Since it’s first publication, Rugby’s Great Split has established itself as a classic in the field of sport history. Drawing on an unprecedented range of sources, this deeply researched and highly readable book traces the social, cultural and economic divisions that led, in 1895, to schism in the game of rugby and the creation of rugby league, the sport of England’s northern working class.  Tony Collins’ analysis challenges many of the conventional assumptions about this key event in rugby history – about class conflict, amateurism in sport, the North-South divide, violence on the pitch, the development of mass spectator sport and the rise of football. This new edition is expanded to cover parallel events in Australia and New Zealand, and to address the key question of rugby league’s failure to establish itself in Wales.  Rugby’s Great Split is a benchmark text in the history of rugby, and an absorbing case study of wider issues – issues of class, gender, regional and national identity, and the impact of the commercialization and recent professionalization of rugby league. This insightful text is for anyone interested in Britain’s social history or in the emergence of modern sport, it is vital reading.

Rugby's Great Split: Class, Culture and the Origins of Rugby League Football

Tony Collins

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Frank Cass Publishers

<p>A set of football rules was first produced at Rugby School in 1845, but the early growth of the game had much to do with the account in Tom Brown's Schooldays, which described the uncodified version of the 1830s. This comprehensive history of rugby traces its roots in medieval village football, describes how it spread around the world and explains how the rules and organization of the sport have evolved from Tom Brown's day to the modern professional era.</p>

The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby

Sports & Outdoors

Other Team Sports

Bloomsbury UK

Book 1739247604

Scratching Shed

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Books by Tony Collins