
Rugby's Great Split
Class, Culture and the Origins of Rugby League Football
Tony Collins(Author)
Frank Cass Publishers
1st Edition
Published on 31. May 1998
Book
Hardback
296 pages
978-0-7146-4867-5 (ISBN)
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Description
Since it's first publication, Rugby's Great Split has established itself as a classic in the field of sport history. Drawing on an unprecedented range of sources, this deeply researched and highly readable book traces the social, cultural and economic divisions that led, in 1895, to schism in the game of rugby and the creation of rugby league, the sport of England's northern working class.
Tony Collins' analysis challenges many of the conventional assumptions about this key event in rugby history - about class conflict, amateurism in sport, the North-South divide, violence on the pitch, the development of mass spectator sport and the rise of football. This new edition is expanded to cover parallel events in Australia and New Zealand, and to address the key question of rugby league's failure to establish itself in Wales.
Rugby's Great Split is a benchmark text in the history of rugby, and an absorbing case study of wider issues - issues of class, gender, regional and national identity, and the impact of the commercialization and recent professionalization of rugby league. This insightful text is for anyone interested in Britain's social history or in the emergence of modern sport, it is vital reading.
Tony Collins' analysis challenges many of the conventional assumptions about this key event in rugby history - about class conflict, amateurism in sport, the North-South divide, violence on the pitch, the development of mass spectator sport and the rise of football. This new edition is expanded to cover parallel events in Australia and New Zealand, and to address the key question of rugby league's failure to establish itself in Wales.
Rugby's Great Split is a benchmark text in the history of rugby, and an absorbing case study of wider issues - issues of class, gender, regional and national identity, and the impact of the commercialization and recent professionalization of rugby league. This insightful text is for anyone interested in Britain's social history or in the emergence of modern sport, it is vital reading.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for the previous edition:'The outstanding historical work ... definitive on the 1895 schism between the two rugby codes.'- Financial Times
'This book is a landmark in the history and historiography of rugby league and of rugby in general.' - Rugby League Express
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 156 mm
Weight
658 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7146-4867-5 (9780714648675)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
New editions

Book
07/2006
2nd Edition
Routledge
€262.40
Shipment within 15-20 days
Additional editions

Book
05/1998
Frank Cass Publishers
€62.15
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Content
List of Illustrations. Series Editor's Foreword. Preface to the Second Edition. Introduction 1. From Folk Football to Civic Pride: Origins to 1879 2. The Coming of the Working Class: 1879-1886 3. 'King Football': 1886-1893 4. Schism: 1893-1895 5. The Rise and Decline of the Northern Union: 1895-1905 6. A Revolution in Rugby: 1905-1910 Conclusion: The Northern Union and Working Class Culture. Appendices. Bibliography. Index