Rugby's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Rugby (Strangest series) [Paperback]

John C. Griffiths (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2007 | Series: Strangest series

Rugby fans will delight in this extraordinary collection of astonishing true stories from the past 130 years, which reveal a bizarre side to the sport hitherto uncelebrated. Here you'll find the Irish international who arranged his marriage in order to qualify for leave of absence to play against England, the match in which a team of top soccer players beat their rugby counterparts literally at their own game, the riotous encounter that led to a seven-year lapse in the fixture, the international where an entire Wales side were sent off, and the unknown who played for his country due to an administrative mistake.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John Griffiths is a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph's rugby column, and the author of several sports books, including The Book of English International Rugby, The Book of International Rugby Records, British Lions, and The Five Nations Championship.

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Anova Books; New edition edition (May 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1905798164
• ISBN-13: 978-1905798162
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,206,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars interesting, but not necessarily strange, May 4, 2008

By 

David W. Straight (knoxville, tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rugby's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Rugby (Strangest series) (Paperback)

What you get here are about 150 anecdotal accounts of rugby matches over the past 130 or so years. Many are interesting, some are quirky, some are humorous, but others are rather forgettable. The descriptions run anywhere from 5-6 lines to several pages. You can read about a match where father and son both played, a match with brothers on opposite sides, things of that nature. These you might not find all that strange.

On the other hand, however, are accounts of matches where the referee clearly was unfamiliar with the rules--an example being where a referee called a player offsides for holding the ball for a kicker on a very windy day. Scoring rules have undergone many changes, and there have been matches where confusion abounded about points being scored. There are tales that rival Mike Tyson's famous in-match dining habits ("The battle of Waldron's ear"). You'll also read about the player whose shorts were mostly torn off during a tackle attempt--and be reminded that play definitely doesn't stop in that event. So there's a lot of good material here--evn though some of the stories are not as interesting.

5.0 out of 5 stars Different Fun Book!, January 4, 2012

By 

Readerette - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rugby's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but True Stories from Over a Century of Rugby (Strangest series) (Paperback)

Great collection of anecdotes on the strangest rugby matches ever! Purchased for my son, a rugby player for christmas and he loved it. Some of the stories are only a paragraph long, but a great read for those who don't like lengthy text.