Odd-Shaped Balls - Hardcover

SCALLY, JOHN

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184018826X ISBN 13: 9781840188264

Publisher: Mainstream Publishing, 2004

Synopsis

Rugby is not a game for those who think that centres are what you find in a box of Black Magic or who confuse Jonah Lomu with Joanna Lumley. Indeed it is not a game for the bright: what kind of tortured mind would invent an oval ball? Of course it helps if you know the rules and if you don't have any fear. In this respect you are in the same boat as most referees, particularly if you have a problem with your eyesight. Odd-Shaped Balls is a collection of stories that evoke the fun and frolics of all rugby players great and small. It snoops inside sweaty, smelly dressing-rooms, reveals the passions of coaches and fans, without whom rugby would cease to exist, and delves deep into the sport's archives to recall its heroes, villains and victims, all of whom are part of the daily currency of rugby. The book is no less than a who's who of rugby, with both old and young getting the opportunity to have their say. Odd-Shaped Balls captures the humour, the agony and the ecstasy of one of the world's most popular sports. Lining out is a cast of thousands of mischief-makers, miscreants and mad hatters: from Max Boyce to Keith Wood; from Sean Fitzpatrick to Austin Healy; Bill Beaumont and his streaker to Gavin Hastings; from Gareth Edwards to David Campese; and from the man in the scrum to the man at the bar. All exponents of surrealism, comic genius and savage wit, they offer a quirky insight into the sporting psyche as well as providing some riotous good laughs. With hundreds of funny stories, Odd-Shaped Balls is a light-hearted romp through decades of rugby tomfoolery that is guaranteed to put a smile on the face of all sports fans.

About this title

About the Author

John Scally was born in Ireland in 1962 and is also the author of Ger Loughnane, A Brave New World, Raising the Banner and Them and Us: The Irish at Cheltenham. He lives in Dublin.

Edition details

• Publisher: Mainstream Publishing
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 184018826X
• ISBN 13: 9781840188264
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 258