Rugby s Great Split: Class, Culture and the Origins of Rugby League Football (Sport in the Global Society)
Superb - This book is probably the definitive volume regarding the seismic schism which split rugby forever in 1895. Rugby league followers are generally very clued-up on what took place then but many Rugby Union fans are not aware of the true nature of the events before, during and after August 1895.Even if you re an armchair Union or League follower, you should read this book to know more about both games and how they went their separate ways.
A big read but worth the effort - I approached this book with some trepidation. An acedemic analysis from a rugby league perspective? How wrong I was! The author takes what, in my view, is a straight-forward approach to the social issues surrounding the 1895 split and I feel so much more enlightened now, having read the book than before.
A wonderful history of the Split. - Tony Collins has crafted a wonderful history of the great split in rugby. The research is first rate as is the analysis, but the real beauty is the easy with which Collins guides the reader through the often confusing issues surrounding the debate over professionalization. His emphasis on the working class and community is the most effective application of this approach to date. In a way, it is the thesis I had set out to write in 1988, but much more courageous and engaging...Thank you.
A superb analysis of the most important event in Rugby - The book is a superbly written and well researched analysis of the class differentiations and the conflicts between Rugby s governing body and its vast majority of players in the North. This history does not simply contain itself to this one problem but looks at the wide ranging implications of other sports on the split and of the split on other sports. The altercations between Northern Clubs and the governing body are brilliantly analysed and give an insight into the complex and problematic debates within the walls of the Rugby Football Union leading to this Great Split. It is a history which analyses this period without damning any of the protaginists and yet gives a good showing of the predicaments of the working class. A superb and informative work.
Social changes give birth to new sport - In the same vain that Rugby League echoes the form and values of the society that created it, so does this book so eloquently capture the feeling. From students of social history and sporting significances, to pure thoroughbred Rugby League fans, this book is a well documented must in bringing to life an era that mapped a sporting destiny. If you feel a passion for modern rugby, you must read this book as it sets out the pattern by which most working class British sports tred by.