{"product_id":"the-oval-world-a-global-history-of-rugby-1","title":"Tony (De Montfort University) Collins: The Oval World [2016] paperback","description":"Rugby has always been a sport with as much drama off the field as on it. For every thrilling last-minute Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal to win the World Cup or Jonah Lomu rampage down the touchline for a try, there has been a split, a feud or a controversy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Oval World\u003c\/i\u003e is the first full-length history of rugby on a world scale - from its origins in the village-based football games of medieval times up to the globalised sport of the twenty-first century, now played in over 100 countries. It tells the story of how a game played in an obscure English public school became the winter sport of the British Empire, spreading to France, Argentina, Japan and the rest of the world and commanding a global television audience of over four billion for the last World Cup final. It also explores how American football - and other games such as Australian, Canadian and Gaelic football - emerged from their English cousin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFeaturing the great moments in the game's history and its legendary names - David Duckham, Serge Blanco, Billy Boston and David Campese, alongside Rupert Brooke, King George V, Boris Karloff, Charles de Gaulle and Nelson Mandela - \u003ci\u003eThe Oval World \u003c\/i\u003einvestigates just what it is about rugby that enables it to thrive in countries with very different traditions and cultures. This is the definitive world history of a truly global sport.","brand":"Collins, Tony (De Montfort University)","offers":[{"title":"Very Good","offer_id":49291190174035,"sku":"XV81408831571","price":6.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/collins-tony-de-montfort-university-the-oval-world-a-global-history-of-rugby-xv81408831571-58545773969747.jpg?v=1726536361","url":"https:\/\/chaptersbookstore.com\/products\/the-oval-world-a-global-history-of-rugby-1","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}