Unholy Union: When Rugby Collided with the Modern World

I was attracted to Aylwin's book as I spent my teenage school years regularly getting squashed on the rugby pitch by lumbering hulks in the first XV. In later life exposure to rugby played in the French and Celtic leagues won me back to the game.Aylwin deals with the challenges the sport has faced since rapidly going professional in the mid-1990s. He convincingly describes how since then the top echelons of rugby have been driven by raw commercial considerations. Professionalism is all about money. The commercial imperatives of the professional era to maximise revenues at the elite level sit uneasily with the importance of developing the game at the grassroots in the community. The need to expand revenues through a merry-go-round of club and international games also raises player welfare issues. These are significant because rugby is a collision sport, with a constant risk of injury and concussion. Given the recent relegation of Saracens for serious breaches of the salary cap some of the author's speculations seem prophetic.I feel the writing might have flowed better if it had included some personal stories to illustrate Aylwin's powerful arguments. Nevertheless, this is a detailed informative book, raising an array of questions for all rugby lovers.

As an old-school'er who played in the strictly amateur days (1980's-mid 1990's) I wince when I watch the game today - blowout scores, rugby league without a tackle count, scrummage and mauls just about irrelevant and lineouts a farce. it's certainly "not what it was". This book goes some of the way to explaining why it happened. Worth a read.

Fascinating information about professionalism in rugby and the inequities of the system. Rugby Union - its only a game? I don't think so.

This is a well written analysis of Rugby around the world.

A bit mixed. Certainly informative and I learnt a fair amount. However, the overly verbose style of the author, the vague chapter headings and the lack of any illustrations or photos meant it was a harder read than perhaps it should have been.