| Description |
vii, 277 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates ; 24 cm |
| Contents |
The schoolboy's game -- The amateur game -- The war game -- The man's game -- The class game -- The player's game -- The imperial game -- The money game -- The whole new ball game? |
| Summary |
"From the myth of William Webb Ellis to the glory of the 2003 World Cup win, this book explores the social history of rugby union in England." "Ever since Tom Brown's Schooldays the sport has seen itself as the guardian of traditional English middle-class values. In this fascinating new history, leading rugby historian Tony Collins demonstrates how these values have shaped the English game, from the public schools to mass spectator sport, from strict amateurism to global professionalism." "Based on unprecedented access to the official archives of the Rugby Football Union, and drawing on an impressive array of sources from club minutes to personal memoirs and contemporary literature, the book explores in vivid detail the key events, personalities and players that have made English rugby." |
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"Like all the very best writers on sport, Tony Collins uses sport as a prism through which to better understand both culture and society. A ground-breaking work of both social history and sport history, A Social History of English Rugby Union tells a fascinating story of sporting endeavour, masculine identity, imperial ideology, social consciousness and the nature of Englishness."--BOOK JACKET |
| Notes |
Formerly CIP. Uk |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Subject |
Rugby League football -- Social aspects -- England -- History.
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Rugby Union football -- Social aspects -- England -- History.
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Working class -- Recreation -- England -- History.
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| LC no. |
2008040541 |
| ISBN |
0415476607 (cased) |
|
9780415476607 (cased) |
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