Spate of rugby league books

Press, 6 December 1989, Page 40

Spate of rugby league books

Not too long ago rugby league books were so rare they soon became collectors’ items. That situation has changed radically in recent years. In addition to annual year books there has been a spate of biographies and other publications about the 13-a-side code. Publishers have evidently discovered a previously under-estimated market. About a decade after he wrote “My Kind of Rugby,” the former England rugby union and Great Britain rugby league forward, Ray French, has penned More Kinds of Rugby (published by Kingswood Press, 181 pp, paperback, illustrated). Mr French has contined to be deeply involved in the two types of rugby as a coach at Cowley School (though he was briefly banned from guiding the first XV because of his professional past) and as a writer and 8.8. C. television commentator on rugby league. His book deals with the present status of the two

codes, predominantly in Britain but encompassing the international scene. Those who believe all is rosy in the rugby union garden will not appreciate many of his opinions. The author mourns the demise of back play in British rugby union, while lauding the more attractive nature of the sport in Australasia and France. He predicts the situation will worsen in Britain now that many schools have cut rugby union from their sports programmes. On the other hand, Mr French is optimistic for rugby league’s future because of its rapid advance at junior, universities and other amateur levels to provide a sturdy foundation for the professional clubs. The introduction of the limited-tackle rule and, more recently, the “handover rule” has given rugby league “a new dawn,” according to Mr French. Fewer scrums ensure the ball is in play for about 50min on average, compared to about 20min

in an average British rugby union club game, where the emphasis is very much on scrums, line-outs, rucks and mauls, “all potential danger points for further stoppages in play and a delay to open running.”

Mr French accuses rugby union administrators of being hypocritical over the matter of payments to players; He quotes the former England captain, Steve Smith, as saying the situation whereby some rugby union players receive “liberal expenses” means “the only difference between league and union players is that the league players pay tax.” And a former French captain, Pierre Villepreux, has confessed to being paid to coach Toulouse and revealed all his players are professionals — “I am paid as much as my players but no more. People at the (French Rugby) Federation are aware of it.” But these days a head has to be buried into deep sand

to be unaware of the French attitude to amateur regulations. In a particularly interesting chapter Mr French compares clubs at the extremes of British rugby league — wealthy Wigan and struggling Nottingham City (formerly Mansfield Marksmen). Wigan’s millionaire directors can buy the best footballers in the world; the managing director of Nottingham and his wife wash the players’ gear to save a little money. While Mr French mostly looks at present day football, Robert Gate has produced An Illustrated History of Rugby League (published by Arthur Barker, 157 pp, index). Mr Gate is the (English) Rugby League’s official historian. Among his earlier works are two volumes on Welsh rugby union players who have “gone north,” and detailed reviews of AngloAustralian tests and the British championship. Though largely dealing

with the sport in Britain, Mr Gate touches briefly on notable events involving other countries as he traces rugby league’s development. The portion of the book dealing with the breakaway from the English Rugby Union by the original 22 “Northern Union” clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire is especially topical as the International Rugby Union Board continues to agonise with the subject of reimbursing players for lost income. Almost a century after the representatives of clubs comprised mostly of miners and mill workers found a solution, the top administrators of a code which prides itself with its upper class and academic connections continue to blindly fumble around with a subject which is so important to players and their families. Mr Gate’s history is lavishly illustrated,’ a most attractive addition to the burgeoning rugby league library. —Reviewed by John Coffey.