Rugby union is a sport in transition, with an unclear future. Developments such as professionalization, globalization and the Rugby World Cup have altered the game forever, but the process of change has been going on for over a century. This work seeks to understand what has happened to rugby as it has moved from the realm of the English public school to the global realm dominated by Rupert Murdoch and other media entrepreneurs. It explores rugby and issues of race in the Empire/Commonwealth, rugby in non-British societies, women's rugby, homophobia and rugby, and nationalism and rugby,...