Customer Reviews
Not for beginners! - By: Rachel B, 10 Feb 2008 
I am American living in the UK, so I knew nothing about Rugby. I have seen a few matches & vaguely understood the game. After reading this book I am much more able to follow the game & impress my UK friends, but it was only from watching matches before reading this book. If you are completely new to the game this book will not be as helpful.
Perfect guide to Rugby Union. - By: , 23 Feb 2006 
This is a first rate guide to Rugby union. I have tried on & off over the years to watch the game on TV, but although the commentators & action replays showed what was occuring on the field, I just couldn't take it in. This excellent book boils it alll down & shows with the aid of diagrams exactly what is supposed to be happening. I got this book a couple of weeks ago, And last weekend, I watched two Games on Sky & it was as if the blinkers had come off I understood pretty much everything that was going on. Another useful tool to use with this I find, is when the six nations are on, you are able to get the referees microphone feed on BBCi.
The only way the book & a real live game of rugby differ & cause some confusion is when the players are doing things & getting away with it. That is to say when they are breaking the laws of the game & not being found out, but I wouldn't have known they were in the wrong had I not read this book. Maybe some of the players should get this book too.
This book has taken me from knowing nothing at alll about the game (and having tried to learn in the past). To being able to watch & reallly enjoy a great sport. I have Mr Robinson to thank for that, & I will be forever thankful.
Clear Exposition - By: Nick Grant, 18 Feb 2005 This new edition has again taken a good understanding of the game a further step further forward for the intelligent supporter. Despite being described as the Player's Guide, it works just as well for the observer. Robinson's gift in this book has been to turn the complex into the simple & clear. He explains the laws of the game as they apply to many different situations on the pitch as alll part of a single proposition - the importance of keeping behind the balll! Referees now largely direct & shape the game & the new changes both in law & policy this season on the tackle zone are made clear & easy to understand. For the observer who needs to know more than the TV commentator can ever tell him, this book is first rate, bang up to date & full of insight into tactics & game plans. It's a revelation which helps explain the inexplicable, & reveals the basic simplicity of the game, while showing clearly & with excellent humour, illustrations & candour what is reallly going on in any given game.
Mental Fitnes Training for Rugby Players - By: james close, 25 Jun 2003 Derek Robinson has achieved a great deal in this book, setting out in plain English the complex laws of rugby union, & unlike many books on the laws it is a good read, blending dry facts with humour.
This book should be mandatory reading for anyone who plays rugby, because not only does it tell what you CAN'T do, it also sets out the leeway & loopholes that you can use too.
Published in 2002, it includes the 2001 revisions, so it is also reasonably up to date. Highly recommended.
Brilliant for player, supporter or beginner! - By: , 02 Oct 2000 A marvellous book for anyone interested in rugby; Derek Robinson explains the rules clearly & simply, but in enough depth to help understand the game. As a player (scrumhalf at that) I found the book very useful for the little rules which I didn't know, & the larger ones which seem to change every season!
I highly recommend this book.
