Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
by John Carlin
from Penguin Press HC, The
A thrilling, inspiring account of one of the greatest charm offensives in history—Nelson Mandela’s decade-long campaign to unite his country, beginning in his jail cell and ending with a rugby tournament
In 1985, Nelson Mandela, then in prison for twenty-three years, set about winning over the fiercest proponents of apartheid, from his jailers to the head of South Africa’s military. First he earned his freedom and then he won the presidency in the nation’s first free election in 1994. But he knew that South Africa was still dangerously divided by almost fifty years of apartheid. If he couldn’t unite his country in a visceral, emotional way—and fast—it would collapse into chaos. He would need all the charisma and strategic acumen he had honed during half a century of activism, and he’d need a cause all South Africans could share. Mandela picked one of the more farfetched causes imaginable—the national rugby team, the Springboks, who would host the sport’s World Cup in 1995.
Against the giants of the sport, the Springboks’ chances of victory were remote. But their chances of capturing the hearts of most South Africans seemed remoter still, as they had long been the embodiment of white supremacist rule. During apartheid, the all-white Springboks and their fans had belted out racist fight songs, and blacks would come to Springbok matches to cheer for whatever team was playing against them. Yet Mandela believed that the Springboks could embody—and engage—the new South Africa. And the Springboks themselves embraced the scheme. Soon South African TV would carry images of the team singing “Nkosi Sikelele Afrika,” the longtime anthem of black resistance to apartheid.
As their surprising string of victories lengthened, their home-field advantage grew exponentially. South Africans of every color and political stripe found themselves falling for the team. When the Springboks took to the field for the championship match against New Zealand’s heavily favored squad, Mandela sat in his presidential box wearing a Springbok jersey while sixty-two-thousand fans, mostly white, chanted “Nelson! Nelson!” Millions more gathered around their TV sets, whether in dusty black townships or leafy white suburbs, to urge their team toward victory. The Springboks won a nail-biter that day, defying the oddsmakers and capping Mandela’s miraculous ten-year-long effort to bring forty-three million South Africans together in an enduring bond.
John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, offers a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, blending the volatile cocktail of race, sport, and politics to intoxicating effect. He draws on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in MandelaÂ’s momentous campaign, and the SpringboksÂ’ unlikely triumph. As he makes stirringly clear, their championship transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.
Complete Linebacking
by Lou Tepper
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Learn linebacking from the coach of three Butkus Award winners! Lou Tepper coached Alfred Williams, Dana Howard, and Kevin Hardy to college football's annual award for best linebacker and 20 linebackers who have gone on to play professional football.
In Complete Linebacking, Coach Tepper presents the most in-depth book ever written on the subject. Players and coaches receive a clinic on fundamentals, pre-snap keys, and techniques used by inside and outside linebackers in 9 specific defenses. The book also includes 4 key linebacker diagnostic tests, 33 drills to improve linebacking skills, and special practice and game grading systems to help evaluate and maximize performance at the most important defensive position.
Football Coaching Strategies
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Football Coaching Strategies is an invaluable source of football wisdom. Inside you'll find 67 informative articles contributed during the last 25 years by many of the greatest football coaches the game has ever known.
The book features 349 detailed diagrams and covers every crucial aspect of the game:
• 28 articles on offense;
• 19 articles on defense;
• 7 articles on special teams; and
• 13 articles on philosophy, motivation, and management.
Edited by the American Football Coaches Association, this collection of gridiron strategies lets you tap into the creative genius and enduring principles that have shaped the game. It's the one book that every serious football coach, player, and fan will treasure.
Rugby For Dummies (For Dummies (Sports & Hobbies))
by Mathew Brown
from For Dummies
Fully revised and updated with the latest rugby information!
For every rugby enthusiast at every level of interest
Whether you're new to rugby or a scrum veteran, this friendly guide is for you. Inside you'll find easy-to-understand explanations of the rules and positions, plus in-depth lessons on skills, fitness training, and winning techniques. Add in entertaining stories from rugby in North America and around the world, and you've got the definitive book on rugby!
Explanations in plain English.
"Get in, get out" information.
Icons and other navigational aids.
Tear-out cheat sheet.
Top ten lists.
A dash of humor and fun.
Discover how to:
Master rugby's basic rules.
Devise winning strategies as a player or a team.
Appreciate rugby's colorful history.
Understand the game at local, national, and international levels.
Get smart!@www.dummies.com
- Find listings of all our books
- Choose from many different subject categories
- Sign up for eTips at etips.dummies.com
Locker Room Nudes / Dieux du Stade: The French National Rugby Team
from Universe
This remarkable collection of candid nude photos of France’s national rugby team goes beneath the uniform to reveal what real jocks look like underneath it all. Each image taken by leading French photographer François Rousseau depicts the rugby player―alone or with teammates―undressing, lounging on the bench, showering. Locker Room Men is at once a celebration of athletes and the beauty of the male form as well as the fulfillment of the fantasy of going behind the scenes in a winning team’s locker room.
Sure to appeal to both gay men and straight women, these photos are unusual because the men are not models. They don’t work out just to look good―and look good they do―their bodies are sculpted by winning victories on the field. They aren’t made up, shaved, or prettified in any way. These are some of the world’s best rugby players―brawny, tough, competitive.
Since 1999, the French national rugby team has posed nude or semi-nude for an annual calendar. The purpose behind the calendar was to get wider “exposure” for rugby and the team. In 2004, François Rousseau was selected as photographer, and he successfully brought out the sensual beauty and sexiness inherent in the rugby players’ rough and tumble exterior. The calendar became a cult hit, and thus the book was born so that even more of these unparalleled images could be savored.
Whether or not rugby will become more popular in this country remains to be seen, but this book will certainly raise the game’s profile…
Gods of Sport
from Bruno Gmunder Verlag Gmbh
Pedro Virgil's styled portraits of athlete's bodies celebrate testosterone-laden masculinity. With elegant poses and vivid coloring Virgil manages to create tension as well as including a tongue-in-cheek pathos that will bring a smile to your face. Muscular machos that will set your fantasies ablaze and subtle gay scenes mix together and unquestionably leave a lasting impression.
Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Rugby (Ultimate Guide to Weight Training...)
by Robert G. Price
from Sportsworkout.com
- Year-round rugby-specific weight-training programs
- Descriptions and photographs of nearly 100 exercises
- Used by top rugby players worldwide
- Perfect for rugby players of all ages and skill levels
- Includes links to free record-keeping charts
The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Rugby is the most comprehensive and up-to-date rugby-specific training guide in the world today. It contains descriptions and photographs of over 80 of the most effective weight training, flexibility, and abdominal exercises used by athletes worldwide. This book features year-round rugby-specific weight-training programs guaranteed to improve your performance and get you results.
No other rugby book to date has been so well designed, so easy to use, and so committed to weight training. This book will increase the players power and quickness resulting in more effectiveness in rucks and mauls. By using this program, you will make considerable gains in your strength, agility, and stamina which will result in more success in scrums and have you competing strong until the final whistle.
Both beginners and advanced athletes and weight trainers can follow this book and utilize its programs. From recreational to professional, thousands of athletes all over the world are already benefiting from this book and its techniques, and now you can too!
As an added bonus, this book also contains links to free record keeping charts which normally sell separately for $20.
About the Author
Rob Price is a first class certified personal trainer and a former fitness consultant at the University of Wisconsin. He is a national weight lifting champion and state bench press record holder who has been featured in newspapers and magazines all over the world including the USA Today for his sports-training expertise. Rob is a contributing author to OnFitness magazine and is the founder and head trainer of SportsWorkout.coms e-Training service, the #1 Sports-Training Service on the Internet.
A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union
by Huw Richards
from Mainstream Publishing
The rugby union has undergone immense change in the past two decades—introducing a World Cup, accepting professionalism, and creating a global market in players. This resource covers all of the great matches, teams, and players while also placing them in the context of the social, political, and economic changes which have affected the course of rugby's development. International in scope, this history includes not only Britain and France but also the great rugby powers of the southern hemisphere and other successful rugby nations, such as Argentina, Fiji, and Japan. Rich in anecdotes—including the story of why 1895 is the most important date in both the rugby union and rugby league history, allegations of devil worship at a Welsh rugby club, the game's contribution to the Cuban Revolution, and why the most fearsome of all New Zealand forwards was also a proficient knitter—this reference is a must-read for any fan of the oval ball.
Complete Conditioning for Rugby
by Dan Luger
from Human Kinetics Publishers
Modern rugby requires you to have speed, strength, agility, endurance, and power in order to excel. Few sports demand such diverse physical attributes, and no book so comprehensively addresses how to develop them specifically for the sport--until now! Complete Conditioning for Rugby features first-hand insights from Dan Luger, English rugby star. Luger teams up with leading strength and conditioning coach Paul Pook to provide the very best in conditioning know-how. They present more than 120 position-specific drills and exercises that will help you excel in any match situation you will face: - Increase speed and agility to succeed in todays expansive game., - Build strength to help drive in the tackle and dominate in the ruck or maul., - Improve endurance to compete to the final whistle.,
Rugby: The Golden Age: Extraordinary Images from 1900 to 1980 (Golden Age)
by John Tennant
from Cassell Illustrated
+++
