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Summary: Phenomenon book
Comment: So far i have found all the little details i needed to know about the game. Easy to follow presentation too, two thumbs way up.
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Summary: pretty book, but...
Comment: lots of nice colour pictures, but a little basic for all but the absolute beginner.
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Summary: great introduction for beginners
Comment: I play Rugby and this is a good book for someone ne to the game. It explains quite clearly the different tactics for different positions and has good photographs to show you It's really helpful for beginners of any age.
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Summary: Good introduction to player skills and roles
Comment: This book is a good introduction to the roles of the players and the skills they have to learn. It would be suitable for someone new to playing rugby and wanting an overview, or a spectator wanting to learn more about what they are watching. There probably isn't enough detail in the descriptions for players wanting to improve their technique. The book is loaded full of colour photographs of rugby players in action, mostly from New Zealand domestic matches and international matches. One thing I would have liked is more diagrams supporting the text (even in exchange for some of the photos). There are hardly diagrams at all.
The text is well-written and easy to understand.
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Summary: A nice start for novices
Comment: The book is very handy and actually has nice photographs, but it is targeted to a novice or a "fresh start" rugby enthusiast. Keeping this point in mind, it is a remarkable work, both in style and guise, because skills, tactics and rules are clearly explained.The text is simple but quite serious, hence being rugby an "informal" sport, a better explanation should be devised for some particular events during the match. The lineout is a typical example: in fact the rule, which permit an aided 6-foot plus gentleman to hover in the air waiting for the oval, must have been thought up by a three-quarter who flew Harriers (the famous vertical landing fighter airplane!). This strange engagement is characterized by a devastatingly human exertion, that is the pathological damage this may cause the unsuspecting jumper's groin when his shorts is pulled sharply upwards by two herculean "thrusters"! So far for the tactics!!
Another amusing rule too seriously explained is when the front rows collapse during a set scrum. The refree (the usual scapegoat for italian fans!!!) gives a penalty against the prop that goes down first. He may be the less potent of the two, the more tired or simply could quite easily have slipped, but no!, the sanction is quick,steadfast and irrevocable: he did on purpose, shame on him! Since the international refrees are not robust specimen of human race, with large diameter trunks and necks, they wrongfully suppose that above huge necks there is little capacity for gray matter. So the modern prop will use this misconception to his advantage when there is a scrum nearby the Opposition try line. Thus, by all means, usually illegal, he will check the opposite prop's thrust while collapsing, therefore automatically gaining a penalty kick from the best position ever. That's what we call a teamwork!!
That said, I will recommend this volume to anyone interested in this wonderful game, but getting in touch with its rules for the first time.