Odd-Shaped Balls: Mischief-Makers, Miscreants and Mad-Hatters of Rugby

by John Scally

Odd-Shaped Balls captures the humor, the agony, and the ecstasy of one of the world's most popular sports, rugby. The book is no less than a who's who of the game, with both old and young getting the opportunity to have their say. It looks at players such as Max Boyce, Keith Wood, Sean Fitzpatrick, Austin Healy, and Bill Beaumont and his streaker. All exponents of surrealism, comic genius, and savage wit, they offer a quirky insight into the sporting psyche as well as provide some riotous good laughs. With hundreds of funny stories, Odd-Shaped Balls is a light-hearted romp through decades of rugby tomfoolery that is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all sports fans.

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2004

Reviews

[russell barnes]

It's shallow I know, but I find one of the many benefits of the GoodReads Reading Challenge is I end up finishing even the worst, trashiest books, just to have a chance of hitting my yearly target.

Generally this is a moot point because whilst I don't love every book I read, there's enough in the ones I've struggled with to still like and stick with to the end, with a concomitant feeling of virtue

Rugby Balls does not fit this bill. I finished it, I wish I hadn't. It's collection of barely coherent 'jokes', and stories is the worse thing I've ever read. Zero stars. I feel sorry for the person in FARA who picks it up when I dispatch it there this weekend.