Author Greg Growden is one of Australia's best-known sports writers. he is the chief rugby union correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age and travels with the Australian Wallabies on international tours. Greg has written numerous books on rugby union, including the best-selling edition of Rugby Union for dummies, and raws upon his experiences with his Wallaby and All Black mates to make them as colourful and imformative as possible.

Foreword xix Introduction 1 Part I: Rugby: Roots, Boots and All 7 Chapter 1: Rudimentary Rugby 9 Chapter 2: The Aim of the Game 21 Chapter 3: Grab Your Rugby Gear 37 Part II: Getting Down and Dirty 47 Chapter 4: Location, Location: Positions on the Pitch 49 Chapter 5: Laying Down the Laws 65 Chapter 6: Honing Your Skills 83 Chapter 7: Breaking Down the Breakdown 105 Chapter 8: Leaping Lineouts: Jumping for the Ball 121 Chapter 9: Talking Tactics 135 Chapter 10: Talented Training 151 Chapter 11: All About Coaching 167 Part III: Welcome to Planet Rugby 183 Chapter 12: The World Cup 185 Chapter 13: Rampant Rugby: The International Scene 201 Chapter 14: Rugby Below the Equator: Teams and Trophies 217 Chapter 15: From Grassroots to First Grade: The Domestic Scene 227 Part IV: Following the Game: The Informed Fan 245 Chapter 16: Compulsive Viewing: Rugby on the Screen 247 Chapter 17: Staying In Touch with Rugby News 259 Chapter 18: Spectating and Sobriquets 279 Part V: The Part of Tens 293 Chapter 19: The Ten Greatest Wallabies 295 Chapter 20: The Ten Greatest All Blacks 303 Chapter 21: The Ten Best Rugby Moments 309 Chapter 22: Ten Peculiar Facts About Rugby 319 Part VI: Appendixes 329 Appendix A: Honour Boards 331 Appendix B: Key Rugby Organisations 345 Glossary 351 Index 363