is off limits.
 
Side-splittingly funny and ruthlessly honest, What A Flanker delves into the touring, drinking, training, eating and sometimes unconscionable antics of the professional rugby player. It’s an unforgettable read, even if there are some stories you’d rather forget…

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Fourteen years since his autobiography, Size Doesn’t Matter, English rugby’s most decorated flanker, Neil Back, returns with a tale of triumphs, heartaches and broken promises. From his anti-hero role as ‘The Hand of Back’ in Leicester Tigers’ European Cup triumph over Munster, to Grand Slam glory and the 2003 World Cup with England, Neil is never far from the story. The Death of Rugby dissects the Lions’ disastrous 2005 tour of New Zealand, the ousting of his mentor Dean Richards from Leicester Tigers, and Neil’s three years in charge of Leeds, before being recruited by The Rugby Football Club, and why Neil and his colleagues had to walk away, despite an unbeaten season, and league and cup double. Neil deals with the adjustment from professional sportsman into family and regular working life, despite a critical illness in 2013, which has shaped his perspective on life.

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The Sunday Times bestseller

‘A genuine super-coach’ – Stephen Jones, Sunday Times

Brilliant, honest, combative – Eddie Jones is a gigantic yet enigmatic figure in world rugby and a true legend of the game. In My Life and Rugby he tells his story for the first time, including the full inside story of England’s 2019 World Cup campaign.

Since taking over as head coach of England in 2015, Eddie Jones has orchestrated a complete revival of the national team. He has won the Six Nations Championship back-to-back, including England’s first Grand Slam in a generation and their first-ever whitewash of Australia in their own backyard, as well as taking them on their longest-ever winning streak, matching the world record held by the All Blacks.

Eddie Jones is one of the most experienced and decorated coaches in Rugby Union. His career has spanned four World Cups: from the 2003 final, working with South Africa when they won in 2007, and causing the greatest upset in the history of the game in 2015 when he masterminded the Japanese victory over South Africa. Most recently, he led England on their incredible run at the 2019 World Cup, culminating in a stunning victory against the All Blacks before falling to South Africa in the final.

Learning from the extreme highs and lows of his own playing career – including the numerous successes playing for Randwick and New South Wales but also the painful disappointment of never playing for Australia – he shows what it takes to be the best in the world and how everything he has learned about the game, both on and off the pitch, has gone into plotting England’s route to the top of world rugby.

Written with Donald McRae, twice winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award and three-time Sports Feature Writer of the Year, My Life and Rugby is the story of one of the most compelling and singular figures in rugby. Told with unflinching honesty, this is the ultimate rugby book for all fans of the sport.

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John Kendall-Carpenter was a truly extraordinary man. He captained the England rugby team in the early 1950s, when he was widely regarded as one of the cleverest and most tactically astute players in the world. At the same time he launched out on a career in education which saw him not only hold the headmastership of three well-known public schools but also play a prominent role in the Headmasters’ Conference in its negotiations with the Labour Government in the 1970s to ensure the continued independence of that sector. In addition, the first Rugby World Cup simply would never have happened without him. President of the Rugby Union in 1980, he was then elected as England’s representative on the International Rugby Board where his role was to defend the amateur code which was coming under increasing pressure from professionalism. His conversion to the cause of international rugby and the commercial potential of the Word Cup, with his subsequent passion and energy, was instrumental in getting the first World Cup in 1987 off the ground and also paved the way towards the professional game. He then threw himself into the planning of the next World Cup but sadly died just a year before it started in 1991. John Kendall-Carpenter was remarkable man with many friends – and a few enemies! – not only in sport, but in education, the theatre, among politicians and writers. He is still a legend in Cornwall – his adopted home. This biography will appeal to every dedicated rugby supporter as well as those interested in sport in general and how rugby emerged from the fields of English public schools to the huge commercial sporting event it is today.

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‘A genuine presence on the field, Owen refereed with the perfect balance of respect and authority’ Keith Wood

‘Highly respected with vast experience and knowledge, Owen Doyle contributed hugely to the world of rugby refereeing, both on and off the field’ Nigel Owens

‘Owen Doyle was a highly respected referee who officiated matches with passion, commitment, knowledge and, occasionally, some great humour’ Will Carling

With a foreword by Donal Lenihan.

Owen Doyle is an Irish Times columnist and former Irish rugby Test match referee. Here in his frank, revealing and often humorous memoir, The Ref’s Call, he gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the high-pressured world of international rugby.

From the processes involved in becoming a referee, to officiating in the Five Nations, touring Internationals and a World Cup, Doyle takes us through the most memorable matches of his career and how, following his retirement, he became instrumental in coaching the most successful generation of referees in the IRFU’s history.

Covering over forty years of rugby, and written in his own inimitable style, Doyle looks at the challenges facing modern rugby, particularly the issues of concussion and dementia, to give a fascinating insight into the great game, told from a unique perspective.

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