This book explores the expansion of rugby from its imperial and amateur upper-class white male core into other contexts throughout the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The development of rugby in the racially divided communities of the setter empire and how this was viewed are explored initially. Then the editors turn to four case studies of rugby's expansion beyond the bounds of the British Empire (France, Italy, Japan and the USA). The role of women in rugby is examined and the subsequent development of women's rugby as one of the fastest growing sports for women in Europe, North America and Australasia in the 1980s and 1990s. The final section analyses the impact of commercialisation, professionalisation and media on rugby and the impact on the historic rugby culture linked to an ethos of amateurism.
John Nauright, PhD is Director of the Academy of International Sport, Provost's Fellow for International Programs and Professor in the Colleges of Education and Human Development and Humanities and Social Sciences at George Mason University in Virginia, USA. He is also Visiting Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill in Barbados. He has taught at universities in Australia, Barbados, Canada, Denmark, Finland, India, New Zealand, Scotland, and the USA and has also lived in South Africa. He has a PhD in African history from Queen's University in Canada and BA and MA degrees from the University of South Carolina, USA.
He is a keen follower of global sport (most especially of Aston Villa Football Club; the Montreal Canadiens; Schalke '04; Club Brugge, FC Barcelona, the Gamecocks, LSU, and his daughter's volleyball teams in the USA) and writes on many issues related to sport around the world as well as on history and political economy. He has lived within five miles of the Augusta National Golf Club and the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St Andrews and is therefore predisposed to the sport of golf, but he also follows Australian Rules Football, rugby, soccer, cricket and of course the major American sports. He brings a unique perspective to writing on international sport and international societies more generally having lived in eight different countries during his adult life. He is married to Jenni, author of cleopatrasparachute.blogspot.com and has two daughters, Ashley and Lauren as well as Shiloh the Wonder Dog.
