Rugby Skills Tactics and Rules - 2008 publication.

by Tony Williams, Frank Bunce

This volume teaches the basics of rugby the New Zealand way. Illustrated throughout with action photographs, the text is written by experts with experience at international and senior provincial level, both as players and coaches.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

166 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads' database with this name.

Reviews

[Riley Higa · Rating 4 out of 5]

DNF because I got distracted and need to return to library. Not worth checking out again due to the nature of the book. This is not a book I’d recommend to others randomly cause it’s literally breakdown of the very basics of rugby. I was mostly interested in learning some of the specific rules since I feel like I can follow rugby but the more nuanced rules are lost to me. It explains them, although reading on a paper is a lot harder to visualize than just watching a YouTube video or getting outside, touching some grass, and actually playing. Anyways 4 stars cause it accomplishes what it sets out to do, unfair to judge it against other criteria of other books. Now I just want to get back into shape and play some rugby. Looking for a men’s club team to play on, let me know if anyone finds one.

[Hugh Goovaerts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rugby Skills Tactics and Rules, written by Tony Williams and Frank Bunce, is a dynamic book that give’s a basic understanding of the key components used in the game of Rugby. This book has the latest information of all aspects of the game. Including player positions, basic skills, professional tactics and the main laws of the game. This is a very good book for player’s, fans and even coaches at any level, who want to know more about Rugby. I enjoyed reading this book because it gave me a better knowledge of the game and it has taught me new tactics and skills that will come in handy when playing Rugby.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the chapter about attitude. This chapter talks about how players actions, thoughts or feelings about something will determine how they play in the game. The chapter goes on to talk about different things players need to focus on or look after. For example confidence, decision making, effort and health. Even though most of the chapter is about a player’s attitude towards themselves, the most important part of the chapter is the end. This is because it talks about attitude and respect towards opponents and referees which is a very important skill to have in Rugby. I liked this chapter because it reminded me how attitude effects how we play.

Another part I liked was the chapter about running because it showed me many different ways to get passed the defense. This chapter also showed me many different tactical move’s to get passed the defense. For example the goose step, the full stop, the hit and spin and much more. I enjoyed this chapter because it took me through the main skills of running.

I recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn or have a better understanding about anything to do with Ruby, because this book gives a basic explanation of everything to do with Rugby.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for a beginner who doesn't know anything about Rugby. Another nice thing about the book is at the very end, there is a "cliff notes" version of rugby rules, which is around 10 or so pages long (the actual rugby rules consist of around 150 pages)
The downside to the book is that it doesn't go into great detail about what each position specifically does, where they run on the field, who they pair up with, etc. So after reading, I knew generalities about the position I was supposed to play, but still had no idea going out on the field where I was really to be. (just left it up to the veterans to yell and tell me where to go ;-D )

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.
This is exactly what I was looking for. I am a novice about rugby and the book explains the basic principles and terminology of the sport in a easy and logical manner. For the young man I know who has knowledge of rugby and wants to learn and train better there lots of good information.
I love the great pictures scattered throughout the book. I also appreciate the emphasis placed on team instead of the individual and demonstrating good sportsmanship.
Thanks, for this helpful rugby primer!

[Jason Yang · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy to read, straight forward beginner's guide to a very complicated sport. Part of what made this easy to read were all of the pictures illustrating the different moves and laws to the game. I picked this up a year ago when I first started playing, but didn't really get a chance to read it until now. Definitely something I'd recommend to other beginning ruggers - I actually liked this book better than Rugby for Dummies.

[Nikita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a good read. I think my only complaint is trying to visualize some of the tactics and overall sport that the authors mentioned. I believe diagrams would have been a good addition. I picked up this book so to finally understand what Rugby is. So, my problem was in the end I was still confused on how the game is played. It looks like I will be searching for videos of the sport in hopes to further understand.

[Rosalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Adam Balshan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars [Recreation]
Informative; full of illustrations. In fact, it is over-illustrated in regard to pictures, and slightly under-illustrated in play charts (despite a decent showing in the area).

To improve a later edition, I would suggest fewer pictures, more play charts, and more "tactics," as the title advertises. (Skills and basic explanations were abundant. Tactics were rarer.)